New Member Company and Board Member Additions for Aluminum Association

ARLINGTON, Va., April 3, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Aluminum Association announced today the addition of Blaylock Industries to its roster of member companies. In addition, Anthony Ashe, Vice President Commercial, Sales & Marketing at Alcoa, was added to the Association's Board of Directors. The announcements were made during the Aluminum Association's biannual spring meeting in San Antonio, TX where the industry highlighted "The Power of Modern Metal."

"Both of these moves are exciting for the industry and the Association," said Aluminum Association Chairman Layle "Kip" Smith, President of Noranda Aluminum. "The aluminum industry is poised for continued growth as U.S. manufacturing experiences a resurgence and it's encouraging to see the Association growing at the same time."

Blaylock Industries, Inc., based in Fort Worth, TX, produces high quality permanent mold aluminum castings across its 3 divisions (Retail, Industrial and Custom).  The 46-year old firm services the energy, transportation and infrastructure industries with its patented group of proprietary products, in addition to myriad other industries through its custom products division and in-house design and engineering capabilities.  Blaylock will join the Association as a producer member.

The expansion of the Association's membership comes at time when leadership continues to grow as well. Also announced during the spring meeting was the addition of Anthony Ashe from Alcoa to the Aluminum Association's Board of Directors. The Board is composed of senior-level executives from across the aluminum industry and provides strategic guidance to the Association in promoting the production and use of aluminum as the sustainable material of choice in transportation, building & construction and consumer packaging markets.

"Our Board is absolutely critical to the work of the Association and Anthony is a great addition to the team," said Heidi Brock, President & CEO of the Aluminum Association. "I'm excited to have someone with his depth of knowledge and experience on board to help advance the entire industry."

Ashe serves as Vice President Commercial, Sales & Marketing at Alcoa. In this role Ashe oversees Alcoa Forgings & Extrusions's (AFE) commercial portfolio for growth, pricing strategies, marketing collateral, and new product development. Previously, Ashe was Vice President of Business Development, Marketing and Alcoa Engineering Structures (AES) where he led organic and inorganic business development, M&A and JV opportunities for AFE. Ashe started his career with Eaton in Technical Sales, transitioned to various engineering roles at Boeing, and prior to rejoining Alcoa in January 2012, Ashe was Director of Sales for SAPA North America, the global leader in Soft Alloy extrusions.

The Aluminum Association works to continually advance and promote aluminum as the sustainable material of choice in the modern world. New applications for the metal in transportation, building and construction and other markets are driving demand for aluminum in North America. Between 2009 and today, aluminum demand has risen 30 percent and is approaching pre-recession levels. Additionally, the industry has taken proactive steps in recent years to reduce its own carbon footprint nearly 40 percent in the last 20 years. Those interested in learning more about membership opportunities within the Association should visit www.aluminum.org/join.

The Aluminum Association, based in Arlington, Virginia, works globally to aggressively promote aluminum as the most sustainable and recyclable automotive, packaging and construction material in today's market. The Association represents U.S. and foreign-based primary producers of aluminum, aluminum recyclers and producers of fabricated products, as well as industry suppliers. Member companies operate approximately 180 plants in the United States, with many conducting business worldwide. For more information visit www.Aluminum.org, on Twitter @AluminumNews or Facebook.com/AluminumAssociation.

Matt Meenan
703.358.2977
[email protected]

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SOURCE The Aluminum Association