Southeast Asia and India will see strong growth in aluminium extrusion consumption over the coming decade

As the aluminium extrusion industry enters a new phase of transformation driven by electrification, sustainability, supply-chain resilience and advanced manufacturing demands, Alcomet is strengthening its position through technology investments, automation and value-added solutions.

In this exclusive interview, Huseyin Umut İnce, Executive Board Member of ALCOMET AD, shares how the company is strengthening its position across automotive, electric mobility, renewable energy and industrial sectors through strategic investments and innovation.

Conducted as part of AL Circle’s exclusive campaign, “Aluminium Extrusion Growth Markets,” the conversation explores ALCOMET’s latest extrusion expansion and its vision for the future. As Huseyin highlights, “the objective is not simply to add extrusion capacity, but to build a more efficient and competitive manufacturing platform.”

From advanced extrusion technology and automation to changing customer expectations around sustainability and supply-chain reliability, this interview offers insights into how ALCOMET is preparing for the next generation of aluminium solutions.

AL Circle: Alcomet is expanding its extrusion capabilities, including the commissioning of a new 40 MN (meganewtons), 10-inch Presezzi extrusion press. What market opportunities or customer requirements prompted this investment, and which applications will the new capacity primarily target?

Huseyin Umut Ince: The investment in the new 40 MN, 10-inch Presezzi press was driven by a combination of market opportunities rather than by one single sector. Over recent years, we have seen growing demand from different industries for larger profiles, more complex geometries and increasingly demanding technical requirements.

The new press significantly expands our capabilities in this respect. It is equipped with advanced technologies, including a ZPE magnet heater, a sophisticated quench system and advanced process-control options, enabling us to handle demanding alloys, complex shapes and critical mechanical-property requirements with a high degree of consistency. Another important aspect of the investment is its high level of automation. Our objective is not simply to add extrusion capacity, but to build a more efficient and competitive manufacturing platform. Higher automation helps us reduce labour intensity, improve productivity and process consistency, and minimise the risk of defects associated with manual handling and manipulation.

This approach is not limited to the 10-inch press. We have also ordered a new 7-inch extrusion press, which is planned to be commissioned in the first half of 2027. It follows the same philosophy of investing in modern, highly automated and efficient production technology. These investments open opportunities across automotive and transportation, solar and renewable-energy applications, construction and a broad range of industrial sectors.

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At the same time, they complement Alcomet’s existing downstream capabilities in surface treatment, fabrication and dedicated automotive processing. For Alcomet, therefore, this investment programme is not simply about increasing tonnage. It is about expanding our technical envelope while increasing automation, productivity and competitiveness, and giving our customers access to a broader range of complex, high-value aluminium solutions from an integrated European production base.

AL Circle: Your sustainability roadmap targets around 30 per cent growth in extruded-product capacity by 2027. Where do you expect the additional demand to come from—automotive, solar, construction, transportation or other industrial applications?

Huseyin Umut Ince: We expect the additional demand to come from a diversified mix of sectors rather than from one particular market. Maintaining this flexibility has always been an important part of Alcomet’s approach, and we believe it will remain a strength as markets continue to evolve. Automotive is clearly going through a challenging period in Europe, and the pace of electrification has been less predictable than many expected a few years ago.

Nevertheless, we believe electrification will regain momentum over the medium and long term. As EV platforms increase their share of production, we expect this to create additional opportunities for aluminium extrusions, particularly where lightweighting, structural performance, thermal management and battery-related applications are important. At the same time, we see attractive opportunities in solar and renewable energy, transportation, construction and a broad range of industrial applications. The capabilities of the new press allow us to address larger and more complex profiles across these different markets. Our objective is therefore not to build the additional capacity around one sector or one type of product. We want to remain flexible, as we have been historically, and use our broad production capabilities to respond to demand wherever we see the right combination of technical fit, sustainable volume and added value.

AL Circle: Alcomet already operates a dedicated automotive facility and supplies extruded profiles for automotive applications. How do you see aluminium extrusion demand from European automotive manufacturers evolving over the next five to ten years, particularly as EV platforms gain a larger share of vehicle production?

Huseyin Umut Ince: The European automotive market is difficult to predict at the moment, particularly in terms of the speed of the transition towards electrification. Nevertheless, over the medium and long term we remain optimistic that electrification will continue and that aluminium extrusions will play an increasingly important role in future vehicle platforms.

For Alcomet, an important advantage is the experience and know-how we have built over the years through our dedicated automotive facility. Automotive has taught us a great deal about demanding quality requirements, process control, traceability and the industrialisation of complex products. These capabilities are valuable not only for automotive customers but can also be transferred to other technically demanding sectors.

Another important strength is our integrated production model. Having capabilities from casting and extrusion through heat treatment, surface finishing and fabrication gives us control over a large part of the value chain. It also allows us to work with customers on complete solutions rather than simply supplying an extruded profile.

We believe this becomes particularly relevant as European customers place greater importance on resilient and regional supply chains. In an environment where nearshoring is becoming increasingly important, having an integrated European production base, combined with established automotive know-how, puts us in a strong position to respond when demand accelerates again.

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AL Circle: Southeast Asia, India and other emerging markets are witnessing substantial investments in new extrusion capacity. From a European producer's perspective, where do you see the strongest geographical growth opportunities for aluminium extrusions over the coming decade?

