IMET Alloys announces €10 million investment in aerospace-grade titanium processing
September 23, 2019
IMET Alloys Europe, Ltd., a UK-based company focused on the processing and supply chain management of titanium and superalloy materials, has announced a €10 million investment to establish Europe’s first dedicated aerospace-grade titanium processing facility. The plant will be built and equipped by IMET at Saint Georges-De Mons, near Clermont-Ferrand, France.
IMET, headquartered in Livingston, Scotland, provides users of titanium and superalloys with furnace-ready products to melt ingots which are used in the aerospace, oil and gas, power generation and medical sectors. The new plant will convert titanium waste generated by aircraft manufacturers and their subcontractors into clean, furnace-ready material.
This material will then be fed directly back into titanium melting facilities, and is expected to help create a circular economy within Europe’s aerospace manufacturing supply chain. Ruaraidh Williamson, Chief Executive Officer of IMET, stated, “We’re delighted to be establishing our first dedicated titanium plant and European headquarters in France. The facility will be designed and purpose-built by us to handle titanium alloys of today and tomorrow.”
“We will be employing exclusive technologies developed by IMET to cement our position as the processor and supplier of next-generation alloys utilised in the latest energy-efficient engines,” he continued. “Our commitment to this project is a vital step for keeping titanium materials in Europe while reducing the carbon footprint of titanium melting activities through the displacement of ore based primary raw materials.”
“IMET’s unique value proposition is vital to the creation of a European aerospace circular economy, completing the circular flow and efficient use of titanium materials. Delivering environmental, climate and socioeconomic benefits ranging from reduced transportation needs to lower raw material imports and a more self-sufficient European titanium supply-chain,” he concluded.
IMET operates out of two facilities in Livingston, two in the USA and one in the Czech Republic. Its clients include companies such as General Electric, Rolls-Royce and Safran SA.
This new investment follows the signing of a ten-year service agreement with EcoTitanium, France, at the 2019 Paris Air Show. Construction on the new facility in France will commence in July 2020 and the plant is expected to be operational by 2022. IMET also recently invested $3 million in an expansion of its Monroe, USA, facility which will be officially opened later this year.
