sfogliabile_AL_n6_dicembre

ic will be able to do things which are apparently complex
or almost impossible, and yet interesting, since they are always
innovative. The “3D letter A” has a fluorescent blue
colour, while the traditional sky blue remains in the Alcoa
Corporation logo and therefore represents the strong link
between past and future. Arconic therefore does not look
like a cover-up, but it is a real spinoff.
It is evident that such a strong innovative characterization
is meant to underline that this will be a real separation, absolutely
necessary in consideration of the changing times
and of the certainty of a future different from the present
daywhichinviteseveryonetofocusfirmlyonthemainobjective
of each activity. The very complex issues of the optimization
of the electrolytic cells of the Hall - Heroult process
are, for instance, very far from the development of
new alloys for tomorrow’s cars’ body parts. The need arises,
for anyone wishing to be present in all sectors which
use aluminium, to separate competences and diversify objectives.
The fact that this should be going on within Alcoa was, to
begin with, a surprise, but this confirms once again that
the Pittsburgh giant, ahead of all others, is a leader that
does not fear changes but tackles them to win challenges.
Ifsomeyearsagothemainchallengewasproducingprimary
aluminium in large quantities at competitive costs, now
leadershipisnolongermeasuredonlyinmillionsoftons
produced. Now the market leader is whoever knows how
to solve problems alongside with clients.
Arconic’s structure in brief
At the end of the division, Alcoa Corporation plans to be
a competitive reality in the Bauxite, Alumina, Primary Aluminium,
Primary Foundry and Energy sectors, and in rolling
activities specifically linked to the North American cans
sector.
Arconic plans to be a leader in the supply of medium to high
added value materials (and by materials, we do not mean
only aluminium and alloys!) in highly technological markets
whicharegrowingfastonaglobalscale,suchas,civilaviation,
automotive, transportation systems in general.
When considering the Arconic spinoff, a small-sized entity
should not come to mind. The new high-tech company
will acquire roughly 50% of Alcoa Inc.’s sales revenues. For
itsfirstyearofactivity,returnsofabout12.5billiondollars
are expected, based on the 2015 results of the business
units that will be conferred to the new company. In terms
of personnel (about 42,000 employees) and production
plants (over 150), Arconic will take on over 60% of Alcoa
Inc.’s employees and Arconic will in any case rank among
the 500 largest companies in the world.
Figure 2:
Production of
special aeronautical
details with powder
metallurgy and 3D
printing techniques
Figura 2:
Produzione di
particolari speciali
per aeronautica
con tecniche di
metallurgia delle
polveri e stampa 3D
FocussuR&Detecnologieinnovative
Isettorineiqualilanuovasocietàopereràsono,comedetto,
tutti in forte crescita a livello globale e richiedono soluzio-
niepropostealtrettantouniversali.Inparticolare,poi,iset-
tori core di Arconic si caratterizzano per avere ancora una
fortenecessitàdiattivitàdiRicercaeSviluppo.Unesempio
chiarisce molto bene questo aspetto. Le stampanti 3D sono
sempre più utilizzate nella manifattura di particolari per aeronautica.
Alcoa, nel centro ricerche di Pittsburgh, ha sviluppato
la produzione di particolari speciali in piccola serie
utilizzando le conoscenze tradizionali di forgiatura di particolariottenuticonmetallurgiadellepolverielenuovepossibilità
di stampa 3D.
E’ possibile quindi fornire all’industria aeronautica prodotti
non solo a base di alluminio, ma anche di titanio e nichel.
Lanovitàèmoltointeressanteperchéapreleporteallatrasformazione
in una società coinvolta in diverse tipologie di
materiali.Questotipodi“microproduzioni”specialifaràtipicamente
parte della business unit aeronautica di Arconic.
Un approccio multi materiale e specialistico difficilmente ritrovabileinunasocietàconcentratasulbusinessdellecommodity.
LastrutturacomplessivadiArconicèrappresentabilenellafigura3,cheillustraleattivitàprincipalidelletreBusinessUnit:
EPS (Engineered Products and Solutions), GRP (Global Rolled
Product) e TCS (Transportation and Construction System).
Alfinediconferireallospinoffunvaloretecnologicodiprimissimo
livello, farà parte di Arconic anche il Centro Ricerca
e Sviluppo di Pittsburgh (Arconic Technology Center), vale
adireilpiùgrandecentrodiricercaalmondoperlostudio
della metallurgia dell’alluminio e delle sue leghe.
IpiùrecentisuccessidelCentrosonolegatiallosviluppo
delle nuove leghe Alluminio-Litio per applicazioni estreme
inaeronauticaenellostessosettoresipuòricordarelosvi-
Figure 3:
Arconic’s three
Business Units
Figura 3:
Le treBusinessUnit
di Arconic
December 2016 N° 06
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