Health and Safety Intern

Arconic Foundation helps eliminate medical debt. By: QCBJ News Staff | July 28, 2026 The Arconic Foundation, through a partnership with national nonprofit Undue Medical Debt, has helped abolish nearly $30 million in medical debt for communities near Arconic facilities in Iowa, Pennsylvania, Indiana, New York, and Tennessee. (The Arconic Davenport Works in Riverdale employs about 2,500 workers.) Individuals who qualified received a letter in Undue Medical Debt-branded envelopes recently, letting them know some or all their medical debt is gone. Undue Medical Debt uses a unique method to tackle the healthcare crisis around medical debt. Undue buys large bundles of delinquent medical bills at steep discounts from hospitals, health systems, and other providers, as well as the secondary market, for pennies on the dollar. Instead of collecting on the debts, it simply eliminates them, providing immediate relief to those in need. Arconic Foundation funded this relief through an investment of $200,000. "While many people recognize the medical debt crisis and the burden it places on families, Undue Medical Debt is leading with bold action to help people and is quietly changing lives," said Ryan Kish, Arconic Foundation president. "Undue's scalable and efficient model does more than relieve debt, it spreads compassion and generosity in our communities." Over 26,000 individuals benefited from this abolishment, with an average debt of $1,127 eliminated. The recipients live in multi-county areas near Arconic's U.S. facilities, including those in the communities of Davenport, Alcoa, Lancaster, Lafayette, Springdale, Massena, Bloomsburg, Cranberry, and Pittsburgh. This includes more than 2,775 residents in the Quad Cities, where over $3.5 million in medical debt was eliminated. Undue uses income and debt criteria to identify people in financial need and select the debt that they purchase. To qualify, individuals must have an income at or below 400% of the federal poverty level (just over $100,000 for a family of three) or have medical debt that is 5% of their income or more. Debt relief is source-based, which means Undue can only abolish debt belonging to community- minded partners that are willing to partner with the nonprofit. Individuals cannot apply directly, and selected recipients remain anonymous, unless they choose to share their story with Undue. Nationally, more than 100 million people are burdened by medical debt to the tune of $220 billion. Medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcies in the U.S. People with medical debt are also three times more likely to experience mental health burdens like anxiety or depression and significantly more likely to skip or delay mental healthcare. The Arconic Foundation partners with nonprofit and community organizations to enhance education through skill-building learning experiences, advance environmental sustainability, and meet essential human needs. Arconic Foundation is funded by an independent endowment and invests in the communities of Arconic. Undue Medical Debt is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2014 by former debt collectors. To date Undue has acquired - and abolished - over $49 billion of burdensome medical debt, helping over 31 million families and addressing a major social determinant of health. Undue purchases debts for a fraction of their face value in bundled portfolios and partners with individuals, faith-based organizations, local and state governments, foundations and corporations to empower donors by converting every dollar contributed into $100 of medical debt relief on average.

Arconic to build $175 million casting complex in bettendorf. By: QCBJ News Staff | February 23, 2026 Arconic will build a new aluminum casting complex at its Davenport Works facility in Riverdale/Bettendorf, increasing its capacity to process and recycle aluminum into ingots used to make sheet and plate products. CREDIT JOHN SCHULTZ The Arconic Davenport Works plant is getting ready for another big milestone in the Quad Cities. The company will build a new aluminum casting complex at its Davenport Works facility in Riverdale/Bettendorf, increasing its capacity to process and recycle aluminum into ingots used to make sheet and plate products. The $175 million capital investment is expected to create 40 jobs at a qualifying wage of $28.46 per hour, according to information from Arconic. A new saw will improve efficiency and safety. The new facility will significantly expand aluminum ingot casting capacity, increase recycling of scrap aluminum, improve energy efficiency, and reduce reliance on foreign suppliers while producing high-performance alloys for strategic sectors, Arconic added. On Friday, Feb. 20, the State of Iowa announced that Arconic Davenport Works was selected to receive one of the first Business Incentives for Growth (BIG) awards through the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA). BIG supports capital investment and quality job creation projects that strengthen Iowa's economic competitiveness. The IEDA approved awards for a total of five companies, which will assist in the creation of 536 jobs and result in $268.2 million in new capital investment for the state. In addition to the Quad Cities, projects are located in Bondurant, Hiawatha, Vinton and Waverly. "BIG further demonstrates Iowa's commitment to pro-growth policies that help businesses thrive," Gov. Kim Reynolds said in the IEDA news release. "This new program encourages companies in key industries to locate, expand, or modernize facilities in Iowa, strengthening our competitive edge and creating opportunities for Iowans. It also builds on the state's strong economic momentum. Since 2024, Iowa has attracted more than $20 billion in new capital investment and our economic indicators are on the rise - state GDP is up 5%, net earnings grew 7.3%, and personal income increased 3.7%." BIG assist in expansions. "These results show that Iowa's partnership approach works and will continue to make Iowa the best place to invest, innovate, and grow," Ms. Reynolds added. In a statement, the authority said: "IEDA values providing assistance to companies such as Arconic as it further strengthens our advanced manufacturing industry and creates jobs. The project benefitted from support from the Iowa Economic Development Authority via the BIG program to help offset the significant costs associated with expanding and modernizing facilities through tax benefits. This program allows companies to invest more confidently in long-term innovation, new technologies, and workforce development - all essential factors in keeping Iowa competitive in the global marketplace. Finally, expansions such as this are a testament to the strong public-private partnerships that make Iowa such a great place to do business." Arconic Davenport Works will host a ceremonial groundbreaking Friday, Feb. 27, for the casting complex known as Pit 10, marking a major milestone in continued investment at the facility. The event will bring together company leadership, labor representatives, project partners, and employees to recognize progress on the project and reaffirm a shared commitment to safety, partnership, and the community. This project has strong support from several Iowa stakeholders, including U.S. Steelworkers Local 105, Nahant Marsh Education Center, Junior Achievement of the Heartland, Living Lands & Waters, the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce, the Quad City Conservation Alliance, and United Way Quad Cities. The City of Riverdale also has demonstrated its support by passing a resolution endorsing the project. Together, these partners reflect a shared commitment to strengthening the Quad Cities area, Arconic said in a separate news release Friday, Feb. 20. Groundbreaking Friday. This is the latest new development at the local Arconic facility. Last September, Arconic officials held a ceremony to welcome a new $57.5 million High Purity Aluminum (HPA) facility at Arconic. The facility will double the capacity for producing HPA at the local Arconic plant, and eliminate the need for Arconic to import HPA from a foreign smelter. HPA is important in the industry because it offers superior mechanical strength, enhanced corrosion resistance and exceptional conductivity. It is used to make many products, such as armor on light-weight military vehicles, parts of satellites, airplane wings and much more, Arconic officials said. The Arconic Davenport Works plant currently employs about 2,500 workers.

Optimaze Raises $3 Million in Pre-Seed Funding