Taber Extrusions News Archives - Page 30 of 39

29 01, 2013

Aluminum Demand Up And Still Growing

andre2015-06-18T15:33:37+00:00January 29th, 2013|

2012 was a banner year for aluminum. Between innovative advances in manufacturing and groundbreaking design usages, along with award-winning vehicles, 2012 showed that demand continued to grow in North America. From industry journal Metal Bulletin (subscription required for the full article and note the foreign spelling of aluminum):

US and Canadian aluminum demand edged up through most of 2012, even as production slipped, according to industry figures compiled by the Aluminum Assn and the Aluminium Assn of Canada.

Demand (shipments by domestic producers plus imports) totaled more than 21.19 billion pounds in the first 11 months of 2012, up 5.7% from nearly 20.04 billion pound the previous year…

Where does that leave us today? The aluminum industry appears to be on an upward path. During Alcoa’s fourth-quarter earnings report, company representatives spoke of a positive projection for the 2013 fiscal year. From 4-Traders:

Among other Dow components, Alcoa gave up a morning advance to slip 0.2% after the aluminum giant reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings that matched estimates and revenue that was well above forecasts. The company also said it expects the pace of aluminum demand growth in 2013 to increase from 2012.

As an industry, this is exciting news. It indicates the quality of the material in an age where designs focus on the right combination of cost, durability, and weight. With January in the books, there’s no reason to think that it won’t be a case of onward and upward for 2013.

23 01, 2013

Farewell Bill Wetmore, Welcome Allan Annis

andre2015-06-18T15:33:37+00:00January 23rd, 2013|

It’s the end of an era for Taber Extrusions, as the company is seeing a shift in leadership. Bill Wetmore arrived at Taber in 2008 following nearly 30 years in the aluminum industry. He guided Taber until his recent retirement at the end of 2012. With more than three decades of service in the aluminum industry under his belt, Mr. Wetmore has more than earned his retirement — which he’s currently enjoying in the northern Georgia countryside.

Of course, the show must go on, and Taber Extrusions is proud to announce Allan Annis as its new President. From our official press release:

Taber Extrusions LLC is pleased to announce that Allan Annis has joined our team as Taber’s President. Annis succeeds Bill Wetmore who retired from Taber at the end of 2012. Annis will oversee both of Taber’s manufacturing facilities which are located in Russellville, Arkansas and Gulfport, Mississippi.

Annis comes to Taber from Hydro Aluminum where he was the Vice President of their Southeast Region. In this role, Annis was responsible for the Hydro plants located in St. Augustine, FL and in Belton, SC.

Prior to Hydro, Annis was previously with Rockwell Automation where he served as Director of Lean Enterprise and also as Plant Manager in two of Rockwell’s Power Systems facilities.

Please join us in wishing Bill Wetmore well in his retirement, along with a hearty welcome to Allan Annis. Here’s to a bright future for them both.

17 01, 2013

More Car Manufacturers Using Aluminum For Key Components

andre2015-06-18T15:33:37+00:00January 17th, 2013|

While it’s true that aluminum made a splash in the automotive industry with Tesla’s Model-S, the material’s integration into other manufacturer’s design and production lines is more subtle — however, it’s still significant. With federal goals for MPG pressuring car companies to innovate for materials and engineering, it shouldn’t be a surprise that aluminum is becoming the go-to choice for design.

From commuter sedans to trucks to performance sports cars, FenderBender reports that upcoming aluminum integration includes:

2013 Honda Accord (hood, sub-frame, rear bumper)
2014 Chevrolet Silverado (hood, suspension, engine components)
2014 GMC Sierra (hood, suspension)
2013 Cadillac ATS (hood)
2014 Maserati Quattroporte (body panels)
2013 Dodge Ram 1500 (hood)
2013 Scion FR-S (hood)

This increase in aluminum use on the show floor echoes findings from the latest survey of automakers by Ducker Worldwide that asserts automakers are accelerating their shift away from steel to aluminum to help meet consumer and federal fuel economy demands. The survey indicated that aluminum is not only the leading material in the engine and wheel markets, but fast-gaining market share in hoods, trunks and doors.

Automakers have said they plan to increase their use of aluminum from 327 pounds in 2009 to 550 pounds in 2025.

