Aludium Today 01 2015

Aludium Magazine | May 2015 | Issue 01

Welcome to Aludium!

The future is in our hands

Setting the strategy: Top managers outline their vision Transforming IT: Planning for tomorrow Sales: Flat structure enhances responsiveness

Index May 2015 | Issue 01

3

Welcome

4

Interview with Dan Cromie, Partner, Atlas Holdings

6

Employee events launch Aludium

7

World’s media cover launch of Aludium

8

Interview with Manuel Ruano, Chief Operating Officer, Aludium

10

Transforming Aludium’s IT infrastructure

12

Why customers choose us!

14

Mapping a new customer approach

16

The future is in our hands

17

Aludium at Automotive Interiors 2015

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Site News - Amorebieta - Alicante - Castelsarrasin

Colophon Editorial staff: Elsy Aelvoet, Bob Van Cauwenberghe, Dan Smith Contributors: Philippe Barraud, Pablo Camino, Marcel Crince, Dan Cromie, Maria Jesus Garcia Diaz De Tuesta, Christiane Huber, Cristina Jaca, Guillermo Rey-Ardid Latorre, Franck Listuzzi, Agathe Tranchand Pagazaurtundua, Manuel Ruano, Mariola Ribera Sanchis, Dieter Winterhoff

Your opinion counts!

Please email your suggestions or comments to: elsy.aelvoet@aludium.com

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Welcome to Aludium, a new name with more than 60 years of experience in aluminium!

It is already more than four months since Aludium was created on 1 January 2015.

We are very pleased that Atlas Holdings, an investment firm and industrial holding company with a long-term view, came onboard to end a long period of uncertainty for our employees and our customers. Aludium might be a new name, but we have more than 60 years of experience in aluminium.

Since Aludium was formed, we have made excellent progress towards making the business a strong and independent player in the European aluminium sector. Our management team has invested a lot of time and energy meeting our customers and convincing them that we are the best partner for the future. I’m pleased to note that this is a message that has been well received by our client base.

Many of our customers have recognised that Aludium offers the skills of a multinational, but the spirit of a medium-sized enterprise. This means a short decision-making process, quick lead times, and a unique focus on the markets in which we will operate. In today’s fast-paced business world, these are valuable advantages for our customers.

One of the first decisions we made was to maintain our focus on our core markets: Building and Construction; Distribution and Industrial as well as Specialities including beverage closures, bright products for automotive, cosmetics and lighting. We believe that there are a wealth of opportunities in these markets and many customers who need our products.

Aludium’s Cindal R&D centre is ready to help customers discover and develop these opportunities through our unique co-engineering approach. Together with our sales and production staff, Cindal R&D works with Aludium’s customers to research and industrialise the next generation of innovative aluminium products.

Another early decision was to replace our existing IT infrastructure with a purpose-built cloud solution to meet Aludium’s existing and future needs. ‘The customer is our boss’ is a quote that is often used internally at Aludium, and this consideration has been a key factor in the development of our new systems. Our new online platform will enable clients to interact with production and monitor their orders and deliveries in a completely new way. Roll-out has been confirmed for spring 2016.

We have achieved a lot in a very short time and this edition of Aludium Today gives you an idea of some of the challenges we have already overcome.

In the coming months there will be many new challenges as we shape Aludium as a key partner in the European, and global, aluminium market.

Arnaud de Weert CEO, Aludium

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Corporate news

Interview with

Dan Cromie, Partner Atlas Holdings Dan Cromie joined Atlas Holdings in 2002 as a Partner.

Tell us about Atlas Holdings “We’re an investement firm and industrial holding company which was created in 2002. But we purchased our first business back in 1999 – by our founding partners.

We still own that business today.”

“Including Aludium, Atlas Holdings now has over 15,000 employees and more than 100 facilities worldwide. Collectively our businesses generate in excess of US$4 ­billion of revenue annually.”

In which sectors are you active?

“We have 17 ‘platforms’ – these are businesses that are focussed on specific industries. Aludium is one of our newest platforms and is focused on the aluminium sector. It’s a new industry for Atlas Holdings and we are very excited.”

What is your strategy when you acquire a new company?

“Our goal is to build companies in the industrial sector and to grow them over time. That can be through organic growth,

by investing in new equipment, growing in new markets, or by acquiring new businesses. But we always like to start with an existing business in an industrial sector, and then grow that platform from there.”

Do you acquire these business for the short- or long-term?

“Atlas Holdings still owns the first business the partners acquired in 1999.

We believe that the best way to create value is over time, so we always acquire businesses with a long-term investment horizon.”

“That’s how we’ve grown Atlas Holdings over the years and now we operate internationally.”

Are you still investing?

“Today we have capital in excess of US$1 billion dollars to invest. We like to invest in our existing businesses in order to find ways to grow them organically and through acquisitions. We are always looking for new opportunities in new sectors where our investment approach can ­create long-term value.”

Meet Dan Cromie Dan Cromie was born in Boston (Massachusetts) and grew up on the east coast of the United States. He studied European History at the University of Pennsylvania, where he met his wife. Dan graduated in 1993 with honours and initially started a career in finance, working with Andy Bursky who is now Managing Partner at Atlas. However, he suspended his career for six years to become a professional musician and signed as recording artist with a rock and roll band from New York City.

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In which industries are you active?

“Broadly speaking we are active in six industries: Automotive and Equipment; Building Materials; Energy; Metals; Packaging; and Paper.”

“A sector in which we’re very strong is paper. We have Finch which manufactures high-end opaque paper for printing, Soundview which makes bathroom and facial tissue and paper towels, and Twin Rivers which makes papers for specialty applications such as pharmaceuticals.”

“In automotive and equipment we have two platforms. Motus is a company we bought back in June 2014 from Johnson Controls. Similar to Aludium, it was a division of Johnson Controls which we had to convert to a stand-alone enterprise. We developed the identity and infrastructure of Motus to create an entrepreneurial, self-sustaining company.

