Thursday 30th November saw the Aluminium Federation (ALFED) host more than 250 guests to the 2023 edition of the Annual Dinner, taking place for the last time at the De Vere Tortworth Court Hotel in South Gloucestershire.
The dinner followed the day’s annual business briefing, which saw speakers from the Bank of England, London Metal Exchange, London Stock Exchange Group, Cbamboo, the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, and many more before finishing with a light-hearted taste of gin supplied by the fantastic Penrhos Spirits, served in their dedicated aluminium bottles!
As the evening drew in, a select few invited guests gathered in the Library Bar for a dedicated drinks reception to toast the send off of current ALFED President, Mike Dines, as his presidency of the last two years comes to an end.
After the drinks, guests moved into the Westminster Suite where we took our places for dinner. Mike Dines took to the stage to deliver a welcome speech, where he provided an overview of the year in the UK aluminium industry. Mike then went onto to speak much more light-heartedly, which included the announcement of this year’s after dinner speaker, who in Dines’ words, needed no introduction, Mr Ed Balls! He gave an overview into Ed Balls’ history as a political figure, and who could forget his previous stint on Strictly Come Dancing with his prolific Gangnam Style routine! Unfortunately, Ed didn’t re-enact this during his speech, but he did mention his appearance on the hit BBC TV show, as well as inform us about his near-death experience on an aeroplane with former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown!
Dines’ also paid credit to the entire ALFED team, for the hard work put into organising the business briefing and annual dinner. He also thanked each of the sponsors, including platinum sponsors, Mechatherm, diamond sponsors, Novelis, casino sponsors, Thermserve, as well as other ALFED member companies such as media partner Aluminium International Today, Aluminium Shapes, the London Metal Exchange, Tandom Metallurgical Group, Amari Metals, Jonas Metals Software, ALTEK, Avon Metals, Scan Metals, AES Metals, Richard Austin Alloys, BASF Chemetall and RIA Casthouse Engineering.
Finally, the announcement of Mike’s successor as ALFED President was made; Mechatherm’s Sales Director, Mark Allen. With over 25 years of experience in the aluminium industry and with a role at Mechatherm that sees him leading a globally successful sales team into some of the biggest aluminium projects in the world, we have no doubt that Mark will be an invaluable addition to the ALFED board. Speaking on his new appointment, Mark commented: “I am exceptionally proud that ALFED is handing me the baton to help them continue on their journey of growth”.
After dinner, guests were treated to a casino, supported by sapphire and casino sponsor, Thermserve. As well as the additional paid bar, guests were able to have a go on our Thermserve-branded roulette table, where their payment for chips was to donate to the chosen charity, Children with Cancer UK. By the end of the night, we had managed to raise almost £1,000 for a fantastic cause, so we would like to thank everyone who donated for their generosity.
We are already looking forward to making our annual dinner bigger and better next year at our new venue, the De Vere Beaumont Estate in Windsor on Thursday 28th November 2024!
If you wish to attend, our earlybird booking rate is available until the 31st December 2023. Tickets of up to 4 can be made via the website. For tables of 5 or more, or to discuss sponsorship opportunities, please contact our Sponsorship Manager, Phil Bloxsome at sponsorship@alfed.org.uk.
*Please note – If you purchase a ticket for next year’s dinner, this automatically includes a ticket for the business briefing.
For more information, or to find out more about membership opportunities, please visit www.alfed.org.uk.
