Aluminium extruders foresee automotive sector challenges

Aluminium extruders looking to benefit from expected growth in the US automotive sector will have to grapple with stepped-up standards, possible capacity constraints and new and often-demanding clients, industry executives said.

Challenges range from receiving International Organisation for Standardisation/Technical Specification certification to handling negotiations with sometimes unrealistic design engineers, they said.

“We’ve got challenges, but they aren’t only external. We’ve got a lot of internal challenges to work through,” Joseph Golec, vp of sales at Pennex Aluminum, said on Wednesday September 18 at the Aluminum Extruders Council Management Conference in Chicago, USA.

“Capabilities and capacity will be the biggest challenge because if these poundage numbers are correct, they’re incredible,” he said, referring to forecasts that extrusion demand from the automotive sector could increase by 300 million lb annually by 2025.

Extruders must be careful when they tell an automotive design engineer about a material’s capability, Craig Blust, vp and advanced manufacturing leader at Metro Technologies, said.

“They write stuff that is ridiculously tight [in regards to tolerances], and if you’re not careful a salesman agrees to it,” he said.

The exacting standards and schedules of automakers and suppliers also mean that extruders must have the right equipment and processes in place, Blust said.

“They’re not going to want to hear, ‘We broke a die ... it takes six weeks’ [to get another die].’ You just stopped production on a line, and they’re going to back-charge you – and you don’t want to see that because you’re talking a lot of money,” he said.

Extruders also may be working with automotive industry engineers schooled almost entirely in stamping, which can be problematic when a part is transitioned to an extrusion, according to George Newton, director of North American automotive sales for both Shapes and Signature Aluminum Canada.

“You are going to get opportunities, so take advantage of the opportunities,” Blust said. “But do it right. They remember your mistake ten times more than they remember your successes, so don’t ever bite off more than you can chew.”