Aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, recently announced plans to invest $142 million in its Camden facility in Arkansas, supporting new construction and improving on existing facilities for products, new machinery, and equipment important to the defense of the United States and allies.
Lockheed Martin will expand its Camden, Arkansas, facility to include two new production buildings which will support manufacturing long range fires and PAC-3 missile defense capabilities, plus expanding current facilities, and hire more than 300 new people (artist rendering). (PRNewsfoto/Lockheed Martin)
Lockheed Martin unveiled the plan at the Paris Air Show where company executives were joined by Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson to celebrate the prospect of adding 326 new jobs by 2024.
“Lockheed Martin is a leading technology firm with facilities and clients around the world,” said Hutchinson. “Lockheed’s investment illustrates the fact that Arkansas continues to be a global player in the aero-defense industry.”
Frank St. John, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control
“Our facility in Camden is a highly efficient, high-quality center of excellence that contributes components and performs final assembly for products that are important to the defense of the United States and a growing number of allied nations,” said Frank St. John, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “The facility has a long record of precision manufacturing and on-time deliveries, which is the reason we continue to invest in and expand our Camden Operations. This expansion will help ensure the availability, affordability, and quality of systems we build for our customers around the world.”
Camden Operations is Lockheed Martin’s Precision Fires operations center of excellence.
A clash of generations may be inevitable at family gatherings, but in the heat treat shop, everybody is on board with the changes that have developed over the last few decades: technological advances in equipment and processes, enhanced quality control, greater awareness for safety issues and green operations, among others. Peter Sherwin of Eurotherm by Schneider Electric traces the course the industry has taken out of the past and into the future. This article first appeared in Heat Treat Today’sMarch 2019 Aerospace print edition.
My first experience in a heat treat shop could be described as your grandfather’s shop—it was dirty and dusty, and you had to be alert to avoid danger. A handful of paper chart recorders were present, and tempering ovens were controlled by a dial indication of temperature, adjusted up and down to find out the current temperature. Only manual flow controls existed. Process temperature, times, and flow-rates were handwritten on small paper cards and stored in a filing cabinet.
Fast forward 15 years and the shop has clean processes, mostly vacuum-based equipment, and all automatically controlled process cycles. Shop floor instructions moved from paper to entirely computer-generated, an industrial transformation to the digital-age that took place in the 1990s and 2000s.
How We Got Here
So, what have the last couple of decades brought? Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing springs to mind. First, we had the painful hangover from the global recession in 2008-09 which, for the next half-decade, had everyone consumed with operating as lean as possible with only a slow trickle of investment. The last few years brought a healthy rebound in manufacturing and increased heat treat production requirements. However, this surge in activity and a continued make-do attitude did not allow the time or motivation to refurbish or replace aging equipment. Add to this the promise and “soon-to-be-fulfilled” prophecies of IoT and Industry 4.0, the coming of age of the electric car, and the resultant effects on heat treatment requirements, and all of these factors conspire to make the heat treater think twice about rushing into investing in new furnaces or upgrading the existing plant.
Your Grandfather’s Heat Treat Shop
The curse of this is watching the average life of equipment catch up with the average age of operators, and we are transported back to the dark ages of your grandfather’s shop.
Admittedly, this is an over-simplification of the current situation—not all plants are stuck in this rut. Contrary to the above, AMS2750D (released 2005) was a boon to European furnace OEMs and associated suppliers, and yet this was not a worldwide phenomenon because the U.S. received a “grandfathered” pass due to the heavy involvement and prior investment in meeting AMS2750C requirements.
Over this same recent period, the final aerospace customers (aerospace primes and engine manufacturers) have not rested on their laurels. A rise in the middle class in Asia has fueled a healthy increase in demand for passenger aircraft and allowed best-in-class suppliers to invest, innovate, and develop more energy-efficient aircraft. Younger airline brands in the Asian continent have been able to rapidly take market share by leveraging a lower cost base created mainly by engine technology improvements.
