Alcoa Releases Lighter, Brighter Wheel

Like your wheels bright? Then look no further…In March Alcoa announced that its Commercial Vehicle Wheels business has launched a new line of forged wheels that employ a new proprietary process. This process, says Alcoa, delivers not only the industry’s lightest forged aluminium wheel and even greater strength; it provides a finish on both sides that is six times brighter than any wheel in its class.

Alcoa’s new truck wheel line for fleets, owner/operators and original equipment manufacturers is called the LvL ONE. The manufacturer claims that products in the range can reduce individual truck weight from 600 to 1300 pounds (270 to 590 kilograms) versus steel options and up to 50 pounds (22.5 kilograms) compared with current aluminium wheel options. As a result, the new forged wheel line holds the potential directly reduce operating costs through reduced fuel consumption and increased payload.

“Our strategy in this downturn is to invest in technologies and innovations that benefit our customers,” said Alcoa Wheels and Transportation Products president, Kevin Kramer. “Built on the foundation of our 60-years of innovation heritage in this market, our new LvL ONE wheels are truly break-through.

“The term innovation is sometimes thrown around a lot, but in this instance it results in real benefits for the customer – lighter weight, less fuel and lower inventory costs; high strength, the brightest finish, and lead times that are half of what they were previously,” said Kramer. “We see customers who are using steel wheels saving immediately because of Alcoa LvL ONE wheels. Their savings begin on day one.”

As part of the introduction, Alcoa Commercial Vehicle Wheels has introduced cost analysis software that demonstrates how the LvL ONE forged aluminium wheel can improve performance and reduce costs. This interactive tool – the Alcoa Wheel Products CalcuLighter – allows fleets, OEMs and owner/operators to exactly determine potential savings achievable through reduced fuel consumption, increased payload, tyre life savings, trade-in/scrap value, warranty/maintenance costs, and potential carbon credits. The CalcuLighter can be found on the new Alcoa LvL ONE website at www.alcoawheels.com.