For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Alcoa Inc. will close an automotive components factory in Ohio and lay off its staff in a bid to cut excess capacity, the Pittsburgh-based company said Tuesday. Alcoa said it would close the Northwood, Ohio, facility by the end of 2004 and take a total of $7 million in charges related to the move. Closing the plant will put 140 people out of work. Alcoa, the world's largest aluminum producer but also a manufacturer of other goods, said it would record $3 million of the charges in the third quarter. "Unfortunately,...