Margin leaks in extrusion businesses
Where profit quietly escapes: mix, scrap, pricing habits, and customer concentration.
Volume can look healthy while margin decays. Look for leaks in four places.
Mix
Low-contribution profiles crowding press time that should serve better accounts.
Yield and scrap
Process variability and die issues that never show up in the sales forecast.
Pricing
Cost-plus habits that ignore scarcity, qualification cost, and switching friction.
Concentration
A few customers dictating terms, payment cycles, and plant scheduling.
Profit optimisation work is mostly making these leaks visible — then changing operating and commercial habits, not inventing a new slogan.