Motus makes headliners and visors for some of the largest automotive manufacturers in the world including BMW, Daimler and Toyota. Demanding customers for sure, but Aludium has demanding customers too.” >

In 2002, Dan moved back into the corporate world, joining Andy Bursky and Tim Fazio at Atlas. He now has three children and is based in Connecticut.

Dan’s passions include playing music, skiing, sailing, and spending time with his family. He loves Spain and France, and is looking forward to bringing his family over and visiting his sisters who live in England and Ireland.

Dan sees many opportunities for Atlas to invest in Europe. His personal goal is to have a positive impact on people’s lives by creating employment opportunities at very successful, long-term and sustainable companies. ■

Corporate news

Dan Cromie signs the Inauguration plaque in Alicante

devastated in the US by the housing crisis which started in 2008. During that time we invested and purchased some great businesses from large companies.”

“For example, Erickson Construction, which creates framing for houses, was purchased from Masco, a large publicly traded company. New Wood manufactures plywood, specialty wood panels and veneers. Their facilities include a veneer mill which we developed in partnership with a Native American tribe.”

“Our second platform in automotive and equipment is Pangborn, a manufacturer of air- and shot-blasting equipment. They have operations in the US, Italy, Germany, and now China and they’ve been growing rapidly since we acquired them.”

“ASG and Forest Resources are two of our packaging platforms. Between them they make everything from high-end consumer packaging for cosmetics, to industrial packaging papers and corrugated boxes.

Novipax, our newest packaging platform, is a leading producer of absorbent packs and foam trays serving food processors, supermarkets and food packaging distributors.”

“In energy we have three platforms.

Bridgewell is a global supply-chain management company that distributes products in a variety of niche markets including utility poles for major power companies, solar panels, wind farms, and wood pellets for home heating.

Susquehanna explores for and develops natural gas reserves in the United States.”

“We also operate a closed-loop energy system called Detroit Renewable Energy

which creates green energy from a facility powered by waste. The business supplies steam power and electricity to the city of Detroit and nearby industrial customers such as General Motors.”

“RedBuilt, which makes roofing and flooring systems for commercial constructions, was purchased from a large multinational corporation called Weyerhaeuser. Bridgewell, mentioned earlier, also provides supply-chain management services for a host of companies engaged in the building and construction sector. They provide outsourced procurement services for large companies which build multi-family housing, and import and export wood products all over the world.”

Which companies are included in your Metals portfolio?

How will Atlas Holdings add value to Aludium and secure our future?

“Aludium is our first acquisition in the aluminium sector but we anticipate that we will continue to find opportunities to grow in this sector. It’s what we did in the steel sector where we now have a number of interests. We own Veritas Steel which fabricates large complex steel bridges in the United States and Banker Steel which fabricates complex steel structures such as stadiums and skyscrapers.”

“Phoenix Services is another of our metals acquisitions. It is one of the largest steel mill services companies in the world. The company handles the slag produced during steelmaking for companies like ArcelorMittal, Nucor and US Steel.”

Which is the largest sector for Atlas Holdings?

“We have invested heavily in building and construction. It’s a market that was

“A theme you see running through the businesses we’ve purchased (and that we invest in) is that many of them come from very large companies. Like Aludium!

They’re a small piece or division of a huge company. We’re there when that big company makes the decision that a business is no longer strategic for them.”

“We see the value in these businesses.

We bring our expertise, our capital, our passion, and together with the team in that business – the employees and management – we figure out ways to make them successful in their own right for the long-term.”

“That’s a core competency of ours and that’s what we are going to do with Aludium. That’s why we’re excited about Aludium as a platform for growth in the aluminium sector.” ■

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Care

Employee events launch Aludium A series of meetings were hosted by the management team to welcome employees to Aludium. The first was held in Alicante on 20 January, with a second meeting in Amorebieta the next day, and the final event in Castelsarrasin on 22 January.

During the meetings employees were welcomed by Dan Cromie (Shareholder Representative), Arnaud de Weert (CEO) and Manuel Ruano (COO). The team presented the strategy for Aludium in the future.

Dan Cromie provided an overview of our new shareholder, Atlas Holdings, with the local plant managers acting as interpreters. Thanks go to Alberto Ruiz (Alicante), Pedro Escudero (Amorebieta) and Franck Listuzzi (Castelsarrasin) for their live interpretation!

In his presentation, Dan emphasised the key values of Atlas Holdings which include the ‘people first’ principle, and safety as the foundation of good business.

He was keen to note that passionate and committed employees will be a key to the success of Aludium. Dan also stressed the new management team’s commitment to continuous improvement and open communication, and their belief in a hands-on ‘do it now!’ mentality.

Dan also explained that Aludium is the start of a new global platform for Atlas based on aluminium. Atlas already has 17 global platforms in its portfolio covering sectors from paper to steel. The investment

The show must go on!

Aludium hired a multimedia partner to ensure that the employee events went off without a hitch. Unfortunately the partner team had an accident while driving from Bilbao to Alicante. Instead of arriving in Alicante at noon the day before the event, they arrived at 22.00.

The team in Alicante, together with our multimedia partner, worked all night to ensure everything was ready for the presentation at 13.00. We’d like to thank Guillermo Rey-Ardid and his team for their efforts which ensured the show did go ahead as scheduled. ■

company is unique in that it has a long-term industrial focus. Atlas still owns the first business it acquired in 1999.

During his presentation, Manuel emphasised the importance of a customer-centric attitude: “The customer is our boss! We are relying on our employees to take care of Aludium’s own future by outperforming our competitors and better meeting the needs of our customers. Because, at the end of the day, we understand that the customers pay our salaries.”

Guillermo Rey-Ardid, Vice President and Human Resources Manager, asked every employee to commit to the new business by signing the Inauguration Plaque for their plant. This historical document will be placed in the entrance hall of each plant to demonstrate our belief in the future of Aludium. Each plaque was also signed by Dan, Manuel and Arnaud during the employee events.

