On Monday, Alcoa (AA) announced that its Alcoa Fastening Systems (AFS) subsidiary has signed a strategic technology and commercial cooperation agreement with Commercial Aircraft of China.
The Chinese company, commonly referred to by the acronym "COMAC," is the maker of one of the first of a new batch of homegrown commercial airliners in China -- the C919, sized to compete with Airbus' A320 and Boeing's (BA 1.51%) venerable 737. Alcoa says that by partnering with COMAC -- as it has already in the past -- "reinforces Alcoa's presence in one of the world's fastest-growing aerospace markets."
AFS President Vitaliy Rusakov characterized its relationship with COMAC as that of "a key partner ... in the development and production of its commercial C919 aircraft." In a statement, AFS clarified that it will provide the Chinese company "technical assistance in fastener and assembly tooling selection, joint design consideration, and quality system management," including assistance with "engineering, design, and training.
In return, it expects to sell COMAC a lot of fasteners for the new plane.
Alcoa shares, however, didn't respond as expected to the announcement, actually declining 1.4% to end the day at $8.90.
