Aluminum Anodizers and Aluminum Extruders Collaborate for 2025 Aluminum Summit
September 18, 2025The Aluminum Anodizers Council (AAC) and the Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) are joining forces to bring aluminum anodizing and aluminum extrusion industry business and technical information to their members and industry professionals. The AAC 34th Annual International Aluminum Anodizing Conference & Exposition and the AEC Management Conference will be co-located forming the 2025 Aluminum Summit.
The event will take place from Tuesday, September 16 through Thursday, September 18, 2025, at the Atlanta Hilton in downtown Atlanta, GA. The wide-ranging program addresses critical challenges faced by the aluminum extrusion and anodizing industries, including aluminum metal market analysis, status of aluminum tariffs, workplace safety, sustainability and more.
The program will include two general sessions covering relevant information to both groups, 24 Focus Sessions organized into six tracks, four sessions each, with three tracks concentrated on anodizing issues and three tracks focused on extrusion issues.
The Aluminum Marketplace, a small-scale Expo composed of exhibitors that supply products and services to anodizers and extruders, provides a forum for networking and camaraderie between the two associations and the attendees.
Conference websites have been created to share program and registration details with attendees.
AAC has set up registration fees for members and nonmembers to register at .
AEC members should register at .
The Opening General Session on Wednesday morning, September 17, highlights insurance inspections, trade and government affairs as they pertain to aluminum extrusions, a study on the North American Anodized Aluminum market, among other topics.
The Focus Session Tracks on Wednesday afternoon cover a wealth of information that anodizers and extruders can use to improve processes, learn a new technique, make informed decisions and more. The Tracks include Anodizing Fundamentals, Anodizing Tools, Anodizing Innovations, Management & Business Improvements, Extrusion Finishing Workshop, and Industry Intelligence. From Heat Treatment Impact on the Anodic Oxide Quality of 6000-Series Aluminum Extrusions to Machine Learning & GenAI Tools for Anodizers and Extruders, and from Innovations in Electrolytic Color to the Outlook for Automotive Extrusions and Using Data to Optimize the Extrusion Process, the Focus Sessions have something for nearly everyone involved in aluminum anodizing and extrusion operations.
The Closing General Session on Thursday morning, September 18, features an Aluminum Market Analysis and Outlook from Karen McBeth, Metals Global Engagement & Intelligence Director for S&P Global Commodities, who will share insights into the current market conditions for aluminum, especially on extrusion billet. Other sessions highlight sustainability, coexisting through communication and an emerging anodizing technology for creating antibacterial surfaces for medical applications.
The Closing Keynote will be presented by Gene Marks, a former columnist for the New York Times and the Washington Post. In his keynote address, “Navigating 2025 and Beyond: Strategic Moves for Your Industry”, Marks will share practical, real-world strategies and tactics that forward-thinking leaders are using to navigate the complex decisions surrounding technology and the workplace—positioning their companies for sustained growth and long-term success amid change.
PreSummit Workshops & Classes
Three in-conjunction workshops are being offered before the Aluminum Summit to provide a well-rounded educational experience for the week. On Monday, September 15, AAC will be offering their one-day Anodizing Essentials Class, designed to expand the knowledge and ability of anodizing production personnel at every skill level – from the line operator to the production manager. The class is open to members and nonmembers alike.
AEC will be offering their popular Extrusion Excellence: Applied Fundamentals for Aluminum Extruders one-day seminar to members. This educational course, taught by Professor Wojtek Misiolek, Director of the Loewy Institute at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA, brings together aluminum extrusion theory and practice to provide a fundamental engineering approach to the aluminum extrusion process. The Course is open only to AEC members and can be added to the Aluminum Summit registration or members can register for the course only by visiting .
On Tuesday, September 16, AAC will conduct the Anodizing Quality & Troubleshooting Workshop. The one-day technical workshop focuses on all aspects that influence anodizing quality, conducted by industry experts, and featuring Anodizing technical presentations and table discussions. Among the topics explored are aluminum metallurgy, manufacturing, and microstructure, anodizing to meet specifications, processing solutions for anodizing complex alloys, and effective troubleshooting. The Anodizing Quality & Troubleshooting Workshop is open to nonmembers as well as members of AAC.
AAC is offering both member and nonmember pricing for the Aluminum Summit and Anodizing classes. Visit members.anodizing.org/AluminumSummit for program and registration details.
AEC members should visit AEC.org/AluminumSummit for program and registration details for the Aluminum Summit and the Extrusion Excellence course.
About AECThe Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) is a progressive trade association dedicated to advancing the effective use of aluminum extrusion in North America.
AEC is committed to bringing comprehensive information about extrusion's characteristics, applications, environmental benefits, design and technology to users, product designers, engineers and the academic community. Further, AEC is focused on enhancing the ability of its members to meet the emerging demands of the market through sharing knowledge and best practices.
For more information contact:
Aluminum Anodizers Council (AAC)
Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC)
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