Fresh thinking about aluminium at EAC 2015

European Aluminium Congress 2015 focused on building the future with aluminium. Sapa was one of the sponsors of the two-day event, which was held in Düsseldorf and organized by the aluminium associations in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

Gerold Trommelschläger, who leads Sapa's extrusion operations in the German-speaking countries in Europe, took part in one of the panel discussions at European Aluminium Congress 2015.

Germany’s Minister of Economic Affairs & Energy Sigmar Gabriel opened the event EAC 2015 with glowing words about the light metal. “Aluminium is an innovative material for which there is growing demand worldwide. It is no longer possible to imagine certain branches of industry without aluminium,” he said.

“It is therefore not without reason that the sector is looking forward to positive business development in the coming years. Politicians will create the necessary policy environment. This is the only way to master new challenges. This also includes reconciling the issues of climate change and environmental pollution with the need for industrial value creation in Germany.”

The event attracted around 225 representatives from the aluminium industry, customer industries and research facilities.

Becoming the benchmark

As industry leaders and innovation drivers in the German-speaking market, Sapa was one of the sponsors of EAC 2015 and actively participated with panelists and speakers.

In the panel discussion about challenges and opportunities, Sapa’s Gerold Trommelschläger said he felt the industry should work toward becoming “the benchmark in innovation and sustainability.”

John Thuestad, executive vice president responsible for Sapa’s extrusion operations in Europe, spoke in a similar way during the examination of future markets and processes.

“We all could affect the development of the industry more than we anticipate by actually singing the same song and talking about aluminium as the solution to globalization, climate change and population growth,” he said.

Sapa also delivered technical presentations on the opportunities for aluminium extrusions in future e-mobility applications, and on the challenges with air and water cooling of extruded sections. Jonas Bjuhr handled the first presentation, Artem Pilipenko the latter.