Engine Developments and Quality Control
The A320neo, available since 2015, incorporates new, more efficient engines and large wing tip devices called “Sharklets” delivering significant fuel savings of 15 percent, which is equivalent to 1.4 million liters of fuel per aircraft per year, or the consumption of 1,000 mid-sized cars. In addition, the A320neo provides a double-digit reduction in NOx emissions and reduced engine noise. [1]
The 737 MAX 8 reduces fuel use and CO2 emissions by 14 percent over the newest Next-Generation 737 and 20 percent better than the first Next-Generation 737s. Also, the 737 MAX 8 uses 8 percent less fuel per seat than the A320neo. [2, 3]
The GTF engine has met all performance specifications since entry into service. For example, the GTF-powered A320neo has achieved a 16% reduction in fuel consumption, a 75% reduction in noise footprint and a 50% reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions. [4]
Today’s Modern Heat Treat Shop
These significant recent engine innovations have been possible through the use of modeling software to aid fast development (versus slow in-field trials) and by maximizing the overall performance via a mix of standard and exotic materials. Future developments include evaluating the use of actual component properties (e.g., tensile test, hardness profiles, other material, etc.) rather than relying on industry averaged properties. These advancements could lead to substantial changes in shape design and associated weight reduction but would require more stringent processing control.
Nadcap accreditation and the SAE AMS2750 standard have been used to manage a specific quality output from the heat treat supply chain. Even with the expected release of AMS2750F, control tolerances are not anticipated to change dramatically. This situation could create tension between the ongoing innovation on the design-side and the slower-development in process equipment capability. Let’s hope this doesn’t result in a path back to individual prime requirements over-shadowing the unified AMS standard.
Heat Treating 101 for the Shop of the Future
So, it’s back to the heat treat shop and the conundrum of upgrading/updating equipment due to age, performance, capability, and now the added twist of potential changes in future customer requirements. What strategy should a heat treater undertake?
Refurbishment of existing equipment to help lower running costs and improve capability can usually occur with updating the control and automation system. By looking at the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) rather than just the “ticket” price of the upgrade, the payback for the investment can be in months rather than years. Control systems can improve the uptime of the equipment and precision control can positively impact quality results and even shorten process times in some instances. The relatively low payback time can ease the decision to invest.
Investment in new equipment requires a more detailed look at the customer base and changes within the external environment. To help with this uncertainty, some OEMs are starting to provide flexible financing solutions, including leasing. Control and automation suppliers are also doing their bit by designing control and recording instruments that can be enhanced by secure over-the-air software updates rather than requiring a complete change of hardware.
Conclusion
The shops of the past are looking less and less like the shops in most plants today, but it’s more than just physical changes that reflect a forward-looking operation. Today’s shop can leverage innovative thinking about cost of operations, improve the quality of communication with customers and suppliers, effectively use control systems, and be creative about equipment upgrades. These are changes that begin with an attitude adjustment—having the right view of the past and a broad vision for the future.
References:
[1] “Airbus, Indigo places order for 130 A320 neo”, https://www.airbus.com/newsroom/press-releases/en/2011/06/indigo-firms-up-order-for-150-a320neo-and-30-a320s.html
About the Author: Peter Sherwin, a Chartered Engineer, is business development leader with Eurotherm by Schneider Electric, recognized for his expertise in heat treat systems technology, IIoT, Industry 4.0, and SaaS/digital solutions. This article, which originally appeared in Heat Treat Today’sMarch 2019 Aerospace print edition and is published here with the author’s permission.
Georgia Southern University (GSU) in Statesboro, Georgia, recently purchased a horizontal front-loading vacuum furnace from a Pennsylvania based heat treat furnace manufacturer.
GSU plans to use Solar Manufacturing’s Mentor® furnace primarily for vacuum thermal processing research and development of various iron-based alloys, including additive manufactured parts.
The Mentor® includes a graphite shielded hot zone and heating elements, with a work zone size of 12″ wide x 12″ high x 18″ deep, and a weight capacity of 250 pounds. Solar Manufacturing reports that this furnace complies with aerospace specification AMS2750E to process in an argon or nitrogen atmosphere or in high vacuum in the 10-6 Torr range with a 6” Varian diffusion pump. The furnace incorporates a control system package with a large graphic touchscreen overview and can be programmed to control gas quench rate up to two bar pressure and achieve temperature uniformity up to 2400° F.
Dan Insogna, Solar Manufacturing
“We are pleased to provide a solution to GSU’s growing research and development efforts, and we know the Mentor® vacuum furnace will benefit the university with this research,” said Dan Insogna, Solar Manufacturing’s Southeast Sales Manager.
