Shining Example

Though its use has increased fourfold in the last decade, aluminum is still far from its peak of usefulness. To push it toward the peak, Aluminum Co. of America, which produces nearly half of all U.S. aluminum, last week offered U.S. industry a shining example of how to use it as an all-purpose metal.

The example, which Alcoa hailed as "the greatest single application ever achieved in the building trades," was its giant new $30 million rolling mill at Davenport, Iowa. Built in 18 months and nearly ready to start production (of extra-wide sheeting), the mill squats over 47 acres along the banks of the Mississippi River.

Except for 25,000 tons of structural steel framework (which were thoroughly coated with bright aluminum paint), almost the whole plant is made of aluminum --three miles of wall paneling, 2,000,000 square feet of roof sheeting, 500,000 square feet of window sash, 1,340 miles of wiring, 98 miles of conduit and 6,800 lighting fixtures, all surrounded by the longest aluminum fence (four miles) ever made. Even the 112 workers' homes outside the fence are built of aluminum.

Alcoa says that its own product was used in the new plant only where tests proved it to have definite advantages over other materials. In the case of aluminum v. steel, one disadvantage is higher cost. But Alcoa claims that, because it is easier to erect (it is much lighter) and cheaper to maintain (it is much more resistant to rust), it is worth the difference.

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