TRAVERSE CITY, MI – The Auto/Steel Partnership presents Center for Automotive Research Chairman Dave Cole with its prestigious Founder’s Award at the Management Briefing Seminars here for his role in the creation of the Auto/Steel Partnership two decades ago.
Roger Heimbuch, executive director of the Auto/Steel Partnership, says the award recognizes Cole’s vision and leadership in the mid-1980s in helping to bring the automotive and steel industries together to address common issues that could strengthen both industries.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Dave was instrumental in conceiving the Auto/Steel partnership by getting the auto and steel industries on the same side of the table to address problems rather than cast blame on each other,” Heimbuch says.
“Dave was a catalyst in laying the foundation for the partnership,” adds Ron Krupitzer, vice president-automotive applications, American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).
Formed in 1987, the Auto/Steel Partnership is a consortium of the AISI Automotive Applications Committee, Chrysler LLC, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. and is dedicated to ensuring steel remain competitive against alternative materials.
Through the Auto/Steel Partnership, auto makers and steel companies have worked to drive improvements through projects focused on new steels, manufacturing processes and design challenges such as mass reduction with steel.
Management Briefing Seminars