By Praveen Hewage, Alumex PLC, and Craig Werner, Werner Extrusion Solutions LLC. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to reshape the modern world in profound ways, using computer-based systems to augment human intelligence with capabilities, such as perception, learning, reasoning, problem-solving, and decision-making. AI learns from data and makes decisions based on those learnings. It […]
Matalco Inc. completed the construction and startup of its seventh remelt facility, located in Franklin, KY, which will operate under the name Matalco Kentucky LLC. The $65 million investment represents the company’s third new plant project in the last eight years. The new plant will focus on the production of rolling ingot — affirming the […]
By Michael R. Kramer, Bosch Rexroth Corporation. There is a growing recognition in the extrusion industry of the value of fully committing to the connected future offered by Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technology platforms. These smart, efficient, and highly connected systems provide opportunities for increased productivity and profitability, reduced downtime, lower maintenance costs, improved quality, and […]
By Andrea Svendsen, Managing Editor. Service Center Metals (SCM), an aluminum extrusion manufacturing company headquartered in Prince George, VA, is celebrating 20 years of continuous operation this year. As the company moves into its third decade, it is completing a $127 million investment in a new remelt and casting plant and new extrusion plant near […]
By Lynn Brown, Long Point Associates. Environmental Product Declaration (EPDs) are essentially an “environmental nutrition label” for a product. But rather than telling the customer how many calories or saturated fat in a package of chips, EPDs provide data on the environmental impact resulting from the production of a specified industrial product, like aluminum extrusion. […]
By Andrew Halonen, Mayflower Consulting LLC. Commercial vehicles have one key difference from passenger cars. They are a tool to do work and are, therefore, specified and built with a certain application in mind, which is often referred to as the duty cycle. Maintenance of the commercial vehicle is necessary, yet downtime to fix the […]
By Rose Eaton, Light Metal Age. In a village in Norway called Sunndalsøra, nestled between a crystal blue fjord and two massive mountain ranges, lies Hydro Sunndal, the largest primary aluminum plant in Europe and one of the most modern. Overabundant water flowing down the mountains and the deep-sea fjord have provided the area with […]
By Halvor Kvande, NTNU (Retired); Gudrun Saevarsdottir, Reykjavik University; and Barry Welch, Welbank Consulting. Abstract While global average greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have changed little over the last several years, the best available data has become more reliable and has showed lower emissions. The electrolysis process has now been performed with a low emission rate […]
By Alton Tabereaux, Contributing Editor. Sixty-eight million tonnes of primary aluminum were produced worldwide in smelters in 2021. According to the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI), the aluminum sector was directly responsible for 275 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2021, a 2% increase over the previous year. If the indirect emissions from electricity are included, the […]
