Alcoa gets certified for heat treatment, ultrasonic testing

Alcoa on November 27 announced it has received the National Aerospace and Defence Contractors Accreditation Program’s (NADCAP) approval for ultrasonic inspection and heat-treated forged products at its Samara manufacturing facility in Russia. NADCAP is an industry-managed accreditation program designed to develop a global aerospace industry supplier base with world-class quality control for special processes.

The Samara plant became the second Russian production facility to acquire the right to enter the world aerospace market and work with such customers as Airbus and Boeing. Alcoa’s Belaya Kalitva heat-treated sheet and plate received NADCAP approval this past summer.

The NADCAP certification audit was conducted in two stages. The first included certification of the heat treatment process, pyrometry and laboratory tests at Samara Forging Production. The second stage included certification of the ultrasonic testing procedures, which are particularly important for aerospace products.

Alcoa Russia president Bill O’Rourke, said, “We have made considerable progress in a relatively short time period in order to achieve this milestone. We placed a great deal of emphasis on achieving the certification in light of the Memorandum of Understanding between Alcoa and United Aircraft Corporation as well as in our serving aerospace leaders such as Airbus and Boeing. The next stage is to go through final certification with Airbus and Boeing.”

Alcoa is the world's leading producer and manager of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum and alumina facilities, and is active in all major aspects of the industry. Alcoa serves the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation and industrial markets, bringing design, engineering, production and other capabilities of Alcoa's businesses to customers. In addition to aluminum products and components including flat-rolled products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, Alcoa also markets Alcoa wheels, fastening systems, precision and investment castings, structures and building systems. The company has 116,000 employees in 44 countries.