As a result of the project, Latrobe will double its capacity for vacuum induction steel melting, the process that results in the alloy’s high quality, according to Dan Hennessy, vice president of manufacturing. Another long-term result will be the hiring of 60 new workers over the next three years–with 50 to 55 of them hired for work in the plants.
“We’ve been running at capacity for 4 years, and the investment is to relive the bottleneck,” Hennessy says.
While it has been constrained in its output for the past several years, Latrobe, which has been a supplier to the aerospace industry for 50 years, is believed to be the single-largest producer of these high grade steel alloys, which are used by manufacturers of aircraft engine transmission shafts, helicopter rotors, bearings in jet engines, and other structural parts of aircraft that require superior strength and ductility. In addition to its role as a supplier of steel alloys for use in military aircraft, Latrobe Steel is a part of the supply chain for Boeing and Airbus Industries.
“Virtually any commercial jet aircraft that anyone flies contains our steel, either in the engines or the landing gear or other parts of the plane,” Hennessy says.
The Defense Department investment comes under the Defense Production Act, which provides for financial incentives to domestic firms. It is intended to develop production capacity that is considered vital to the national interest. Latrobe employs approximately 800 people.
Source: Latrobe Specialty Steel, Dan Hennessy
Writer: Joseph Plummer
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