8.06.2008 - 06:38pm ET

(CSRwire) NEW YORK,NY. - August 6, 2008 - Alcoa (NYSE:AA) announced today that it is contributing to China's commitment to a "green" Olympics by providing lightweight aluminum for transportation systems that will be used during the games and including its aluminum composite material on several new venues constructed especially for the 2008 Beijing Olympics starting on August 8.

Visitors to the Olympic Village will ride on buses powered by electricity and rolling on stylish Alcoa polished, forged aluminum wheels. Alcoa provided customer Beijing Public Transport Holding Ltd. (BPTC), a large state-owned public transport service, with 350 wheels for 50 buses. The lightweight, Alcoa aluminum wheels provide significant weight savings over comparable steel wheels, shaving nearly 275 pounds from each bus, which, in turn, improved the overall operating efficiency of the electric buses. The Alcoa aluminum wheels also proved to be both fuel efficient and cost effective during road testing conducted by BPTC.

In addition, environmentally-friendly, aluminum-intensive buses jointly designed and built by Alcoa and Yutong Bus Company of China, the country's largest bus manufacturer, will be road tested during the Olympics. The new aluminum-intensive bus body is nearly 50% lighter than a traditional bus body. The new buses feature Alcoa's spaceframe technology — the same technology used in high-performance automobiles such as the Gran Turismo Ferraris and Audi A8 vehicles — as well as Alcoa Dura-Bright(R) forged aluminum wheels, Alcoa aluminum side and roof panels, and Alcoa fasteners.

Alcoa Building Material Offers Sustainable Solutions

Alcoa Architectural Products, a part of Alcoa's Building and Construction Systems business, was called upon by architects involved in the design of several new venues needed for the Beijing Olympics. AAP's Reynolux(R) product is known the world over as an excellent multi-purpose material for roofing and façade cladding. It is often used as a design element in architectural applications because of its aesthetic appeal and exceptional weather resistance.

The massive, aerodynamic roof of Terminal 3 built at the Beijing Airport especially for the Olympics uses 1,200 tons of Reynolux(R) coil coated aluminum sheet finished in glaze yellow, an official color of the Olympics. Nearly 95 tons of the Reynolux(R) material was used for the roof on the newly constructed National Indoor Stadium that will host gymnastics and handball competitions. In addition, 221 tons of the material is used on the roof of the multipurpose Shenyang Olympic Sports Center Stadium, constructed especially for the Olympics in Shenyang, a co-host city of the 2008 Games.

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(R) wheels, fastening systems, precision and investment castings, and building systems. The Company has 97,000 employees in 34 countries and has been named one of the top most sustainable corporations in the world at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. More information can be found at www.alcoa.com.