For the first time the Aluminium Industry Annual dinner moved out of central London, to Tortworth Court in Gloucestershire.
Will Savage, CEO of the aluminium Federation commented: “We are delighted with the support this year with 200 members and guests attending the dinner. Moving the dinner outside central London has been well received and the wonderful facilities at Tortworth Court have provided an excellent backdrop to this important event.”
“We took the opportunity offered by the venue to combine the occasion with a Members Briefing the morning after, which included speakers from the European Aluminium Association and the International Aluminium Association. It is the first time that we have staged a Members briefing and it has been a success”.
Guest speaker at the evening dinner was Dennis Turner, former Chief Economist at HSBC. Dennis advises bankers on economic trends within industry sectors and at national and international level. He delivered an informed perspective on the causes of the recent recession, the shape of the recovery, and the prospect of sustainable growth in the UK.
The ALFED President, Carl Tomlinson, spoke about the importance of education initiatives to develop and grow the pool of skilled people to enter the UK aluminium industry. He highlighted the encouraging economic figures for UK manufacturing growth and the increasing awareness of Aluminium across all sectors. He expressed the view that for many designers and specifiers Aluminium is the material of choice. He pointed to the forthcoming ‘Aluminium in Road Transport’ conference being held in Birmingham, which reflects the significant growth in Aluminium use in the automotive supply chain and the importance of this sector to UK manufacturing. The conference is being held on 5th and 6th November offering a tour of the Aluminium vehicle production line at Jaguar Land Rover on 7th November. See here for more details: http://www.alfed.org.uk/page.asp?node=40&action=view_event&tid=382&sec=Events_Diary
The morning following the annual dinner ALFED staged a Members Briefing. This inaugural event was a platform to inform members about ALFED services, highlight key issues and business opportunities, and provide a European and global perspective on the Aluminium industry. There were six presentations and networking opportunities.
