The Shapemakers by The Aluminum Extruders Council

Aluminum Extrusion Design Competition Winner Brady Hawks

Brady Hawks, Second Place winner of the 2023 Aluminum Extrusion Design Competition and Industrial Design student at Purdue University in Indiana, talks with competition judge Craig Werner about his winning design. Brady discusses his electric motorcycle design, the inspiration for the design and how his background in the bicycle industry informed the design process, digging deep into research on the manufacturing process, alloys, design versatility and functionality that can be built in with extrusions, what he learned from participating in the competition, and more. Visit ETFdesign.org or AEC.org/DesignCompetition to see Brady's award-winning design and learn how you can enter the competition for 2024!

Challenges to Aluminum Extrusion for BEV Growth

Abey Abraham, principal of Ducker Carlisle and Mark Butterfield, president of manufacturing for Metal Exchange Corporation, the parent company of Pennex Aluminum, discuss the recent Ducker Research study that examines the use of aluminum extrusion in battery electric vehicles through the end of this decade. Challenges that need to be addressed, according to OEMs and Tier suppliers, to make the expected substantial BEV growth a potential reality – and the important role that extrusions may play are explored. Extrusion industry capacity, multi-material solutions, joining, sustainability and other issues are addressed in this noteworthy episode.

The past decade has seen doubling in per-vehicle aluminum extrusion use in North American passenger vehicles.  More recently, significant additional growth has emerged from aluminum extrusion’s role in battery electric vehicles (BEV) applications.  To better understand the likely future, AEC asked Ducker Research to examine the implications of the BEV market on extrusion use through the end of the decade. Abey Abraham, Principal at Ducker Carlisle, and Lynn Brown, Marketing Strategy Consultant for AEC, talk about the BEV market and aluminum extrusions.  They explore some key drivers, enablers and constraints for BEV demand as well as potential disruptors. In addition to discussing the future volume and market share of BEVs and hybrid electric vehicles, they explore the role of extrusions specific to BEVs, including battery boxes and battery protection/rockers.

The past decade has seen doubling in per-vehicle aluminum extrusion use in North American passenger vehicles. More recently, significant additional growth has emerged from aluminum extrusion's role in battery electric vehicles (BEV) applications. To better understand the likely future, AEC asked Ducker Research to examine the implications of the BEV market on extrusion use through the end of the decade. Abey Abraham, Principal at Ducker Carlisle, and Lynn Brown, Marketing Strategy Consultant for AEC, talk about the BEV market and aluminum extrusions. They explore some key drivers, enablers and constraints for BEV demand as well as potential disruptors. In addition to discussing the future volume and market share of BEVs and hybrid electric vehicles, they explore the role of extrusions specific to BEVs, including battery boxes and battery protection/rockers.

Actions Designers and Specifiers Can Take to Reduce the Embodied Carbon in Aluminum Extrusion

Bonnell Aluminum's Division Marketing Director, Guy Charpentier, and AEC's Marketing Consultant, Lynn Brown, dig deeper into the 2022 update of AEC's Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). They revisit the major conclusions from a deeper analysis of the AEC EPDs and explore a subsequent sensitivity analysis that demonstrates the impact on embodied carbon that purchaser decisions can have. By adjusting certain "levers" in the sourcing of the raw material, specifiers, designers and architects can reduce the embodied carbon of their products by simply working with their aluminum extruder to meet their environmental impact goals. Learn how in this informative episode

Actions Designers and Specifiers Can Take to Reduce the Embodied Carbon in Aluminum Extrusion

Bonnell Aluminum's Division Marketing Director, Guy Charpentier, and AEC's Marketing Consultant, Lynn Brown, dig deeper into the 2022 update of AEC's Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). They revisit the major conclusions from a deeper analysis of the AEC EPDs and explore a subsequent sensitivity analysis that demonstrates the impact on embodied carbon that purchaser decisions can have. By adjusting certain "levers" in the sourcing of the raw material, specifiers, designers and architects can reduce the embodied carbon of their products by simply working with their aluminum extruder to meet their environmental impact goals. Learn how in this informative episode.

What are EPDs and What Do the Newly Released AEC EPDs Tell us?

Guy Charpentier, Chairman of the AEC Industry Promotion Steering Committee and Division Marketing Director for Bonnell Aluminum, talks with Lynn Brown, AEC's Industry Promotion & Marketing Consultant, about Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). They discuss what EPDs are, how they are developed and how they are used. They also review, in depth, the newly released aluminum extrusion industry average EPDs – one for mill finish, painted, or anodized aluminum extrusions and one for thermally improved anodized and painted aluminum extrusions. Listeners will get overview of the 2022 AEC EPDs, including four big takeaways that designers and specifiers should be aware of as they utilize aluminum extrusions..

Jeff Henderson, AEC President, and Robert DeFrancesco, AEC's Fair Trade lead attorney, will discuss the latest developments in the Kingtom case. Specifically, they will examine the reversal of the Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) decisions and the Withhold Release Order (WRO). Customs and Border Protection (CBP) implements Withhold Release Orders to prevent merchandise produced in whole or in part in a foreign country using forced labor from being imported into the United States. Learn more in this noteworthy episode.

The competition for today's talent has never been more fierce. Young talent graduating and searching for a career are faced with a variety of options and most manufacturing companies are struggling to find ways to attract this needed talent to help them run and grow their business. The aluminum extrusion industry is no exception. Duncan Crowdis, leader of AEC's Academic Engagement and New Talent Development Team and Shane Tredup of Custom Aluminum Products interview Savanah Kinney, a graduating engineering student with Illinois State University, to explore those seemingly elusive characteristics, both in the type of industry and the type of company, that attract today's generation of students as they research options to start their career.

ET '22 will feature a Closing Keynote address by special guest, astronaut Mike Massimino. At ET Mike will talk about his experiences as an astronaut and fixing the Hubble Telescope. In this preview interview, Mike discussed his "stellar" career as well as his stint on the American television sitcom "The Big Bang Theory". Be sure to catch Mike Massimino in the Closing General session on Thursday, May 5 in Orlando, Florida!