Alcoa will install an advanced recycling and casting process that will reduce energy consumption as part of a $21 million expansion of B&C Research, part of the company’s Wheel and Transportation Products business. The investment will create 30 full-time jobs and help protect more than 350 existing positions. The new 35,000-square-foot facility in Barberton, Ohio, will use new technology to produce billet from remelted scrap aluminum. The aluminum billet will then be used to make new wheels. The expansion is scheduled to be completed in the second half of 2012.

Alcoa’s aluminum wheels reduce the overall weight of the vehicle, which significantly improves fuel efficiency. The new advanced recycling and casting process is more efficient than conventional systems, lowering Alcoa’s carbon footprint through a 25% reduction in energy consumption.