Alcoa introduces 4 new wheels at IAA

Alcoa Wheel Products Europe has introduced four new wheels for truck and trailer applications at the IAA trade show in Hannover, Germany. The fitments comprise: 22.5×11.75”, 45mm offset wheel for inloaders; a 22.5×11.75”, 80mm offset wheel; 22.5×11.75”, 135mm offset and five ton load index; and a 22.5×13.00” lighter wheel with higher load capacity.

The 22.5×11.75” wheel with 45mm offset is specifically designed for the transportation of glass and concrete elements. It weighs 25kg and is available with Ø 26mm and Ø 32 mm mounting holes. It will be available in Alcoa’s brushed, mirror polished and dura-bright finishes at Faymonville and Langendorf and Alcoa distributors this year. Alcoa says it is the first and only aluminium wheel manufacturer to offer this particular fitment.

The 22.5×11.75”, 80mm offset wheel has been developed with SAF-HOLLAND to provide a new trailer fitment for the SAF 80 ONE axle. Alcoa suggests the axle/wheel combination provides a weight reduction of 178kg for a 3-axle trailer. The new wheel weighs 31.3kg and is available with Ø 26mm mounting holes in the company’s three finishes.

The 22.5×11.75”, 135mm offset wheel has a 5,000kg load capacity for trucks’ front steer axles. The new wheel weighs 25.8kg and is available with Ø 26mm mounting holes in the three aforementioned finished and dura-flange. Rim flanges are engineered to a unified rim flange design, allowing them to accommodate both adhesive and clip-on balancing weights. The new FrontRunner is interchangeable with the current wheels and passed European LBF Eurocycle tests, as well as SAE J267 wheels/rim truck tests successfully. From mid-August onwards Scania Trucks switched completely from the FrontRunner with 4,500kg load capacity to the new wheel with 5,000kg load capacity.

Alcoa Wheel Products Europe has a new 22.5×13.00” trailer wheel in its portfolio, which, at 25.2kg, is 2.1kg lighter, as well as a load rate of 5,500kg – 300kg more than the current wheel. The new wheel will be available from 6 August, 2012 in brushed and dura-bright finishes.

Alcoa joins Sustainable Transportation Charter

The Alcoa Wheels and Transportation Products business announced that it has joined the Sustainable Development Charter of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP). The UITP, an organization with a 125-year history, is an international network for public transport and a global advocate of sustainable mobility and a promoter of innovations in the transportation sector. Alcoa Wheels and Transportation Products president, Tim Myers and UITP secretary-general, Alain Flausch signed the UITP Sustainable Development Charter at the IAA Commercial Vehicles conference.

While Alcoa has been a member of the UITP since 2009, the Sustainable Development Charter is specifically dedicated to increasing awareness of the importance of sustainability within the transportation sector. The Charter’s more than 150 global members commit to monitor, measure and to report on their own sustainability performance, while sharing best practices with fellow members.

“Alcoa is very proud to join the UITP Sustainable Development Charter as it underscores our dedication to sustainability and environmental excellence, while also helping us to further these values within the transportation industry,” said Myers. “In addition to our own sustainability commitment, Alcoa aluminum wheels also help our customers to reach their own sustainability goals by making trucks and buses lighter so they use less fuel and reduce carbon emissions.”

In May 2012, Alcoa announced that its global line of aluminum wheels were Cradle to Cradle certified at the Silver level, making them the first products in the transportation industry to receive this recognition of environmentally sound production processes. For 10 consecutive years, Alcoa has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI), one of the most highly recognized and long-standing global sustainability indexes. Inclusion in the DJSI is based on an in-depth analysis of the company’s economic, environmental and social aspects with a focus on long-term development and corporate value.