With weight being one of the driving factors in MPG, it’s likely that aluminum materials will have become part of the norm due to properties such as strength and weight. The Model-S’ Car Of The Year award was a first, but chances are it won’t be the last vehicle with aluminum to win such a prize.

12 01, 2013

Taber Extrusions LLC Announces Allan Annis as New President

andre2013-01-12T00:20:21+00:00January 12th, 2013|

As the turn of the new year leading manufacturing company appoints new president to lead its two U.S.-based facilities

Russellville, Ark. (January 9, 2013) – U.S.-based Taber Extrusions LLC, a leader in the aluminum extrusions industry is pleased to announce Allan Annis as its new President. Mr. Annis succeeds Bill Wetmore who previously retired from the company at the end of 2012. As president, he brings a fresh approach to the company for the new year and will oversee both of Taber’s manufacturing plants which are located in Russellville, Arkansas and Gulfport, Mississippi.

Mr. Annis comes to Taber from Hydro Aluminum where he was the Vice President of their Southeast Region. In this role, Mr. Annis was responsible for the Hydro plants located in St. Augustine, FL and in Belton, SC. Prior to Hydro, he was previously with Rockwell Automation where he served as Director of Lean Enterprise and also as Plant Manager in two of Rockwell’s Power Systems facilities.

For over thirty-five years, Taber Extrusions has seen major growth in business opportunities and has broken boundaries as an extrusion leader in the production of a range of quality, customized aluminum extrusions by using cutting-edge technology and offering competitive prices. Mr. Annis will continue to lead the company with full force.

“We look forward to being able to profit from Allan’s experience and fresh ideas,” remarked Steve Althardt, Sales Manager for Taber Extrusions. “We welcome Allan to the team and will rely on his leadership to take Taber to the next level as an industry leader in specialized aluminum extrusions.”

“I am excited to be joining an industry leader with a winning reputation,” added Mr. Annis. “The special capabilities and more importantly the special people we have at Taber will no doubt allow us to continue serving customers with unequalled products and service.”

About Taber Extrusions LLC
In 1973, Taber Extrusions LLC pioneered the extrusion of large, heavy and wide complex shapes to differentiate itself in the aluminum extrusion industry. Today, Taber Extrusions continues its tradition of breaking boundaries as an extrusion leader in the production of a range of quality aluminum extrusions sizes and shapes. The company offers extrusions in 2000, 5000, 6000 and 7000 alloy series. Since its inception, the brand name Taber Extrusions has been synonymous with innovation, service and quality. All extrusions are engineered, manufactured and tested in the United States. Taber Extrusions maintains its headquarters at the Russellville, Arkansas facility, with a regional sales office also at its Gulfport, Mississippi facility.

1 01, 2013

Remember Aluminum Christmas Trees?

andre2017-01-26T23:37:30+00:00January 1st, 2013|

Now that the calendar has turned to 2013 (we survived the Mayan Apocalypse, huzzah!), it’s time to take down those holiday decorations and look forward to the New Year. Many of us will bring the old pine tree out for recycling pickup while others will pack up realistic-looking fake trees.

Others? They may take down a sparkly bit of aluminum, and no, we’re not talking about a Festivus pole. The old aluminum trees – complete with rotating color wheel – are making a bit of a comeback. In some cases, like with Teresa Dominie, it’s a holiday tradition. From The Western Star:

To Dominie the tree, which has been in her family since 1966, represents tradition.

“I’m all about tradition,” she said. “If you look at my regular tree it doesn’t have ribbons and bows, it’s got ornaments from the places we’ve travelled. It’s got ornaments from my mother’s tree and my grandmother’s tree, my husband’s parents’ tree and his grandparent’s tree.

“It’s all about keeping the family in the holiday and in Christmas.”

In other cases, the aluminum tree has become more of a hipster fad. Everything old is new again, after all, and you can’t put a price on kitsch or irony. Well, actually, you can. From J. A. Bartlett’s blog circa 2010:

You can buy aluminum Christmas trees again these days. They’ve migrated over the last several years from hipster icon to something easily found in big-box stores, and some of them can be quite striking.

So, just how much is an aluminum Christmas tree these days? According to Amazon, a three-foot tree retails for about $34 while tall (seven feet) aluminum Christmas trees can fetch up to $225.

