AEC Extrusion Symposium

September 21-23, 2010

Hyatt Regency O'Hare

Chicago, Illinois

Wednesday, September 22, 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

The AEC-Tech portion of AEC's Extrusion Symposium includes:

• AAC Anodizing Quality Workshop
• AEC Safety Workshop
• Breakout Sessions

Building on the successful Anodizing Essentials Workshop, the Aluminum Anodizers Council (AAC) has developed the next level of anodizing education in their School for Anodizers program with the
Anodizing Quality Workshop. The advanced class moves beyond the anodizing basics to address quality and process issues commonly faced by anodizers.

Tentative course schedule

Because of the interactive nature of the program, registration is limited to 30 participants. There is
an additional fee of $50 to attend this workshop. Space will be filled on a first-paid, first registered basis.  Participants are encouraged to bring samples to the workshop for troubleshooting.

AEC Safety Workshop

This afternoon workshop, geared toward EHS professionals, supervisory personnel, and plant managers—among others—will feature subject matter experts from within the aluminum extrusion industry.

Topics include the following:

Arc Flash Regulations

Steve Serba, Alexandria Extrusion Company
Rick Colden, Alexandria Extrusion Company
Mark Eliopulos, Kaiser Aluminum

Denny Hess (Kaiser Aluminum)

1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.

Are you ready for the new Standard for Electrical Safety from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)? Are you prepared to guard against arc flash? Find out how by following a case study of an AEC member company that has completed the process, and learn about personal protection
equipment (PPE), as well as proper labeling.

Value of Voluntary Protection Programs

Sukhvir Kaur, Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)

2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Have you ever considered partnering with a regulatory agency to ensure the safety of your workplace? Find out how such programs—for example, the Star Program from the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)—can help you raise safety standards in your plant to a higher level.

Safety Roundtable

Mel Mitchell, MI Metals
Mark Eliopulos, Kaiser Aluminum
Rick Colden, Alexandria Extrusion Company

3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Have a question that you’d like to put to a peer in the safety arena? This interactive panel discussion presents an ideal opportunity to gather with similarly situated professionals to explore the best practices in the industry.  Expect the discussion to include the safety standard for horizontal hydraulic extrusion presses, ANSI B11-17, along with the topics you bring to the table.

There is no additional cost for this workshop; however, space is limited. Space will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis, so register soon!

Breakout Sessions

Business Track

Trends in the North American Aluminum Industry—Recovery or a New Normal?

Nick Adams, The Aluminum Association, Inc.

1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

During the past 18 months, the U.S. and global economy have experienced a major shock to the business environment due to a combination of factors resulting in a Perfect Storm. Unlike other recessions, there were few countercyclical events to help balance the economy. In the United States, housing starts fell from an annual rate of almost 2.7 million units in early 2006 to less than 500,000 by mid-2009; an unprecedented drop of about 80 percent. Auto production, which had topped 12 million units in 2002, tumbled to 5.6 million by the end of 2009. In late 2009, the U.S. housing market began to level out but remains depressed. However, commercial construction which continued to grow during the recession has started to slip due to a shortage of loans. The U.S. auto industry has shown some signs of recovery in the short run but the long term remains in question. The purpose of this discussion is to look at trends in key aluminum markets and to identify influences on the drivers for a recovery.

Driving the Use of Aluminum Extrusions in the Growing Solar Market
Mark Turley from Sapa Extrusions, Inc., Doug Richman from Kaiser Aluminum and Allan Bennett from Hydro Aluminum
2:20 p.m. - 3:20 p.m.

This combination lecture/panel discussion will provide an overview of the burgeoning solar market. Attendees will gain insights into opportunities for extrusions in various solar products, the advantages and challenges of extrusions versus competitive materials, and how to guide designers and specifiers to choose aluminum extrusions over other materials. AEC’s plans to marshal its resources in order to expand aluminum extrusion’s reach in this promising market will cap off the session.

How to Leverage Social Networking and Apply It to Your Business

Gregg Marshall, CPMR, CSP, Rep Connection
3:40 p.m. - 4:40 p.m.
How does your manufacturing organization use LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and the

up-to-the-second trends and tools to enhance your communications, networking, and sales opportunities? How can new technologies have a positive impact on your business? This session will enlighten you with the basics, the do's and don'ts, and the pros and cons in this timely session to keep you in the ‘now'. You will feel empowered to use these technologies to strengthen your organization's strategies, market more effectively and share pertinent information.

Technical Track

Challenging Conventional Wisdom

Frank Kraft, Ohio University

1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

New product development involves innovation and often risks, but it can reap significant rewards. The necessary insight sometimes involves questioning and rethinking conventionally held industry beliefs. Such is the case when considering an approach to extrude thin-wall, hollow profiles from hard alloys. A lab-scale extrusion apparatus to accomplish this task is presented. Emphasis is placed on the role of temperature and press control. The use of super alloys for extrusion tooling is also explored.

Process Optimization through Alloy Development and Selection

Greg Lea, Hydro Aluminum

2:20 p.m. - 3:20 p.m.

Current alloy design focuses on magnesium-to-silicon ratios needed to produce Mg2Si for strengthening. Recent developments in aluminum alloy development show that the non-equilibrium phases that provide strengthening do not have the same Mg:Si ratio as is found in the equilibrium Mg2Si phase. This presentation will show that optimizing an alloy for needed strength allows for better extrudability. Designing with this approach has led Hydro to the development of a new group of alloys, the HSA (high speed alloys), which are optimized for productivity while delivering required strengths. This presentation will discuss the fundamentals of physical metallurgy of 6xxx aluminum alloys, productivity comparisons between HSA alloys widely used in Europe and standard alloys used in North America, and the benefits of designing an alloy to optimize productivity while meeting customer's requirements for strength and performance.

Maximizing Recovery

Jerome Fourmann, Rio Tinto Alcan

3:40 p.m. - 4:40 p.m.

Planning for maximum recovery is one thing, achieving it is another. Depending on the specific product, accurate predictions of front- and back-end scrap need to be taken to ensure sound material. For less critical products, the bulk of the billet can be transformed into saleable extrusion. In both cases, good press planning is necessary to maximize recovery. This session explores the factors that maximize planned press recovery, the cause of main defects generating extrusions to be scrapped including such things as the impact of log length, pre-cut billet length and two-piece billets.