ELLWOOD TO INSTALL 20-TON VACUUM INDUCTION MELTING FURNACE
Extends ELLWOOD’s premium offering to the specialty metals market
[New Castle, PA – April 22, 2024]
ELLWOOD today announced the final approval of a project to install a 20-ton vacuum induction melting furnace (VIM) at their New Castle, Pennsylvania, plant. This investment expands ELLWOOD’s offering to the demanding specialty metals market, giving the materials leader a broad portfolio offering of carbon, alloy, stainless, and superalloys. “We are always looking for new ways to be long-term partners that our customers can count on. We do this by working with them to solve their challenges.
We believe through this investment, we will expand our product offering, supporting our customers’ complex and demanding material needs as their markets continue to grow,” said Michael Morgus, ELLWOOD President of Steelmaking.
In the new facility, all melting and pouring operations will be performed under vacuum for low dissolved gas content, low concentration of high vapor pressure tramp elements, and ultra-high micro cleanliness. Melt capacity up to 40,000lbs will enable ELLWOOD to produce up to 16,500T annually of premium alloys.
The new 70,000-square-foot building will be located adjacent to ELLWOOD’s existing 115,000-square-foot vacuum arc remelt (VAR) and electro-slag remelt (ESR) facility, enabling efficient transfer of VIM electrodes to remelt. The new VIM capability will complement six current VAR and two ESR furnaces in New Castle, with two further VAR furnaces to be commissioned by year-end 2024. Capabilities include low alloy steels, stainless steels, copper-based alloys, and nickel-based superalloys with 20-42” VAR crucibles and 20”-59” ESR crucibles. The 59” ESR ingot is believed to be the largest in the Western Hemisphere. ELLWOOD also controls four additional VAR furnaces off-site.
Ben Huffman, ELLWOOD President and CEO, explained that ELLWOOD’s family shareholders are focused on the long-term and consistently invest with that in mind. “Our ownership is dedicated to investing in and extending our technical materials leadership. Metallurgical innovation is what we do and will continue to do better than any other.” Huffman continued, “Our team embodies the continuous improvement mindset and is constantly seeking better solutions, working to deliver results the right way. We always ask ourselves what tools the team needs to make the next step possible. A VIM furnace is the next building block to cement our position as the specialty metals experts.”
Morgus concluded, “Our total dedication to customer service, materials engineering excellence, and a comprehensive breadth of capabilities position us to deliver solutions to our customers.”
About ELLWOOD
Family-owned since 1910, ELLWOOD has grown to become the most capable vertically integrated supplier of quality metals and custom-engineered components for critical applications from defense to space exploration. With industry-leading advanced manufacturing, digital engineering, and technical leadership, we manufacture to the world’s most demanding customer specifications. Our team leverages our metallurgical expertise, breadth of capabilities, and customer-centric approach to deliver results the right way. While our wholly American-owned footprint now spans 25 locations across North America, we have not lost sight of what is right: treating our more than 2,000 team members, our industry partners, and our customers like family. We take the long-term view and work as a committed partner with our stakeholders and reinvest in our people and the communities in which we have a presence to ensure a strong and lasting partnership with each. See: www.ellwoodgroup.com
–ELLWOOD–
Contact:
Terry Rodgers
Senior Communications Specialist, ELLWOOD
O: 724.656.6413