The meeting began with a personal welcome to the 18 participants, followed by a brief round of introductions. It was particularly pleasing that new colleagues were once again recruited to join the working group. As decided at the last meeting, email addresses were added to the list of participants to improve networking. 

Dr. Sören Müller (TU Berlin) then reported on the latest meeting of the DGM “Extrusion” expert committee, which took place on 24 and 25 September 2025, at STEP/G in Vogt. There, he was elected as the new committee chair. A host company is currently being sought for the coming year. In addition, the proposal to have the “Heavy Metals” and ‘Aluminum’ working groups meet jointly in the future in order to exploit synergies and intensify technical exchange was discussed again. The members of the “Heavy Metals” working group signaled their willingness in principle to participate in such a merger. However, there are challenges in terms of organizational implementation, particularly due to the high number of participants that is expected. 

A central element of the program was the presentation of cunova GmbH by Stefan Kern. The company, which has around 700 employees, presented its main areas of production, product ranges, and fields of application. Participants gained a comprehensive insight into the industrial practice of a leading manufacturer of semi-finished copper products and special components. 

In his subsequent presentation, Dr.-Ing. Andreas Abel  gave an overview of the development of the Extrusion Committee, which was founded over 60 years ago in response to the growing technical importance of extruded light and heavy metal profiles. Since then, the committee has established itself as a continuous platform that successfully connects industry and science. 

In another presentation, Dr. Sören Müller introduced a current research project on contactless, emissivity-independent temperature measurement of aluminum. The integrating sphere used in this project homogenizes the radiated heat, enabling precise surface temperature determination — regardless of emissivity. In the future, the findings to date will also be applied to copper alloys. 

The project is being carried out jointly by the Extrusion Research Center Berlin and the company Optis. Interested parties from the “Heavy Metal” working group are invited to get involved in the project work as potential application partners. Prof. Dr. Joachim Schulz (ML LUBRICATION GmbH) rounded off the lecture program with a practical presentation on the composition and effects of modern lubricants.

Using concrete examples, he showed how the performance of lubricants can be tailored to specific requirements in machine and manufacturing processes through the targeted combination of base oils and additives. 

Following the presentations, Stefan Kern guided the group through the production areas of cunova. Equipped with protective gear, the participants gained detailed insight into the production of copper profiles and waveguides – from the extrusion process to further processing using cold forming technology. The tour provided vivid impressions of the operational processes and was supplemented by expert explanations. A group photo documented the successful meeting. 

The next meeting of the working group is already scheduled for 10 June 2026, in Berlin. The occasion is the 40^th anniversary of the Berlin Extrusion Center, which will be celebrated with an anniversary party on 11 June. The usual evening meeting is also planned. Otto Fuchs KG has agreed to host the meeting in the second half of 2026. 

Finally, we would like to thank the team at cunova GmbH — in particular Stefan Kern and Sandra Riehemann — for the smooth organization and hospitable support. We would also like to thank all the speakers, whose contributions played a key role in the success of the meeting.