Extruded Aluminum Corp.
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By Libby John   
Friday, 04 April 2008
Extruded Aluminum Corp. remains competitive by expanding its capabilities and continuously improving customer service. By Libby John
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Extruded Aluminum Corp., located in Belding, Michigan, began operations 20 years ago. From its humble beginnings, as a two extrusion press operation, it is now in the process of an $11 million expansion. The company is adding a 12-inch, 4,500/5,000-ton SMS extrusion press, which will be the largest in Michigan. When the expansion is completed in the fall of 2008, Extruded Aluminum will house 7-, 9-, 10- and 12-inch diameter extrusion presses. Additionally, manufacturing space will increase by 73,000 square feet, to 185,0000 square feet overall, providing 45 more manufacturing jobs.

Extruded Aluminum offers a complete line of extrusions, from standard shapes to complex custom extrusions, fully fabricated and finished. The company's diverse customer base includes automotive, furniture, marine, government, construction, electronics and utility industries.

In today's global economy there are very few independent extrusion facilities remaining. Extruded Aluminum has built a reputation with its customers for being responsive and flexible. According to company President Ed Rahe, "We have a strong reputation in this industry and that is because we have remained independent and continuously improved upon our strengths. We are known for excellent on-time delivery and quickly responding to any customers' questions or concerns. We can make adjustments to meet their specific requests. If we were part of a larger organization, we may not be able to do this. We are large enough to supply companies with several million pounds, but yet small enough to respond to customers needs quickly."   
Like many strong and growing independent companies, Extruded Aluminum has had many inquiries from investment firms to purchase its operations. Rahe says, "Extruded Aluminum will remain independent as long they continue to support their customer base and continually improve their operations. We are doing quite well on our own and have no interest in selling - we have no intentions of doing so."  

When asked about its customer base, Rahe says, "We have a diverse customer mix by design - it helps us during market downturns. Many of our customers are large, but none of them exceed more than 15 percent of our business."

He explains one of the company's strengths is its dedication to service. "Extruded Aluminum's team will work with customers to ensure their designs are extrudable. Should the customers have a custom design, Extruded Aluminum will work to adjust their operations and maintain tight tolerances to ensure the customers production requirements are met, or exceeded."

Recently, Venture spoke with Ed Rahe about Extruded Aluminum's capabilities and how its strengths will allow for continued growth.

Venture:  Extruded Aluminum says it will work on more challenging projects than its competitors. What does this involve and why is the company willing to do this?
Ed Rahe:  We are willing take on any size order, big or small. Many other extruders aren't willing to put in the extra effort for business like that. We will work on tough extrusions and will produce smaller orders. Some extruders turn away from this type of business - they find it's hard to get the profile to run within certain tolerances on a small volume order. We readily accept those challenges. That kind of work may require additional cost, and it may be less productive than normal, but we will do it. We are quite flexible in our operations and our customers have come to appreciate that from us.

Venture:  How does Extruded Aluminum maintain quality in its operation?

ER:  We became ISO certified in 1997, and we were one of the first extruders in the industry to do so. To us, the ISO program is not a façade - we use it to our benefit. Not only does this program consistently provide superior product to our customers, it also allows us to save money by being more efficient. Our Quality Steering Committee works closely with our production personnel to help oversee our operations to ensure the ISO procedures are followed properly. Additionally, as required by ISO standards, we have an outside auditor come in every six months to monitor our operations.

Venture:  How has the company enhanced its operations recently?

ER:  We are always working to improve quality and productivity. Currently, we are in the process of an $11 million expansion, which includes the purchase of a Sutton press, which the Cadillac of extrusion presses. This is a substantial expansion, considering the size of our company. We have a reputation for being second-to-none in quality and our on-time delivery rate is 99 percent. This expansion is necessary to maintain our reputation, and to continue to grow in today's competitive market.
 
We also work to continuously improve our service levels. Should a customer have a question, or need something special, we will respond quickly and follow up on the issue until it's resolved. We pride ourselves on providing a more personable approach to the business, which adds to our reputation.

Venture: What are the company's plans for growth?

ER:  Our main plan is to complete our expansion. Everything should be operational in the last quarter of 2008. Our objective for the long term is to simply continue the growth of our company. One of our main assets is that our top management team is young and highly motivated. The management team wants to see the company succeed. With me being semi-retired, I encourage their commitment by giving them room to make the necessary day-to-day decisions. This has helped us be very progressive and highly respected within our industry.
 
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