Alcoa Honors 16 Suppliers for Top UBC Quality

Alcoa Rigid Packaging, one of Alcoa's largest business units, announced the selection of 16 companies to receive Alcoa UBC Supplier Quality Awards for shipments of outstanding quality used beverage containers in 2002. Suppliers are nominated by Alcoa Recycling Co. and Anheuser-Busch Recycling.

The winners include:

Abitibi Consolidated -- Phoenix Recycling Division, Chandler, AZ

Alter Trading, Davenport, IA

Belleville Recycling, Belleville, IL

Can Pac Recycling, Omaha, NE

Cash A Can, Council Bluffs, IA

Consolidated Recycling Corporation, Worcester, MA

Cooper Recycling, Livingston, TN

J.T. Knight, Inc., Columbus, GA

L. Knife and Son, Inc., Kingston, MA

Material Recycling, Inc., Evansville, IN

Mid America Recycling, Des Moines, IA

Morristown Iron and Metals, Inc., Morristown, TN

Pepsi of Olean, Olean, NY

Quality Beverage, Taunton, MA

T & T Recycling, Hurst, IL

Union Beer Distributor, Inc., Brooklyn, NY

Demonstrating a true dedication to outstanding UBC quality are six repeat winners. They are: Abitibi Consolidated, Consolidated Recycling Corporation, L. Knife & Son, Morristown Iron and Metals, Mid America Recycling and Quality Beverage. L. Knife and Abitibi Consolidated are four-time winners.

The Alcoa UBC Supplier Quality Awards spotlight the importance of high quality UBCs in the remelting process and in eliminating potential hazards for employees.

According to Bryan Steverson, chairman of the Alcoa Rigid Packaging UBC quality committee, consistency is key. "These firms treat every load of UBCs as their most important load. They are dedicated to providing clean, dry UBCs that are virtually free of moisture, dirt, glass, plastic and other materials," he said. "They serve as a standard for the nearly 2,000 companies who ship UBCs to Alcoa, and we applaud their hard work and focus," Steverson said.

The elimination of contaminants from UBC shipments has a direct impact on the quality and cost of recycled aluminum cans as well as the safety of employees