Specialty Materials Invests in Aerospace Iso-Thermal Forging, Heat Treat Capacity

A global manufacturer of technically advanced specialty materials and complex components recently announced investment toward its iso-thermal forging and heat treating capacities to satisfy growing demand from the aerospace jet engine market.

CEO of Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI), Rich Harshman, CEO of Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI), announcing the expansion of ATI’s iso-thermal forging and heat treating capacities to satisfy growing demand from the aerospace jet engine market.  Photo credit: Tony Bettack, WTMJ, Twitter

Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (ATI), headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, will self-fund approximately $95 million, representing two projects: a fourth iso-thermal press and expansion of heat treat capacity. Both will take place at the company’s iso-thermal forging center in Cudahy, Wisconsin. ATI expects the projects to be completed in 2020 and fully qualify for aerospace-related production.

“We continue to invest in our advanced forging capabilities in support of our aerospace customer’s ramp-up of next-generation jet engine production. Once completed and fully qualified, this critical growth project will enable us to meet the increasing production requirements for existing long-term agreements with our engine OEM partners,” said Rich Harshman, ATI’s chairman, president, and CEO. “Iso-thermal is the most technologically advanced forging method available today and ATI’s ongoing leadership in this area is further solidified by this significant investment.”

“This investment, along with our recent nickel-based superalloy powder expansion in Monroe, NC, will enable the High-Performance Materials and Components (HPMC) segment to meet its longer-term financial goals by increasing our capacity to produce technologically advanced powder-to-iso-thermally-forged jet engine components,” said John Sims, Executive Vice President, HPMC Segment.