Alcoa to develop energy-efficient fuel tanker trailers with CIMC

Alcoa, the world leader in aluminum, and CIMC Vehicles Co. Ltd., a leading specialty truck manufacturer in China, announced that they have formed a strategic partnership to design and develop a new energy-efficient aluminum fuel tanker trailer for the Asian market. CIMC Vehicles (Group) Co. Ltd. is wholly owned by China International Marine Containers (Group) Co. Ltd. (CIMC), the world’s largest container manufacturer. Kevin Kramer, president, Alcoa Growth Initiatives, and Xiaoxu Liu, general manager, CIMC Shandong, formalized the partnership in Jinan City, Shandong Province. Alcoa will apply its world-class design, engineering and manufacturing expertise with CIMC Shandong’s fabrication knowledge to produce the lightweight, environmentally-friendly tanker trailer. According to Kramer, “the aluminum fuel tanker trailer will be 30% lighter than conventional stainless steel trailers, resulting in a significant increase in payload, greater fuel savings and lower emissions.” The combination of lightweight aluminum production and lower fuel costs of the tank trailer results in a total CO2 savings of 90 tons per trailer over the lifespan of each vehicle. The first prototype is expected to be road tested in Jinan City and Beijing in October 2009. (July 28, 2009)