Carpenter Technology Corp., Wyomissing, Pa., reports that operations will begin soon at its new superalloy powder facility in Alabama as part of a multi-level agreement with United Technologies Corporation’s Pratt & Whitney Division. The facility is technologically advanced with twin atomizing towers, and will be capable of producing 2100 tons of clean, aerospace grade powder per year.
Carpenter’s recent investment in the Athens facility has allowed for the fluid movement and expedited production of the materials required for crucial aerospace components. The high-purity ingots arrive from one of Carpenter’s legacy operating facilities, and move through conditioning, re-melting, finishing, and testing until they have reached the exact customer specifications.
As part of the agreement, UTC’s aerospace business units (Pratt & Whitney, Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp., UTC Aerospace Systems, and Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation) have agreed to purchase alloy steel bar/billet, nickel superalloy billet, stainless bar/billet, and strip laminate products from Carpenter for a period of ten years. Carpenter currently supplies UTC’s aerospace businesses with a portion of their overall demand for nickel, stainless, and strip laminate products. The agreement was signed in October 2013, and means that Carpenter will supply Pratt & Whitney with superalloy powder for up to 20 years once qualifications are satisfied.