Every meeting ended with a small reception. It gave employees the opportunity to meet the management team face-to–face for the first time. ■

Aludium’s team in Alicante

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In the media

World’s media cover launch of Aludium

Aludium launch is a major feature in the news

On the same day we briefed employees, Aludium’s management team held a series of media events for journalists.

Representatives from local and international trade, financial, and news organisations attended.

Separate events were held in Alicante and Castelsarrasin to ensure the launch was well covered in both France and Spain.

Management also held one-to-one meetings in Bilbao (near Amorebieta) with important industry journalists to explain their vision.

During the events, the management team introduced Atlas Holdings and outlined their future plans for Aludium. In subsequent reports, many journalists noted the strong long-term vision Atlas Holdings has for Aludium, and the investment fund’s years of industrial experience.

Journalists were told of Aludium’s strategic decision to focus on core markets including closures, bright products,

Manuel Ruano explains the capabilities of Aludium’s Cindal R&D facility during the media tour

building and construction, and industrial products. The flat structure and correspondingly short decision making process of the new organisation was also emphasised.

An important topic of conversation was the added value that Aludium brings to the local economies and communities in which we have operated for more than 60 years.

The Alicante presentation was hosted in the Cindal R&D facility by Arnaud de

Franck Listuzzi, Plant Manger, briefs the assembled media in Castelsarrasin

Weert and Manuel Ruano. Following the formal presentations, Manuel Ruano led journalists on a tour of Cindal’s state-ofthe-art facilities.

In Castelsarrasin, local politicians were also invited to the media event so they could gain an understanding of Aludium’s importance to the local area.

The launch of Aludium received widespread coverage in local and inter­national media outlets following the media events. ■

Arnaud de Weert welcomes the media to Cindal R&D, Alicante

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COO news

Interview with

Manuel Ruano, Chief Operating Officer What is Aludium’s future strategy?

“Our strategy is simple – we want to be the supplier of choice for all our clients. We want to supply them with aluminium in all our existing markets. But that’s not all. We want to become the number one supplier of aluminium products in these markets.

“We can’t be happy to be second best, we must work hard to be number one. From today we are working in this direction.”

“Our objective in the short term is to make the transition from being part of a big multinational, to being an

Manuel Ruano

Manuel was born in Valencia (Spain) but grew up in Fribourg (Switzerland). He later moved back to Spain where he studied for his bachelor degree. Manuel began his career with Ford in Valencia before taking up a position with Grupo Antolin, a well-known family business in Spain. In this position, Manuel lived in a number of countries including the UK, Mexico, the US and France. In 2003 he joined the aluminium industry in his native Spain.

Manuel enjoys both motor and pedal-powered bikes, skiing and golf.

But his favourite pastime is spending time with his family and friends.

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independent company. We need to survive, learn, and become the leader in our markets as Aludium.”

“This is going to be a complex process.

But the first indicators show that we are moving in the right direction. We can do it.”

How can the strategy be achieved?

“We are basing our strategy on two main pillars: our customers and our people.”

“With respect to our clients, they are the first people who need to feel our passion and dedication. In November and December last year, Dan Cromie, Arnaud de Weert and I went to see the customers who account for a big portion of our portfolio. At first we worried that some of them might not want to meet us – Aludium is a new name, a new company.”

“Our doubts were unfounded. We met with the leadership teams at our customers and they all told us the same thing – the market needs a company like Aludium. Aludium is the type of European aluminium supplier our customers are looking for: agile, with fast and clear decision making, and a high level of customer service and quality.”

“This might not be enough to make us the number one in our markets. Maybe we haven’t got the latest machinery. But there’s one thing that we are very sure that we do have – our people. Together they are the key asset of this company.”

What is the long-term goal?

“It might sound strange, but we don’t want to sell kilos of product. We want to sell best-in-class customer service. When a client calls us, we want to greet them with a smile and do whatever we can to meet their needs. Our passion and experience will enable us to exceed the client’s expectations.”

“We have created a family sized business.

A business in which manufacturing, sales and R&D all work together to service the client. This is what the market wants: an integrated approach to client service and the ability to implement fast decision making.”

“This is an organisation in which Arnaud de Weert, Marcel Crince, and I are involved in the day-to-day running of the business. We’re not located in some distant office building detached from where everything is happening.”

Which markets will Aludium target?

“It might seem that everyone in the aluminium industry has decided to move into the aerospace and automotive sectors. Everyone except Aludium! We want to continue to focus on our existing markets, those that we know very well, those markets where we can become number one.”

“That includes construction. People might question this choice, especially in Spain, as everyone is thinking of exiting this sector. But we want to remain active. In terms of aluminium, the construction sector has incredible potential for the future. Today we are seeing many well-known buildings and historical monuments replacing marble and stone coatings with aluminium.”

“We will also continue to be active in the brights and cosmetic packaging sectors. In Castelsarrasin we are working hard to gain market share in the automotive sector.

When you get into a car and see aluminium, 28% of the time this product will have come from our mill in Castelsarrasin.”

“In the cosmetic packaging sector we already have around 40% of the global market. We are already the leaders in both of these markets.” >

COO news

Cindal R&D is a global leader

“When it comes to industrial products, we are starting to specialise in packaging and automotive (though not body parts). In these markets we still have huge potential for future growth.”

Where will Aludium be active?

“We are already a major player in Europe, but we don’t want to limit ourselves to this region. Our locations already export to Australia, Canada, Chile and Taiwan. We want to continue to grow and export to other countries in Asia, and the United States. Asia was off-limits under our previous corporate structure, but now we plan to become active there as soon as possible.”

What is the strategy in sectors where Aludium is already the leader?

“This mainly affects brights and cosmetic packaging where we have around 40% market share. The key goal here will be to maintain our leading position with the two existing mills – Alicante and Castelsarrasin – co-existing harmoniously.”

“One in four aluminium bottle caps in Europe is produced with Aludium products. While that’s a leading position, 25% market share is not enough for us to be the market leader. And, as you know, I don’t want to be second best.”

