Manufacturing News
July 17, 2026
July 17, 2026 · Statewide · Story 1 of 4
Postle Aluminum Adds Hard-Alloy Capacity in Howe
Postle Aluminum, the Elkhart-based extrusion subsidiary of Thor Industries, announced July 15 that it will install a 10-inch press and a 7-inch press inside a new 230,000-square-foot facility in Howe. Equipment deliveries start this summer, initial production targets early fall, and full rate is expected by year-end. The detail the announcement skips over: the 10-inch press adds 6061 hard-alloy capability. Postle has historically run soft alloy, 6063-series architectural profiles and trim, so 6061 pushes it into structural adjacencies like marine, defense, utility trailers, and EV structural components that soft-alloy-only shops in Northern Indiana can't serve.
Why it matters: this move is pre-emptive. Thor cut its FY2026 EPS outlook to $3.30-$3.80 and projects a mid-teens percentage decline in North American RV retail demand, yet Postle is adding two presses and a greenfield building into that headwind. If you source extrusions from a soft-alloy-only supplier, this is the moment to qualify whether that relationship now has a capability gap Postle is positioned to fill.
For your morning huddle
- Q
Does the Postle expansion change who we can source aluminum extrusions from?
Yes, Postle's new Howe facility adds 6061 hard-alloy capability, so if your current extrusion supplier only runs soft alloys, you now have a Northern Indiana option for structural profiles. Qualify whether your existing supplier has a capability gap before your next sourcing cycle.
From the brief, July 17, 2026
- Postle Aluminum Adds Hard-Alloy Capacity in Howe
- Indiana Launches a Nuclear Siting Program With a Design Gap
- PJM's $6.3B Data Center Cost Raises Indiana Manufacturing Electricity Costs
- Labor Competition Tightens in LaGrange and Boone Counties
TEG Daily, before your morning huddle
A short Indiana energy and manufacturing scan, delivered before the workday starts.
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