The aluminium extrusion industry is standing at a turning point. For years, the playbook was simple: add capacity, push output and chase prices. But the market has shifted. Competing on volume alone no longer guarantees survival and competing on cost is a losing game.

The last decade was about adding capacity. The next one will be about adding intelligence by using data and AI to stay competitive. For small and mid-sized extruders, this shift will define whether they remain stuck in low-margin traps or move up into premium, sustainable and globally viable markets.

Recurring issues in extrusion plants in India and across the globe

From my conversations with plant owners across India, three main recurring pain points stand out:

• Melting & feedstock control: Poor scrap quality and inconsistent melting create hidden flaws that show up only after dispatch. AI-driven furnace monitoring and impurity detection can flag issues before they become losses.
• Die & tooling life: Worn or misaligned dies quietly erode quality and drive up rejection rates. Image recognition and predictive models can now track wear in real time, extending life and reducing downtime.
• Process discipline at scale: Homogenisation, quenching and heat treatment are often cut short under production pressure. Smart sensors and feedback loops bring consistency, making every cycle repeatable, which is not variable.

Prospects for extrusion plant owners in India & beyond

What excites me is that solutions no longer sit only with global tech giants. Lightweight AI models, often built with open-source tools and guided by industry mentors, can now be deployed at plant scale. In some cases, the cost of developing in-house with interns and a mentor is a fraction of buying off-the-shelf systems, while being tuned precisely to local realities.

The decade ahead will split extruders into two camps: those who dismiss AI as a buzzword, and those who quietly embed it into their operations. The difference will show not only in rejection logs or energy bills but also in who wins export contracts, sustainability certifications and eventually, market trust.

This is not about shortcuts. It’s about making smarter moves, step by step, at the very points where quality and margins leak away. The winners of the next decade will be the ones who learn to see their presses not just as machines, but as intelligent systems.