Alcoa Recognized by Honda For Quality

NEW YORK--Alcoa Latin America’s Utinga plant in Santo André, Brazil was recognized by Honda Motorcycle of Brazil for outstanding quality performance. Alcoa received Honda’s top quality supplier award following Honda’s thorough assessment of its supplier network in Latin America over a 12-month period.

“We are always looking for solutions to improve performance and safety. By using Alcoa’s lighter, high-strength 7XXX series aluminum alloy in the suspension system, we improved the motorcycle’s performance significantly by reducing the weight of the swing arm, meeting our customer’s expectation”

Alcoa is the exclusive supplier of extruded aluminum tubes for the rear suspension of several of Honda’s popular motorcycles, including the XRE300, CB250 Twister, and the CRF 30F and XR250 Tornado models for the Latin American market.

A motorcycle’s suspension serves a dual purpose, contributing to the vehicle’s handling and braking, and providing safety and comfort by keeping the vehicle’s passengers comfortably isolated from road noise, bumps and vibrations.

“We are always looking for solutions to improve performance and safety. By using Alcoa’s lighter, high-strength 7XXX series aluminum alloy in the suspension system, we improved the motorcycle’s performance significantly by reducing the weight of the swing arm, meeting our customer’s expectation,” said Luiz Antonio Azevedo Rosa, Quality Superintendent for Alcoa Extruded Parts Division, Brazil.

The Utinga plant supplies extrusions to a number of Latin American market segments, including the ground transportation, industrial machinery and electrical equipment markets, and consumer goods industries.

About Alcoa

Alcoa is the world leader in the production and management of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum and alumina combined, through its active and growing participation 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 including flat-rolled products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, Alcoa also markets Alcoa® wheels, fastening systems, precision and investment castings, and building systems. The Company has been named one of the top most sustainable corporations in the world at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and has been a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for eight consecutive years. Alcoa employs approximately 59,000 people in 31 countries across the world. More information can be found at www.alcoa.com

Caption: Alcoa’s Utinga plant in Brazil received a quality supplier award from Honda Motorcycle of Brazil. Alcoa is the exclusive supplier of extruded aluminum tubes for the rear suspension of several Honda motorcycles, including the XRE300 pictured here.

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