Newsroom
So Many Things to Talk About!
To serve as a leader in the manufacturing sector, it is critical that Alexandria Industries share news that is important to our customers and industry partners. The articles below – featured in national, regional, local, business and trade media – offer expert, third-party insight into industry trends and issues.
Learn how we help:
- Manufacturers and design engineers discover new ways to create innovative product development solutions
- Educate customers about industry issues
- Develop our future leaders
- Change the beliefs people may have about working in manufacturing to help fill the skills gap
Happy reading!
COVID-19 has exposed weak links in the global supply chain, and product manufacturers are taking notice. As the virus runs its course, many manufacturers will likely have suppliers that do not survive. Being confident in your suppliers’ stability needs to be more than a gut-check today. You will need to dig in and conduct your due diligence to understand your suppliers’ financial health and ensure they will be there when you need them.
In today’s fast-paced manufacturing industry, it can be difficult to set aside time to define tolerances for a new aluminium extruded component design. Pressed for time, OEM design engineers often default to title block tolerances. This might save a little time, but it risks adding unnecessary cost to the part due to poor fit and function.
Light Metal Age magazine features an in-depth Q&A with Steve Schabel, chief sales and marketing officer, for Alexandria Industries. The article appears in the magazine’s new series: Top Extruders in North America. The information covers our current business, keys to success, target markets, new extrusion press and building addition, and more.
The state added 1,100 jobs, with unemployment rate falling to 3.3%, in August. Minnesota managed to end August with more jobs, but a continued shortage of workers mixed with myriad other economic concerns continue to affect job growth in the state.
After almost five decades manufacturing industrial products for such diverse industries as solar power and defence, the company could ill-afford to lose Mr Klug's expertise.
Like a number of US states, Minnesota has a labour shortage – specifically a skills shortage – and seeing his valuable experience disappear overnight would have left Alexandria's management with big shoes to fill.
According to the US Department of Labor, since March 2018 US monthly job vacancies have outnumbered unemployed job seekers. As the baby boomers reach retirement, it seems there are not enough millennials in the jobs pipeline ready to step in.
Who Wants to work in Manufacturing? Alexandria Industries, along with other leading Minnesota manufacturers, were included in the March 2019 issue of Twin Cities Business feature story about the lack of employees to hire and what some companies and educators are doing to fill the skills gap.
An Automation Comeback Story Modern Machine Shop magazine features Alexandria Industries in its March 2019 cover story: If at First Your CNC Machine Shop Doesn't Succeed with Robots, Automate Again. The story, written by Executive Editor Derek Korn, shares the evolution of our use of robotics and automation technology for CNC machine tending. It begins with our first robot, Rosie, and goes through to where we are today on our robotics journey. Korn visited our Alexandria, Minn., extrusion, fabrication and machining facility in late 2018.
The 13th Annual Alexandria Industries Fishing For the Cure ice fishing tournament is slated for Saturday, Feb. 16. The tourney will take place from noon to 3 p.m. on Smith Lake, between Nelson and Carlos. Prizes will be awarded for the top 100 fish by weight. However, organizers of the annual event said that beyond the prizes and of course, bragging rights for catching the biggest fish, the tournament is hands down a great way to enjoy being on the ice with family and friends. And it is all for a great cause.
Featured on NBC Nightly News, Alexandria Industries brings the skilled worker shortage issue to a national news level. Tariffs or no tariffs, there is a skilled worker shortage in the U.S., and without addressing the issue, it may evolve into a national crisis. For many years, Alexandria Industries has been creating solutions for this problem. One conversation at a time, we will continue to educate others about working in manufacturing and the great career opportunities it offers.
They call it the “Not So Heavy Metal” tour. It’s a lighthearted effort by Minnesota-based Alexandria Industries to introduce middle and high school students — as well the general public — to manufacturing.
While the name is humorous, it belies an issue that is anything but. The component manufacturing company, with about 550 employees roughly two hours north of the Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, faces an acute problem affecting many rural manufacturers: a shortage of workers to fill skilled and unskilled positions.