Jan 30, 2017 | By Tess

French metallurgy company MetalValue Powder is reportedly investing 50 million euros to build a new gas-atomized steel powder manufacturing facility in Pîtres, Eure, France. The new facility, which is expected to create 60 new jobs in the region, will be the largest of its kind in the world, with a massive production capacity of 40,000 tonnes of powder a year. To put that number into perspective, that is close to what is currently being created on a global scale.

The metal powder manufactured in the facility will be used primarily with additive manufacturing technologies, which can transform the powder into complex metal 3D printed parts. According to MetalValue, its powders will have applications within the automotive, aeronautics, and energy sectors.

The new plant is expected to begin its operations in the last quarter of 2018, and is strategically located next to a Manoir Industries foundry, which will supply the MetalValue facility with melted down liquid steel, which will then be processed into 3D printable metal powders. To increase the foundry's capacity, the company will have to invest roughly 25 million euros, and create 50 new positions at the Manoir Industries factory. As director general of MetalValue Alain Honnart stated: “This ensures both the future of an old industry and of the metallurgy of the future.”

Steel powder offers a number of benefits as a manufacturing material, including resistance to corrosion and high temperatures. Additionally, it is more economical as a raw material than solid steel, for, as the company points out, you only need 1.2 kg of liquid steel to make 1 kg of powder, while you need 3.4 kg to make 1 kg of solid steel.

In terms of cost, MetalValue expects to help reduce steel powder prices (which currently stand at about 400 euros per kg) by increasing production, thus making the material more competitive. Pîtres, located in the Eure region of Normandy, will house the new facility. As part of MetalValue’s reason for settling there, Normany will reportedly contribute several million euros, and will contribute 1.5 million euros to the company through its equity fund.

MetalValue was founded in 2006 and currently employs 80 people. Aside from its upcoming powder manufacturing facility, the company also recently acquired a metal part manufacturing facility in Karlskoga, Sweden. Another factory in Étain, France, which will manufacture parts from metal powders, is also underway. The company’s current turnover is roughly 10 million euros a year, though it hopes to increase its revenues tenfold within the next 5 years.

Posted in 3D Printing Materials

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