There is a simple solution to almost all design problems: aluminium profiles. Aluminium instead of steel, copper, plastic, wood, etc. Profiles instead of casting, injection moulding, your imagination sets the limit!
Sapa Profiles is the world’s leading supplier of solutions using extruded aluminum profiles. Sapa’s market share in Europe is 14 % and in North America 29 %. The operations in Asia include extrusion and fabrication facilities in China and India, and an extrusion plant in Vietnam. Sapa Profiles' products are used in a wide range of applications, most commonly in the building and construction, solar and other renewable energy solutions, transportation, automotive, and home and office equipment sectors.
Extruded profiles that perform
Aluminium profiles are everywhere. And their use is spreading as more industries discover their benefits. Aluminium weighs only one third as much as steel. It is easy to shape into advanced design forms, it has a smooth surface finish and it is 100 percent recyclable.Sapa’s extruded aluminium profiles are used as components in buildings, machines and millions of other applications around the globe. Due to their versatility, the use of aluminium profiles is limited only by the imagination. With a presence in 26 countries and 11,800 employees, Sapa Profiles is the only truly global supplier, well equipped to serve both local and international customers.
Solutions for virtually all applications
Sapa’s aluminium profiles are used in a wide range of industries such as building and construction, renewable energy, transport, furniture and engineering. Sapa delivers profiles from 5 millimeters and 30 grams per meter to 620 millimeters and 86 kilograms per meter. Whether customers are looking for standard or customized profiles, Sapa is able to provide the right solution.
A complex process
The principle of aluminium extrusion is based on a carefully controlled and managed process of temperature, speed, tooling design and timing, where an aluminium billet is heated to the exact temperature for its alloy properties and pressed through a custom-made die with great force. The profile emerges at a speed of 5–50 meters per minute and reaches a length of 25–45 meters, depending on the specification of each individual profile. Cooling takes place immediately, by air or water. To ensure that the profiles are straight, and to release internal stresses, they are stretched after cooling. At the same time, they are checked to ensure that all key functional dimensions are accurate and that the surface quality is correct. The profiles are then cut to the appropriate length. The material is subjected to natural aging or artificial aging to bring it to its permanent level of tensile strength. Large or medium-sized profiles are pressed through a die with only one cavity. For smaller profiles, multi-hole dies may be more appropriate. Multi-hole dies can have up to 16 cavities. The start-up and switching costs are low; in about two minutes the die can be changed for a different end-use segment.
Adding value
Sapa provides its customers with expertise, high quality and resources, freeing up capacity to allow them to concentrate on their core operations. In addition to aluminium extrusion, process control and die design, below are some of the areas in which Sapa has unique leading-edge technological expertise.
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