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Former Top Auto Exec to Lead Aluminum Industry's New Detroit Office

27 October 1999

Former Top Auto Executive to Lead Aluminum Industry's New Detroit Office - Dick Klimisch Tapped to Reach Out to Auto Customers

    LIVONIA, Mich., Oct. 27 -- In its effort to work closer with
automotive customers and to advance the industry as a chief metal supplier,
The Aluminum Association, Inc. today announced the selection of Richard L.
Klimisch, Ph.D, to lead The Association's newly created Detroit area office.
Klimisch, who held a variety of senior positions within the auto industry,
will serve as Vice President for The Association's Auto & Light Truck Group.
    Most recently, Klimisch was Vice President of Engineering Affairs for the
former American Automobile Manufacturers Association.  In that capacity, he
was a leading spokesman for the big three automakers on such issues as fuel
economy, electric vehicles, alternative fuels, recycling, airbags, global
regulatory harmonization, and the effects of pollution.  Prior to that, he was
Executive Director of GM's Environmental Activities Staff, and he has led
numerous materials research programs for GM.  Klimisch is a recognized pioneer
in the development of the catalytic converter, one of the most important
pollution control devices of all time.
    Speaking at the 20th Automotive Aluminum Design & Fabrication Seminar here
in Livonia, Donald W. Macmillan, President of Alcan Global Automotive Products
and Chairman of the Association's Auto Executive Committee, said, "As a
respected automotive leader, Dick Klimisch is the ideal choice to lead a new
strategic direction of cohesive industry initiatives to better understand our
auto customer needs and drive the learning curve toward higher volume
aluminum-intensive vehicles."
    Klimisch added, "It's great to be joining such a forward-thinking industry
that is helping automakers reinvent personal transportation for the 21st
Century."
    Klimisch's selection to lead the aluminum industry's Detroit presence
follows the formation of the Auto Aluminum Alliance this past June, in which
both industries are now identifying and pursuing ways to further accelerate
the use of high-strength, lightweight aluminum in mass-produced vehicles.
    The Aluminum Association's new office will be open by the end of 1999 and
will promote pre-competitive research programs and actions to help pave the
way for mass-produced, aluminum-intensive vehicles in the near future.  Led by
Klimisch, the new office will serve as a central resource for auto companies
(the aluminum industry's fastest growing customer base) and other automotive
suppliers on aluminum issues, and it will coordinate inter-industry research
projects now underway with the Auto Aluminum Alliance.
    Klimisch, a founder and co-chairman of the Vehicle Recycling Partnership
(now part of USCAR), received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Purdue University
and his B.S. from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa.

    The Aluminum Association, with offices in Washington, DC, and Detroit,
Michigan, represents U.S. producers of primary and secondary aluminum, as well
as fabricated and semi-fabricated products.  Member companies operate
approximately 200 plants in 35 states.