“The objective of AAC is to develop an aluminium culture where the material will be put to use by potential end users in the transportation, building and infrastructure sectors”: Mr. Jean Simard, President, Aluminium Association of Canada

AlCircle had the pleasure of communicating with Mr. Jean Simard, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Aluminium Association of Canada (AAC). AAC is the voice of the Canadian aluminium industry and its mission is to be the last word on anything to do with aluminium. The non-profit organization represents the industry in its dealings with citizens, public authorities, current and potential users of aluminium.

As President and Chief Executive Officer of the Aluminium Association of Canada (AAC), Jean Simard is the industry’s official representative and spokesperson with governments, business associations and the media as well as with international organisations.

Mr. Simard holds a degree in Civil Law from the University of Ottawa, and is a member of the Quebec Bar Association. He possesses extensive professional experience in public and government relation services, mainly in energy and environmental affairs. Mr. Simard presides the Canadian International Aluminium Conference (CIAC), is a member of the Board of Directors of the Quebec Industrial Aluminium Cluster, of the Conseil du Patronat du Québec (CPQ), the Conseil patronal de l'environnement du Québec (CPEQ), as well as of the Centre québécois de recherche et de développement de l’aluminium (CQRDA).

AlCircle: Please tell us in brief about the main objectives and the functions of Aluminium Association of Canada?

Mr. Simard: The AAC represents the interests of its three members, major primary aluminium producers: Alcoa, Aluminerie Alouette inc., and Rio Tinto Alcan at government level, as well as promoting the use of aluminium in our economy. Its objectives are to foster the growth of its 10,000 employee strong industry, as well as developing an aluminium culture where the material will be put to use by potential end users in the transportation, building and infrastructure sectors.

AlCircle: Could you tell us in brief about the Canadian aluminium industry, the total primary aluminium production from Canada, and how it plans to increase the production in the near future?

Mr. Simard: With 9 smelters, Canada produces approximately 3 million tons of aluminium. While there are known plans for expansion in the future, the outlook is more towards curtailment around the world. Market conditions will need to improve seriously in the future in order to offer the right conditions to launch. The good news is that there will be growth in demand in the future; we still have ample supplies of renewable green hydro power, and room to grow.

AlCircle: Quebec is known to be the aluminium center in Canada. How does it contribute to the aluminium industry at present?

Mr. Simard: With 90% of its capacity located in the province of Québec, there is a critical mass of research centers furthering the knowledge base in aluminium production. As well, a whole network of world class production machinery equipment manufacturers has developed with the help of primary producers. Added to our local engineering firms, they export Québec’s know-how around the globe.

The industry is also entering a new phase through the recent creation of an Industrial Aluminium Cluster. This industry’s initiative brings together for the first time all segments of the aluminium value chain in order to increase transformation and use of aluminium in our economy.

AlCircle: Which industrial sector do you think has the potential to boost the demand for aluminium in Canada?

Mr. Simard: Since we export most of our production to the USA, the automobile sector will certainly pull the material, as will the building and construction markets. Adding to the new CAFE standard will be the upcoming heavy vehicles standards pointing the way to light-weighting for trucks. As for cans, we have seen a reverse trend in Canada where the beer industry has gone from 80% bottles - 20% cans, to the complete opposite in less than 5 years. Potential new market applications such as bridge decking will also contribute, although in a minor way, it will add to new market developments and certainly help increase the interest in aluminium’s performance.

AlCircle: Tell us something about the upcoming Canadian International Aluminium Conference (CIAC) in Montreal, Canada.

Mr. Simard: Held on June 3rd and 4th, 2014, the CIAC is our first international aluminium conference. It follows the CIAC Exhibition held in the fall of 2013. Our speakers and panelists will cover a range of issues and topics under the theme “Aluminium – The Game Changer”. Apart from round tables on Market Dynamics, Licence to Grow, and Additive Manufacturing, some key issues will also be dealt with in a series of panels and presentations:

• How will aluminium benefit in the future by shifts in World Demographics?
• How will Canada stand to gain from the Canada-Europe Free Trade Agreement?
• Will Climate Change create constraints on our industry in terms of access to bauxite, and integrity of primary production infrastructures?
• What is the relevance of sustainability initiatives and how does the market respond to such proposals?
• And, naturally, we will address aluminium’s contribution to vehicle lightweighting, in automobiles as well as in mass transit equipment and the aerospace industry.

AlCircle: Being an association, does the AAC intend to do more events like the CIAC in the future? If so, which industrial sector would it like to highlight in relation to aluminium?

Mr. Simard: The CIAC is important to us in order to share best practices and developing trends in the industry. We also want to bring together our world class suppliers with their markets, such as the Middle-East, a growth region with which we have a good business relationship. We’ll start by making this one a success, and it will show us the way!

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