How will Aludium obtain its raw materials?

“Our three mills would not be able to operate without aluminium. Today, 45% of that metal comes from recycled aluminium processed at our own foundry in Amorebieta. The remainder comes from Alcoa smelters.”

“One of the key changes compared to previous years is that we are going to put a strong focus on the availability of the technology and R&D facilities in Cindal. In bottle caps for example, our R&D team is capable of providing the client with solutions at every step of the process.”

“Aludium has an agreement with Alcoa to ensure our aluminium supply for the next five years. That is an outstanding agreement as it allows Aludium to guarantee our future. However, we still want to increase our foundry capacity as much as possible as well as diversify the origin of the aluminum.”

“We have to learn to use our R&D capability to its full potential. We already have agreements with the University of Alicante and we want to sign agreements with other clients and universities in Europe. Our ability to develop new products, and new processes to create those products, is an asset for us and for our clients.”

What is the plan for Aludium in 2015?

What about the communities in which Aludium operates?

“In January we had a group of 40 people working together from many different departments – sales, customer service, logistics, quality control, production, and R&D. We worked together for two days on one single objective: how to grow in 2015.”

“Aludium is not just 320 jobs in Alicante, 410 jobs in Amorebieta, 40 jobs in Castelsarrasin or 20 sales jobs. Aludium also represents the creation of a real partnership with our communities.”

“I challenged them to come up with feasible opportunities. After two days of hard work we had identified more opportunities than we are capable of implementing. The ability we have to be proactive and to use our energy in a productive way is just incredible.”

“We are continuing our policy of working with NGOs. Even when the economic crisis was really affecting us, we never stopped this funding. As Aludium, we aim to continue this partnership and to foster the desire of our employees to support charities and collaborate with NGOs.” ■

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Technology

Transforming Aludium’s IT infrastructure Moving from being part of a large multinational to a standalone business has resulted in some significant challenges for Aludium. One of the most difficult has been the separation of information technology (IT) systems. A transition agreement will maintain system as we implement new software and processes to ensure the success of Aludium as we move forward.

Aludium Today met with the team responsible for implementing the new systems to understand what is changing and the timeline for their installation.

Aludium’s IT transformation programme is probably one of the biggest technology projects the business will ever undertake.

Once in place, Aludium will become a completely independent company, free of the legacy systems currently used. As part of a transition service agreement, existing systems will remain in place for the first year as new systems are installed and tested before they become operational.

Accounting Production

HR

Inventory

ERP Purchase

Planning

Sales Engineering

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The systems that are to be replaced touch all areas of the business including finance, human resources (HR), maintenance, manufacturing, procurement, and our supply chain. Every Aludium employee will feel the changes, no matter where they work.

“Our way of working will change.

There will be more common processes, and less spreadsheets.

We all have to embrace the changes, and opportunities, which this transformation will bring” says Marcel Crince, Aludium’s Global Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

Aludium has opted to install an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. The ERP will provide an integrated suite of IT solutions which will enable us to collect, store, manage and interpret data from our business activities.

“This will provide us with a much better solution than the mix of systems we have now,” notes Mariola Ribera Sanchis, IT Manager. “We can eliminate the multiple software systems at each location, and across different areas, which do not integrate together well.”

Mariola believes the benefits of the new integrated system will be immeasurable: “How many times have you had to use spreadsheets as the basis for important decisions? This will stop! Business intelligence will definitely be improved, as will our operational Delivery excellence.”

The implementation of new systems will give Aludium a unique chance to standardise its BI systems and processes across the business. “They will allow us to leverage knowledge at all levels of the organisation!” says Mariola. The user experience will be enhanced and a new level of personalisation is available.

Data security will also be improved.

Cloud computing

“We will be working on the migration over the next few months,” explains Mariola.

“This will require changes to our network, computers, end-users tools, and data centre strategy.”

Aludium’s IT vision is to leverage cloud services whenever they make sense.

Cloud services have significant advantages with respect to flexibility, security, capacity, cost, and universal access. For Aludium’s geographically scattered workforce, the cloud environment will offer the latest data and intelligence to enable them to make quick, fact-based decisions.

Customers also benefit It’s not just employees who will notice the changes, customers and suppliers will also notice a difference. The new ERP system will contain features to support supplier management and relations, and to monitor supplier quality.

Customer satisfaction is a priority for Aludium and the new ERP will be built with them in mind. “The new systems will allow us to respond to complex customer requests quickly. They will also provide additional features that will enable customers to check the status of their orders, monitor deliveries, and view all the information they need at a glance,” says Cristina Jaca, Business Transition Lead. “Our goal is to enhance our offer to customers wherever possible.” >

Technology

Tight timeline for installation There are four phases in the implementation of the new ERP systems. The first – diligence and planning – has just ended. During this phase, three vendors were selected to present their solutions to Aludium explains Mariola: “Several workshops have been held with the vendors so we can gain a better understanding of the different software packages and how they fit our needs.

The selection of the successful vendor will be made and approved by the management team before the end of May.” 30 Apr 2015 Start deployment & migration infrastructure 31 Mar 2015 ERP solution selected & project approved

TODAY

Phase II Design & Build / Site Migration

Phase I Diligence & Planning

JAN. ‘15

APR. ‘15

MAY. ‘15

22 Dec 2015

30 Jun 2016

• Design, build and test finished.

• Ready for deployment.

Go Live ERP

End of transitional arrangements

Phase III Deployment

JUL. ‘15

The next phases will involve tailoring the selected systems to meet Aludium’s specific needs. Data will be migrated to the new software tools and an extensive testing programme will be undertaken to ensure they are fit for purpose.

Training of staff in the new processes

30 Aug 2015

OCT. ‘15

Phase IV Post Go-live Support Development of additional GAP

JAN. ‘16

and systems will follow. The target is for the new systems to go live across the company by the end of 2015.

