Light Metal Age (LMA) debuted a new short documentary that highlights the history of the magazine’s 75 years of continuous publication, which is intimately tied to the history of the aluminum industry. This video was presented during a celebration in honor of LMA’s 75th anniversary, held in October during the recent ALUMINUM USA trade show in Nashville.
The video briefly describes how the aluminum industry has progressed, from the development of the Hall-Heroult electrolysis process to the current booming growth of aluminum in the automotive industry. Key history moments presented by the video include:
- the use of aluminum in early aviation, such as the Wright brothers biplane
- how aluminum became a key strategic material during World War II in order to enable faster aircraft
- the launch of Light Metal Age magazine in May 1943
- how primary aluminum production shifted from North America to international markets
- a resurgence of growth due to urbanization and increased demand from automotive
- and more!
In addition to the sharing the documentary video, LMA honored editor Dr. Joseph C. Benedyk with an award for his years of service to the magazine. Dr. Joe has contributed his expansive technical knowledge on light metals to the magazine since 1968, having written over 150 articles and providing editorial advice on many more. In 2007, he was named editor for the magazine.
Dr. Joe is also a research professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) working to establish cooperative industry/university research programs in the fields of heat treatment, casting, and extrusion of aluminum and aluminum alloys. In 2013, he was honored by the Aluminum Extruders Council for his dedication to the aluminum extrusion industry and his willingness to selflessly share knowledge with others.
LMA was thrilled to share a night of celebration with friends and colleagues from across the aluminum industry, who were gifted commemorative aluminum drink coasters (made by Winston Moy) at the end of the event. On the whole, the celebration proved to be a great success.