Aluminum Association adds three member companies

The Aluminum Association, based in Arlington, Virginia, has added three new member companies—Gresham, Smith, and Partners, PPG Industries and Valspar Corp.

The additions bring total membership in the association to 107 companies, a record for the 82-year-old trade association, according to a press release issued by the association.

The three firms join as associate members—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,” says Heidi Brock, president and CEO 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.”

Gresham, Smith, and Partners, with offices throughout the eastern U.S., provides engineering, architectural and planning services to diverse manufacturing industries, including services for many major aluminum producers and secondary aluminum processors.

Both PPG Industries, based in Pittsburgh, and the Valspar Corp,, headquartered in Massillon, Ohio, produce industrial coatings for a range of products, including aluminum products.

The association says the 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, the association says.

According to the Aluminum Association, investments announced to date could increase industry auto sheet capacity by more than 2 billion pounds over the next decade.