Light Metal Age

What Light Metal Age does

Light Metal Age is a privately held, independently owned B2B trade publication founded in 1943 and headquartered in South San Francisco, California. The company operates as the only U.S. magazine exclusively devoted to primary production and semi-fabrication of aluminum and other light metals, publishing a bimonthly print and digital edition six times per year that is distributed worldwide through direct mail subscriptions (U.S., international surface mail, and international air mail at $61, $102, and $138 per year respectively) and a digital PDF subscription at $40 per year that is bundled free with print.

The company's core technology is a content publication platform built around the Light Metal Age website (established November 1, 2009), which carries categorized industry news across editorial verticals including extrusion, rolled sheet and wire, forging, smelting, recycling/remelt, casthouse, surface finishing, joining/fabrication, 3D printing, automotive, aerospace, and magnesium. Beyond the magazine, Light Metal Age monetizes 80+ years of editorial heritage through an online store (store.lightmetalage.com) selling licensed digital products: the Aluminum Extrusion Article Archive (nearly 1,900 searchable articles from July 1943 through April 2022), the Magnesium Article Archive (over 680 articles from May 1943 through February 2023, $1,199 single-user license), and searchable Excel spreadsheets including Primary Aluminum Smelters of the World (2012-2026) and Secondary Aluminum Smelters, Remelters of the World (2015-2025) that aggregate company, location, and nameplate capacity data.

The business model combines recurring subscription revenue (print and digital magazine), one-time perpetual licensing revenue (article archives, smelter databases), and implicit advertising-derived revenue tied to industry supplier readership. The customer base spans aluminum industry engineers, metallurgists, and production professionals, industry management and executives seeking market intelligence, automotive and aerospace manufacturers using aluminum lightweighting applications, and equipment suppliers and service providers. The company is led by CEO Evgenii Nikitin and operates with a 1-10 person team; no parent company, institutional investor, or acquisition activity is disclosed in the source material.

Name

Light Metal Age

Legal name

Light Metal Age

Website

https://lightmetalage.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1943

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Light Metal Age is a privately held U.S. trade magazine founded in 1943 and based in South San Francisco that publishes bimonthly print and digital coverage of aluminum and light metals production, extrusion, rolling, forging, and recycling. It serves engineers, metallurgists, executives, automotive and aerospace manufacturers, and industry suppliers via subscriptions, licensed article archives, and smelter capacity databases.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

South San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Magazine Subscriptions: Hard copy and digital subscriptions to bimonthly magazine. Domestic and international options available at varying price points. Digital subscriptions provided free to hard copy subscribers.
2. Digital Archives and Reports: Sale of searchable article archives (Magnesium Article Archive, Aluminum Extrusion Article Archive) and industry databases (Primary Aluminum Smelters of the World, Secondary Aluminum Smelters of the World) in digital format.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Light Metal Age publishes a bimonthly trade magazine (6 issues per year) covering the primary production and semi-fabrication of aluminum and other light metals. The publication sells print and digital subscriptions and monetizes a deep content library through searchable digital archives (Magnesium Article Archive, Aluminum Extrusion Article Archive) and Excel-based industry databases (Primary/Secondary Aluminum Smelters of the World) sold as perpetual single-user licenses.

Product overview

Light Metal Age is a bimonthly magazine publication dedicated exclusively to primary production and semi-fabrication of aluminum and other light metals. The company offers a portfolio of digital products including the core Light Metal Age Magazine (available in print and digital PDF format), the Article Store for accessing historical articles from 2005-present, and specialized data products. The data products include Primary Aluminum Smelters of the World and Secondary Aluminum Smelters, Remelters of the World (both searchable Excel spreadsheets with capacity and company data spanning 2012-2026 and 2015-2025 respectively). Additionally, the company offers two digital archives: the Magnesium Article Archive (over 680 searchable articles from 1943-2023, $1,199) and the Aluminum Extrusion Article Archive (nearly 1,900 searchable articles from 1943-2022).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Light Metal Age Magazine Bimonthly (6 issues per year) trade publication dedicated to primary production and semi-fabrication of aluminum and other light metals, distributed in both print and digital PDF formats.
• Article Store Online storefront giving customers access to historical magazine articles from 2005 through the present, documenting the history of the light metals industry.
• Magnesium Article Archive Searchable digital archive of more than 680 magnesium-related articles from Light Metal Age covering history, process development, technological advancements, and market outlooks; sold as a single-user perpetual license.
• Aluminum Extrusion Article Archive Searchable digital archive of nearly 1,900 aluminum extrusion-related articles, editorial, and news items covering history, process development, technological advancements, market outlooks, new products, and applications.
• Primary Aluminum Smelters of the World (2012-2026) Searchable Excel database of primary aluminum smelters worldwide, including company, location, nameplate capacity, and idle capacity figures for capacity trend analysis.
• Secondary Aluminum Smelters, Remelters of the World (2015-2025) Searchable Excel database of secondary aluminum smelters and remelters worldwide, including company, location, nameplate capacity, and idle capacity figures.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/LightMetalAge
• Facebookfacebook.com/lightmetalage
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/light-metal-age

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Light Metal Age