New Members Join Aluminum Association
The Aluminum Association (Arlington, VA) has announced the addition of three new member companies: Gresham, Smith, and Partners (Alpharetta, GA), PPG Industries, Inc. (Pittsburgh, PA) and The Valspar Corporation (Minneapolis, MN). These additions bring total membership in the Association to 107 companies, a record for the 82-year-old trade association. The three firms join as associate members, which are firms that supply the North American aluminum industry with goods and services.
“Continuing to grow the membership is a key priority of the Aluminum Association,” said Heidi Brock, the president and chief executive officer of the Aluminum Association. “As aluminum expands into new and diverse markets, the more voices we can have at the table representing the industry, the better off we are as a trade association.”
The new member additions include:
Gresham, Smith, and Partners has 48 years of experience providing engineering, architectural and planning services to diverse manufacturing industries, including services for many major aluminum producers and secondary aluminum processors. GS&P actively applies its knowledge of the industry to provide our clients with innovative solutions, greater efficiency and time-tested expertise.
PPG is the world’s leading coatings company, consistently delivering high-quality solutions that customers trust to protect and beautify their products and surroundings. Through leadership in innovation, sustainability and color, PPG helps customers in construction, consumer products, industrial and transportation markets to enhance aluminum and other substrates.
Valspar is a leader in the art and science of superior-performance coatings that excel in beauty and function. Valspar’s wide range of coatings for aluminum extrusions is available in a full palette of colors and formulations to meet the most demanding environmental conditions and designs. Valspar’s packaging coatings for aluminum substrate lead the global market through a wide range of innovative product technologies, excellent global regulatory processes, and unmatched customer service.
The new member additions come at a time of continued domestic demand growth for aluminum. According to preliminary Aluminum Association data, domestic industry shipments have increased nearly 4 percent, while mill product orders are up nearly 6 percent, year-to-date in 2015. Since 2013, Aluminum Association member companies have announced domestic plant expansions and planned investment totaling more than $2.3 billion.
The increase in investment is intended to capture and meet anticipated demand growth for aluminum in the automotive sector as automakers strive to make lighter and more fuel-efficient vehicles. The investments announced to date could increase industry auto sheet capacity by more than 2 billion pounds over the next decade.
