Alcoa and Alcoa Foundation Contribute Funding and State-of-the Art Building Materials for New United States Diplomacy Center in Washington, D.C.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--At an official groundbreaking in Washington, D.C. today, Alcoa (NYSE:AA) and Alcoa Foundation announced a combined financial and in-kind donation of $600,000 to help The State Department build a new visitor center and diplomacy museum in Washington, dedicated to promoting an understanding of U.S. diplomacy and honoring the service of U.S. diplomats throughout history. The U.S. Diplomacy Center, to be built at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., is scheduled to open to the public in Fall 2014 with interactive exhibits, artifacts, hands-on education programs, diplomatic simulations and speakers from the Foreign Service community.

“Alcoa also will take pride in contributing some of the most innovative building and construction products on the market today to enhance the aesthetics, safety, security and environmental performance of this exciting and important destination.”

“Alcoa has seen firsthand how great diplomacy and trust building can directly benefit our ability to grow our business by offering a significant network that we can build on to pave a path to economic, social and cultural progress. The U.S. Diplomacy Center presents a huge opportunity to help educate people around the world about the importance of engagement and relationship building in commerce,” said Alcoa Chairman and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld. “Alcoa also will take pride in contributing some of the most innovative building and construction products on the market today to enhance the aesthetics, safety, security and environmental performance of this exciting and important destination.”

Alcoa Building & Construction Systems is donating Kawneer Clearwall® curtain wall and Reynobond® panels valued at $500,000. The curtain wall, which boasts high North American performance standards for seismic and severe weather resistance, will hold the glass in place on the exterior of the Center, and Reynobond panels, which also meet the Government’s strict quality requirements, will be installed on the interior.

Made with a highly corrosion-resistant, strong yet flexible and lightweight material, Reynobond panels also contain a high percentage of recycled content. Kawneer’s innovative curtain wall system with a breakthrough glass retaining mechanism will ultimately help the Center be more energy efficient and deliver a sleek all-glass appearance to the building.

Alcoa Foundation is contributing $100,000 to the Diplomatic Simulation Program’s “issue station” focused on the environment to engage students in interactive exercises that demonstrate how the State Department’s diplomats preserve natural resources, including oceans and fisheries, and address climate change by negotiating, ratifying, and enforcing treaties and agreements.

The non-partisan effort to build the U.S. Diplomacy Center has been supported by all living former Secretaries of State, Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton and a public-private partnership between the U.S. Department of State and the Foreign Affairs Museum Council.

About Alcoa

Alcoa is the world’s leading producer of primary and fabricated aluminum, as well as the world’s largest miner of bauxite and refiner of alumina. In addition to inventing the modern-day aluminum industry, Alcoa innovation has been behind major milestones in the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation, consumer electronics and industrial markets over the past 125 years. Among the solutions Alcoa markets are flat-rolled products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, as well as Alcoa® wheels, fastening systems, precision and investment castings, and building systems in addition to its expertise in other light metals such as titanium and nickel-based super alloys. Sustainability is an integral part of Alcoa’s operating practices and the product design and engineering it provides to customers. Alcoa has been a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for 11 consecutive years and approximately 75 percent of all of the aluminum ever produced since 1888 is still in active use today. Alcoa employs approximately 61,000 people in 30 countries across the world. For more information, visit www.alcoa.com and follow @Alcoa on Twitter at twitter.com/Alcoa.

About Alcoa Foundation

Alcoa Foundation is one of the largest corporate foundations in the U.S., with assets of approximately US$460 million. Founded 60 years ago, Alcoa Foundation has invested more than US$570 million since 1952. In 2012, Alcoa Foundation contributed more than US$21 million to nonprofit organizations throughout the world, building innovative partnerships to improve the environment and educate tomorrow’s leaders for careers in manufacturing and engineering. The work of Alcoa Foundation is further enhanced by Alcoa’s thousands of employee volunteers who share their talents and time to make a difference in the communities where Alcoa operates. Through the Company’s signature Month of Service program, in 2012, a record 60 percent of Alcoa employees took part in more than 1,050 events across 24 countries, benefiting more than 450,000 people and 2,050 nonprofit organizations. For more information, visit www.alcoafoundation.com and follow @AlcoaFoundation on Twitter.