A vacuum brazing and heat treating company recently announced plans to expand its Greenville County, SC, operations to accommodate a new hot isostatic press. This equipment is designed to improve ductility and stress resistance of critical, high-performance manufactured materials.
Accurate Brazing, a division of Aalberts N.V., one of the largest heat treating and brazing companies in the world, is upgrading approximately 20,000 square feet of an existing facility in Greenville County to install the HIP. Since 1989, Accurate Brazing has provided heat treating and brazing applications to support aircraft, ground turbine and power generation markets. The company heat treats materials that include stainless steel, super alloys, copper and refractory materials.
Aalberts N.V. employs approximately 16,500 people at more than 150 locations in 50 countries around the globe. The $13 million expansion project is expected to create at least eight additional jobs and be complete in the second quarter of 2020.
"Accurate Brazing is a very important member of our business community and we are proud of their growth and success," said Greenville County Council Chairman and Board Member of the Greenville Area Development Corporation H.G. "Butch" Kirven.
A leading Tier One metal additive manufacturers for the aerospace and defense industry that produces multiple furnaces has officially opened the doors to its new 55,000 square foot advanced manufacturing facility, located in Hollywood, Florida. The new plant, which also serves as the company’s headquarters, recently celebrated its grand opening.
Sintavia LLC’s facility houses over $25 million of advanced manufacturing equipment including multiple furnaces, medium and large scale metal printers, EDMs, post-processing machines, and wet-booths. Some of the industrial engineering improvements of the building include separate manufacturing rooms segregated by alloy, a large-scale powder management system, an uninterruptible power supply, an inert gas farm, and a final production acceptance quality control room.
The new facility is capable of producing tens of thousands of parts representing in excess of $100mm of AM revenue annually. The expansion is anticipated to bring more than 130 new jobs for skilled employees and support staff to South Florida.
“This new facility is the first of its kind in North America to offer large-scale AM production coupled with a robust aerospace quality management system,” said Brian Neff, Sintavia’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “As we grow, it will serve as a template for future vertically-aligned advanced manufacturing facilities around the U.S. and the world.” Over 150 customers, industry partners, and government officials attended the opening.
Photo: (Business Wire) Multimedia Gallery URL and thefabricator.com
The quality department of a global manufacturer of aerostructures, composites, and metallic components for the aerospace industry recently obtained a new certification for carrying out heat treatment processes of aluminum alloys for Boeing programs.
Sofitec extends its special processes capabilities for American manufacturers with this certification, being able to develop the stretch forming activities included in commissions for aerospace heat treating.
A leading provider of metal additive manufacturing solutions recently announced that it has entered into an ambitious research and development (R&D) initiative with a metallurgist expert and one of the world leaders in high-performance steels, superalloys, titanium, and aluminum and a multinational aerospace corporation.
Sciaky EBAM®system
The goal of the R&D initiative between Sciaky, Inc., a subsidiary of Phillips Service Industries, Inc.; Aubert & Duval; and Airbus, and piloted by the Saint Exupéry Institute for Research in Technology (IRT) is to couple traditional metallurgy—high-power closed die forging—with emerging wire fed metal 3D printing techniques—in this case, Sciaky’s groundbreaking Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM®) process—to develop new processes for manufacturing titanium alloys aircraft parts.
The Production Engineering laboratory of the National School of Engineering in Tarbes, France, will serve as an academic partner for this project, also known as the Metallic Advanced Materials for Aeronautics (MAMA) project.
Scott Phillips, president and CEO of Sciaky, Inc
In this first phase, the project has global funding just under $4.8M (€ 4,2 M) of which 50% are supported by the French State as part of the “Investing in the Future” program (PIA – Programme Investissement d’Avenir), the other 50% being funded by its industrial partners.
“Sciaky is proud to work with the Saint Exupéry IRT, Aubert & Duval, and Airbus on this exciting project,” said Scott Phillips, president and CEO of Sciaky, Inc. “Industrial metal additive manufacturing technology continues to break new ground every day, and Sciaky is committed to keeping EBAM at the forefront of this movement.”
A vacuum heat treatment provider recently installed an all-metal hot zone vacuum furnace at their Souderton, Pennsylvania, location.
