Editor’s Note: The extrusion industry could tell two different stories over the past two years. One of the stories would be for the Asian audience, and it is extremely positive. Consumption in China and the Asia Pacific region has been dominating the global picture, with extrusion growth outpacing the rest of the world by a […]
Kevin Widlic
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By Kevin Widlic, Editor. Hydro Extrusions just inaugurated a new 12 inch, 60 MN press at its aluminum extrusion plant in Tønder, Denmark. The official opening was held in September 2025, serving as the centerpiece of the plant’s 50th anniversary celebrations. The event included weekend ceremonies together with customers and suppliers and with past and […]
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Editor’s Note: This issue focuses on patents related to the upstream aluminum industry that were granted during the most recent months in the U.S. and China. It is important to include China, because the country has been the world’s largest patent filer (and producer) for years in the area of metals, by a significant margin. […]
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Light Metal Age (LMA) strives to be at the forefront of the major trends in worldwide aluminum manufacturing. By looking back at the most viewed articles and news stories that we published on our website, we hope to highlight the major trends and developments from the previous year. In 2025, these stories reveal a distinct interest […]
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Editor’s Note: Aluminum sheet and strip market forecasts vary depending on which company is creating the projections. However, all of them are forecasting decent market growth over the next seven to eight years. For the period from 2025 to 2032, the projections are showing annual market increases ranging from 6% to 8%, with the key […]
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Editor’s Note: Driven by the demand for lightweight materials in the automotive industry, the transport segment remains the largest market segment in the global aluminum market. In 2024, this segment accounted for a market share of some 28% (Figure 1)—a figure that is expected to increase annually over the next decade.1 Not surprisingly, China’s transportation […]
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By Kevin Widlic, Contributing Editor. Hangarbrua, a pedestrian and cycle bridge built with aluminum from a decommissioned offshore oil platform, has been lifted into place in Trondheim, Norway, and will open this fall. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration expects the bridge to be maintenance free for 100 years, and a life cycle analysis shows that […]
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Aluminum Association statistics show that primary production accounts for only about 15% of the aluminum the U.S. produces on an annual basis. This means domestic recycling represents the lion’s share of aluminum production, with recycling production reaching a record high of 3.6 million tonnes in 2024—numbers that will surely increase moving forward.1 And in employment, […]
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By Kevin Widlic, Contributing Editor. Hydro is moving closer in its work to reduce fossil energy sources at its aluminum casthouses through the use of plasma technology. Positive laboratory scale trials coupled with simulation data have put the company on track to embark on a pilot project at its Casthouse Reference Center in Sunndal, Norway […]