164 New Buses for Moscow and St. Petersburg to be built with Alcan Engineered Products aluminium lightweight EcoRange(R) technology

PARIS, France, April 28 /PRNewswire/ - Alcan Extrusions and Automotive Structures, part of Alcan Engineered Products - a business unit of Rio Tinto, has received orders from VOLGABUS of Volzhsky, Russia, for 164 units of the EcoRange(R) system for the Moscow and St. Petersburg bus operators who have ordered 82 buses each. Alcan is supplying all of the aluminium extrusions and joining elements for the production of the low emission city buses. Deliveries will take place from May to September 2010.

In 2006 VOLGABUS and Rio Tinto Alcan have signed a cooperation agreement for the development of a new bus family based on the EcoRange(R) system. Since then VOLGABUS has built more than 400 buses with EcoRange(R) body structures for the Russian market. VOLGABUS, founded in 1995, made innovation a cornerstone of its business philosophy and has quickly become a well-known force in the Russian bus market.

"We are very pleased that Moscow and St Petersburg have selected buses from VOLGABUS with our innovative aluminium EcoRange(R) body structure system," said Paul Warton, president Alcan Extrusions and Automotive Structures. "Due to its high-end technical characteristics, it offers multiple benefits to bus builders and operators," he added.

The lightweight EcoRange(R) body will help to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. For enhanced passengers safety the EcoRange(R) body structure includes two aluminium rollover rings.

The EcoRange(R) body structure system, developed by Alcan Extrusions and Automotive Structures, includes high-performance aluminium extrusions and aluminium bolted connections for fast and easy assembly.

The 14.7m long, 3-axle buses will have three doors and are designed for a capacity of 173 passengers. The buses will be powered by a Deutz 210 kW engine with ZF gear box and ZF axles. VOLGABUS will start production of the buses in May in its bus plant in the Volgograd region and delivery to Moscow and St Petersburg will take place until September 2010.

About Alcan Extrusions and Automotive Structures

Alcan Extrusions is a key player in the European market, focusing on specialty products. It supplies a variety of hard and soft alloy extrusions, including technically advanced products, to the automotive, industrial, energy, electrical and building industries, and to manufacturers of mass transport vehicles and shipbuilders It has production facilities in France, Germany, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Automotive Structures serves major automotive and transportation manufacturers with advanced technology, develops and manufactures aluminum crash management systems, front-end components, cockpit carriers and body-in-white structural components. It serves customers in Europe, North America and China with innovative and cost-effective aluminum solutions.

About Alcan Engineered Products

Alcan Engineered Products is a global sector-leader strongly committed to developing innovative, value-added aluminium products for a broad range of markets and applications, including aerospace, mass transportation, automotive, packaging, energy and building. With around 11,000 employees located in over 27 countries and a commercial presence in more than 60 markets worldwide, Alcan Engineered Products is organised around businesses dedicated to performance materials in the areas of aluminium rolled products, extrusions and automotive structures, aluminium cable and international trade. Alcan Engineered Products is headquartered in Paris, France.

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the UK, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and NYSE listed company, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Rio Tinto's business is finding, mining, and processing mineral resources. Major products are aluminium, copper, diamonds, energy (coal and uranium), gold, industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide, salt, talc) and iron ore. Activities span the world but are strongly represented in Australia and North America with significant businesses in South America, Asia, Europe and southern Africa.

SOURCE RIO TINTO ALCAN - EN