This will be followed by a stabilisation period. The final phase will see the IT team provide support to staff and

Aludium will also be able to manage sales and marketing data more efficiently, monitor the financial status of our customers, and manage inventory more economically.

Key users will be identified in each area.

They will be more deeply involved in the testing of the solutions and will play an important role during training and deployment.

Communication and user involvement

Business process owners will have an instrumental role in the implementation of the new systems. They will help to define the current processes, communicate about the project to all levels of the organisation,

Communication is a basic pillar of the ERP project. “The Aludium community will receive timely updates throughout the whole project,” Mariola explains. Users will be represented during the design and build phases to ensure that each business process and system works as required.

This means that every employee will be involved at some stage. “Their collaboration will be crucial in order to make the project a success,” notes Mariola. “We need open-minded employees who can look to the future!”

APR. ‘16

Stabilise business performance

JUN. ‘16

customers as they get used to the new systems. “Our goal is to have everyone comfortable with the new systems and processes before the transition service agreement comes to an end,” says Mariola. ■

assign key resources, and help with important tasks such as data cleansing and training.

For many, the new systems and process cannot come quickly enough. But the detailed planning being done by the core team will ensure the solutions that are developed will meet the needs of the business, and that their implementation will run smoothly. ■

The team Responsibility for selecting and installing the new systems has been handed to a core team which includes Mariola Ribera (IT Lead), Cristina Jaca (Business Transition Lead), Willem Lens (Program Manager), and Rick Krens (Finance Lead).

An extended team has been also nominated. This includes several business process owners who will ensure the systems are aligned to the business. The team, which represents all of Aludium’s operating units includes: Esther Álvarez (Marketing), Pablo Camino (Production), Juan del Rio (Quality and R&D), Juan Antonio Naveiro (Supply Chain), Jack Flipsen (Sales and Customer Service), Guillermo Rey-Ardid (HR), Marcel Crince (Finance) and Jose Corrales (Procurement). Team members have a clear aim to standardise processes and define best practices for Aludium.

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Customer focus

Why customers choose us!

Aludium Today sat down with Aludium’s three Sales Directors: Philippe Barraud (Building and Construction), Christiane Huber (Specialties) and Dieter Winterhoff (Distribution and Industrial). We wanted to find out more about their sectors and how our customers have reacted to the advent of Aludium.

Aludium’s products are used to manufacture an astounding array of applications in industries ranging from automotive to beverages and almost everything in between. The sales team is divided across three broad market segments: Building and Construction; Distribution and Industrial; and Specialities. Each sales team is headed by a Sales Director who manages the team and sets the sales strategy for their sector.

Wide variety of end-use applications for Aludium products Christiane Huber explains her Specialities portfolio: “Specialities are products sold to niche markets, usually with a very small number of players. Our end products include closures for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, lighting, automotive trim and car badges, cosmetic packaging, semi-rigid containers, foil stock, and lithographic sheets used in printing.”

“Our people understand aluminium – they’ve been in the industry a long time. They know our products, our plants and the market” Philippe Barraud, Aludium’s Sales Director for Building and Construction

Specialties are technically quite demanding. Surface finish, quality and formability are all key considerations for Aludium’s customers. “The reliability, long-term commitment and strategic fit of their aluminium supplier are also important for many of the producers in this sector. But sometimes, unfortunately, it is price that is the key consideration and nothing else,” notes Christiane. This is especially true for products which have become commodities over the years, such as closures.

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Building and Construction is looked after by Philippe Barraud who is based in France. Most of Aludium’s products for this sector go to manufacturers who make facades, roofs and gutters, and interior applications such as Venetian blinds.

“About 95% of our Building and Construction sales are for mill-finished levelled coils,” explains Philippe. These products are then painted or finished by the customer and used to make composite panels or sheets for facades. “The coils we supply must be very flat and free of any marks or blemishes which show up easily on a large, flat surface,” notes Philippe.

“For Distribution we have a clear goal to focus on the key players in the European market. A long-term strategy, good delivery performance, and reliable logistic systems are the key to success,” notes Dieter. Aludium’s Amorebieta mill has been a stable partner for customers in the Distribution sector for many years. “Thanks to the capabilities of Amorebieta, we have often changed our status with the customer from trusted supplier to business partner,” explains Dieter.

Industrial is divided into two segments explains Dieter: “End-user Products and Building and Construction which Philippe covers. Our Industrial products are used in a wide range of industries including automotive, construction, and mechanical engineering.”

Each Sales Director is supported by a number of account managers. Many of them work remotely from their Sales Director so communication and discipline are critical for success. Languages are also important to maintain good relationships with Aludium’s widespread customer base.

One thing all three Sales Directors agree gives Aludium’s sales staff an edge is their in-depth knowledge of the plants and the products they produce. >

Customer focus

employees, but also for customers. “We kept the communication lines open and ensured they received good service, even when things were unclear. But when the customers found out it was Atlas Holdings buying the business, we had a very positive response,” notes Philippe. “They were pleased that an industrial investment fund was involved as it meant they would be more likely to take steps to grow the business.”

“Our people understand aluminium they’ve been in the industry a long time.

They know our products, our plants and the market,” says Philippe.

The Specialties team also has a designated single point of contact (SPA) for different market segments such as closures or lithography. “The SPAs know everything about their segment and they

are the go-to person when a member of the team needs information about that segment,” notes Christiane.

Customers pleased with Atlas The period leading up the takeover of Alcoa’s facilities in Alicante, Amorebieta, and Castelsarrasin by Atlas Holdings has been a tense time. Not just for the

“Atlas has an industrial focus, and a long-term strategy, both of which are appreciated by the market. We haven’t lost an important customer yet and we’re already in discussions with potential new clients,” says Dieter.

Although it’s early days, all three Sales Directors have noticed that sales have remained stable and are even increasing.