Solar Atmospheres
Solar Atmospheres added a third all-metal hot zone furnace for its climate-controlled room at its facility in Souderton, Pennsylvania. The additional furnace increases Solar’s capacity for processing sensitive materials such as PH stainless, nickel-chrome based superalloys, titanium, and ferritic and austenitic stainless steels.
Vacuum levels lower than 5 x 10-6 Torr can produce clean, bright results without contamination. Solar reports that the unique placement of isolation valves, an all-metal moly/stainless steel hot zone, and a stainless steel chamber in its new furnace allow it to attain the level of cleanliness mandated by aerospace and medical markets. The furnace also incorporates Solar Manufacturing’s latest SolarVac Polaris HMI control system for complete process automation.
Jamie Jones, President, Solar Atmospheres in Eastern PA
“The increasing demands for cleanliness levels in critical aerospace and medical applications, and the growth in these markets paved the way for Solar Atmospheres to add capacity through this investment,” said Jamie Jones, President of Solar Atmospheres in Eastern PA.
Dan Herring is recognized as the summa wizard of heat treating. This paper, originally published in the October 2014 issue of Fastener Technology International (FTI), then reprinted in Heat Treat Today’sMarch 2019 Aerospace print edition, addresses the critical issue of strength-to-weight in aerospace fastener applications and materials.
When we deal with applications where strength-to-weight ratio is a critical consideration (Fig. 1[1]), we often turn to solutions involving the so-called “light metals”, namely aluminum, beryllium, magnesium, and titanium, to enhance engineering performance while minimizing the weight of components and structures.
It is important to remember that light metals possess other physical properties, which may be of importance in selection or service, such as the good electrical and thermal conductivity of aluminum, the machinability and noise dampening of magnesium, or the extreme corrosion resistance of titanium. Our heat treatment processes must retain and, in some cases, enhance these properties.
Aerospace Fastener Applications and Materials
There are many types of fasteners used in aerospace structural assembly, which include solid rivets, pins with collars, bolts with nuts, and blind fasteners. Other fastener types including latches, straight pins, head pins, lock pins, cotter pins, quick-release multiple piece fasteners, retaining rings, and washers are also commonplace. Aerospace fastener materials include aluminum (e.g. 2024, 6061, 7075), titanium (e.g. Ti-6Al-4V, Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo), superalloys (e.g., Waspaloy, Hastalloy, Inconel 718) and in some instances steel, stainless steels, tool steels, and nickel alloys (e.g. K-Monel).
Aluminum is the most common fastener material used in the aerospace industry and in many other transportation systems as well. This is because aluminum alloys in addition to having an excellent strength-to-weight ratio can be heat-treated to achieve relatively high strength. Aluminum is easy to form and is relatively low cost. The heat treatable aluminum grades are the 2xxx, 6xxx, and 7xxx series. Aircraft manufacturers, for example, use high-strength alloy 7075 to fasten aluminum aircraft structures. This alloy has zinc and copper added for strength and machinability.
Titanium also has a number of attractive properties including low density and elastic modulus making it a good candidate material for aerospace fasteners, both of the internally and externally threaded varieties. The use of nuts with lower modulus than the male fastener is known to reduce the stress concentration effect at the first thread and improves the distribution of load over the length of the engaged threads. Titanium fasteners are used when a combination of strength and corrosion properties are important, such as when composite materials are involved.
Superalloys are used in applications requiring performance under high operating temperatures, extreme corrosion environments, demands for high creep strength and high fatigue strength, and in cryogenic applications. Superalloy fasteners are found on solid rocket motors, aircraft gas turbine engines, airframes, space shuttle structures, and the like. The superalloys fall into three basic groups: the iron-nickel-base superalloys; the nickel-base superalloys and the cobalt-base superalloys. The iron-nickel-base superalloys evolved from stainless steel technology and are generally wrought. Nickel-base and cobalt-base superalloys can be either wrought or cast. Nickel-base superalloys can be used at the very highest temperatures, just below their melting temperatures of about 2200°F to 2500°F (1205°C to 1370°C).
Heat Treatment of Aluminum Fasteners [2,3]
Aluminum alloys are classified as either heat treatable or not heat treatable, depending on whether the alloy responds to precipitation hardening, the key characteristic being that the alloying elements show greater solubility at elevated temperatures than at room temperature.
