The Shapemakers by The Aluminum Extruders Council

Host: Jason Weber, President, Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC)   Guest: Melvin "Mel" Mitchell, EHS Director, MI Metals   Episode Summary   Jason sits down with longtime safety pro Melvin Mitchell to preview AEC's upcoming Safety & HR Workshop + Plant Tour —two tightly packed days at the Westin Atlanta Airport, October 28–29 . Why combine Safety and HR? Because that's how the real world runs: overl...

Summary In this conversation, Jason Weber and Mark Butterfield discuss the upcoming Aluminum Summit, highlighting its significance as a major event for the aluminum industry. They delve into the various workshops, networking opportunities, and keynote speakers that will be featured, emphasizing the importance of learning and collaboration within the industry. The discussion also touches on market...

  Episode Summary:   In this episode of SHAPEMAKERS , host Bennett McEvoy , President of Western Extrusions and AEC Board Member, is joined by Duncan Crowdis , former CEO of Bonnell Aluminum and AEC Workforce Development lead. Together, they shine a light on the aluminum extrusion industry's growing need for skilled talent—and what the Council is doing about it.   With over 175 extrusion plants op...

In this episode, Jason Weber and Mark Butterfield reflect on the AEC's 75th anniversary, discussing the organization's impact on the industry and the importance of adapting to change. They outline strategic planning for 2025, upcoming events, and the significance of training and development for members. The conversation also highlights the need for effective communication and member engagement, as...

In this episode of ShapeMakers, Lynn Brown and Rue Rogers discuss the intersection of aluminum extrusion and the circular economy. They explore how aluminum can be recycled effectively, the importance of maintaining materials in circulation, and the role of scrap in the industry. The conversation highlights the sustainability initiatives within the aluminum extrusion sector and the potential for i...

  Welcome to Shape Makers, the podcast series from the Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC). AEC represents over 75% of North America's aluminum extrusion production. In this series, we explore key issues affecting extruders, suppliers, and users of aluminum extruded products. Our guest speakers dive into topics like aluminum extrusion Fairtrade cases, industry efforts to attract and retain skilled wo...

  Lynn Brown of the AEC and Shane Tredup of Custom Aluminum discuss decarbonization efforts in the extrusion industry, highlighting the growing demand from customers for information on carbon footprint, scope one, two, and three emissions, and decarbonization plans.    Industry tool for aluminum extruders to track carbon emissions. ACC aims to create industry tool for extruders to track carbon foo...

Welcome back to another riveting episode of SHAPEMAKERS, where we explore the fascinating world of shaping industries and innovations. In this special edition, Jason Weber, the VP of Operations and Government Affairs for the Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC), sits down with our distinguished guest Rob Nelson Executive Vice President at ALMAG Aluminum.   ALMAG ALUMINUM  ALMAG's history began in 1953...

Jason Weber visits with Prof. Lorenzo Donati about the upcoming ET'24 In-Conjunction Workshop on Process Analysis & Optimization    8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Fee: $595 Instructors: Professors from the Manufacturing Technologies Group at the University of Bologna, Italy Learn how to optimize and analyze the aluminum extrusion process in this one-day intensive course from the experts at the Manufacturin...

George Oh &   Judy Runge  join Jason Weber of the AEC to discuss their upcoming Anodizing Essentials Workshop at this years ET'24 event in Orlando. For more details visit:  ET In-Conjunction Workshops | Aluminum Extruders Council (aec.org) AAC Anodizing Essentials Class 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Fee: $495 AAC members / $895 nonmembers Instructors: AAC member anodizing experts Anodizing Essentials is p...

SHAPEMAKERS EPISODE 57 Welcome back to another riveting episode of SHAPEMAKERS, where we explore the fascinating world of shaping industries and innovations. In this special edition, Jason Weber, the VP of Operations and Government Affairs for the Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC), sits down with our distinguished guest ET'24 track chair, Gary Jones.  Listen as they discuss the upcoming ET'24 Semin...

SHAPEMAKERS EPISODE 56 Welcome back to another riveting episode of SHAPEMAKERS, where we explore the fascinating world of shaping industries and innovations. In this special edition, Jason Weber, the VP of Operations and Government Affairs for the Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC), sits down with our distinguished guest ET'24 track chair, Bill Rogers. Listen as they discuss the upcoming ET'24 Semin...

SHAPEMAKERS EPISODE 55 Welcome back to another riveting episode of SHAPEMAKERS, where we explore the fascinating world of shaping industries and innovations. In this special edition, Jason Weber, the VP of Operations and Government Affairs for the Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC), sits down with our distinguished guest ET'24 chairman, Jerome Fourmann. Listen as they discuss the upcoming ET'24 Semi...

SHAPEMAKERS EPISODE 54  Welcome back to another riveting episode of SHAPEMAKERS, where we explore the fascinating world of shaping industries and innovations. In this special edition, Jason Weber, the VP of Operations and Government Affairs for the Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) sits down with our distinguished guest Brook Hamilton – President of Bonnell Aluminum. Listen as they discuss the upco...

Welcome back to another riveting episode of SHAPEMAKERS, where we explore the fascinating world of shaping industries and innovations. In this special edition, we are honored to have Jason Weber, the VP of Operations and Government Affairs for the Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC), as our distinguished guest.   Episode Highlights: Introduction to Jason Weber: Dive into the professional journey of J...

AEC Extrusion Kits: PSU Capstone Project Teams Interview In 2023, AEC sponsored three capstone projects with the Pennsylvania State University engineering department. These projects are designed to develop aluminum extrusion kits for use by high school STEAM students, teachers and universities to support education in Science, Technology Engineering, the Arts and Math. Craig Werner, podcast host an...

Aluminum Safety Summit Preview Nancy Klein, AEC Education Director, talks with Mel Mitchell, AEC Safety Team Leader, about the 2023 Aluminum Safety Summit, scheduled for November 8 & 9 in Rosemont, Illinois. Mel discusses the program highlights and the new program configuration. Learn what topics are on the schedule and who will be sharing their experience and knowledge at the Aluminum Safety Summ...

AEC Management Conference Preview: Heat Stress & Heat Illness with Dr. Thomas Bernard   Meet the Heat Stress and Heat Illness expert, Dr. Tom Bernard, professor at the University of South Florida College of Public Health.  Tom will preview his upcoming Safety Spotlight session on "Heat Stress and Heat Illness" in the AEC Management Conference General Session on September 20 in Chicago.  He will di...

Aluminum Extrusion Design Competition Winner Drew Klopfenstein First-place winner in the 2023 Aluminum Extrusion Design Competition, Drew Klopfenstein from Purdue University, with AEC members Duncan Crowdis, Alexandria Industries, and Craig Werner, Werner Extrusion Solutions talk about Drew's award-winning design. Duncan and Craig get into the details about the Design Competition and what the judg...

How One Automotive Engineer Discovered the Value of ET The ET Seminar is a technical conference that focuses entirely on the aluminum extrusion industry – from alloy development and process improvement to design and applications, and everything in between. Andrew Halonen, principal and engineer at Mayflower Consulting, had heard about ET for years but never thought it was an event meant for him–a...

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...

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, accor...

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...

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 an...

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 an...