When seeking a manufacturing partner, choose one who is open to doing things differently, a supplier who boosts your competitiveness and your bottom line. We recently received a prospective business opportunity to work with an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) on a newly developed product. Our collective goal was getting to a lower price-point, with higher volumes. We needed to...

Roger Klug started talking about retirement as he neared age 65 a few years ago, but his bosses wouldn't hear of it. Klug had been the 13th employee at the company, Alexandria Industries, when he joined in 1971. He had unique skills from the start, when he was the only one who "corrected" aluminum extrusion molds by grinding away precise slivers — by hand — until the mold met...

As a full-service manufacturer of aluminum extruded and precision-machined components, Alexandria Industries never imagined its capital equipment would one day include an exam table and a blood pressure machine. But significant increases in medical premiums and expenses over the last several years prompted the company to take action. In September 2016, Alexandria Industries became...

Designing your aluminum-extruded components to get you to your final near-net shape is ideal. When this is not possible and your design requires a curved or bent feature, it is important to understand the critical factors during bending that can affect the quality of your component’s final shape. Whether it is a 20-degree curve or a 180-degree u-shape, work with your extrusion...