Christiane is pleased that Atlas moved to quickly identify the sectors they want to target: “Aludium will make the difference because we are very sure about the markets in which we want to be active. >

Meet Philippe Barraud

Meet Dieter Winterhoff

Meet Christiane Huber

Philippe Barraud is Aludium’s

Dieter Winterhoff is Sales Director

Christiane Huber is Specialties Sales

Sales Director for Building and

for Distribution and Industrial and

Director. She is married with a young

Construction. He lives in France and

has more than 30 years of experience

daughter and lives in the countryside

is married with two adult children.

in the aluminium industry. He is

close to Linz, Austria. Christiane

He is a good handyman and a fan of

based in Germany and has a passion

studied International Trade at Linz

motor bikes which he likes to ride. ■

for sport, particularly skiing, football

University and in Florence (Italy). Her

(coaching was a hobby), and long-

hobbies include reading and local

distance cycling. ■

politics. ■

Today

13

Customer focus

This enables us to give a very clear and positive message to our customers. That’s not something all of our competitors can do today.”

between sales and the plants and the appropriate tools to facilitate the jobs of our customer support representatives and account managers.”

Flatter management structure brings benefits

A key feature of Aludium’s strategy is to focus on markets other than aerospace and automotive. But that means we deliver a lot of standard products. So how can Aludium differentiate its offer?

Philippe’s clients often mention innovation. “In our Building and Construction activities, that is not so easy.

But innovation can also come from improving our existing product offer. For example, improving the flatness and surface aspects of our aluminium products,” he notes.

For Philippe, one of the main benefits of the change is the quick access to management: “Our decision making process is shorter and more efficient.

Under the previous structure we had more levels of hierarchy and decisions took more time. Now I can go and talk directly to Manuel.”

Christiane believes this lack of bureaucracy will make a significant difference: “Our customers need quick answers for their customers. Only the company who can provide a quote early or offer a short lead time will make the deal. This requires a good connection

It’s a sentiment with which Christiane agrees: “We need to improve our service level. It’s not just about premium aluminium, but also about premium service. In sales, responsiveness is key.”

Dieter believes that long-term relationships and delivering on what has been promised are critical: “If we want to grow in Distribution and Industrial, we have to have a long-term strategy with the customer. A good example is our short lead-time concept. We offer short lead-times consistently and reliably and independent of standard lead times in the market. Customers rely on that service now. If it stopped, they would stop trusting us.”

He notes that offering a clear differentiation in logistics, service and quality will enable Aludium to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage and profitable growth: “We must never stop trying to understand the customer’s needs and delivering on what we have promised.” ■

Mapping a new customer approach Aludium was launched on 1 January 2015 and within two weeks the sales team and management were sitting together to develop an ambitious new plan for the future. The meeting was hosted by the Chief Operating Officer and President of Aludium, Manuel Ruano.

Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom were in Alicante for the event.

During the meeting, Manuel emphasised Aludium’s European focus and global vision. There was also much discussion about Aludium’s significant strengths and ability to become an important player in the aluminium sector.

One of Aludium’s key advantages is that the business is now a medium-sized enterprise, rather than being a part of a major organisation. Where sales and production were separated in the past, the new structure ensures that they are closely linked. Both the sales team and management see this close link as a strength for Aludium, and one that needs to be exploited as quickly and as much as possible.

Manuel Ruano welcomes everyone to Aludium’s first general sales meeting

Many of the sales team work from offices that are remote from Aludium’s production facilities in France and Spain. The meeting gave the team a unique opportunity to

14

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meet colleagues, the new management team, and representatives from production face-to-face. Almost 35 sales personnel from Austria, France, Germany, Italy, the

The sales team were also very willing to move from selling semi-fabricated products (such as strips, sheets and coils) to a more service-oriented co-engineering approach in which Cindal R&D is a key partner. >

Customer focus Titel

Salvador Marcilla Gomis, R&D Director, presents the co-engineering approach of Cindal

There was active participation in the different workshops

Sales and production discuss opportunities

The opening session An international team, learning from each other

Aludium’s sales people arrived in Alicanta full of enthusiasm and showed a strong belief in the future of the new company.

They were given a platform to express their ideas about the customer approach and meeting their needs. The sales team will use this information to find new opportunities in the short and long term.

They were also very happy that a long period of uncertainty was behind the business. They can again bring a positive message to Aludium’s clients who can now rely on Aludium as a long-term partner.

Aludium’s sales team left Alicante full of practical strategies. They have ambitious plans to increase business and to improve their teamwork with production. ■

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15

Human resources

The future is in our hands As Aludium transitions from being part of a multinational organisation to an independent business, there is a real need to change how all of us think and feel about the company. Human Resources Vice President, Guillermo Rey-Ardid Latorre believes this change is critical to ensure that Aludium, and its employees, realise their full potential.

Guillermo Rey-Ardid Latorre has one message for Aludium’s 870 employees.

And it’s a message he will repeat over and over again for the next few years: “The future is in our own hands!”

“We need to learn that we are all now entrepreneurs in charge of our own destiny,” says Guillermo. “In the past, we were part of a global industrial company with a very professional attitude. We need to take that experience with us and use it to develop our own future.”

What does this mean on a practical level?

“We need to do what we do well.

That means putting the customer at the centre of our focus and doing things right for them the first time. At the same time we need to actively look for ways to improve our processes so we operate more efficiently and innovate our product

“We have the resources, we have the people, and now we have Atlas. We have everything we need to create a very nice business story in the aluminium world.”

Guillermo Rey-Ardid Latorre, Human Resources Vice President

Health and safety remain key focus One thing that hasn’t changed at Aludium is the attention paid to the health and safety of the people who work at our facilities. “People are our primary asset,” notes Guillermo. “We must dedicate ourselves to creating a healthy and safe workplace – it is part of our core values.”

The existing health and safety culture at the Aludium facilities is already well ingrained. Every meeting starts with a health and safety briefing, and Aludium has an enviably low rate of accidents and injuries. “We want to maintain the health and safety culture that has already been developed,” says Guillermo.

“That is the baseline, but we want to continuously improve our performance and reduce the occurrence of lost time incidents even further.”

