1 / 23

Research & Development: Learning from the past, Shaping the future

Research & Development: Learning from the past, Shaping the future. Richard B. Evans President and CEO, Alcan Inc. Aluminum Association Spring Meeting Montreal, April 25, 2006. 1886 Discovery of the electrolytic aluminum process. Canadian subsidiary. Pittsburgh Reduction. algroup. Pechiney.

lotus
Download Presentation

Research & Development: Learning from the past, Shaping the future

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Research & Development:Learning from the past,Shaping the future Richard B. EvansPresident and CEO, Alcan Inc.Aluminum Association Spring Meeting Montreal, April 25, 2006

  2. 1886Discovery of the electrolytic aluminum process Canadian subsidiary Pittsburgh Reduction algroup Pechiney ALCAN ALCOA 2000 acquisition 2003 acquisition ALCAN Alcan linked to earliest aluminum R&D experts European acquisitions link Alcan to Paul Héroult Alcoa roots link Alcan to Charles Martin Hall ©2006 ALCAN INC. 3

  3. Aluminum: young and omnipresent Produced commercially for only 118 years, aluminum dominates today’s non-ferrous metal production ©2006 ALCAN INC. 4

  4. Quality R&DVision of future needs + From “art” to technology solutions Competitive advantage ©2006 ALCAN INC. 5

  5. Fifty years ago, Söderberg looked good… If we knew then what we know today, would we have embraced Söderberg? ©2006 ALCAN INC. 6

  6. Aluminum-Lithium: 1970s solution for aerospace market … but lower energy prices made Al-Li less appealing ©2006 ALCAN INC. 7

  7. Automotive industry was not ready for AIV Aluminum industry subsidized wholesale automotive applications ©2006 ALCAN INC. 8

  8. Alcan Enterprises: ’80s view of the future Not all our R&D failures have been limited toaluminum ©2006 ALCAN INC. 9

  9. Future does not always deliver… The key question is: “What makes the difference between success and failure?” ©2006 ALCAN INC. 10

  10. Most advanced technology in the business Breakthroughs across four generations of clean, reliable technology ©2006 ALCAN INC. 11

  11. Ongoing advances in heat-treatable alloys A380 Airbus 10% weight reduction = Savings of 90,000 tonnes of aviation fuel/aircraft = Reduction of 300,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions ©2006 ALCAN INC. 12

  12. Light-weighting part-by-part Light-weighting by increments more successful than wholesale change ©2006 ALCAN INC. 13

  13. Automotive industry Weighted Average Light Vehicle Aluminum Content for North America, Europe and Japan 3.6% CAGR 5% CAGR Pounds Per Vehicle Source: Ducker report December 2005 ©2006 ALCAN INC. 14

  14. Automotive industry 2006 Light Vehicle Aluminum Content 50% SUVs and Pickup Trucks 5% SUVs and Pickup Trucks 20% SUVs and Pickup Trucks Average Curb Weight 7.74% Aluminum 259.28 lb/v 7.18% Aluminum 251.33 lb/v 7.97% Aluminum 318.7 lb/v Source: Ducker report December 2005 ©2006 ALCAN INC. 15

  15. 2002 2006 Automotive industry 2002 Versus 2006 Content by Region for All Components other than Powertrain, Driveline, Wheels and Heat Exchangers This comparison highlights why Europe is the worldwide leader in the use of aluminum for new innovative applications of aluminum in light vehicles. Pounds Per Vehicle Source: Ducker report December 2005 ©2006 ALCAN INC. 16

  16. Automotive industry Aluminum Closure Content Per Light Vehicle North America and Europe were close to the same inthe year 2000, but Europe has nearly twice the content of North America today. Japan could be close to North America by the end of the decade. Pounds Per Vehicle Source: Ducker report December 2005 ©2006 ALCAN INC. 17

  17. The Big Three: energy, GHGs and globalization These factors will drive the next decade’s R&D efforts ©2006 ALCAN INC. 18

  18. Discontinuous change drives R&D Energy prices can take existing designs and technologies from sub-optimal to obsolete ©2006 ALCAN INC. 19

  19. Perception of global warming has impact 1928 Whether you agree or not, enough do agree to justify extensive work on R&D solutions 2004 ©2006 ALCAN INC. 20

  20. Technology, not politics or economy, drives globalization Globalization stimulates innovation in several important ways ©2006 ALCAN INC. 21

  21. Bright future for industry’s innovators Evolving through new processes, products, and technologies ©2006 ALCAN INC. 22

  22. ©2006 ALCAN INC. 23

More Related