The Port of Vancouver USA awarded its 2014 Facilities Improvement Award to Sapa Extrusions. Left to right: Commissioner Brian Wolfe, Sapa Plant Manager Mats Johansson, Sapa Vancouver Manufacturing Engineer Steve Nelson, Commissioner Nancy Baker, Commissioner Jerry Oliver

The Port of Vancouver USA awarded its 2014 Facilities Improvement Award to Sapa Extrusions. Left to right: Port Commissioner Brian Wolfe, Sapa Plant Manager Mats Johansson, Sapa Vancouver Manufacturing Engineer Steve Nelson, Commissioner Nancy Baker, Commissioner Jerry Oliver

During the regularly scheduled July 22 Board of Commissioners meeting, the Port of Vancouver USA presented Sapa Extrusions with its 2014 Facilities Improvement Award. 

The port selected Sapa because the company surpassed employment and build-out goals and performed exceptional community outreach.

Sapa produces aluminum products in all shapes for markets that include the automotive industry, solar and renewable energy and the building and construction industry. They have hundreds of clients, including Volvo, Wing Ladders, and Milgard Windows and Doors.

“Sapa has been an outstanding tenant for the past three years,” said port Facilities Manager Todd Krout. Their facility improvements, employment practices and willingness to be good neighbors have “gone above and beyond our expectations,” he added.

Sapa replaced its asphalt floors with concrete, surpassed initial employment goals, and added insulation to walls to mitigate noise. The company also hired locally, including workers from the adjacent Fruit Valley neighborhood.

Portland, Oregon Plant Manager Mats Johansson accepted the award and expressed Sapa’s pleasure with its Vancouver location.  “Four years ago we made our first contact with the port and it has been very easy to work with them and to get something up and running,” Johansson said.

Sapa’s Vancouver facility currently employs 111 workers, and Johansson says they’re “not done yet!” Their clientele is expanding, and the company recently hosted representatives from Tesla Motors. Tesla has “big plans,” said Johansson, “and so do we.”

Johansson also talked about his company’s global reach, including tools from Sapa that are delivered as far away as China and Vietnam. “Our tenants do things that impact economic development around the world,” responded Commissioner Jerry Oliver. “What happens in Vancouver doesn’t necessarily stay in Vancouver.”

Sapa Extrusions is the world’s leading producer of seamless and structural aluminum pipe and tube, as well as the leader in mill standard and custom aluminum extrusions.  The company has 24 North American facilities, including the Vancouver and Portland locations. 

Sapa Extrusions is part of Sapa AS, the world’s largest aluminum profile company. Sapa AS is a 50/50 joint venture owned equally by Orkla ASA and Hydro ASA, and is the world leader in aluminum solutions. Together, the companies have 23,000 employees in more than 40 countries, with headquarters in Oslo, Norway.