Alcan's Voreppe Research centre celebrates its 40th anniversary

Alcan today celebrated the 40th anniversary of its Voreppe R&D centre (CRV) in the Rhône-Alpes region of France. The ceremony, which took place at the R&D centre, commemorated the four-decade-long contributions of CRV to the aluminum industry and scientific community.

Christel Bories, President and CEO of Alcan Engineered Products attended the celebration and noted: "I am proud to be here with so many CRV employees and the scientific community to celebrate the accomplishments of a research and development centre that has been so important to the past and future of both Alcan and France. The expertise and hard work of CRV's employees has been a great asset for Alcan in the past, and will prove to be instrumental for Alcan's growth in the future."

Through its 40-year history, CRV has developed into a world-class R&D centre with a track record of leading-edge developments in aluminum alloys and processes. The site hosts units focused on further developing Alcan's smelting technologies and the development of innovative and sustainable products and solutions for a wide range of Alcan's customers.

"Our Technology and Innovation department is a key lever of our sustainable growth strategy and a reliable forward-looking constituent of Alcan Engineered Products," said Rod Jones, Vice President, Technology and Innovation, Alcan Engineered Products and President, CRV.

Voreppe is also the entry point for many future business leaders, as CRV along with its sister site in Neuhausen, Switzerland leverages local university networks and global technology centres to recruit young talented professionals.

"Alcan's CRV centre in Voreppe, is a key component in the Company's R&D initiative that was announced in December 2006. Along with other centres in the Rhône-Alpes region and Canada, CRV will enable Alcan to aggressively pursue breakthrough technologies, reinforcing France's importance to Alcan and solidifying the Company's position as the world's leader for aluminum smelting technologies," stated Claude Vanvoren, Vice-President, Technology, Research and Development, Alcan Primary Metal Group.

Alcan Inc. (NYSE, TSX: AL) is a leading global materials company, delivering high quality products and services worldwide. With world-class technology and operations in bauxite mining, alumina processing, primary metal smelting, power generation, aluminum fabrication, engineered solutions as well as flexible and specialty packaging today's Alcan is well positioned to meet and exceed its customers' needs. Alcan is represented by 68,000 employees, including its joint-ventures, in 61 countries and regions, and posted revenues of US$23.6 billion in 2006. The Company has featured on the Dow JonesSustainability World Index consecutively since 2003.