Sandvik to build $25 million titanium and nickel metal powder plant
Sandvik, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, is investing approximately 200 million SEK ($25 million) in a new plant for the manufacturing of titanium and nickel fine metal powders. The new facility, within the business area of Sandvik Materials Technology (SMT), will be located in Sandviken, Sweden, close to the company’s in-house titanium raw material supply and centre for Additive Manufacturing. The plant is expected to be operational in 2020.
According to the company, the investment will complement SMT’s existing powder offering and strengthen Sandvik’s position in the rapidly growing markets for metal powder and metal Additive Manufacturing. Sandvik is a leading producer of fine metal powders and serves a number of Additive Manufacturing companies. Its stainless steel, nickel-based and cobalt-chromium alloy powders are manufactured in the United Kingdom and Sweden and sold across Europe, North America and Asia through the Sandvik Osprey brand.
With demand for metal powder for AM expected to increase significantly in the coming years, the company sees titanium and nickel-based alloys as key growth areas and accounting for a significant portion of the metal powder market.
Annika Roos, Head of product area Powder at Sandvik Materials Technology, commented, “This investment is an enabler for future growth and means that we are expanding our metal powder offering to include virtually all alloy groups of relevance today. In addition, it will also support the overall Additive Manufacturing business at Sandvik.”
“The metal powder segment and the Additive Manufacturing business are of increasingly strategic importance to us. This investment should be viewed as the latest evidence of our commitment to an area that we believe strongly in”, added Göran Björkman, President of Sandvik Materials Technology.
