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| Charleston Aluminum
they’re more like a group of entrepreneurs
working in lockstep, Blakeney says.
“
To win respect in our business, you
have to have a good experience in the indus-
try,” he explains. “Nobody who is green and
inexperienced can do our job. We have a lot
of education and experience in our ranks, and
we use those skills to deal with customers di-
rectly. That type of personal involvement of
senior people directly with our customers is
one of the reasons for our success.”
Blakeney, an industry veteran in his
own right, has been with the Charleston
Aluminum business for over three years
now. Before coming on board, he knew of
Charleston and Portnoy in the industry for
many years through one of the previous com-
panies he worked for, where he was the Gen-
eral Manager of an AluminumMill Products
Group that was one of their key mill suppli-
ers.
Also immediately prior to joining
Charleston, Blakeney was serving as the
CEO of a distribution company called Clin-