Senior Project Manager for Sapa's North American Technical Center Appointed

Officials at Sapa Extrusions North America announce that Alex Chen, Ph.D., has been appointed to senior project engineer of Sapa’s North American Technical Center. A specialist in thermal science and analysis, Chen brings extensive experience to Sapa’s technical expertise in the design and development of aluminum extrusions.

In his new role, Chen will be responsible for supporting Sapa’s thermal applications for automotive aluminum extrusions, including in the Hybrid Electric Vehicle / Electric Vehicle (HEV/EV) and power electronics side of the automotive industry. Chen’s thermal experience will also help Sapa to maintain its role as a leading producer of aluminum heat sinks and other extruded products for the LED industry.

Sapa’s North American Technical Center (NATC) serves as the company’s innovation hub for metallurgical and process research, as well as design and application of extruded aluminum profiles. 

“Part of our mission is to develop ‘the next big thing’ for Sapa’s wide-ranging competencies, and Alex brings a tremendous skill set to our team that supports this mission,” says Peter Hedman, manager of Sapa’s NATC. “I am confident that Alex’s background and expertise in mechanical engineering will be a valuable asset for our growing capabilities in the automotive and LED markets.”

Prior to joining Sapa’s NATC, Chen served as product development manager at Sapa’s Shanghai, China location where he led the product design and simulation of extruded aluminum solutions for power electronic and automotive, as well as developed a laboratory for thermal performance testing, soldering prototyping, and heat pipe inspection.  Chen holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Rutgers University, as well as both an M.S. and a B.S. in Engineering Mechanics from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.