The tour was part of an effort by the Association to introduce member organizations to Heidi Brock, who was appointed President in October. Brock's visit on December 21, 2011 facilitated an exchange of best practices for promoting aluminum as the most sustainable and recyclable material for the automotive, packaging and construction markets.
"Our main goal is to educate consumers about the advantages of using aluminum," said Brock. "By visiting facilities, we can become better educated ourselves about the many applications for aluminum our members are developing. This creates an ongoing dialogue about how best to increase awareness about the metal's sustainable attributes and encourage increased usage."
The largest of Sapa's 16 aluminum extrusion plants throughout North America, the Cressona plant produces a variety of aluminum products that are used in various markets, including commercial transportation, automotive, defense, industrial-consumer, thermal management and its network of distribution service centers.
The tour, led by Sapa's Extrusion Process Leader Robert McCaffrey, gave Brock a behind-the-scenes, step-by-step look at the aluminum extrusion process, demonstrating how aluminum is brought into the 100-acre facility and transformed into thousands of products extruded at the facility each day.
"We're very proud of our process here at Cressona and are happy to host the leading organization in our industry," said Richard A. Worst, Cressona plant manager. "Having Heidi here to see first-hand how our operations are conducted is an educational field trip for her, as well as a chance for Sapa to learn how we can support the association's efforts to further promote the use of aluminum in the future."
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| Bob McCaffrey, extrusion process leader at Sapa Cressona operations, poses with Heidi Brock, the new President of The Aluminum Association |
Bob McCaffrey shows the new President of The Aluminum Association a collection of heat sinks, used in a range of products from computers to automobiles |
To view more photos of the tour and videos of Brock and Worst discussing the outlook for the aluminum industry, click here to visit the Sapa Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/SapaGroup
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Emily Geesaman, Buchanan Public Relations for Sapa Extrusions – North America(610) 649-9292
geesaman@buchananpr.com
James Lewis, Communications, The Aluminum Association
(703) 358-2966
jlewis@aluminum.org