Alcoa Inc. (from ALuminum Company Of America) is the world's third largest producer of aluminum, behind Rio Tinto Alcanand Rusal. From its operational headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alcoa conducts operations in 31 countries. Alcoa is a 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: technology, mining, refining, smelting, fabricating, and recycling. Aluminum and alumina represent more than three-fourths of Alcoa’s revenue. Non-aluminum products include precision castings and aerospace and industrial fasteners. Alcoa’s products are used worldwide in aircraft, automobiles, commercial transportation, packaging, building and construction, oil and gas, defense, and industrial applications.
In May 2007 Alcoa made a $27 billion hostile takeover bid for Alcan, a former subsidiary, aiming to unite the two companies and form the world's largest aluminum producer. The takeover bid was withdrawn after Alcan announced a friendly takeover by Rio Tinto in July 2007.
Among Alcoa's other businesses are fastening systems, building products (Kawneer) and Howmet Castings. The sale of the packaging unit was announced on December 21, 2007 and closed in the first quarter of 2008. In 1886, Charles Martin Hall, a graduate of Ohio's Oberlin College, discovered the process of smelting aluminum, almost simultaneously withPaul Héroult in France. He realized that by passing an electrical current through a bath of cryolite and aluminum oxide, the then semi-rare metal aluminum remained as a byproduct. This discovery, now called the Hall-Héroult process, is still the only process used to make aluminum worldwide.
Probably fewer than ten sites in the United States and Europe produced any aluminum at the time. In 1887, Hall made an agreement to try his process at the Electric Smelting and Aluminum Company plant in Lockport, New York but it was not used and Hall left after one year. On Thanksgiving Day 1888, with the help of Alfred E. Hunt, he started the Pittsburgh Reduction Company with an experimental smelting plant on Smallman Street in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1891, the company went into production in New Kensington, Pennsylvania. In 1895 a third site opened at Niagara Falls. By about 1903, after a settlement with Hall's former employer, and while its patents were in force, the company was the only legal supplier of aluminum in the US.
Distribution Strategy
Alcoa has completed the acquisition of the aerospace fastener business of TransDigm Group Inc., a producer and supplier of highly engineered aircraft components. The business will become part of Alcoa Fastening Systems (AFS), a worldwide designer and manufacturer of specialty fastening systems, components, and installation tools for aerospace and industrial applications.
“We are excited to bring such a highly regarded business into our portfolio where our combined product offerings and innovative design capabilities will create added value for our customers and shareholders,” said Vitaliy Rusakov, President, Alcoa Fastening Systems. “This acquisition is a pivotal step in our strategy to expand our global footprint in the growing aerospace fastener market.”
distribution strategies can harm competition, challenges to
dominant firm distribution strategies pose obvious, immediate, and significant competitive concerns.
Indeed, in a series of recent cases in the courts of appeals, dominant
firm distribution strategies have come under increased scrutiny. Simultaneously, however, antitrust enforcers, counsel to dominant firms, and
commentators have sought to use these and other recent Section 2 cases to resolve Section 2’s underlying tension by tipping the balance decidedly in favor of greater tolerance of aggressive dominant firm conduct that excludes. In briefs, articles, speeches, and public presentations, they
have vigorously argued that the law should tread lightly on dominant firm distribution strategies lest it over-deter “efficient” practices. By focusing on the Section 2 distribution strategy cases, however, I
will demonstrate that this effort is, at best, troubling from the point of view of protecting competition as a process and consumer welfare, and is primarily based on non-empirical assumptions about the benefits of dominant firm behavior. A Section 2 standard that is animated by greater
tolerance of aggressive dominant firm distribution strategies that both exclude and do not benefit consumers will, therefore, very likely lead to “false negatives” and under-deterrence, with uncertain, but very likely substantial adverse consequences for the nascent competition that is
often its target.
The company announced today that it would serve as a founding reporter to the registry, which is a non-profit organisation that records and publishes greenhouse gas emissions of various companies to the public for scrutiny.
Packagers are increasingly coming under pressure from a variety of bodies including government, NGOs and consumers to find green solutions to their operations from material sourcing to production and distribution networks.
Alcoa says that as a leading supplier of aluminium to the packaging industry that it has committed to voluntarily measure, independently verify and publicly report its industrial gas emissions as required by the Climate Change Registry.
Founding reporter status is awarded by the registry to companies that sign up to the scheme before May 2008, as an incentive for early membership.
