Global aluminium associations gather at UK venue

Representatives of the world’s aluminium industry will gather in Gloucestershire in September for a meeting to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the sector globally.

The meeting will be hosted by the Aluminium Federation (ALFED), the trade body which represents the UK’s aluminium manufacturers and suppliers, and will be attended by heads of the aluminium associations, including The Aluminum Association (USA), the Gulf Aluminium Council, the European Aluminium Association, Aluminium Federation of South Africa, the Japan Aluminium Association, the Aluminium Association of Canada and AMS, which represents the Nordic countries, along with the International Aluminium Institute.

The meeting, which is one of two that happen each year, will take place at Tortworth Court Hotel on September 12 and follows February’s gathering in Oman, where the leaders discussed a number of important topics including the enormous increase in the use of aluminium by the world’s automakers.

CEO of ALFED Will Savage said the Global Leaders’ Meeting had become a crucial gathering for the international aluminium industry.

He said: “It’s really important that the aluminium industry’s key players from different parts of the world are coming together to find ways of overcoming challenges that affect many nations, namely volatility in energy prices, supply of both primary and scrap aluminium, and demand from manufacturers who rely on aluminium to deliver durable and lightweight products.”

Will Savage added: “Tortworth Court Hotel is the perfect location to gather the industry together, as it’s accessible from London’s international airports for our global visitors, but it is also situated close to many leading operations in the UK’s aluminium sector which happen to be based in South Wales, the Avonmouth region and the Midlands.”

The Global Leaders Meeting will be preceded by ALFED’s annual members’ briefing and dinner on September 11 where speakers will include Brian Greenwood, a senior civil servant at the Department for Business Industry and Skills, who will outline the Government’s approach to industry and some of the funding programmes available, and Professor David Bailey, of Aston University in Birmingham, who will deliver an economic outlook.

Analysts CRU, of London, will also deliver a talk on current global aluminium markets and pricing.

Speaking ahead of the briefing Mr Greenwood, who is Deputy Head (materials and engineering) with the Department for Business Industry and Skills, said: “It’s really important that Government and industry work closely together to help develop a globally competitive aluminium sector here in the UK.

“I am very keen to take part in ALFED’s members’ briefing, as it will help the Department for Business, Industry and Skills to develop stronger links with managers on the ground who are really making the economy tick. Additionally, I’m hoping my involvement will help raise awareness about some of the important business support schemes that are available today that are helping the country recover from recession.”

The UK aluminium industry employs 20,000 people, 50 per cent of whom are based across the central region of the country. The sector has an annual turnover in excess of £3.2bn.