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Alcoa CEO tells RTI employees to ‘get ready for more business’
By Kalea Hall
NILES
During a recent plant tour at the RTI Niles Inc. facility, the CEO of Alcoa told employees to “get ready for more business.”
Klaus Kleinfeld noted that he was “impressed with the equipment that includes a lot of modern automation” at the plant that has been in operation since 1951.
An article on the visit featuring Kleinfeld’s comments was posted on Alcoa’s intranet site, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Kleinfeld said more business would be brought to the plant because of synergy opportunities that will result from Alcoa and RTI joining forces.
In early March, Alcoa announced a definitive $1.5 billion sale agreement with RTI International Metals Inc. of Pittsburgh. RTI’s headquarters was in Weathersfield Township until 2008.
The transaction has a value of $1.5 billion, including $330 million of RTI cash on hand and up to $517 million in RTI’s convertible notes.
The acquisition is expected to be completed in three to six months.
Alcoa employs 59,000 people in 30 countries. Expected areas of growth include the commercial aerospace sector. About 80 percent of RTI’s $794 million revenue in 2014 was from aerospace and defense industries.
RTI will bring the company more titanium capabilities and is expected to increase Alcoa’s nonaluminum downstream revenues by 64 percent.
Another Securities and Exchange Commission filing dated March 25 that was posted for RTI employees on an Alcoa-hosted Website answers questions for employees.
The filing says RTI will be integrated into Alcoa’s downstream business group, Engineered Products and Solutions, upon completion of the transaction.
“We anticipate many synergies within the new company, especially innovative concepts and solutions that neither of us could have developed separately,” the filing says.