VSMPO-Avisma signed agreement with Universal Stainless

The NF&M International Inc. will add capacity to produce small-diameter bar and wire at its Monaca, Pa., facility, involving not only fastener stock but also medical-grade titanium. Expected to be operational late in the first quarter of 2011, the new facility will have an initial capacity of about 500 tons per year with an option to expand later. 

VSMPO-Avisma will bring in billet from Russia to be converted by Universal Stainless, after which it will be finished by NF&M International Inc. NF&M will supply small-diameter bars and wire as well as close-tolerance straight length bar. NF&M will bring minimum diameter bar capability down to 0.25 inch from 0.75 inch, and possibly 0.125 inch in drawn wire.

"The market for aerospace fasteners is expected to increase dramatically over the next several years with the growing production of composite-based airliners like the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350, and the medical market is a steady growth business," said Mikhail Voevodin, Director General of VSMPO-Avisma Corporation. 

Michael Metz, president of VSMPO-Avisma’s U.S. arm, Tirus US, estimates the current global demand for fasteners at 3,000 to 5,000 tons per year, with the opportunity for twice that over the next three to five years.