Metal Powder Report Volume 70, Number 3 May/June 2015
NEWS
Alcoa to acquire RTI in billion dollar purchase Advanced titanium powder metallurgy and processing technology will enable the production of near net shape aerospace components, as well as medical devices and oil and gas products. RTI will also expand Alcoa’s additive manufacturing capabilities to produce titanium, specialty metals and plastic parts for aerospace, medical and energy applications.
Aerospace market
said Klaus Kleinfeld, Alcoa chairman and CEO. ‘We are combining two innovators in materials science and process technology, shifting Alcoa’s transformation into a higher gear.’ Alcoa projects a compounded annual global aerospace market growth rate of 5–6% through 2019 and sees a current 9-year production order book for commercial jets at 2014 delivery rates. Alcoa; www.alcoa.com
‘Alcoa is accelerating its value-add growth engine by acquiring titanium leader RTI,’
NEWS
Aluminum giant Alcoa has signed a definitive agreement to acquire RTI International Metals, a global supplier of titanium and other metal products and services for the aerospace, defense, energy and medical device markets for US$1.5 billion. The aim is for RTI to expand Alcoa’s range of titanium offerings and add advanced technologies and materials. Its high-velocity machining, forming, extruding and parts assembly operations will enable Alcoa to produce larger and more complex aerospace components, the company said.
Canadian PM specialist creates 620 new jobs in US CVMR Corporation is relocating its international headquarters to Oak Ridge’s Innovation Valley in Tennessee, a move which, it says, will create 620 new jobs and US$ 313 million in capital investment. A large portion of the plant will be dedicated to the production of metal powders used in 3D printing.
CVMR Corporation’s headquarters was formerly located in Toronto, Canada. The company engages in mining and metal refining and processing.
First-class infrastructure ‘Tennessee has a business-friendly government, has UT with bright young engineering
grads, has ORNL and a first-class infrastructure,’ said Kamran M. Khozan, chairman and CEO, CVMR (USA) Inc. The Oak Ridge facility will house its corporate headquarters, customer support and planning offices for United States production facilities. CVMR Corporation; www.cvmr.ca
Sandvik to close ten more production units Sandvik says that it plans to reduce its production units from 150 to about 125 over three to four years. It has already made 11 unit closures, five of which were made by year end 2014. Sandvik is planning a total of ten unit closures, predominantly in Europe. In addition, the company has implemented further measures to adjust the cost base to current demand as well as making a project write-down related to mining systems, it says. The closures have saved the group an estimated SEK1.1 billion, yearly run-rate by the end of 2016. Nonrecurring charges associated with the initiatives, totaling about SEK1.9 billion, will impact the first quarter of 2015. Sandvik says that the sec-
ond phase of closures will give it annual savings of approximately SEK600 million by year-end 2016 at a cost of SEK1220 million which will be charged to the first quarter of 2015.
‘We are now continuing the optimization of our supply chain, which brings several benefits,’ said Olof Faxander, Sandvik’s president and CEO. ‘Notably, by reducing the number of production units, we will achieve significant productivity enhancements as a result of a reduction in the cost base over time. However, just as importantly, we will increase flexibility, move closer to our customers and raise our capital efficiency. It is essential that we adapt to a
changing global market, where the ability to act and react quickly is crucial for longterm success.’ For Sandvik Machining Solutions and Sandvik Materials Technology, the closure and downsizing of production units could address current overcapacity and reducing production costs, while Sandvik Mining will realign its supply chain footprint to improve the business area’s cost structure and its ability to offer better service to its customers, the company said in a press release. The plan may also involve investments in new sites located in faster-growing markets and the expansion of existing facilities. Sandvik; www.sandvik.com
production floor and eventually into sales, engineering and management positions. Sinterite and C.I. Hayes are furnace manufacturing companies within the Gasbarre Furnace Group. Sinterite designs, manufactures and services custom continuous belt and batch furnaces for sintering,
steam treating, annealing, brazing and heat treating applications, while Sinterite’s designs includes alloy and ceramic muffles, powder-handling equipment, custom fabrications, and the HyperCooler sinter-hardening system. Gasbarre Products; www.gasbarre.com
Productivity enhancements
PM specialist joins Gasbarre Gasbarre Products has appointed Mark Saline as general manager of Sinterite and C.I. Hayes. Saline has nearly 30 years of technical and business experience in the powder metallurgy industry and has worked in all aspects of the manufacturing process, starting on the
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