“As an industry we really need to communicate the environmental benefits of aluminium to our policymakers…” Simon MacVicker, President, Aluminium Federation (ALFED)

Standing at the helm of one of Shropshire’s leading manufacturing businesses, Simon MacVicker is a man who enjoys a challenge. He has been serving as the managing director of Bridgnorth Aluminium limited for more than 10 years running this thriving business successfully. Starting in January 2014, he is now helping to further the interests of the aluminium sector as President of the Aluminium Federation (ALFED).

After completing a language degree in Spanish and Portuguese, he secured a sales and marketing job with British Steel in South Wales. Ten years later, a sales director opportunity came up with Bridgnorth Aluminium.

The Aluminium Federation is a Trade Association which represents the interests of the UK aluminium industry. Based in West Bromwich, the Aluminium Federation acts as the point of contact between the aluminium industry and its stakeholders. The trade association boasts more than 100 members ranging from SMEs to global corporations and provides a vital link across the aluminium sector, which has been hit in recent years by the soaring cost of energy.

ALFED shares with AlCircle Simon MacVicker’s interview upon taking up his new role as President:

Excerpts from the interview:

What is your take on this new role as the president of the Aluminium Federation (ALFED)?

Simon: It’s a real privilege to represent the aluminium industry in this way and I’m very excited about tackling some of the challenges our members face and also promoting our industry and our material over the course of the next two years.

What are the main issues that you are going to take up on priority as the president of ALFED?

Simon: Competitiveness and sustainability: we need a legislative framework which allows our industry to compete in world markets, in order to supply the sustainable solutions which our industry offers to society. One of the biggest issues we need to take on is the significant tax and regulatory burden holding the sector back. I met with Business Minister Michael Fallon in mid-January and he was very supportive of our messages about the need to cut energy taxation and red tape. But we need to keep delivering that message to Government to help ensure action is taken – our job at ALFED is to make sure this doesn’t slip off the political agenda.

What we’re doing for our members goes beyond cutting costs for the sake of the sector’s prosperity. We’ve all heard over the past year how the automotive industry is embracing aluminium to make cars more fuel efficient and cut carbon emissions; that’s just one way the metal is providing a solution. But it’s also used in most solar panels, so is vital to the generation of clean energy.

What is your view on sustainability in aluminium?

Simon: The other big attraction of aluminium from a sustainability point of view is that aluminium is 100 per cent recyclable, and 80 per cent of all the metal ever produced remains in use today. I struggle to think of another material that is so versatile – what else can be rolled so thin that it can be used in pharmaceutical packaging for pills and yet is so strong that it can hold an Airbus A380 in the air?

As an industry we really need to communicate these environmental benefits of aluminium to our policymakers who, whilst having the best intentions, have created legislation that has stood in the way of aluminium providing technological solutions to reduce mankind’s impact on the planet.

Environmental taxes & energy costs have contributed to the closure of two of Britain’s three primary aluminium smelters causing job losses and shifting of production to other economies. Since 2010, Britain’s primary aluminium output has dropped by 87 per cent from 361,000 tonnes per year to just 47,000 tonnes. What is your take on this situation?

Simon: I can’t envisage a time when lost primary aluminium production “reshores” to the UK, but what we can do is to protect and grow the fantastic manufacturing and supply industry that remains here.

From a global perspective, the UK is an incredibly attractive proposition because it comprises a close-knit cluster of aluminium businesses providing manufacturing supply chain solutions including primary and secondary production, rolling and extrusions, finishing, shaping and forming, and of course the whole recycling loop. We need all these elements to be strong, because if one weakens that could affect the entire sector.

Given your passion for aluminium, it’s no surprise that you are keen on bringing young talent into the industry. Please share your view on this.

Simon: At Bridgnorth Aluminium, What our engineers do is very specialist, so instead of recruiting from the market, which is incredibly difficult, it works better for us to train youngsters from scratch through apprenticeships. And it’s a testament to the business that around 60-70 per cent of our 80-strong team of engineers started with us as apprentices.

(This activity chimes well with ALFED, as one of its core areas of focus is education. Each year the association plays a key sponsorship role in the AluD&T Challenge, which pits schools around the country against each other in a design and engineering competition aimed at inspiring pupils. ALFED also organises tours of Parliament, giving youngsters the chance to see where power lies and meet those policymakers that influence the manufacturing sector. Over the next two years, as part of that busy travel schedule, Simon will be spending a lot of time visiting London, more specifically the Houses of Parliament to bang the drum for the aluminium industry.)

How do you see yourself contributing to the interest of ALFED’s members?

Simon: I am obviously an Alfed member myself, and together with the other members on the Alfed Council, and working with the executive team at Alfed, everything we do is aimed at helping our member companies. Briefing policymakers is a crucial part of that work and it’s an area that really adds value for our members. We’ll be making sure their message is heard by politicians so that they understand the challenges we face and hopefully, working together, we can ensure the sustainability of the sector, so it in turn can be a significant contributor to the national wealth and part of the solution to some of society’s sustainability problems.

Disclaimer: “The information presented herein is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional advice. The views and opinions shared in the interview section of www.alcircle.com are unique to the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of www.alcircle.com.”