That kind of company and project integrity extends to Alcoa's outreach with any community it enters, with its foundation and leaders already involved in various social, environmental and education programs in the immediate Farmington Hills area. Chuck Holmes, longtime economic

Alcoa Automotive's consolidation of seven business units under one roof has occurred on one of the last remaining undeveloped parcels in Farmington Hills, Mich.

development professional with the city of Detroit, is now economic development coordinator for the City of Farmington Hills. He says the 30-year-old city's unique blend of zoning uses, combined with fiscal discipline and a nearly 10-percent tax advantage vs. nearby communities, helped make the decision easier.
      The strategic impetus for the business unit marriage has never been stronger. Aluminum and steel are sparring over every part of the automobile, and, according to the Wall Street Journal, aluminum's share has grown steadily over the past decade from 140 pounds to 300 pounds per car, with $5 billion in sales for the continent's aluminum manufacturers. (That compares to $15 billion in domestic steel sales.) Alcoa aims to double by 2010 its $2.8 billion in 2003 automotive sales, which represented 13 percent of overall Alcoa sales.
      In one sense, the battle against steel comes down to the costs of two energy streams: the huge amount it takes to process aluminum, and the lesser amount it takes to propel a lighter-weight vehicle. Alcoa's new center is doing its part by blending internal energies — and counting on its multi-layered customer focus to propel the whole company's results.