The Inflation Reduction Act was designed to enhance domestic manufacturing and secure domestic supply chains. The act, signed by President Biden in 2022, was sponsored by Sens. Chuck Shumer (D-NY) and Joe Manchin (D-WV), with the legislation also drawing from House Bill HR5376 sponsored by Rep. John A. Yarmuth (D-KY 3). According to a White house Fact Sheet dated August 16, 2023...
Alexandria Industries' Nancy Waldorf and Robbie Betterman go live on KIK-FM radio with DJs Kris and Chelsea to talk about the 16th Annual Fishing For the Cure Ice Fishing Challenge and what this special event is all about and how important it is to our community.
Alexandria Industries completed an investment project at its operations in Alexandria, MN, where the company has expanded its manufacturing space, installed a new 7 inch, 26 MN front-loading extrusion press line with advanced automation capabilities, and added a new front office and entry. The new press line allows the company to increase its capacity and extrude harder alloys,...
The pandemic came and may be on its way out soon, but it didn’t change one fundamental thing for Alexandria Industries: The company needs more workers, and needs them badly. So CEO Tom Schabel is trying to navigate Alexandria’s shortage of labor while keeping some other important things in mind, too. “I’m spending every waking moment trying to figure out how to satisfy...
We need no reminder that 2020 was shockingly different from any year we have experienced before. Each of us could probably name several struggles we’ve endured. For those of us in the manufacturing industry, however, this challenging time has generated opportunities to resolve our ongoing worker shortage issue.
The COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on many manufacturers’ supply chains as global borders closed and shipments slowed. Now that U.S. consumers are realizing the true value of domestically manufactured products, OEMs have the opportunity to reshore their products with U.S. suppliers while also attracting consumers looking for U.S.-made goods. This article is part of a three-part...
The manufacturing supply chain will continue to evolve during and after the coronavirus pandemic. Now is the perfect time for manufacturers to evaluate suppliers to ensure they can meet production needs when COVID-19 has passed. This article is part of a three-part series about checking your supplier's business health. See Part I here: Supplier financial health check, Part 1:...
From Industrial Widgets to Hospital Goods: COVID-19 Forces Minnesota Factories to Pivot. Reporter Dee DePass shares stories about Minnesota manufacturers, including Alexandria Industries, in this article about how, Industrial factories statewide have shifted into hospital mode, saving jobs in the process.
Five tips to use dimensioning and tolerance in the design stage. In today’s fast-paced manufacturing industry, it can be difficult to set aside time to define tolerances for a new aluminium extruded component design. Pressed for time, OEM design engineers often default to title block tolerances. This might save a little time, but it risks adding unnecessary cost to the part due to...
COVID-19 has exposed weak links in the global supply chain, and product manufacturers are taking notice. As the virus runs its course, many manufacturers will likely have suppliers that do not survive. Being confident in your suppliers’ stability needs to be more than a gut-check today. You will need to dig in and conduct your due diligence to understand your suppliers’ financial...
Executives bet that Alexandria Industries’ company-owned clinic will produce healthier, happier employees and ultimately help contain the costs of health insurance.
The Voice of Alexandria/KXRA Radio features Alexandria Industries’ new Family Health & Wellness Clinic for employees and their families. The company’s new clinic is providing employees and their families, with more convenience for routine and basic medical care. The clinic also will help the company address the rising cost of its self-insured medical expenses.
Onsite clinics are saving companies money, while making preventive care and regular checkups cheaper and more convenient for employees and their families.
Manufacturing conditions across Minnesota and the rest of the country contracted in August amid stubbornly weak oil and agriculture sectors, according to two closely watched economic reports released Thursday.
Suppliers specializing in one type of service used to be able to compete with other providers by excelling at that service and delivering top-quality products. That isn’t the case anymore. In today’s dynamic economy, OEMs are focusing on supplier consolidation initiatives in an effort to reduce administrative, quality audit and product audit costs that come standard when working with multiple suppliers. The metrics they use to evaluate their partners are…
From 2016 to 2025, there will be 2 million manufacturing job openings nationwide. Today, students and their parents hear repeatedly that attending a four-year college is in the best interest of the children, regardless of which career path they are considering. What many may not realize is that a four-year degree is not the only option for a successful career. Sadly, today, many four-year graduates are underemployed…
The following feature story was published in the Star Tribune© newspaper (April 24, 2016), on the creative ways rural manufacturers are finding workers. By Dee DePass, Manufacturing Business Reporter Rural factories spend big on perks, even buy companies to find workers Spiraling retirements and shrinking unemployment in rural Minnesota are driving worried factory owners to get creative so that current workers stay and future workers come. After years of chronic worker shortages, plants statewide are taking aggressive action…
In their ongoing struggle to find and keep employees, rural Minnesota manufacturers are assembling new kinds of perks. One such company is taking a creative approach to its benefits package: It’s opening its own clinic. This summer, Alexandria Industries, located in the central Minnesota city of the same name, will open its Family Health & Wellness Clinic for employees and their families. It’s not only a distinctive benefit—the company also hopes to lower the burden of its healthcare costs.
Spiraling retirements and shrinking unemployment in rural Minnesota are driving worried factory owners to get creative so that current workers stay and future workers come. After years of chronic worker shortages, plants statewide are taking aggressive action.
While U.S. Aluminum extrusion demand continues to step up, demand growth is expected to moderate somewhat this year at the same time as certain supply issues and concerns about future economic growth keep the market very competitive.
The skills gap has been a growing problem with manufacturers for years, at one point even inspiring legislation to encourage on-the-job training and ongoing analysis of the issue… During an interview, Al Sholts, chief operating officer for the Minnesota-based company, Alexandria Industries, explains how manufacturers can take the initiative to train employees and work with schools to close the gap.
Suppliers are already seeing significantly strained capacities generated by ever-increasing product demand. As 2016 develops, the solar market could see unprecedented sales volumes for photovoltaic system suppliers. There are even indicators that great demand will continue into 2017 and beyond based on cost-reduction trends. With all of the action in the market, mounting and racking suppliers may face an extremely high demand for aluminum extrusion or steel components.
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