By Kevin Widlic, Contributing Editor. Hydro believes it is going to see a dramatic shift in its employee base over the next five years, with 25,000 new employees entering the company. Some of these new employees will join through acquisitions in support of future growth, while others will be through recruitment. Of these, a higher […]
By Andrew Halonen, Mayflower Consulting LLC. How many aluminum industry executives have been asked by their employees, management team, or board what their artificial intelligence (AI) strategy is? While this is a fair question, if it has not yet been explored, it’s not easy to provide an answer. AI tools are being used today in […]
Superior Extrusion Incorporated recently completed the installation of a new aluminum extrusion press and new pack and ship areas at its location in Gwinn, MI. The expansion project includes the acquisition of 25 acres of additional property and the construction of a new 138,000 sq ft building to house the 9 inch, 3,000 ton […]
By Melissa Zirps, Magrathea. Elon Musk was sitting in his office, eyeing a Hot Wheels toy car on his desk, when he asked, “Why can’t we make real cars the same way we make toy cars?” This question reflects the attempt by car manufacturers to test the limits of consolidation and lightweight construction in the […]
Extruded Aluminum Corporation (EAC), based in Belding, MI, has achieved two significant milestones over the past year. The company completed the installation and startup of its fifth extrusion press line, enabling it to produce larger sizes and expand to better serve its customer base. In addition, EAC was acquired by Metra S.p.A., a leading global […]
By Kevin Widlic, Contributing Editor. The small Michigan town of Cassopolis — population 1,674 — is now home to a recycling plant that will produce 265 million lbs (120,000 tonnes) of aluminum extrusion ingot per year. Hydro celebrated the opening of the recycling plant on November 16 (Figure 1), just 18 months after breaking ground […]
By Michael Niedzinski, Constellium. Introduction Friction stir welding (FSW) of Airware 2050 was investigated as a method for making custom blanks for spin forming large, single-piece flight articles. The objective of this study was to evaluate the behavior of 2050 parent material in addition to the FSW regions after spin forming and subsequent heat treatment. […]
By Praveen Hewage, Benteler Automotive Norway, and Craig Werner, Werner Extrusion Solutions LLC. The die correction process relies heavily on input parameters of various dimensions. It follows a sophisticated and experience-based approach that requires a high level of technical understanding and manual skill (which was discussed in the two previous articles in this series, published […]
By Steven A. Wilkerson, Logan Aluminum, and Geoff Perdue and Steve Cherico, Wahl Refractory Solutions. The drive for continuous improvement and the emphasis on the team concept are key to the success at Logan Aluminum, a major aluminum can sheet manufacturer based in Kentucky. This motivation propels the company to investigate and implement new technologies […]
