Alcoa Announces $37 Million Investment in Belaya Kalitva Plant In Russia; Plant To Begin Producing Wheels for N. American Automotive OEMs

NEW YORK & BELAYA KALITVA, CIS--May 9, 2005--Alcoa today announced it will invest $37 million in its recently acquired Belaya Kalitva fabricating facility in Russia to improve heat-treated plate and sheet output for a variety of markets. The company also announced that it has begun the process to supply North American automotive companies (original equipment manufacturers or OEM's) with forged specialty wheels produced at the plant for the first time. The announcements came as Alcoa Chairman and CEO, Alain Belda visited the companies new Russian facilities today.

The $37 million investment is part of more than $80 million in capital and technology investments planned for the Belaya Kalitva and Samara facilities in 2005. These investments are in addition to ongoing investments in environmental, health, safety and Alcoa Business System (ABS) training designed to build consistency across these plants and others within the Alcoa system.

"All of our investments will strengthen the ability of the plants to compete in the world market," said Belda. "And we are already beginning to see results. Through our work so far we have now begun to service North American automotive OEM customers from this plant with forged specialty wheels. This is a good example of how we can take these assets, integrate them into the Alcoa system, and better serve our customers around the world. We envision these improvements to our heat-treated plate and sheet capabilities to generate similar types of results."

This Belaya Kalitva investment is included in Alcoa's previously announced 2005 capital spending plan of approximately $2.5 billion, of which $1.6 billion is dedicated to growth projects.

Alcoa is the world's leading producer and manager of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum and alumina facilities, 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 to customers. In addition to aluminum products and components, Alcoa also markets consumer brands including Reynolds Wrap(R) foils and plastic wraps, Alcoa(R) wheels, and Baco(R) household wraps. Among its other businesses are vinyl siding, closures, fastening systems, precision castings, and electrical distribution systems for cars and trucks. The company has 131,000 employees in 43 countries and has been a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average for 45 years and the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes since 2001. More information can be found at www.alcoa.com