Huseyin Umut Ince: There is no doubt that Southeast Asia, India and other emerging markets will see strong growth in aluminium extrusion consumption over the coming decade, supported by industrialisation, infrastructure investment, urbanisation and the energy transition. These regions are also investing heavily in modern extrusion capacity, so they will become increasingly important both as markets and as competitors. From Alcomet’s perspective, however, Europe remains a very important market with significant opportunities. The competitive environment is changing, and European producers cannot rely simply on being geographically close to their customers. We have to continue investing in modern technology, automation, energy efficiency and productivity in order to remain competitive.

At the same time, European customers increasingly value factors beyond the basic extrusion price. Supply-chain reliability, shorter lead times, technical support, the ability to provide further processing and, increasingly, the carbon footprint of the product all play a role in sourcing decisions. Sustainability will be particularly important. Europe’s regulatory environment and decarbonisation objectives are creating both challenges and opportunities for the aluminium industry. Producers that can combine competitive manufacturing with lower-carbon production, high recycled content and transparent sustainability performance will be in a stronger position.

For this reason, we see our growth opportunity primarily in strengthening our position in Europe and neighbouring markets, particularly in applications where technical capability, productivity, sustainability and supply-chain proximity matter. At the same time, we will continue to follow opportunities outside Europe where our capabilities and product portfolio provide a competitive advantage.

AL Circle: Trade defence, CBAM and geopolitical disruption are all pushing aluminium supply chains towards greater regionalisation. Do you believe extrusion sourcing will become permanently more local, or will buyers return to the lowest-cost global sourcing when volatility eases?

Huseyin Umut Ince: We believe the market is moving towards a more regional supply-chain model, although global sourcing will certainly not disappear. Cost will always remain an important factor in purchasing decisions, and customers will continue to look for competitive sourcing opportunities globally.

What has changed is the way companies evaluate that cost. The disruptions of recent years have demonstrated that the lowest purchase price does not necessarily mean the lowest total cost. Long supply chains can bring additional risks related to logistics, inventory, lead times, geopolitical developments, trade measures and security of supply. CBAM and other trade-defence measures add another dimension to this discussion. At the same time, customers are under increasing pressure to understand and reduce the carbon footprint of their supply chains.

All of these factors make regional sourcing more attractive, particularly for products that require further processing, technical cooperation, shorter development cycles or reliable just-in-time delivery. For European producers, however, nearshoring should not be seen as protection from global competition. We still have to earn that business by continuously investing in technology, automation, energy efficiency and productivity.

A European supply base must be competitive as well as local. I therefore expect a hybrid model to develop. Standard products where price is the dominant consideration will remain exposed to global competition, while more complex and value-added products will increasingly favour regional supply chains. For Alcomet, our integrated production model — from casting through extrusion and further processing — puts us in a good position to participate in this development.

AL Circle: Is the market actually willing to pay a premium for lower-carbon extrusions, or is sustainability becoming a mandatory requirement without providing producers with higher margins?

Huseyin Umut Ince: Sustainability is unquestionably becoming more important in purchasing decisions, but I would distinguish between the demand for lower-carbon products and the willingness to pay a significant premium for them.

Today, more and more customers ask about carbon footprint, recycled content, energy sources and the overall environmental performance of the product. In many sectors, these requirements are gradually becoming a condition for doing business rather than an optional feature for which customers automatically pay a higher price. The willingness to pay a clear premium is still mixed and depends very much on the customer, the application and the market. Cost remains extremely important.

At the same time, we should not measure the commercial value of sustainability only through a premium per tonne. A strong sustainability position can determine whether a supplier is shortlisted, whether it qualifies for a long-term programme and, increasingly, how attractive it is within a customer’s overall supply-chain strategy. With CBAM, broader decarbonisation commitments becoming more relevant, we expect this importance to increase further. Our view is therefore that lower-carbon aluminium will increasingly become part of the basic competitive requirement. The challenge for producers is to deliver it while remaining cost-competitive, productive and technically capable.

AL Circle: Could you share an example where Alcomet developed a customised aluminium extrusion for a complex customer requirement? What technical challenge did the profile present, and what performance or manufacturing improvement did the final solution deliver?

Huseyin Umut Ince: One good example comes from an aluminium component we produce for an automotive battery application. In addition to the usual requirements for profile geometry, dimensional tolerances and mechanical properties, the application has extremely demanding cleanliness requirements. Even a very small burr or contamination outside the specified limits can create a serious risk in the final application.

This meant that simply producing the extrusion within dimensional tolerance was not enough. We had to look at the complete manufacturing process and develop a customised solution capable of delivering the required quality consistently and at industrial volumes. We therefore developed an integrated, highly automated and robotised production solution combining extrusion, machining, cleaning and advanced inspection. The system also incorporates machine-learning capabilities to support process and quality control.

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The key objective was not only to detect defects, but to minimise the possibility of creating them in the first place. By automating critical operations and inspection, we significantly reduced dependence on manual handling and the associated risk of human error, while also reducing labour-intensive activities. Most importantly, the solution enables us to apply 100 per cent quality control without relying on manual inspection. For a safety- and quality-critical application such as this, that provides a much higher level of process consistency and confidence. This project is a good example of how we see the future of extrusion. Increasingly, the value is not only in producing the profile itself, but in combining extrusion know-how with fabrication, automation, digital technologies and quality assurance to deliver a complete industrial solution for the customer.