Solution Heat Treating
Table 1: Solution Heat Treatment Temperature Range and Eutectic Melting Temperature for 2xxx Alloys
Solution heat treatment involves heating the aluminum and alloys to a temperature slightly below the eutectic melting temperature. The objective of solution heat treatment is to maximize the amount of solute in solid solution. This requires heating the material close to the eutectic temperature and holding the material at temperature long enough to allow the alloy to become a homogenous solid solution. After solution heat treatment, the material is quenched to maintain the solute in supersaturated solid solution. Temperature control is crucial because the solution heat treatment and the eutectic melting temperatures are so close, especially for 2xxx series alloys (Table 1[2]).
Figure 2: A typical solution heat treatment operation for aluminum (photograph courtesy of Wisconsin Oven Corporation)
Solution heat treating problems include oxidation, incipient melting, eutectic melting, and under-heating and can be overcome by close control of process and equipment variability. Solution heat treating and quenching of these alloys is typically accomplished in large high-temperature ovens. In some applications, the oven is supported above the quench tank (Fig 2).
Quenching
The purpose of quenching is to create a supersaturated solid solution at room temperature so that the aging process can strengthen the material. The amount of precipitation occurring during quenching reduces the amount of subsequent hardening possible. This is because as solute is precipitated from solution during quenching, it is unavailable for any further precipitation reactions. This results in lower tensile strength, yield strength, ductility, and fracture toughness.
The cooling effect of quenchants has been extensively studied and the influence of quench rate on mechanical properties has been quantified. For example, it was determined that the critical quenching temperature range for 7075 aluminum alloy is 750°F to 550°F (400°C to 290°C). At quench rates exceeding 840°F/sec (450°C/s), it has been determined that maximum strength and corrosion resistance is obtained. At intermediate quench rates of 840°F/sec to 212°F/sec (450°C/s to 100°C/s), the strength obtained is lowered, but the corrosion resistance is unaffected. Between 212°F/sec and 68°F/sec (100°C/s and 20°C/s), the strength decreased rapidly, and the corrosion resistance is at a minimum. At quench rates below 68°F/sec (20°C/s), the strength decreases rapidly, but the corrosion resistance improved. However, for a given quenching medium, the cooling rate through the critical temperature range was invariant no matter the solution heat treat temperature.
Problems occurring during quenching are typically distortion or inadequate properties caused by a slow quench, resulting in precipitation during quenching and inadequate supersaturation.
Aging
The aging process for aluminum involves either natural aging or artificial aging. Natural aging involves the rapid formation of GP (Guinier-Preston) zones from the supersaturated solid solution and from quenched-in vacancies with strength increasing rapidly with properties becoming quasi-stable after approximately 4 to 5 days. These alloys will continue to exhibit changes in properties as the years go by.
Many heat treatable aluminum alloys are artificially aged after quenching. Precipitation hardening (aging) involves heating the alloyed aluminum to a temperature in the 200ºF to 450°F (95ºC to 230ºC) range. At this temperature, the supersaturated solid solution, created by quenching from solution heat-treating, begins to decompose and accelerates precipitation in heat treatable alloys. The aging curves for the alloys vary; however, generally the higher the aging temperature, the shorter the time required to attain maximum properties.
Heat Treatment of Titanium Fasteners
Titanium alloys are typically classified as pure titanium, alpha, beta, and alpha-beta alloys. There are also so-called near alpha and near beta (i.e. metastable beta) phase alloys. Under equilibrium conditions, pure titanium and alpha (α) phase have hexagonal close-packed structures up to 1620°F (882°C), above which they transform to beta (β) phase having a body-centered cubic structure up to the alloy’s melting point.
Near alpha alloys typically have a small amount (1 to 2 %) of the stabilizing beta phase present. In near beta alloys, significant additions of the beta-stabilizing phase suppress the Ms temperature below room temperature and the beta phase is retained at room temperature by rapid cooling or quenching from the alpha-beta phase. The inherent properties of all these structures are quite different.
Titanium alloys have a complex heat treatment process (Table 2[4], 3).
Table 3: Heat Treatments for Metastable Beta Titanium Alloys
Table 2: Heat Treatments for Alpha-Beta Titanium Alloys
Figure 3: typical vacuum furnace (Photograph Courtesy of Solar Atmospheres, Inc.)
