- Leadership Changes Announced to Support the New Initiatives
CLEVELAND, July 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Aleris today announced the establishment of the Commercial & Defense Plate global market segment and a centralized Sustainability initiative, both key strategic areas for the company.
Commercial & Defense Plate, a new organization, is the company's fourth global market segment, complementing existing businesses serving Aerospace, Automotive and Heat Exchanger customers. Stephen S. Stone, formerly senior vice president and general manager, Rolled Products North America (RPNA), assumes the new role of vice president, Commercial & Defense Plate. Kelly R. Thomas, formerly vice president and Treasurer, has been named senior vice president and general manager, RPNA, replacing Stone. Eric Rychel, most recently a managing director for Barclays Capital in the Investment Banking Division, has joined Aleris as Treasurer and head of Corporate Development, replacing Thomas.
"The new global plate organization will align Aleris resources around the world to better serve our global customers in this important segment," said Steven J. Demetriou, Aleris chairman and chief executive officer. "RPNA will benefit from Kelly's proven leadership and 13 years of commercial experience in the aluminum industry."
Centralizing Aleris' diverse worldwide sustainability activities in a single organization will enable the company to build global sustainability partnerships with its customers more efficiently. Guido Weber, formerly vice president, Operations, RPNA, becomes vice president, Sustainability. Thomas Brackmann, most recently president of Nichols Aluminum, has joined Aleris as vice president, Operations, to replace Weber.
"The centralized Sustainability function enables us to develop broader sustainability solutions with customers by leveraging our industry-leading position in recycling and our unique global recycling platform," said Demetriou. "We take our responsibilities as a corporate citizen very seriously and this organizational change will facilitate our effectiveness in addressing the social and economic impacts of our operations."
About Aleris
Aleris is focused on realizing the significant potential of aluminum for our customers and our world. A global leader in aluminum rolled and extruded products, aluminum recycling and specification alloy manufacturing, Aleris products are used by manufacturers in almost every industry. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company has approximately 6,900 employees and currently operates 41 production facilities in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.aleris.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Statements about our beliefs and expectations and statements containing the words "may," "could," "would," "should," "will," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "estimate," "target," "project," "look forward to," "intend" and similar expressions intended to connote future events and circumstances constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements about, among other things, future costs and prices of commodities, production volumes, industry trends, demand for our products and services, anticipated cost savings, anticipated benefits from new products or facilities, and projected results of operations. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in or implied by any forward-looking statement. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) our ability to successfully implement our business strategy; (2) the cyclical nature of the aluminum industry, our end-use segments and our customers' industries; (3) our ability to fulfill our substantial capital investment requirements; (4) variability in general economic conditions on a global or regional basis; (5) our ability to retain the services of certain members of our management; (6) our ability to enter into effective metal, natural gas and other commodity derivatives or arrangements with customers to manage effectively our exposure to commodity price fluctuations and changes in the pricing of metals; (7) our internal controls over financial reporting and our disclosure controls and procedures may not prevent all possible errors that could occur; (8) increases in the cost of raw materials and energy; (9) the loss of order volumes from any of our largest customers; (10) our ability to retain customers, a substantial number of whom do not have long-term contractual arrangements with us; (11) our ability to generate sufficient cash flows to fund our capital expenditure requirements and to meet our debt service obligations; (12) competitor pricing activity, competition of aluminum with alternative materials and the general impact of competition in the industry segments we serve; (13) risks of investing in and conducting operations on a global basis, including political, social, economic, currency and regulatory factors; (14) current environmental liabilities and the cost of compliance with and liabilities under health and safety laws; (15) labor relations (i.e., disruptions, strikes or work stoppages) and labor costs; (16) our levels of indebtedness and debt service obligations; (17) the possibility that we may incur additional indebtedness in the future; (18) limitations on operating our business as a result of covenant restrictions under our indebtedness; and (19) other factors discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the sections entitled "Risk Factors" contained therein. Investors, potential investors and other readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether in response to new information, futures events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.
Contacts:
Kristen Bihary, +1-216-910-3664