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Today

range,” notes Guillermo. “If we do it well, customers and financiers will come calling and Aludium’s future will be wide open.”

For Guillermo, the biggest challenge Aludium faces over the next two to three years is getting everyone to change from that multinational mindset to an independent and entrepreneurial way of thinking. But he is confident it can be done: “We have the resources, we have the people, and now we have Atlas. We have everything we need to create a very nice business story in the aluminium world.”

Commitment to Aludium One of Guillermo’s first initiatives after the launch of Aludium was the development of an inauguration board at each mill. Made of a simple aluminium sheet, the boards mark the ‘birth’ of Aludium and have been signed by every employee. His goal was simple: “I wanted our people to feel that we had started to write a challenging story in the aluminium industry with the new company, and that we are all actively engaged in the future of Aludium.”

The initiative was appreciated by the employees with everybody signing the boards within the first week. During the employee launch days, the boards were also signed by Aludium’s top management team. Each board will be displayed at the entrance to its plant and are a powerful daily reminder that we all face a new era, and that we will only achieve success together.

But the new entrepreneurial company culture won’t just be promoted at face-to-face and company meetings, it will permeate throughout the business.

“We’ve appointed the top level management lines, but now we are looking at middle management,” explains Guillermo. “People who can put the customer first and promote the new culture among their colleagues will be highly regarded for these positions.”

They also need to be able to promote this way of thinking and inspire their colleagues and teams to act accordingly.

“We will face big stones ahead of us on this journey, but we can jump them,” Guillermo notes. “But we must all be willing to jump together because there is no-one else to build a bridge over the obstacles we will face. It’s up to all of us together.” >

Human resources

So how does the future look for employees today? “It looks both positive and challenging because everything is in our hands,” says Guillermo. “We know the barriers and opportunities, now we need to fully engage our hearts and minds to demonstrate what we can achieve,” says Guillermo.

“After all, nothing happens without the heart.” ■

Meet Guillermo Rey-Ardid Latorre Guillermo started working as the Human Resources Manager for the Alicante plant in 2004. Over the following years his responsibilities grew to include international relations for the Spanish business and human resources for the specialties and flat rolling mills. He lives in Alicante and spends his spare time with family and friends and enjoys playing golf when he gets the opportunity.

Helping local communities Aludium’s mills in Alicante, Amorebieta, and Castelsarrasin have had a long history of helping their local communities. This tradition is set to continue under Aludium explains Guillermo: “We won’t just take over the existing activities, we will also develop our own community programmes. Our focus will be on improving the communities in which we operate and helping the disadvantaged in society. We won’t exclude anyone and Aludium’s employees will be actively involved.”

Aludium at Save the date – Aluminium 2016

Aludium will exhibit at Automotive Interiors for the first time in 2015. The show will be held in Stuttgart from 16 to 18 June 2015.

During Automotive Interiors we will present our co-engineering capabilities and production facilities to the global automotive industry. Aludium’s products are already featured in some of the world’s leading vehicles including BMW, Mercedes and Audi models. Many more have marque badges made from our premium aluminium grades.

Products to inspire A selection of our products will be on show to inspire designers of automotive interiors. Our leading product for automotive interiors is Decorandum®, a high-quality, rolled aluminium sheet which is available in a range of brushed surfaces and can be rolled to thicknesses as low as 0.1 mm.

Designers find Decorandum® a superb alternative to other materials such as stainless steel. Not only is it lighter and easier to work, it also bonds with almost any material and comes in a variety of brushed surfaces to complement any design format perfectly.

Aludium’s automotive trim products lead the decorative finishes market due to their consistent high surface quality and unbeatable response to bright and anodised surface treatments. Their metallurgical structure facilitates the drawing, forming and assembly processes.

Aludium has already signed-up for a large stand at Aluminium 2016, the world’s leading tradeshow for the industry. The show runs from 29 November to 1 December 2016 in Dusseldorf.

Find out more: www.aluminium-messe.com

Senior team on-hand Throughout the show, senior members of the Aludium team will be on the booth (A5228) including: • Manuel Ruano, COO & President • Christiane Huber, Sales Director Specialties • Salvador A. Marcilla Gomis, R&D Director.

Customers can also visit our stand to find out how Aludium’s Cindal R&D facility and our automotive manufacturing sites in Alicante and Castelsarrasin can work with them to co-engineer automotive interiors.

By combining the expertise of Cindal R&D with our leading production facilities, we can help customers create automotive interior solutions which are functional, lightweight, and aesthetically unique.

Whatever the project, Aludium helps designers realise their dreams. ■

Aludium’s stand at Automotive Interiors 2015 – Stuttgart

Do you know customers who would like to meet Aludium at Automotive Interiors 2015? They can get free tickets to the show courtesy of Aludium. There is more information available on our homepage at www.Aludium.com

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Amorebieta

Site news

The first quarter of 2015 has been extremely busy in Amorebieta with our regular audit programme, an unusually large snowfall in week 6, and a number of visits by management to strategic partners.

The snowfall presented a tremendous challenge to the mill’s operations. Not only did we need to guarantee the safety of our people, we had to be able to ship finished goods to our customers. An emergency committee was formed which met every two to three hours to ensure that the necessary actions were taken. As the municipal snow-clearing teams were overwhelmed, the committee took the decision to convert a forklift into an emergency snowplough. The forklift was able to clear the access roads so that teams could spread salt. The actions taken meant that the plant could continue to operate safely.

In March, audits were held to check Amorebieta’s compliance to the ISO 14001 (Environment Management System) and ISO 50001 (Energy Management System) standards. Three minor improvement opportunities were identified during the audits. One non-compliance issue was identified during the ISO 50001 audit, but this was resolved and closed during the audit process.

The collective bargaining agreement (CBA) which covers employees working at Aludium Amorebieta has been a topic of discussion in the first quarter. The Negotiation Board reached a preliminary agreement which was subsequently ratified by the General Assembly of Workers. We are now working on the final wording of the CBA text.