For all the great industry strides aluminum has made in manufacturing over the past year, who would have thought that a 60s throwback would be driving the price up?

27 12, 2012

Kickstart 100% Recycled Aluminum Bikes With ReCycle

andre2015-06-18T15:33:37+00:00December 27th, 2012|

What happens when you recycle all those aluminum cans? In most cases, you’ll get some pocket change in return and the accumulated cans ship off to a recycling plant, with the materials later distributed as — drum roll please — more cans.

ReCycle, a Los Angeles-based startup, is looking to put the cycle in recycling, all while pumping out a product that’s just a little more exciting than aluminum cans. ReCycle is striving to make the world’s first line of bikes manufactured from 100% recycled aluminum — and they’re looking for a little help from their cycling-enthusiast friends. From their Kickstarter page:

It all started with inspiration sparked by a recycled-materials, reusable grocery bag with “ingredients” printed on it attached to a messenger bag. Aluminum. Rubber. Plastic. “Hey. Those are bike parts.” Flash! A few years later, and our prototypes are alive, well and rolling down a street near you. (If you live in Los Angeles.) Against so many odds, we’ve managed to create a head-turning bicycle made from 100%-recycled aluminum, making it the greenest transportation option available anywhere.

Now, it’s time to roll The ReCycle forward and start reducing carbon output and waste by reusing aluminum through a closed-loop, recycling mission to create new and awesome bikes from old and worn out materials.

The goal of ReCycle’s Kickstarter campaign is to raise enough funds to manufacture 50 of their bikes, or a dollar amount of $105,000 by January 1. Backers will receive anything from t-shirts to custom paint jobs on a ReCycle bike, along with the generally good feeling about encouraging reusable materials in innovative ways.

To contribute to the Kickstarter campaign, visit their official page or learn more at ReCycle’s site.

12 12, 2012

Ranger Boats Announces New 2013 Aluminum Series

andre2015-06-18T15:33:37+00:00December 12th, 2012|

The aluminum industry is still abuzz over the Car of the Year awards given to Tesla’s Model S (a.k.a, the electric car with the aluminum chassis). However, another form of transportation is seeing rollout of aluminum-built vehicles.

Aluminum boats aren’t out of the ordinary; in fact, the boating industry is generally of either aluminum or fiberglass hulls. However, Ranger Boats has unveiled a new aluminum series of boats for the 2013 model year, one that’s focused on premium quality.

From Trade Only Today:

“We know there are a lot of anglers and boat buyers looking for a premium-quality aluminum fishing boat at a great price,” Ranger Boats president Randy Hopper said in a statement. “And the new Tournament and Apache Series are built precisely to those standards. We’re proud of the best-in-class features in our fiberglass platforms and instilled the same craftsmanship and attention to detail in these aluminum designs.”

The all-new Tournament Series will consist of three models: The RT 178 sports a 17-foot, 8-inch bass configuration and the RT 178C features a similar platform focused more on crappie and multispecies angling, complete with multiple seat locations and live wells. Rounding out the Tournament Series line is the RT188, an 18-foot, 8-inch bass design rated for 115 horsepower.

“So many anglers enter the boating lifestyle by purchasing an aluminum fishing boat,” Ranger vice president of sales Keith Daffron said in a statement. “We’re excited to offer these customers an affordable, durable product paired with the Ranger name and the long list of 5-Star advantages that come with it.”

Ranger Boats is known for their quality products, and by extending this to their aluminum series, they’re elevating the standard for what’s possible with aluminum boats. In addition, Ranger Boats is adding to the local manufacturing economy by opening a new Flippin, Arkansas manufacturing facility specifically for this boat line.

For more information on Ranger Boats, visit their website.

5 12, 2012

When Aluminum Becomes Art

andre2015-06-18T15:33:37+00:00December 5th, 2012|

When you talk about art, most people think of paints, ink, or maybe clay. There’s a good chance they don’t think about aluminum.

However, Georgia-based artist Todd Briske has found his art medium of choice, and it involves our favorite type of metal.

Briske’s sculptures run the gamut, from sculptures of men and women to other pieces of metal art, including a giant Christmas wreath at the Arts Clayton Gallery in Jonesboro, Georgia. From the Clayton Neighbor Newspaper:

According to Arts Clayton Executive Director Linda Summerlin, Briske’s metal creations, including a huge, multi-colored medal Christmas wreath on display at the gallery, are among the most talked about artistic works available there.

