July 15, 2008

MONTREAL, CANADA – The MAADI Group, Montreal, Canada, an engineering firm specializing in aluminum bridges and marine applications, announces its partnership with Alcoa Innovation, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to manufacture its patent-pending Make-A-Bridge™ aluminum modular bridge system. Alcoa will work closely with MAADI Group to develop the extrusion dies, production process, and fabrications required to meet stringent building and bridge code specifications.

The Quebec corridor, where Alcoa Innovation is working with MAADI Group, is known worldwide for technical expertise in the field aluminum. Activities in aluminum research, development, production, and processing are conducted to increase aluminum’s applications and add to its sustainable development momentum. Alain Boucher, Vice-President of Finance and Business Development for Alcoa Canada notes “We want Quebec enterprises in our industry to be better known throughout the world… by pooling our expertise and imagination, we will succeed in procuring a very brilliant future for Quebec.”

Make-A-Bridge product development is supported by the Industrial Research Center of Quebec (Centre quebecois de recherche et de developpement de l’aluminium (CQRDA), and the Centre de recherche industrielle du Quebec (CRIQ), which will lend mechanical and environmental testing labs and production equipment development expertise to the partnership between Alcoa and MAADI Group.

Alcoa Innovation is currently working with MAADI Group to develop the prototype, production process and equipment to manufacture the Make-A-Bridge system for a variety of commercial, industrial, and outdoor infrastructure applications. Alcoa Innovation is headed by Gilles Dufour, Director of Technology and Innovation at Alcoa Canada Primary Metals (ACPM).

For more information on the MAADI Group/Alcoa Innovation partnership on the Make-A-Bridge product, contact MAADI Group, Alex de la Chevrotière, alex@maadigroup.com, Tel: 514.871.0179 or 866.688.2587.