Alcoa Fujikura Wins Top VW Group Award

    FRANKFURT, Germany--July 18, 2002--In just one year after acquiring the VW Electrical Distribution System (EDS) business from Siemens, Alcoa Fujikura Ltd. (AFL) has won Volkswagen Group's prestigious Entrepreneurial Performance award. The award, presented by VW Group Chairman Dr. Bernd Pischetsrieder at the company's GlasHaus, the new Phaeton manufacturing facility in Dresden, acknowledges AFL's achievements in the seamless integration of this business into AFL while delivering continuing improvements in quality and service to the German automaker.
    On receiving the award, Bob Alexander, president of AFL Worldwide Automotive, commented: "There can often be hitches in the operations of newly acquired companies, but the integration of the VW EDS business has been faultless. We have achieved in a short time frame higher levels of service to the VW Group. This success demonstrates both the dedication of AFL's people, the new associates who joined us with the acquisition, and the strategic logic behind it. The new business, supplying VW plants in Belgium, Portugal and Mexico, complements our existing operations and advances our position as one of the major suppliers to the VW Group worldwide."
    A supplier to the majority of the world's automobile companies, AFL provides harnesses to VW Group's plants for: the A4 Golf model in Brussels, Belgium; Sharan, Alhambra and Galaxy models produced in Palmela, Portugal; and the New Beetle, New Beetle Cabrio, Jetta and the A3 Golf Cabrio models, manufactured in Puebla, Mexico. Additionally, the company supplies electrical systems for the T4 model at VW's Hanover plant and the A6 model at Audi's Neckarsulm operation, both in Germany, as well as for most other VW Group models.
    The components of the business acquired by AFL comprise of three manufacturing facilities located in the Czech Republic, Portugal and Mexico, together with a Customer Service Centre in Brussels and a Design and Development facility in Wolfsburg, Germany.
    Alcoa Fujikura Ltd. (AFL) is a global industry leader and full-service supplier of complete electrical distribution architecture, delivering a complete range of expert capabilities in design, engineering, testing and manufacturing. Winner of quality awards from Ford, Volkswagen, Mazda and Subaru, AFL is a joint venture company 51% owned by Alcoa and 49% by Fujikura Ltd of Japan. In Europe, AFL has three European group companies, Alcoa Fujikura GmbH, the European holding company, AFL Michels, an EDS manufacturer, and AFL Germany Electronics (formerly Stribel), an electronics and electromechanical components manufacturer. Together, these three companies provide a full service EEDS capability to a number of major automobile manufacturers. For more information visit www.aflauto.com.
    Alcoa is the world's leading producer of primary aluminium, fabricated aluminium and alumina, and is active in all major aspects of the industry. Alcoa serves the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation and industrial markets, bringing design, engineering, production and other capabilities of Alcoa's businesses as a single solution to customers. In addition to aluminium products and components, Alcoa also markets consumer brands including Reynolds Wrap(R) aluminium foil, Alcoa(R) wheels, and Baco(R) household wraps. Among its other businesses are vinyl siding, closures, precision castings, and electrical distribution systems for cars and trucks. The company has 129,000 employees in 38 countries.

    For more information, please contact:
    Henrike Boysen, Technical Publicity
    26-34 Liverpool Road, Luton, Beds, LU1 1RS, England
    Tel: +44 (0)1582 450054, Fax: +44 (0)1582 878877
    hboysen@technical-publicity.com

    James E. Edwards, Alcoa Fujikura GmbH
    European Headquarters, Olof-Palme-Strasse 37, 60439 Frankfurt,
    Germany
    Tel: +49 (0)69 95 73 41-31, Fax: +49 (0)69 95 73 41-13
    Aflinfo@alcoa.com

    www.alcoa.com