For Immediate Release
May 9,
2006
AISI ANNOUNCES RECIPIENTS OF FIRST ANNUAL MARKET DEVELOPMENT
INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP AWARD
Washington, DC – The American Iron and
Steel Institute (AISI) announced today the recipients of its first
Market Development Industry Leadership Award. The award recognizes
individuals who have made significant contributions in advancing the
competitive use of steel in the marketplace as a direct result of AISI
Market Development initiatives in the automotive, construction and
container markets. The award was presented to two individuals:
Paul Geck, senior staff technical specialist at Ford Motor Company; and
to Theodorus “Dick” Bus, president of ATAS International
Inc., during a ceremony held during AISI’s General Meeting at the
Boca Raton Resort & Club in Boca Raton, Florida.
AISI Senior Vice President of Market Development David C. Jeanes
said: “We are pleased to name Paul Geck and Dick Bus as the first
recipients of the annual AISI Market Development Industry Leadership
Award. During their careers, both of these men have demonstrated
outstanding leadership and commitment to advancing the use of steel in
their respective industries and to the implementation of new steel
technologies within their own companies.
“Paul Geck has been instrumental in implementing advanced
high-strength steel technologies in the design of current-model Ford
cars and light trucks. Dick Bus is being recognized for his outstanding
vision and leadership in spearheading the creation and launch of the
Metal Roofing Alliance, which is growing the market for steel in the
residential roofing market. Their efforts have helped change the face of
the marketplace, creating demand for the next generation of steel
products. We appreciate their dedication and are honored to recognize
them with this award,” Jeanes said.
The award for Paul Geck reads: “Presented to Paul E. Geck in
recognition of your significant contribution in advancing applications
of steel in Automotive market development.”
The award for Dick Bus reads: “Presented to Theodorus (Dick) A.
Bus in recognition of your significant contribution in advancing
applications of steel in Construction market development.”
Paul E.
Geck
For more than 40 years, Paul Geck has worked at Ford Motor Company in
the application of Computer Aided Engineering (CAE). The primary
benefit of CAE is the elimination of prototypes and the reduction of cycle times
for validating cost and weight optimization of automotive
structures.
As senior staff technical specialist, he has focused his research on
the lightweighting of body structures while keeping steel as the primary
material. Geck’s work has significantly influenced how Ford
designs and builds cars and light trucks.
From 1999 to 2003, Geck served as program manager for IMPACT
(Improved Materials and Powertrain Architectures for 21st
Century Trucks), a joint project between AISI, Ford and the U.S. Army to
develop strategies for reduced weight, enhanced performance, improved
mobility and increased fuel economy of tactical trucks. The IMPACT
program resulted in over 200 technologies for optimizing automotive
steel structures and demonstrated a 25% weight reduction using steel
technology. It became clear through the program that advanced
high-strength steels delivered the durability, weight savings and cost
savings that Ford needed for its own fleet of F-series trucks. Today,
Ford Motor Company uses 60% of the IMPACT technologies in all Ford
vehicles.
In addition to his leadership in the IMPACT program, Geck has
been instrumental in leading Ford's support of the Auto/Steel
Partnership (A/SP), an international association of the largest
North American automotive companies and major sheet steel producers that
pursues research, validation and education critical to both industries.
A/SP projects target optimal design in advanced high-strength steels to
ensure continued leadership in the design and manufacture of automotive
bodies utilizing sheet steel.
“Paul Geck is single-handedly responsible for the new pro-steel
agenda at Ford,” said Ron Krupitzer, vice president of automotive
applications for AISI. “His understanding of advanced
high-strength steel technologies and commitment to steel as the material
of choice in automotive design have moved steel from the back of the
pack in terms of design solutions to the front of the line in the
automotive industry.”
Geck has worked as a structural research engineer at Ford for the
last 42 years. As a technical leader for the past 15 years, he has led
large-scale research projects involving the lightweighting of vehicle
structures, focusing on the latest developments in steel-based
technology. He is the Ford “point person” for advanced
high-strength steels.
Theodorus (Dick) A.
Bus
Dick Bus is president of ATAS International Inc., a family-owned
manufacturer of architectural and residential metal roofing and siding.
ATAS manufactures profiles in aluminum, steel, copper and zinc for the
residential and architectural building envelope markets. Panels are
manufactured with high- performance coatings. Bus has more than 30 years
of experience in the metal roofing and siding industry.
Bus led a team to explore the potential for market growth in the
residential roofing market. The team’s efforts resulted in a
comprehensive business case that became the foundation for the Metal
Roofing Alliance (MRA), a coalition of customers, suppliers and
producers committed to growing this market. The MRA is driving demand
for steel roofing by educating consumers on its benefits and by
connecting them with a network of reputable contractors that can install
these roofs on their homes. Steel shipments in this market have grown by
450,000 tons per year since the program was launched in 1999. Bus is
president emeritus of the Metal Roofing Alliance.
“Dick’s untiring work in developing the business case for
residential roofing that resulted in the creation of the Metal Roofing
Alliance has been responsible for significant steel growth in
residential roofing, especially in the re-roofing market,” said
Delbert F. Boring, vice president of construction market development for
AISI. “His commitment to growing the residential roofing market is
unparalleled and appreciated by all of
us.”
Bus is currently president of the Metal Construction Association
(MCA) and is a founder of The Metal Initiative, a coalition of
manufacturers, individuals and associations that have come together to
provide information on the features and benefits of metal in
construction. The industry-wide program is designed to educate building
owners, architects, and contractors about the use and selection of metal
roofs and walls in commercial, industrial, and institutional
buildings.
Bus has chaired the Residential Roofing Council of the Metal
Construction Association and the committee that produced the Minimum
Guideline for Residential Metal Roofing.
AISI’s Market Development program is supported
through an investment by the following member companies:
AK Steel Corporation
Dofasco Inc.
IPSCO Inc.
Mittal Steel USA
Nucor Corporation
Severstal North America Inc.
Steelscape, Inc.
Stelco Inc.
United States Steel Corporation
USS-POSCO Industries
AISI serves as the voice of the North American steel
industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in
the marketplace as the preferred material of choice. AISI also plays a
lead role in the development and application of new steels and
steelmaking technology. AISI is comprised of 33 member companies,
including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and 118 associate
and affiliate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel
industry. AISI's member companies represent approximately 75 percent of
both U.S. and North American steel capacity. For more news about steel
and its applications, view AISI’s website at www.steel.org.
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