NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. aluminium company Alcoa Inc (NYS:AA) has formed a joint venture with Russia's VSMPO-Avisma Corp (MCX:VSMO), the world's No. 1 titanium producer, to develop high-end aerospace products to feed growing demand from the sector, Alcoa said on Tuesday. <\/p>\n
The two firms will collaborate on manufacturing high-specification products, such as landing gear and forged wing components, at Alcoa's Samara facility in Russia, where it makes flat-rolled products, forgings and hard alloy extrusions. <\/p>\n
Few other details were available, although a statement said the new venture is expected to be operational in 2016. <\/p>\n
The news comes as Alcoa shifts its focus downstream to value-added aluminium products, aimed at the aerospace and automotive sectors, as it cuts its exposure to weak primary metal prices. <\/p>\n
In the Samara venture, VSMPO will increase output and gain access to forging equipment, marking the company's continued shift towards value-added products, general director Mikhail Voevodin said in the statement. <\/p>\n
Alcoa has previously projected the aerospace market will grow by 9 percent to 10 percent this year. While the outlook for aerospace industry growth is encouraging, the race to produce high-strength, lightweight and low-cost materials in planes has accelerated and the global aluminium industry is facing intense competition from new carbon composites in aerospace. <\/p>\n
The move comes after Alcoa expanded its aluminium lithium capacity in the United Kingdom earlier this year. The firm is also building a new U.S. facility in Indiana to produce 20,000 tonnes per year of aluminium lithium. <\/p>\n
Aluminium lithium alloy is used in forgings, sheet and plate applications in airplane wings and fuselage components. Alcoa says it is more fuel efficient and lower-cost than carbon composites. <\/p>\n
The Indiana facility is expected to come onstream by the end of next year. <\/p>\n
(Reporting by Josephine Mason; Editing by Phil Berlowitz) <\/p>\n
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