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Sharing industry news and what we know with the people who are most important to our success – customers, employees, business and community partners – is critical to our business. Learn how we help:
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- Change the misperceptions about working in manufacturing to help fill the skills gap
On-site and near-site clinics, along with wellness programs, are producing good results for employees of Minnesota companies. Lynette Kluver didn't realize it at the time, but a joke she made during a business meeting would change people's lives and her employer's bottom line.
It's time to celebrate an industry that's a powerful contributor to the economies of Minnesota and Douglas County — manufacturing. October 1-7 is Minnesota Manufacturing Week for a reason. Manufacturing accounts for one in nine jobs in the state. When you add in jobs in other industries that are dependent on manufacturing, each manufacturing job generates another 2.21 jobs in other segments of the economy.
Alexandria Industries, which designs and makes aluminum industrial products, doesn’t look like an “alternative-energy” company. However, about 10 percent of its 400 employees in Alexandria, Minn., produce aluminum arrays for the fast-growing solar-energy industry.
The North American extrusions market, which has been seeing slow but steady growth for the past eight years, seems as it it will continue on a similar trajectory at least for the next year or so despite all of the political uncertainties that could potentially affect it. Year over year growth for U.S. and Canadian aluminium extruded products demand has been relatively...
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 specifications. Over the years he excelled at picking up the newest technologies.
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 one of a handful of manufacturers in Minnesota to open its own independent health clinic.
Factories in Minnesota, across the Midwest report sixth month of expansion
Across industries in Minnesota, optimism is rising with the economy.
When most Minnesotans think about manufacturing, they likely visualize big companies like Polaris or 3M. These are great companies, to be sure, but they represent only a tiny fraction of Minnesota's manufacturers. The vast majority are small and medium-size businesses. Consider this...
In October 2016, Alexandria Industries, headquarters in Alexandria, MN, celebrated its 50th year of business as a leading aluminum extruder. In addition to aluminum extrusion, the company provides a number of value-added services, ranging from machining to injection molding. Over the years, the company has served a range of industries and maintained its success through transformation and growth. Continue reading this article published April 2017 in Light Metal Age magazine.