Alcoa, headquartered in New York, has announced a long-term contract with Embraer, a leading manufacturer of commercial jets with up to 130 seats, valued at approximately $470 million. Under the multiyear agreement, Alcoa will supply aluminum sheet and plate for Embraer’s new E2s, the second generation of its E-Jets family of commercial aircraft, a narrow-body medium-range jet airliner. The Embraer E-Jets E2 were launched at the Paris Airshow in 2013 and are scheduled to enter into service in 2018.

“Our partnership with Embraer is rooted in constant innovation, and this contract is further proof of that strength,” says Mark Vrablec, president of Alcoa’s Aerospace & Automotive Products business. “Our patented alloys enable us to support our customer’s game-changing E2 program, and we’re proud that Alcoa will fly with Embraer.”

Embraer chose Alcoa’s proprietary alloys for the E2 because of their combination of strength, corrosion resistance and fatigue resistance, Alcoa says in a news release announcing the contract.

“Alcoa offers a good combination of technical expertise and industry leading material and capabilities,” says Fernando Queiroz, Embraer vice president, supply chain. “Embraer designed the E-Jets E2 commercial aircraft to be the best in its segment, and to do that we needed the best material in the business, and Alcoa offers the best solution.”

According to Embraer, the market segment that the new E2 program was designed to serve is projected to require 6,350 new aircraft during the next 20 years. In addition, Embraer says it has more than 50 percent market share by orders with the current E-Jet and expects to maintain similar levels with the new E-Jets E2 aircraft.

The long-term agreement makes Alcoa sole supplier to Embraer for proprietary wing skins and fuselage sheet on the E2 line of jets. Other Alcoa plate products, used in key applications such as wing ribs, fuselage frames and other structural parts of the aircraft, also are part of the contract and will be featured on the E2 as well as Embraer’s KC-390 military transport aircraft and executive jets.

Alcoa says it has developed most of the aluminum aerospace alloys to ever take flight and every major new aircraft program incorporates Alcoa’s product innovations. The Alcoa/Embraer partnership draws on the aerospace manufacturing capabilities of Alcoa’s Global Rolled Products business, supplying Embraer from its plants in Davenport, Iowa, and Kitts Green, United Kingdom.

Alcoa products can also be found on the Pratt & Whitney PurePower engines, including the forging for the first ever aluminum fan blade, featured in the E2 aircraft. 

The city of Houston has announced a partnership with the glass recycling company Strategic Materials Inc. (SMI), headquartered in the city, to handle glass generated by city residents. The agreement follows Waste Management’s decision earlier this year to remove glass from its citywide recyclables collection program.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner says, “Since the removal of glass from the City’s single stream recycling program earlier this year, we have been working to find ways for residents to conveniently continue to recycle glass. I want to thank Strategic Materials for stepping up to plate to provide a workable solution.”

The move to partner up with Strategic Materials comes after Waste Management renegotiated its contract with the city in light of low prices for the recyclables. The renegotiations included removing glass from the recyclables collected by the company.

Initially, Strategic Materials will work with industry partners and local communities to cover the cost of glass recycling boxes at 10 locations throughout the city with the longer-term goal of expanding the program. At present Houston has nine drop-off locations for glass.

“We are fortunate to be supported by the mayor and the city in the pursuit to further support glass recycling,” says Strategic Materials CEO Denis Suggs. “We hope to identify additional partners within the community and our customer base to grow the recycling locations in the upcoming weeks and months. Our innate desire to preserve our environment and keep our city clean brings us together in a meaningful way to support glass recycling in Houston.”

The new drop-off locations sponsored by SMI and partners are in addition to the nine existing neighborhood depositories where residents are able to recycle glass and other items.

Rotterdam has been selected as the host city of the 2016 Paper Recycling Conference Europe  and Plastics Recycling Conference Europe  events. The Netherlands city is one of the largest seaports in the world and a gateway to global secondary commodity markets, according to the Recycling Today Media group, organiser of the events.

The co-located 2016 events focus on market trends, industry issues and emerging destinations and techniques in the paper and plastic recycling sectors in Europe and globally.

Speakers are being drawn from companies throughout the recycling, shipping and manufacturing chain in Europe, including Unilever, ALBA Group, Maersk, MBA Polymers and Pöyry.

The conferences are designed to help attendees build meaningful connections, meet with exhibitors and gain insight into the paper and plastics markets, according to James R. Keefe, Recycling Today Media Group’s publisher.

More information about the two European conferences and other Recycling Today Media Group events can be found at www.recyclingtodayevents.com. 

Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel producer, and Italy-based steelmaker Marcegaglia have announced an offer to acquire Milan, Italy-based steel producer Gruppo Ilva.

ArcelorMittal and Marcegaglia, in a news release issued by ArcelorMittal in late June 2016, say their offer includes aspects designed to appeal to Ilva and its shareholders, including:

• a commitment to improving Ilva’s environmental performance, bringing Ilva in-line with European environmental standards and legislation;
• the intention to increase Ilva’s capacity rate, with crude steel production rising from the current level of about 4.8 million tonnes per year to more than 6 million tonnes per by 2020, and to maintain the operation of a minimum of three blast furnaces;
• a capital expenditure programme designed to enhance Ilva’s asset capabilities, increasing productivity levels and improving health and safety performance;
• the introduction on more value-added steel products in Ilva’s product mix;
• economies of scale from which Ilva would benefit by being a part of ArcelorMittal.

The submission of the bid is the first step in what ArcelorMittal calls “a multi-stage process that will see only the environmental part of the offer discussed for the next 120 days.”

Says Geert Van Poelvoorde, executive vice president and CEO of ArcelorMittal Europe Flat Products, “ArcelorMittal, together with our partner Marcegaglia, has today submitted our offer for Ilva. We believe Ilva represents a compelling investment opportunity for ArcelorMittal, without compromising our balance sheet strength, as it would extend our leadership position and increase our product offering in Italy, Europe’s second largest steel manufacturing and consuming market.”

Adds Antonio Marcegaglia, chairman and CEO of Marcegaglia, “Ilva has always been a vital asset in the entire Italian steel chain, and we need to ensure it can continue to be in the long term.”

In 2015, ArcelorMittal had revenue of $63.6 billion and crude steel production of 92.5 million tonnes, while its iron ore production level reached 62.8 million tonnes.