China / News

Metal firm renamed after acquisition

By Ding Congrong (China Daily) Updated: 2015-06-12 12:29

After being acquired by global aluminum producer Alcoa in March, TITAL (Nantong) Co, a subsidiary of TITAL, a German manufacturer of titanium and aluminum structural castings for aircraft engines and airframes, was renamed Alcoa Power and Propulsion TITAL Nantong on June 2.

Alcoa, a global leader in lightweight metals technology, engineering and manufacturing headquartered in New York, announced it had completed its acquisition of TITAL on March 3.

TITAL (Nantong) Co, TITAL’s only wholly owned subsidiary in China, was founded in the Nantong Economic and Technological Development Zone in 2012.

The acquisition gives Alcoa titanium casting capabilities in Europe and expands the company’s aluminum casting capacity, said Philipp Jerusalem, chairman of Alcoa Power and Propulsion TITAL Nantong.

TITAL’s strong connections to European engine and aircraft manufacturers, including Airbus, SNECMA and Rolls-Royce, will enhance Alcoa’s customer relationships in the region and beyond, he said.

Alcoa’s titanium revenue is expected to increase by 70 percent over the next five years, he added.

Alcoa's overseas facility. [Provided to China Daily]

“We are combining two leading, innovation-driven businesses to continue increasing Alcoa’s highly differentiated content in the world’s bestselling airplanes and jet engines,” said Olivier Jarrault, executive vice-president of Alcoa and group president of Alcoa Engineered Products and Solutions.

“This transaction supports our strategy of creating a more profitable future by growing our value-added businesses. Through these efforts, Alcoa will continue delivering greater sustainable value for our customers, employees and shareholders,” he said.

In 2014, TITAL generated revenues of about $100 million, more than half of which came from titanium products.

The Alcoa Foundation, one of the largest corporate foundations in the United States, donated $25,000 to the No 1 Primary School Attached to Nantong Normal College on June 2.

Alcoa Power and Propulsion TITAL Nantong launched a one-year cooperation project with the school that aims to improve the students’ awareness of environmental protection and encourage scientific innovation through activities such as science exhibitions, invention contests and environmental protection camps.

Since 1993, when Alcoa launched its operations in China, the company has been the largest multinational investor in China’s aluminum industry.

During the past two decades, Alcoa has helped China’s economic and social development and is committed to providing high-quality products and value-added services.

Located at the Yangtze River’s mouth to the Yellow Sea and with Shanghai to its south, Nantong boasts unique geographic advantages that have attracted 62 Global Fortune 500 companies, ranking it top among all cities in Jiangsu province. These companies have launched 97 projects in the city.

With an improving investment environment and government services, the city has attracted direct foreign investment of $28 billion.

From January to April this year, $876 million in foreign capital was spent in the city, up 1 percent year-on-year.

Nantong boasts great potential for development and will become more appealing to foreign investors thanks to its unique geographic advantages and favorable national and local investment policies, said Gu Shuying, director of the city’s commerce bureau.

Asahi Kasei Group, a Japanese chemical company and a Global Fortune 500 enterprise that has had a presence in Nantong since December 2005, invested $63 million in a waterborne resin coating project in the Nantong Economic and Technological Development Area.

The project was put into operation on June 2 and is expected to promote the development of the city’s new materials industry and upgrade the industrial structure.

The Nantong factory will further expand its operations and tap into new markets, according to the company.