Constellium employees create art of aluminum meant for recycling

Constellium, a business in the Schooner Drive industrial park of Van Buren Township, recently announced the winners of its fourth-annual Art Contest.
The artists, all Constellium employees, create sculptures from scrap aluminum available in the plant that is slated for recycling. For the first time, Constellium’s employees from the White, GA, plant which opened in 2017, joined their colleagues from the plant in VBT in the annual competition.
Numerous entries were submitted for judging, including a sword, a tree, a lion, and wind chimes. Contestants had about two months to design and construct their artwork, which was evaluated by an independent panel of five judges for craftsmanship, originality, use of Constellium products and visual appeal. In addition, a Fan Favorite contest on Facebook was held, where visitors could “like” their favorite sculpture.
“The creativity of our employees who turn scrap aluminum into inspiring works of art is truly amazing,” said Eric Krepps, vice president of Constellium’s Automotive Structures business in North America. “Beautiful shapes and structures emerge from material that would otherwise be recycled.”
In Van Buren, first place was awarded to the team of Eric Simms and Chris Vanvliet for “Courage,” the lion, which also won the Facebook Fan contest. Second place honors went to Tom Glide for “Bird,” and Brad Adams earned third place for “Wind Chimes.”
Receptions were hosted in Van Buren and White, GA following the judging to honor the artists who participated in this year’s contest and to celebrate the winners. In addition to a trophy, winners also received a gift card, with the first-place team taking home $1,000. After the contest, some of the artwork remains at the plant for decorative purposes, while some are on display at Constellium’s U.S. corporate office in Baltimore.
Constellium makes customized aluminum automotive structures and crash management systems.