One of the Quad Cities' largest employers will spend $190 million to improve the strength of its products. Yesterday, Alcoa announced it will expand the Davenport Works and add a new manufacturing process.
Andrea Douglas, a spokeswoman from the Riverdale plant, says Alcoa's goal is to increase its customers base in aerospace and other industries. Next year, she says the company will install a piece of equipment called a "very thick plate stretcher."
The thick plate stretcher will make it easier to produce very large and strong aluminum parts for jets and other products. For example, the thick plate will be used to make ribs in airplane wings and fuselage frames.
The new process at the Davenport Works will also be used to make molds for parts used in electronics and semiconductors.
Douglas says Alcoa plans to install the new equipment next year. Eventually, it should help the factory retain jobs and add 150 contracting jobs. The company has already spent 300 million dollars on expanding its automotive line, which created 150 jobs.
The Davenport Works employs 25-hundred people, and Alcoa has 60 locations in 30 countries.