LONDON, May 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S.-based Alcoa, a global leader in lightweight metals technology, engineering and manufacturing, walked away with two of the most prestigious titles at the third annual Platts Global Metals Awards, which recognize exemplary performance in a dozen categories across the steel, metals and mining complex.

Snaring Metals Company of the Year and Industry Leadership Award: Aluminum, Alcoa was one of 12 honorees from four continents heralded at a black-tie gala in central London last night. The event, hosted by Platts, a leading global energy, metals and commodities information provider, was emceed by CNBC's Karen Tso and attended by nearly 200 industry executives.

"We congratulate Alcoa, under the leadership of CEO Klaus Kleinfeld, for this impressive win," said Larry Neal, president of Platts. "Each of this year's winners and finalists deserves praise for important contributions to the metals sector in these challenging times of oversupply and soft prices. It's notable in the 2015 competition that companies were thinking outside the box and taking measures to move up- and down-stream in search of competitive edge and improved financial performance."

It was the decisive move away from a commodity focus to an emphasis on innovation and downstream high-end growth markets of automotive, infrastructure and aerospace that won American aluminum giant Alcoa the 2015 Metals Company of the Year title. In making its unanimous selection for this title, the independent judging panel applauded the company's nimble and strategic re-direction, calling it a "once-in-a-century shift." Aiding its Industry Leadership Award win was Alcoa's continued commitment to environmental efforts while simultaneously delivering 13 consecutive quarters of improved financial performance.

CEO of the Year, one of the program's most coveted awards, went to Mario Longhi, head of United States Steel Corporation (U.S. Steel), an integrated steel producer with major production operations in North America and Central Europe, since 2013. Judges were inspired by Longhi's clarity of vision, sound judgement and powerful motivational skills as he steered the company out of bloated costs and financial malaise and back to profitability.

Tadeu Nardocci, senior vice president of Novelis and president of Novelis South America, nabbed this year's Lifetime Achievement Award, with judges impressed by his diverse career touching every aspect of the metals industry. With a metallurgy degree, Nardocci joined Novelis, a global producer of rolled aluminum, as an engineering intern. Judges said he is now one of the few metals executives in the world who has made significant contributions to both his company and the industry across four continents.

The winner of the Rising Star Award, which recognizes vision, growth and ambition in a newer company, went to Egyptian Steel. Established in 2010 and described as an emergent leader of "New Egypt," the company earned praise from judges for its ability to distinguish itself from competition through eco-friendly technology, cost-effective transportation location and teaming with one of the top global suppliers of steel production lines to build out its plants.

Full details of the judges' rationale for its selections of the 2015 winners may be found in the Platts Global Metals Awards' Insight Magazine (http://www.platts.com/IM.Platts.Content/aboutplatts/mediacenter/mediakits/gma-2015-winners.pdf) and at this link. Following are the 2015 Platts Global Metals Awards 2015 winners:

    --  Breakthrough Innovation of the Year: New Steel
    --  CEO of the Year: United States Steel Corporation (U.S. Steel) - Mario
        Longhi
    --  Corporate Social Responsibility Award: Teck Resources
    --  Deal of the Year: International Coal Venture Pvt. Limited (ICVL)
    --  Industry Leadership Award - Aluminum: Alcoa
    --  Industry Leadership Award - Base Metals: Hindustan Zinc Ltd.
    --  Industry Leadership Award - Raw Materials & Mining: NMDC Ltd.
    --  Industry Leadership Award - Scrap & Recycling: NEMAK (Premium Alloys
        Unit)
    --  Industry Leadership Award - Steel: JSW Steel Ltd.
    --  Lifetime Achievement Award: Novelis - Tadeu Nardocci
    --  Metals Distributor of the Year: Klein Steel Service Inc.
    --  Rising Star Award: Egyptian Steel
    --  Metals Company of the Year: Alcoa

For additional information, as well as the full list of finalists from which the winners were selected, see the Platts Global Metals Awards website (http://gma.platts.com/) and the media kit (http://www.platts.com/media-kits/mediagma2015).

Information on executive sponsors of the 2015 Platts Global Metals Awards and other supporters may be found at: http://gma.platts.com/AboutSponsor.

Nominations for next year's Platts Global Metals Awards will be accepted starting January 2016.

Platts will hold its sister, founding Awards event, the 17(th) annual Platts Global Energy Awards, on December 9, 2015, at Cipriani - Wall Street in New York City.

About Platts: Founded in 1909, Platts is a leading global provider of energy, petrochemicals, metals and agriculture information and a premier source of benchmark prices for the physical and futures markets. Platts' news, pricing, analytics, commentary and conferences help customers make better-informed trading and business decisions and help the markets operate with greater transparency and efficiency. Customers in more than 150 countries benefit from Platts' coverage of the biofuels, carbon emissions, coal, electricity, oil, natural gas, metals, nuclear power, petrochemical, shipping and sugar markets. A division of McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE: MHFI), Platts is based in London with more than 1,000 employees in more than 15 offices worldwide. Additional information is available at www.platts.com.

About McGraw Hill Financial: McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE: MHFI) is a leading financial intelligence company providing the global capital and commodity markets with independent benchmarks, credit ratings, portfolio and enterprise risk solutions, and analytics. The Company's iconic brands include: Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Platts, CRISIL and J.D. Power. The Company has approximately 17,000 employees in 30 countries. Additional information is available at www.mhfi.com.

Media Contact: Global: Kathleen Tanzy Kathleen.tanzy@platts.com at +1 212-904-2860

SOURCE Platts

SOURCE: Platts