The recipients for the Aluminum Anodizers Council’s Awards of Excellence were announced at the 21st Annual International Anodizing Conference during Aluminum Week in Chicago last October. The Awards of Excellence acknowledge exemplary contributions by authors and presenters from the previous year's Anodizing Conference. The Aluminum Anodizing Council (AAC) recognized two authors for their outstanding contributions at the 2011 Anodizing Conference in Tempe, Ariz:
The Donald I. Johnson Award of Excellence for best presentation was awarded to Susan Johnson, president and CEO of Futura Industries in Clearfield, Utah, for her presentation “Building a Strong Company." Johnson explained that a strong company can be built through employee loyalty and engagement. The prospect, according to Johnson, is much more complex, and yet at the same time, straight forward than it might seem. Her presentation demonstrated that through a high level of employee engagement driven by a strong culture, companies can achieve great things.
Futura Industries has performed best in their markets over the long term and has returned “best-of-class” earnings for an organization in any industry during the recent economic catastrophe, let alone a company involved in metals manufacturing. Johnson believes that if you take care of people first, the bottom line takes care of itself. When employees feel trusted, honored and respected, according to Johnson, they can provide products and services that exceed customers’ expectations. Johnson’s philosophy of focusing on her employees has resulted in numerous awards for Futura Industries and a 99-percent customer retention rate.
The Robert L. Kersman Award of Excellence for best paper was awarded to Klaus-Dieter Baumgart, Ph.D., of Clariant International AG in Muttenz, Switzerland, for his paper, "Enhancing the Use of Anodized Aluminum by Demonstrating to Decision-Makers the Increased Value of Colored Aluminum in Terms of Surface Properties, Appeal, as well as Cost." Dr. Baumgart's paper challenged the perception that colored anodized aluminum is more expensive and more difficult to process than other materials, such as powder coated metals and plastics. Dr. Baumgart explained that when the multi-step process challenges of producing colored anodized aluminum are taken into account from the very first design phase with designers, OEM and brand decision makers, that perception is proven wrong. His paper noted that by selecting input materials carefully, cost can be significantly reduced, weather and light fastness properties are enhanced, and environmental and health issues may be avoided.
The AAC Awards of Excellence for the 2012 Anodizing Conference held during Aluminum Week in Chicago will be announced at the 2013 Anodizing Conference. The 22nd Annual International Anodizing Conference and Exposition is scheduled for October 1-3, 2013 at the Hyatt at Olive 8 in Seattle Washington. The Council has issued the Call for Papers and the Call for Student Posters for the 2013 International Anodizing Conference and Exposition. For more information, visit www.AACconf.org.
About AACThe Aluminum Anodizers Council is the international trade association of firms engaged in aluminum anodizing and whose mission it is to support its members—and users of anodized aluminum—through education, advocacy, and promotion. For more information, contact the Aluminum Anodizers Council, 1000 N. Rand Road, Suite 214, Wauconda, IL 60084-3102 USA. Telephone 847/526-2010; fax 847/526-3993; mail@anodizing.org; www.anodizing.org.
