Every two years, the aluminium industry presents the European Aluminium Award to honour  the best new developments in the industry. At this year’s ALUMINIUM 2008, the award will be presented for the sixth time already. The European Aluminium Award “Industrial Design & Engineering“ is the leading international prize in the aluminium industry. The competition is organised by the Aluminium Centrum (Houten) in cooperation with EAA (European Aluminium Association), GDA (Gesamtverband der Aluminiumindustrie) and ALUMINIUM 2008. This year, the award is sponsored by the industry leaders ALCAN, ALCOA and HYDRO.

All in all, six awards will be presented in two categories. The “Industrial Products“ category is aimed at the following fields of aluminium application: “Automotive & Transport“, “Building & Construction“ as well as “Mechanical Engineering & Electronics”. The search is for aluminium components which have a positive effect on the final product. In the “Consumer Products“ category, on the other hand, the jury will distinguish final products according to the criteria “Design“, “Durability“ and “Innovation“.

Criteria and deadline for entries
The European Aluminium Award is aimed at designers, developers, engineers, construction engineers and their clients. In order do be admitted for the competition, the products must have been launched or produced in Europe after 1 July 2006. Evaluation criteria are: functional use of the material aluminium, degree of novelty, design and material recyclability. The deadline for entries is 30 June 2008.

Support from global players
ALCAN, ALCOA and HYDRO will again support the European Aluminium Award 2008 as main sponsors. In doing so, the three companies affirm the industry’s willingness to innovate and further strengthen the award’s range and effect. For the participants, the prize is an excellent opportunity to present their innovative strength to a wider public. The nominated products will be on display at ALUMINIUM 2008 in September in Essen, the presentation of the awards will be held on 23 September as part of the fair’s festive evening event.