Most superalloys are hardened using a solution treating and aging process (Table 4[3]). Solution treating involves heating the alloy to a temperature in the range of 1800°F (982°C) or higher, followed by gas quenching. In most cases, superalloys are processed in a vacuum furnace (Fig. 3) and do not require a rapid quench. Pressures of two bar or less are often sufficient for quenching. This is followed by aging (age hardening) at intermediate temperatures for extended periods of time. Normally, the complete solution treat and aging cycles can be programmed into the furnace so that unloading is not required between cycles. Certain superalloys, however, require other special treatments to develop required properties.
Table 4: Typical Solution Heat Treating and Aging Cycles for Select Wrought Superalloys
Summary
Fasteners account for a significant amount of component parts in aircraft, rotocraft, and space vehicles where strength, corrosion, and weight of structural assemblies are important. Fasteners play a critical role in defining the longevity, structural integrity, and design philosophy of most metallic aerospace structures.
Notes:
Cooling nomenclature: FC = furnace cooling; AC = air cooling; RAC = rapid air cool; OQ = oil quench; PQ = gas pressure quench.
Air cooling equivalent is defined as cooling at a rate not less than 22°C/min (40°F/minute) to 595°C (1100°F) and not less than 8°C/min (15°F/minute) from 595°C to 540°C (1100°F to 1000°F). Below 540°C (1000°F) any rate may be used.
To provide adequate quenching after solution heat treatment, cool below 540°C (1000°F) rapidly enough to carbide precipitation. Oil or water quenching may be required on thick sections.
References
Leigh, Joanna, New Checklist for Nadcap Audits, Industrial Heating, November 2011.
Mackenzie, D. Scott, Heat Treating Aluminum, HOT TOPICS in Heat Treatment and Metallurgy, Vol. 2 No. 7, July 2004.
Herring, D.H., Atmosphere Heat Treatment Volume I, BNP Media Group, 2014.
Herring, D.H., Vacuum Heat Treatment, BNP Media Group, 2012.
Herring, D.H., Metallurgy of Aluminum and Aluminum Alloys Parts One and Two, white paper, 2006.
About the Author: Daniel Herring, The Heat Treat Doctor®, is a metallurgist, designer, and materials scientist who takes seriously the initiative to educate current and future generations of heat treaters in the ways of the industry. More about The Heat Treat Doctor® can be learned from his Heat Treat Consultants page. This paper was originally published in the October 2014 issue of Fastener Technology International (FTI), then reprinted in Heat Treat Today’s March 2019 Aerospace print edition. It is published here with permission from the author.
A metals and industrial group was recently approved to add seven steel plants to their planned merger, combining steel, engineering, and mining businesses into a single international presence.
Following recent EU approval for Liberty to acquire seven major European steel plants from global steel and mining company, ArcelorMittal, the GFG Alliance has announced intentions to integrate most of its Liberty steel, engineering and mining businesses into a single global entity, spanning assets across the UK, Europe and Australia.
Liberty Engineering
The consolidated business will include all of the UK steel and engineering assets, the integrated Australian Liberty primary steelworks in Whyalla, a number of high-quality Australian iron ore and metallurgical coal mines, and, once completed, the seven European steel plants being acquired from ArcelorMittal. This merged new group would exclude GFG’s recycling and building products businesses in Australia and the U.S.
Currently these businesses exist separately within the GFG Alliance but they hope the planned merger and integration will allow Liberty to gain a more prominent position in the international market.
Sanjeev Gupta, Executive Chairman of the GFG Alliance
“We look forward to leveraging Liberty steel and mining’s integrated supply chain to create further value,” said Sanjeev Gupta, Executive Chairman of the GFG Alliance. “The business will combine Liberty’s integrated steelworks in Whyalla and its ambitious Australian iron ore and coking coal mining businesses, with Liberty House Group assets in the UK and the planned acquisition of the ArcelorMittal European manufacturing facilities.”
The business plans to internationally ship iron ore, coking coal, and semi-finished product from Australia to its manufacturing plants and mills.
Liberty is known in the UK as a steel producer and an engineering components supplier to the automotive, aviation, defense and renewable energy sectors, while Liberty Primary Steel in Australia produces rail and structural steel for the growing infrastructure and building industries.
