Automotive Aluminum's Performance Advantages to Be Highlighted At SAE's World Congress & Exposition in Detroit

      European Aluminium Association Meets With U.S. Counterparts at SAE

    DETROIT, March 6 From across the globe, materials experts
from the auto and aluminum industries, as well as from academia, will present
technical papers on "Advances in Aluminum Metal Products and Production," in a
day-long seminar, Wednesday, March 7, to the Society of Automotive Engineers
World Congress and Exposition currently underway in Detroit.
    Dick Klimisch, Vice President of The Aluminum Association Inc., will kick-
off the presentations with an overview of aluminum's recent gains within the
auto industry, including the metal's recent passing of plastics in terms of
overall average vehicle content.  He will also highlight the progress of
research projects underway with the Auto Aluminum Alliance, a technical
consortium of the auto and aluminum industries.
    Attending SAE with Klimisch are top officials from the European Aluminium
Association, including Patrick de Schrynmakers, Secretary General, and Karl-
Heinz von Zengen, Automotive Market Manager.  Building on a previously
announced strategic cooperative agreement among the word's aluminum companies,
the U.S. and European associations are meeting during SAE to share information
on automotive applications of aluminum, related research and real-world
experiences.
    According to Klimisch, "The aluminum papers being presented at SAE point
to great technical strides being made to maximize aluminum's benefits to both
automakers and consumers alike.  Greater automotive aluminum use is inevitable
both in the U.S. and around the world as technical challenges are overcome and
as more and more automakers tap into the metal's distinct advantages for
improved environmental, safety and driving performance."
    Topics of papers to be presented range from issues of high strength vs.
high performance, to forming of aluminum tailor welded blanks, to advancements
in aluminum's resistance to spot welding.  For more detailed information on
specific titles, speakers and presentation times, please call Becky Snedeker
on 248-784-3008 or visit SAE's website at http://www.sae.org.  For reprints of
individual aluminum papers, please call SAE directly on 877-606-7323.
    The Aluminum Association, based in Washington, DC, with offices in
Detroit, MI, represents primary producers of aluminum, recyclers and producers
of semi-fabricated products.  Member companies operate almost 200 plants in 37
states.