Alcoa expands in Suzhou

has announced plans to create two new 50,000 square-feet manufacturing sites in the Suzhou Industrial Park, China, to support rapidly growing commercial aviation and railway/rail car production and sub-assembly market.

This announcement follows the opening earlier this year of Alcoa Fastening Systems' full service logistics centre in Shanghai.

One plant will be dedicated to the production of select aerospace fastening systems; while the other will produce fasteners for Alcoa's rail car/transportation customers. Selection of the specific products to be produced is being co-ordinated with the company's major customers around the world.

Production at the railway/rail car fastener facility is slated to begin operation by the end of this year. The aerospace fasteners plant is expected to start production by October 2006. Minimum employment at the two facilities is expected to total 250 people by 2007.