Profile: Quanex Building Products Corporation (NX)

Quanex Building Products Corporation (Quanex), incorporated on December 12, 2007, has two operating business segments: Engineered Products and Aluminum Sheet Products. The Engineered Products segment consists of five fabricated metal components operations, two facilities producing wood fenestration (door and window) components, four polyvinyl chloride (vinyl) extrusion facilities, a flexible insulating glass spacer operation and a facility that services automated equipment for assembling insulating glass units. The Aluminum Sheet Products segment consists of an aluminum mini-mill operation and three stand-alone aluminum sheet cold finishing operations. Aluminum sheet finishing capabilities include reducing reroll (hot-rolled aluminum sheet) coil to specific gauge, annealing, slitting and custom coating. Each of the business segments has an administrating, operating and marketing function. The Company’s manufacturing operations are conducted in the United States.

Engineered Products

The segment’s operations produce window and door components for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that serve the residential construction and remodeling markets. The products include insulating glass spacer/sealant systems, thin film solar panel sealants, window and patio door screens, aluminum cladding and other roll formed metal window components, door components, such as thresholds and astragals, moldings, residential exterior products, engineered vinyl and composite patio door, window profiles and custom window grilles, and trim and architectural moldings in a range of woods for the home improvement and residential construction markets. Engineered Products’ extrusion operations use automated production facilities to manufacture vinyl and composite profiles, the framing material used by fenestration OEMs in the assembly of vinyl windows and patio doors.

The value-added capabilities include compound blending, window system design, tooling design and fabrication, inline weatherstrip installation and miter cutting, and co-extrusion of integrated weather-resistant coatings. Metal fabrication operations include roll forming, stamping and end-product assembly to produce a range of fenestration products. The insulating glass sealant business uses compound-extrusion and laminating technology to produce engineered, butyl-based window spacer products used to separate two or three panes of glass in a window sash to improve its thermal performance. Engineered Products customers’ end-use applications include windows and window components, entry and patio door systems, and custom hardwood architectural moldings and solar panels.

The Company competes with Royal Group, Veka, Deceuninck, Edgetech, PPG Industries, Allmetal, and Ritescreen.

Aluminum Sheet Products

The Company’s customer end-use applications include window screen frames and screens, exterior home trim, fascias, roof edgings, soffits, downspouts and gutters. The product is packaged and delivered for use by a range of customers primarily in the building and construction markets. The secondary markets include transportation (truck trailer, RV and mobile home panels) and capital goods.

The segment’s aluminum mini-mill uses an in-line casting process. The mini-mill converts aluminum scrap to reroll through melting, continuous casting and in-line hot rolling processes. It also has aluminum scrap shredding and blending capabilities, as well as two rotary barrel melting furnaces, a delacquering furnace and a dross recovery system that broaden the mini-mill’s use of raw materials, allowing it to utilize a range of scrap.

The Company competes with Aleris, Jupiter, Alcoa and JW Aluminum.