Gina McCarthy, chair of the climate registry said Alcoa's decision to sign up to the registry sent a message out to packagers and fellow suppliers alike of the importance of being open about the environmental impact of their operations.
"Alcoa has demonstrated exemplary environmental leadership by stepping forward to support the registry in its preliminary stages," she stated.
Alcoa claims that signing on to the registry continues a long-standing company-wide commitment to environmental sustainability that it has undertaken in recent years.
This focus has included a proposed reduction in greenhouse gas output to levels 25 per cent below 1990 levels by 2010
Alcoa in the World
• World’s leading producer of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum and alumina.
• More than 120,000 employees in 41 countries.
• Revenues of US$21.5 billion in 2003.
• Offers its customers one-stop service given the capacities of its divisions, namely in design, engineering and production.
• Its aluminum products and components are used worldwide, in airplanes, cars, cans, buildings, chemical products, sport and leisure equipment as well as in many industrial products and consumer goods.
• Alcoa was recently named "Most Admired Metals Company" by Fortune Magazine. This is the ninth consecutive year the company has achieved top ranking. Alcoa also ranked second in terms of social
responsibility among all companies in all industries.
• In 2003, Alcoa Foundation awarded more than 1,600 donations in 32 countries; the total amount of Alcoa and Alcoa Foundation donations reached US$26.8 million.
• Alcoa’s vision is to be the best company in the world - in the eyes of its customers, shareholders, communities and employees.
In developing channel strategy, managers have two options to communicate value to their target customers:
"Push "strategies. The focus of communication is on the supplier's next immediate customer. Push
strategies are aimed at propelling the supplier's offerings through the channel. For example, some
manufacturers of overthe-counter (OTC) drugs and automotive paints do not promote these products
directly to ultimate consumers. Instead, they focus on the retailer or auto-repair shops, expecting these
channel firms to make the sale to the consumer. Channel firms that carry a variety of competing products
may favor push strategies because they permit promoting products that are most profitable to the channel
firm (the channel firm's customers frequently do not have strong preconceived preferences). Suppliers
often find push strategies less expensive to implement.
"Pull" strategies. The focus of communication is on the end customer or a channel member closer to the
end customer. Such strategies are aimed at pulling the supplier's offering through the distribution channel.
For example, Intel maintains brand preference by advertising its chips to end consumers with the "Intel
Inside®" campaign. The intent is to create a preference for computers with its chips-causing retailers to
favor Intelbased computers. Channel members benefit from pull strategies when customers are "presold"
for particular brands. Suppliers gain some control over channel firms because it is more difficult for
channel firms to switch customers to competing brands.
In May 2007 Alcoa made a $27 billion hostile takeover bid for Alcan, a former subsidiary, aiming to unite the two companies and form the world's largest aluminum producer. The takeover bid was withdrawn after Alcan announced a friendly takeover by Rio Tinto in July 2007.
Among Alcoa's other businesses are fastening systems, building products (Kawneer) and Howmet Castings. The sale of the packaging unit was announced on December 21, 2007 and closed in the first quarter of 2008. In 1886, Charles Martin Hall, a graduate of Ohio's Oberlin College, discovered the process of smelting aluminum, almost simultaneously withPaul Héroult in France. He realized that by passing an electrical current through a bath of cryolite and aluminum oxide, the then semi-rare metal aluminum remained as a byproduct. This discovery, now called the Hall-Héroult process, is still the only process used to make aluminum worldwide.
Probably fewer than ten sites in the United States and Europe produced any aluminum at the time. In 1887, Hall made an agreement to try his process at the Electric Smelting and Aluminum Company plant in Lockport, New York but it was not used and Hall left after one year. On Thanksgiving Day 1888, with the help of Alfred E. Hunt, he started the Pittsburgh Reduction Company with an experimental smelting plant on Smallman Street in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1891, the company went into production in New Kensington, Pennsylvania. In 1895 a third site opened at Niagara Falls. By about 1903, after a settlement with Hall's former employer, and while its patents were in force, the company was the only legal supplier of aluminum in the US.
Distribution Strategy
Alcoa has completed the acquisition of the aerospace fastener business of TransDigm Group Inc., a producer and supplier of highly engineered aircraft components. The business will become part of Alcoa Fastening Systems (AFS), a worldwide designer and manufacturer of specialty fastening systems, components, and installation tools for aerospace and industrial applications.