Manuel Ruano and other members of the Aludium management team visited the local Basque Regional Government and met with the General Deputy. During the visit, the Aludium team discussed a number of challenges and opportunities with the government representatives. The outcome was extremely positive with the government expressing its wish that Amorebieta will continue to build value for our customers and the local community over the long term.

They underlined that, in current economic situation, they were pleased that Atlas Holdings and local management are making the effort to develop Aludium as a stand alone company and a leading supplier to the aluminium industry.

Pedro Escudero and Alfonso Martinez also paid a visit to the Automotive Intelligence Center (AIC). AIC helps major players in the automotive industry (such as Gestamp and CIE Automotive) to develop their market competiveness. Discussions focussed on the potential for aluminium in the automotive market. The capabilities of our Cindal R&D centre in Alicante were also presented and very well received.

A follow-up meeting will be held in May to identify opportunities for technical collaboration and long-term cooperation with AIC and the different companies that are part of their Automotive Cluster. ■

Amorebieta promotions announced Pedro Escudero, Plant Director at Amorebieta announced a number of promotions at the mill. The changes were all effective from 1 February 2015.

Iñigo, Jorge and Cristina will be part of

past contributions to our business and

the Amorebieta Lead Team reporting to

wish them every success with their new

Pedro Escudero. We would like to take this

responsibilities.

opportunity to thank all three for their

Iñigo Omaechevarria

Jorge Macias, currently

Cristina Barturen,

has been appointed

Amorebieta Plant

currently Hot Rolling

Cast House Manager,

Rolling Manager, will

Process Engineer has

taking over from Alfonso

take up the position of

been promoted to the

Martínez who has taken

Production Manager with

position of Hot Rolling

up the position of Energy

responsibility for the cold rolling and finishing areas. Jorge joined us

Iñigo, Cristina also holds an Industrial

holds an Industrial Engineering degree

in August 1993 as a Team Leader in the

Engineering degree. She joined Amorebieta

and joined Amorebieta in August 1991 as

hot rolling area. In 2004 he was promoted

in May 2007 as Hot Rolling Process

Process Engineer in the Cold Rolling and

to Process Engineer before taking up the

Engineer. Over the past years Cristina has

Finishing area. In 2001 he was promoted to

position of Hot Rolling Production Manager

developed her skills and knowledge which

Production Manager, before taking up the

just a year later. During the reorganisation

has enabled her to stand-in as Hot Rolling

position of Finishing Manager in May 2007.

of the rolling areas in May 2007 Jorge was

Manager whenever Jorge Macias was away.

appointed Rolling Manager.

18

Manager. Like Jorge and

and CAPEX Director in Alicante. Iñigo

Today

Alicante

Site news

The first quarter of 2015 has been full of activity at Aludium Alicante.

Following the New Year break, returning employees were greeted by the new Aludium logo on the main administration building, a definitive sign that things were changing. Over the following weeks a number of events were held at Alicante to mark the change to Aludium including employee and media events.

Ardagh Group, one of the largest producers of rigid aluminium food packaging, visited Alicante for two days as part of a qualification process. If successful, Aludium will begin to produce food-grade aluminium for Ardagh in 2016.

A number of important customer visits have taken place over the first three months of the year. Almeco inspected our surface treatment and levelling processes.

Compared to an earlier test, the material produced for this visit by Almeco showed improved surface homogeneity before coating. Coil levelling was also more accurate although some improvements are needed for 0.4 mm levelled coils. Cindal R&D is currently investigating how the levelling process can be optimised.

Almeco plans to return in April for more levelling tests and to completely review the degreasing line.

In late January, Alberto Ruiz, Alicante Plant Director, announced that Luis Rico had been appointed Supply Chain Manager for the Alicante Plant. Although he joined the Alicante team in 2006, Luis has been on secondment to Amorebieta as Planner Coordinator since 2013. Luis took up his new role in Alicante on 1 February. ■

Castelsarrasin

Aludium Castelsarrasin has started the year with good volumes and a number of visits by important customers.

Long-term customer ALANOD®, a global leader in surface-finished aluminium coil, visited Castelsarrasin for the first time in a number of years.

The visitors were positively surprised by the improvement in our shop floor processes.

Faurecia, which manufactures automotive components using our products, has also visited the plant on several occasions during the quarter. The Faurecia team met

Other customers to visit Alicante during the quarter include Alcoa Architectural Products (AAP) and Alespri (Confal). Both companies were in Alicante for their Annual Business Review. We also presented the companies with information about the new business structure and the capabilities of the Cindal R&D facility.

Luis Rico

Alicante award recipients with Andrew M. Bursky, Arnaud de Weert and Manuel Ruano

Alicante recognises innovative suggestions During a visit by to Alicante by Andrew M. Bursky, Arnaud de Weert and Manuel Ruano, a number of awards were handed out to employees. The awards recognise the best improvement suggestions submitted in the first quarter of 2015.

The 3 best suggestions were: • Improving control of the oil pressure in the L2 machine.

• Installation of a new strip with fins to transport scrap • 5S exercise.

Special recognition was also given to an idea which could see Alicante cut its costs by limiting the consumption of liquid nitrogen. ■

Franck Listuzzi addresses the meeting during a visit by the Mayor of Castelsarrasin and the sub-prefect of the Tarn-et-Garonne Department

with Aludium’s commercial staff to align forecast orders with their expectations.

Plant director Franck Listuzzi used the launch of Aludium to invite the local authorities to the plant. The delegation was led by the Mayor of Castelsarrasin and the Sub-prefect of the local Tarn-et-Garonne Department. During the visit, Franck

presented information about the new company and organised a tour of the shop floor.

Several employee health and safety (EH&S) training sessions have been held during the quarter. Technical staff have also received training in order to strengthen the competencies of our employees. ■

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KING WO R T H E R E E TO G TUR U F US ERO P S O A PR YO U FOR WITH