By establishing the Auto Aluminum Alliance, the Big Three domestic automakers and their largest aluminum suppliers have demonstrated once again the need for cooperation for the sake of progress.

Until now, aluminum companies have dealt with automakers and their requirements or challenges on a one-on-one basis. For example, there was Alcan Aluminium Corp.'s work with Ford Motor Co. on Ford's AIV (aluminum-intensive vehicle) research and development project, and Alcoa Inc.'s work with Chrysler Corp. (now DaimlerChrysler Corp.) on the Plymouth Prowler program.

Now, however, both of these aluminum companies and many others will be joining with the three domestic automakers to try to overcome some hurdles that have kept aluminum from gaining a lot more ground in automotive applications . . . hurdles that have limited its progress.

Because of the Auto Aluminum Alliance, General Motors Corp., Ford and DaimlerChrysler will have the help of numerous aluminum companies in clearing away technical and economic barriers to getting more aluminum into their vehicles. It's all part of the auto industry's efforts to put lighter-weight, more fuel-efficient and more environmentally friendly vehicles into the public's hands. The economic barriers that have to be brought down are those related primarily to manufacturing and design costs.

Cooperation by an entire industry isn't new. The steel and plastics industries have worked with the automakers for years through such consortia as the Auto/Steel Partnership (A/SP), the SMC Automotive Alliance and the Automotive Composites Consortium of the United States Council for Automotive Research (USCAR). The A/SP was established in 1987 and the two plastics groups in 1988.

Aluminum, the fastest-growing of all the major materials in autos, has caught up with plastics in the past couple of years and the two materials are now nearly on a par in a typical North American-built family vehicle. Most industry estimates for the plastics content in 1999 models are in a range of 240 to 250 pounds per vehicle, while most estimates for the aluminum content are in the 235- to 250-pound range. The rate of growth for plastics in autos has slowed in recent years, whereas the progress made by aluminum has been little short of stunning.

As the new alliance goes to work to try to meet a number of challenges from the automakers, the aluminum industry's progress may prove to be even greater than it's been up to now. As an initiative of USCAR's U.S. Automotive Materials Partnership (USAMP) and the Aluminum Association's Auto and Light Truck Group, the alliance's initial participants and agenda appear to be right for the times.

One of the first projects for alliance members will be to identify opportunities to reduce the cost of using aluminum sheet in cars and trucks. Another project that is more specific will be to improve the mass-reduction potential for-and manufacturing costs associated with-tailor welded aluminum blanks. According to Aluminum Association officials, this project also will focus on improving the dimensional quality and structural integrity of aluminum tailored blanks.

As part of another project involving scrap sorting, an alliance task force will work on developing a solution for the cost-effective recovery of aluminum from scrapped autos. Alliance members also will try to develop standardized test methods for evaluating aluminum sheet properties and performance data for product design, modeling and quality assurance. The alliance also will tackle the job of establishing an automotive aluminum repair advisory board to guide the dissemination, collection and development of aluminum automotive repair information. The new organization also will explore the potential for hydroforming aluminum components and for forming and assembling aluminum parts with electromagnetic force.

The new alliance will take on virtually all technical and economic challenges involved in applying aluminum to autos, hoping to pave the way to a bigger market for aluminum in the form of castings, extrusions, stampings, drawn and roll-formed components, welded and bonded subassemblies and forgings.

Aluminum executives acknowledge that cost is a "significant issue" for the continued growth for automotive aluminum, noting that aluminum is three to five times more expensive than automotive steel, pound for pound. That is why much of the work done by the alliance is expected to be in areas--including component design and manufacturing--that will bring the cost of finished aluminum parts into line with components made of other materials.

Members of the Aluminum Association's Auto and Light Truck Group helping to launch the new alliance are Alcan; Alcoa; Aluminum Precision Products, Santa Ana, Calif.; Arco Aluminum Inc., Louisville, KY.; Hydro Raufoss Automotive Inc., Holland, Mich.; Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp., Pleasanton, Calif.; Nichols Aluminum Co., Davenport, Iowa; Reynolds Metals Co., Richmond, Va.; V.A.W. of America Inc., St. Augustine, Fla.; and Wabash Alloys division, Wabash, Ind., of Connell LP.