CLEVELAND, Jan. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Aleris announced that it has appointed Ralf Zimmermann to the position of senior vice president and general manager of Rolled Products Europe.  Zimmermann, who formerly served as senior vice president of operations for the Global Rolled and Extruded Products business unit, will now lead all facets of the Rolled Products Europe business, including commercial and manufacturing activity.  The company's plants in Koblenz, Germany, and Duffel, Belgium, will report to Ralf.  In his new role, Zimmermann will continue to report to Roeland Baan, executive vice president and chief executive officer of Global Rolled and Extruded Products. 

Zimmermann has been with the company, or its predecessors, since 1990.  Over the years, Zimmermann has held a variety of leadership positions within Aleris including roles in global operations, engineering and technology.  As part of his global operations responsibility, he most recently oversaw the construction of the company's new greenfield rolling mill in Zhenjiang, China. 

"Ralf's commitment to operational excellence has been evident as he's played an instrumental role in the global growth of the company," Baan said. "With Ralf's deep industry experience and fundamental understanding of all of the components of our business, I am confident that he will ensure the continued success of Rolled Products Europe."

Zimmermann replaces Olli Matti-Saksi who left Aleris this month.  Zimmermann's appointment is effective immediately.

About Aleris

Aleris is focused on realizing the significant potential of aluminum for our customers and our world.  A global leader in aluminum rolled and extruded products, aluminum recycling and specification alloy manufacturing, Aleris products are used by manufacturers in almost every industry.  Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the company has approximately 7,300 employees and operates more than 41 production facilities in North America, Europe and Asia.  For more information, visit www.aleris.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Statements about our beliefs and expectations and statements containing the words "may," "could," "would," "should," "will," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "estimate," "target," "project," "look forward to,"  "intend" and similar expressions intended to connote future events and circumstances constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements about, among other things, future costs and prices of commodities, production volumes, industry trends, demand for our products and services, anticipated cost savings, anticipated benefits from new products or facilities, and projected results of operations.  Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in or implied by any forward-looking statement. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements  include, but are not limited to, the following:  (1) our ability to successfully implement our business strategy; (2) the cyclical nature of the aluminum industry, our end-use segments and our customers' industries; (3) our ability to fulfill our substantial capital investment requirements; (4) variability in general economic conditions on a global or regional basis; (5) our ability to retain the services of certain members of our management; (6) our ability to enter into effective metal, natural gas and other commodity derivatives or arrangements with customers to manage effectively our exposure to commodity price fluctuations and changes in the pricing of metals; (7) our internal controls over financial reporting and our disclosure controls and procedures may not prevent all possible errors that could occur; (8) increases in the cost of raw materials and energy; (9) the loss of order volumes from any of our largest customers; (10) our ability to retain customers, a substantial number of whom do not have long-term contractual arrangements with us; (11) our ability to generate sufficient cash flows to fund our capital expenditure requirements and to meet our debt service obligations; (12) competitor pricing activity, competition of aluminum with alternative materials and the general impact of competition in the industry segments we serve; (13) risks of investing in and conducting operations on a global basis, including political, social, economic, currency and regulatory factors; (14) current environmental liabilities and the cost of compliance with and liabilities under health and safety laws; (15) labor relations (i.e., disruptions, strikes or work stoppages) and labor costs; (16) our levels of indebtedness and debt service obligations; (17) the possibility that we may incur additional indebtedness in the future; (18) limitations on operating our business as a result of covenant restrictions under our indebtedness; and (19) other factors discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the sections entitled "Risk Factors" contained therein.  Investors, potential investors and other readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether in response to new information, futures events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120201/CL45778LOGO )