Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Acquires Privately Held Traco

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) announced today it has acquired window and door maker Traco. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

Traco was launched in 1943 and serves the commercial construction and building market. It'll join the building and construction systems unit of Alcoa.

Although this is obviously a cyclical business Alcoa has acquired, as it is completely dependent on the equally cyclical construction industry, it is a good move for the long term, as eventually the construction market will rebound, and with other recent moves by Alcoa, once it does, they have a number of businesses ready to flourish.

Other deals Alcoa has made are a recent joint venture with JSC United Shipbuilding Corporation of Russia, beginning construction on the Saudi Maaden joint venture, valued at about $10.8 billion.

They've also cut back on can-sheet volumes, saying it wasn't a profitable business for them.

Although near-term prospects for Alcoa are somewhat bleak, they are doing a lot of good things for when there is a sustainable economic rebound, but that seems to be farther off than originally thought.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Signs Russian Shipbuilding Deal

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) signed a deal with the state-owned Russian shipbuilder JSC to supply aluminum for its ships.

JSC, or JSC United Shipbuilding Corp., is the largest holder of assets related to building or repairing ships in Russia, said Alcoa, who signed the deal with them in St. Petersburg at an economic forum.

Part of the deal will be to aid in building out the shipbuilding market in Russia, which could be a good long-term deal for Alcoa, which has struggled to open up new markets and generate new demand for aluminum, which has plunged in price as demand has largely dried up since the recession began.

Alcoa has been doing business in Russia since 1998, and has acquired two aluminum plants in the country, while spending $750 million to upgrade them.