| Product range | Aluminum extrusion suppliers may serve architectural, industrial, transport, solar, and consumer-product applications. Actual ranges differ by tooling, alloy, and finishing capability. | Current product catalogue, application references, available profile drawings, and confirmation of in-house versus outsourced processes. |
| Alloys and tempers | Common extrusion alloys include 6063, 6061, and 6082. Alloy and temper selection affects strength, formability, corrosion performance, and suitability for machining or finishing. | Alloy and temper options, mill test certificates, applicable material standard, and traceability from billet to finished product. |
| Production capacity | Annual output is not directly comparable unless the reporting period, product mix, and definition of capacity are consistent. Press force, often stated in tonnes, is equipment capacity—not annual production volume. | Declared annual capacity and recent actual output, extrusion-press list and force, shift pattern, utilization assumptions, and capacity available for the requested profile. |
| Extrusion and tooling | Extrusion capability depends on press size, billet and profile dimensions, die design, and process controls. A press-force figure alone does not establish that a supplier can make a particular section. | Maximum profile envelope, wall-thickness limits, die-development process, tooling ownership terms, and sample or trial-production procedure. |
| Surface finishing | Common options include anodizing, powder coating, and mechanical finishing. Appearance, coating thickness, pretreatment, and test requirements depend on the specification and application. | In-house or subcontracted finishing details, finish specifications, sample approvals, inspection records, and relevant test reports. |
| Standards and tolerances | Standards such as GB/T 5237 for architectural aluminum alloy profiles and EN 755-9 for extruded rod, bar, tube, and profiles may be relevant, depending on the product and destination market. | The exact standard and edition stated in the purchase specification, dimensional inspection method, tolerance report, and any required third-party test results. |
| Management certifications | ISO 9001 concerns quality-management systems; ISO 14001 concerns environmental-management systems. Certification is site- and scope-specific and does not by itself certify every product. | Current certificate, issuing and accreditation details, covered legal entity and production site, scope, and expiry date. |
| Product or process approvals | Some markets and applications require additional product, process, or coating approvals. Requirements vary; a general management certificate is not a substitute for an application-specific approval. | Approval documents matching the product, finish, facility, and target market; confirm validity directly with the relevant scheme or certification body. |
| Quality control and traceability | A meaningful comparison should cover incoming-material checks, extrusion and heat-treatment controls, dimensional inspection, finishing checks, and lot traceability. | Quality-control plan, sample inspection report, non-conformance process, batch identification method, and record-retention policy. |
| How to compare suppliers fairly | There is no reliable supplier ranking from product range, stated capacity, or certificate count alone. Comparisons require current, like-for-like evidence for the required profile and market. | Use the same technical specification, annual-volume assumptions, delivery terms, quality criteria, and document checks for every quotation. |