“We are excited to bring such a highly regarded business into our portfolio where our combined product offerings and innovative design capabilities will create added value for our customers and shareholders,” said Vitaliy Rusakov, President, Alcoa Fastening Systems. “This acquisition is a pivotal step in our strategy to expand our global footprint in the growing aerospace fastener market.”
distribution strategies can harm competition, challenges to
dominant firm distribution strategies pose obvious, immediate, and significant competitive concerns.
Indeed, in a series of recent cases in the courts of appeals, dominant
firm distribution strategies have come under increased scrutiny. Simultaneously, however, antitrust enforcers, counsel to dominant firms, and
commentators have sought to use these and other recent Section 2 cases to resolve Section 2’s underlying tension by tipping the balance decidedly in favor of greater tolerance of aggressive dominant firm conduct that excludes. In briefs, articles, speeches, and public presentations, they
have vigorously argued that the law should tread lightly on dominant firm distribution strategies lest it over-deter “efficient” practices. By focusing on the Section 2 distribution strategy cases, however, I
will demonstrate that this effort is, at best, troubling from the point of view of protecting competition as a process and consumer welfare, and is primarily based on non-empirical assumptions about the benefits of dominant firm behavior. A Section 2 standard that is animated by greater
tolerance of aggressive dominant firm distribution strategies that both exclude and do not benefit consumers will, therefore, very likely lead to “false negatives” and under-deterrence, with uncertain, but very likely substantial adverse consequences for the nascent competition that is
often its target.
The company announced today that it would serve as a founding reporter to the registry, which is a non-profit organisation that records and publishes greenhouse gas emissions of various companies to the public for scrutiny.
Packagers are increasingly coming under pressure from a variety of bodies including government, NGOs and consumers to find green solutions to their operations from material sourcing to production and distribution networks.
Alcoa says that as a leading supplier of aluminium to the packaging industry that it has committed to voluntarily measure, independently verify and publicly report its industrial gas emissions as required by the Climate Change Registry.
Founding reporter status is awarded by the registry to companies that sign up to the scheme before May 2008, as an incentive for early membership.
Gina McCarthy, chair of the climate registry said Alcoa's decision to sign up to the registry sent a message out to packagers and fellow suppliers alike of the importance of being open about the environmental impact of their operations.
"Alcoa has demonstrated exemplary environmental leadership by stepping forward to support the registry in its preliminary stages," she stated.
Alcoa claims that signing on to the registry continues a long-standing company-wide commitment to environmental sustainability that it has undertaken in recent years.
This focus has included a proposed reduction in greenhouse gas output to levels 25 per cent below 1990 levels by 2010
Alcoa in the World
• World’s leading producer of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum and alumina.
• More than 120,000 employees in 41 countries.
• Revenues of US$21.5 billion in 2003.
• Offers its customers one-stop service given the capacities of its divisions, namely in design, engineering and production.
• Its aluminum products and components are used worldwide, in airplanes, cars, cans, buildings, chemical products, sport and leisure equipment as well as in many industrial products and consumer goods.
• Alcoa was recently named "Most Admired Metals Company" by Fortune Magazine. This is the ninth consecutive year the company has achieved top ranking. Alcoa also ranked second in terms of social
responsibility among all companies in all industries.
• In 2003, Alcoa Foundation awarded more than 1,600 donations in 32 countries; the total amount of Alcoa and Alcoa Foundation donations reached US$26.8 million.
• Alcoa’s vision is to be the best company in the world - in the eyes of its customers, shareholders, communities and employees.
In developing channel strategy, managers have two options to communicate value to their target customers:
"Push "strategies. The focus of communication is on the supplier's next immediate customer. Push
strategies are aimed at propelling the supplier's offerings through the channel. For example, some
manufacturers of overthe-counter (OTC) drugs and automotive paints do not promote these products
directly to ultimate consumers. Instead, they focus on the retailer or auto-repair shops, expecting these
channel firms to make the sale to the consumer. Channel firms that carry a variety of competing products
may favor push strategies because they permit promoting products that are most profitable to the channel
firm (the channel firm's customers frequently do not have strong preconceived preferences). Suppliers
often find push strategies less expensive to implement.
"Pull" strategies. The focus of communication is on the end customer or a channel member closer to the
end customer. Such strategies are aimed at pulling the supplier's offering through the distribution channel.
For example, Intel maintains brand preference by advertising its chips to end consumers with the "Intel
Inside®" campaign. The intent is to create a preference for computers with its chips-causing retailers to
favor Intelbased computers. Channel members benefit from pull strategies when customers are "presold"
for particular brands. Suppliers gain some control over channel firms because it is more difficult for
channel firms to switch customers to competing brands.
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