Business View - August 2015 71
to promote fair and equitable competition. In response to the
legislation, representatives of 13 aluminum companies met to
form the Association of Manufacturers in the Aluminum Indus-
try. Even though NIRA was repealed the following year, industry
leaders decided to continue the organization, renaming it “The
Aluminum Association.” Its mandate was to promote the gen-
eral welfare of the aluminum industry and its members.
Today, the Aluminum Association continues to represent the in-
terests of the aluminum industry by developing technical stan-
dards and data; collecting and publishing industry statistics;
promoting plant safety and health; monitoring and promoting
technological developments that advance the metal’s use
across a wide range of application; and increasing its market
capabilities in the U.S. and around the world.
According to Matt Meenan, Director of Communications, the
Association currently has just over 100 members, split evenly
between producers which make and fabricate the metal, such
as Alcoa, Novelis, and Aleris, and associate members, which
are the companies that supply goods or services to the produc-
ers.
The main reason that companies join the Association says
Meenan, is that they “value the networking opportunities we
provide, so they can talk about and share issues of common
interest. Whether it’s statistics, policy, standards, or sustain-
ability – one or more may be very valuable to them. We have
committees and divisions that are focused on either particular
product market areas, or parts of the supply chain.”
When asked about the current state of affairs in the indus-
try, Meenan replies: “One of the big things that’s really been a
massive trend the last five to ten years, and has really ramped
up in the last couple of years in particular, is the growth in the
automotive market. The real big news for us in the last year
was Ford moving the Ford F-150 into an all-aluminum body. .
. It’s allowed us to expand in a way that a lot of heavy manu-
facturing industries are not doing right now. We’ve got about
$2 billion dollars committed for domestic plant expansion over
MANUFACTURING
