“A Manufacturing Summit: Closing the Divide Between Jobs, Policy and Growth” will be co-hosted by the national Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) and its Mid-South chapter and is one of 11 to be held this election year around the country.

Moderators and hosts:

• Bob Weidner, III, MSCI president & CEO
• MSCI chapter president Mike Glover, division manager, Chatham Steel

Panelists:

• Bill Jones is vice chairman at O’Neal Industries, the largest family-owned group of metals service centers in the United States. Bill joined O’Neal in 1976, and has been in executive leadership since 1993. He has led several leadership boards at MSCI, as president of MSCI’s Southern Chapter and as chairman of the Executive Committee to the MSCI Board of Directors. He currently serves as past chairman of the board. Bill received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia.
• Joseph Alvarado has served as CEO of Commercial Metals Company, a metal manufacturer, since September of 2011. Before that he held leadership roles at several companies including Spectra Energy Corp, U.S. Steel Tubular Products, Lone Star Technologies, and Inland Steel. Joe received a bachelor's degree in economics from the Notre Dame University and an MBA from Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.

• Danny Zink is CEO and president of Cottrell, Inc., the world’s largest automobile transportation equipment manufacturer.

All republican and democrat federal candidates have been invited to participate. The following candidates are planning to attend:

Patrick Thompson, Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, District 11

Jeff Kazanow, Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, District 6

Oct. 15, 2012

4:00 pm summit panel discussion

5:30 pm networking reception

The purpose of the meeting is to:

• Mobilize the metals industry—producers, service centers, processors and end users—in advance of the 2012 elections around the many issues that threaten the long-term outlook for manufacturing and the U.S. economy; and
• Educate candidates on these issues so that they may better understand how their action, or inaction, directly influences our industry’s ability to grow, increase jobs and stay competitive.

The summit will present a unique opportunity for local and national industry leaders, their employees and policy experts to discuss what is needed for a thriving and competitive manufacturing sector and to hear candidates’ views on key issues.

Attendees: To register for the event or for more information, contact Mike Glover at (205) 791-2261

Media Contacts:
Jonathan Kalkwarf (847) 485-3007; cell (773) 835-6108
Ashley DeVecht (847) 485-3011; cell (616) 260-2785

Founded in 1909, the Metals Service Center Institute, based in Rolling Meadows, Ill., has over 400 member companies operating from more than 1,500 locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and throughout the world. Together MSCI members constitute the largest single group of metals purchasers in North America, amounting each year to more than 55 million tons of steel, aluminum and other metals, with about 300,000 manufacturers and fabricators as customers.

For more information, visit www.msci.org. “Like” us on Facebook at Metals Service Center Institute, follow us on Twitter @MSCITweets, and connect with us on LinkedIn at Metals Service Center Institute.