A Central PA company that makes custom-designed metal parts for a variety of customers recently expanded its space and is planning to hire a few more workers.
Advanced Powder Products makes metal components for sectors including the military, medical and automotive industries. Some parts are made by packing metal powder into a dense material, then heating it so it is one solid piece. Other parts are produced by molding the metal powder into shape before heating it. Don Heaney, the company's president, says it's able to make parts that other manufacturers won't handle. “We get jobs that other companies won't quote,” he says. As a result, it's seeing more business.
This fall Advanced Powder Products opened a 6,000-square foot addition to its facility in Philipsburg. It has also recently added a vacuum furnace, a machine that heats the metal components to high temperatures. Heaney says the new furnace should be up and running within a month. The company already has a vacuum furnace, but he says the addition of another will allow the shop to stay operating if one is out of commission.
Advanced Powder Products now employs 20 people. Heaney says it's looking for about five more to support the company's growth.
Source: Don Heaney, Advanced Powder Products
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen