Newsroom

AIA Commends President Obama on Alcoa Visit

June 28, 2011

President Obama’s visit to Alcoa in Davenport, Iowa, highlights the importance of aerospace and high-technology manufacturing to our nation.

“We were pleased to hear the president acknowledge the importance of Alcoa to our industry from the early flights of the Wright Brothers to our missions in space and protecting our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq today,” said AIA President and CEO Marion C. Blakey. “Alcoa shares a rich heritage of supporting our nation with other members of the Aerospace Industries Association.”

The aerospace industry is a bedrock of our nation’s security and competitiveness with sales of $214.5 billion, a workforce of 624,000 and exports of $77.5 billion. The industry’s $51.2 billion trade balance is the largest of any manufacturing sector.

“We welcome President Obama’s emphasis on the role of our industry in job creation and export growth,” Blakey added. “And, as the president said, our competitiveness is dependent on the best workers having the best equipment, which requires investment in a world-class education system and cutting-edge innovation. We hope he takes the opportunity to visit more of our plants in the future.”

Products made in Alcoa’s Davenport, Iowa factory are incorporated into a wide variety of aerospace and defense systems, such as commercial aircraft made by Boeing, military aircraft made by Lockheed Martin and missile technology made by Raytheon.