Metal Powder Works accelerates $2 million capacity investment to target 800 t by 2027
Metal Powder Works Limited (MPW), headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, a producer of metal powders for Additive Manufacturing and other applications, has accelerated its planned capacity expansion programme, committing approximately $2 million to bring forward its target of around 800 tonnes of installed annual capacity from 2028 to the first half of 2027.
The decision to accelerate the expansion followed the commercial-scale validation of the company’s NextGen DirectPowder platform. According to the company, its first NextGen unit was sustaining production at a rate equivalent to 100 tonnes per annum, with a saleable yield above 95%.
Following this validation, the company planned to add four further NextGen machines and order long-lead-time hardware for another four units. MPW had previously flagged two machines for year-end 2026.
MPW estimated that the accelerated expansion would require capital expenditure of approximately $2 million, funded from existing cash reserves. The investment is expected to be made across the second half of 2026 and the first half of 2027.
MPW reported that the additional capacity was intended to support opportunities in the Additive Manufacturing and Powder Metallurgy markets, including press and sinter. The company had recently received its first production order for the press-and-sinter market from Advantage Metal Powders.
According to Metal Powder Works, press and sinter was the largest segment of the North American metal powder market by volume, with copper among the materials widely used in the sector. The company said domestic copper powder supply chains were facing constraints as manufacturers reassessed sourcing amid tariff and trade disruption.
Metal Powder Works produces powder from bar stock at its Pittsburgh facility. Its patented DirectPowder process is non-thermal and does not use conventional atomisation. The company stated that it could replicate NextGen units as demand developed, enabling further production capacity to be brought online.
“We are at an inflection point where our NextGen machine is ready to scale, we’re bringing on experience at the leadership level, and we have a re-tooled sales team poised to take advantage of the supply chain constraints plaguing press & sinter markets,” stated John Barnes, founder and Managing Director of Metal Powder Works. “I want the press and sinter market to know we’re here, we’re serious, and we want them to make money.”
