Extends ELLWOOD’s premium offering to the specialty metals market

[New Castle, PA – April 22, 2024]  ELLWOOD today announced final approval of a project to install a 20-ton vacuum induction melting (VIM) furnace at their New Castle, Pennsylvania plant. This investment expands ELLWOOD’s offering to the demanding specialty metals market, giving the materials leader a broad portfolio offering of carbon, alloy, stainless, and superalloys. “We are always looking for new ways to be long-term partners that our customers can count on. We do this by working with them to solve their challenges. We believe through this investment we will expand our product offering, supporting our customers’ complex and demanding material needs as their markets continue to grow,” said Michael Morgus, ELLWOOD President of Steelmaking.

In the new facility, all melting and pouring operations will be performed under vacuum for low dissolved gas content, low concentration of high vapor pressure tramp elements, and ultra-high microcleanliness. Melt capacity up to 40,000lbs will enable ELLWOOD to produce up to 16,500T annually of premium alloys.

The new 70,000 square foot building will be located adjacent to ELLWOOD’s existing 115,000 square foot vacuum arc remelt (VAR) and electro-slag remelt (ESR) facility, enabling efficient transfer of VIM electrodes to remelt. The new VIM capability will complement six current VAR and two ESR furnaces in New Castle, with two further VAR furnaces to be commissioned by year-end 2024. Capabilities include low alloy steels, stainless steels, copper-based alloys and nickel-based superalloys with 20-42” VAR crucibles and 20”-59” ESR crucibles. The 59” ESR ingot is believed to be the largest in the Western Hemisphere. ELLWOOD also controls four additional VAR furnaces off-site. 

Ben Huffman, ELLWOOD President and CEO, explained that ELLWOOD’s family shareholders are focused on the long-term and consistently invest with that in mind. “Our ownership is dedicated to investing in and extending our technical materials leadership. Metallurgical innovation is what we do and will continue to do better than any other.” Huffman continued, “Our team embodies the continuous improvement mindset and is constantly seeking better solutions, working to deliver results the right way. We are always asking ourselves what tools the team needs to make the next step forward possible. A VIM furnace is the next building block to cement our position as the specialty metals experts.”

Morgus concluded, “Our total dedication to customer service, materials engineering excellence, and a comprehensive breadth of capabilities position us to deliver solutions to our customers."

For product inquiries, contact Jim Kane at JKane@elwd.com.