“To me, it is almost like knitting,” Briske said.

“However, instead of using yarn, you are using aluminum metal strips which I can easily shape and mold using only a pair of pliers,” he added.

Briske can also wire his art, with or without a studio.

“I can remember that after our Thanksgiving dinner, my mother would be knitting at one end of our couch and I would be working on an artistic metal piece at the other end,” he said, adding that aluminum strips are not only easy to shape but maintain that shape well.

Briske’s sculptures are on display right now at the Arts Clayton Gallery. For more information, visit their website.

Does the art world now have a soft spot for the aluminum industry? Perhaps Briske’s endeavors will inspire others to work with aluminum — it’s lightweight, strong, and malleable, after all. One thing’s for sure, though; at Taber Extrusions, you can bet that we are not going to making any sculptures anytime soon.

We’ll leave the art to the artists.

28 11, 2012

When Aluminum Recycling Goes Wrong – Really Wrong

andre2015-06-18T15:33:37+00:00November 28th, 2012|

In tough economic times, aluminum is a hot commodity. Because of its recyclable properties — and the fact that recycled aluminum can easily be exchanged for cash — people will do just about anything to turn that scrap into dollars.

Of course, it’s one thing for a family to collect soda cans from the office or the neighborhood. On the other extreme, you have a recent story out of Philadelphia that involves theft and a little bit of espionage.

Brian Pierson of Philadelphia decided it’d be a good idea to steal aluminum forms from J.M. Pereira & Sons construction company. But after the first theft on July 17, owner Carl Pereira decided he’d take matters into his own hands. From the Times Herald of Montgomery County:

Court papers indicate that Carl Pereira told authorities that aluminum construction forms were stolen from his work site at 100 Destiny Way in Montgomery Township during the early morning hours of July 17, July 21 and July 23.

“After the first theft on July 17, Pereira hid a GPS tracking device in a construction form at the Montgomery Township construction site location,” Montgomery Township Detective James Reape wrote in the criminal complaint.

On July 21, when the second theft occurred, the GPS device provided the location of the stolen goods to be a Philadelphia area scrap metal yard, court papers indicate. Pereira accompanied Philadelphia police to the scrap yard and identified the property and retrieved the tracking device.

Video surveillance showed a male operating a red Dodge Ram pickup truck selling the aluminum to the scrap yard at 7:49 a.m. July 21, according to the arrest affidavit.

The lesson here? Stick to collecting cans for that extra recycling money. And if you’ve had some valuable aluminum stolen from you, GPS technology can be your friend.

21 11, 2012

Car Industry Advances Motivate Aluminum Manufacturing Expansion Into China

andre2015-06-18T15:33:37+00:00November 21st, 2012|

In the past week, the auto industry has made significant strides to increase its usage of aluminum in manufacturing. Perhaps this shouldn’t be a surprise, as this was a theme of Aluminum Week 2012 and Tesla’s aluminum-body Model S won Car Of The Year from both Motor Trend and Automobile Magazine. However, it’s a good sign at the aluminum industry’s growing importance for car manufacturing.

One key indicator of this comes from global aluminum company Novelis. Novelis just announced expansion plans for an aluminum auto sheet plant in China. Novelis is recognized as a leader in rolled aluminum and its products are used in everything from beverage cans (that Coke you’re drinking? Novelis produced the can) to smartphone components to car components. From PR Newswire via Herald Online:

Novelis, the world leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, officially broke ground today on the company’s first aluminum manufacturing plant in China. The $100 million investment is designed to meet the rapidly growing demand for rolled aluminum used in the design of a new generation of lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles.

The wholly owned plant under construction in Changzhou in the Jiangsu Province, will have a capacity of 120,000 metric tons per year, further strengthening Novelis’ position as the world’s largest producer of aluminum sheet products used to create vehicle structures and body panels. Startup of the new facility, the industry’s first automotive sheet plant in China, is planned for late 2014.

With the aluminum industry still glowing from Tesla’s award-winning Model S, it’s likely that you’ll see further direct investment in aluminum-based auto manufacturing in the future.

Onward and upward!