Houston, January 8th (Argus) - PTC Industries, headquartered in India, will supply aerospace-grade titanium ingots to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center under the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). This move aims to support the country's goal of developing the aerospace industry.
The company stated on Wednesday that although specific final production figures were not disclosed, the transaction involves converting 40 metric tons of "first-grade" sponge titanium into 6Al-4V (TC4) titanium ingots. Additionally, the announcement does not contain any financial details.
PTC plans to use the dual vacuum arc remelting (VAR) process to manufacture these titanium ingots. Its subsidiary, Aerolloy Technologies, has already put into operation VAR and vacuum induction furnaces in September.
On Thursday, Aerolloy completed the installation of a plasma arc melting (PAM) furnace at the PTC manufacturing center in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The annual capacity of this furnace for titanium ingots is 600 tons. The company plans to start pilot production during the commissioning period of this furnace.
The PAM furnace enables Aerolloy to produce using smaller forms of titanium waste (including titanium chips), as the plasma torch allows for controlled melting without significant yield losses. The company added that with this new equipment, it will be able to produce "special" titanium alloys in smaller batches.
The acquisition of this order and the addition of this furnace come at a time when PTC is seeking to become a fully integrated titanium producer, covering the upstream production of sponge titanium and the downstream casting and processing services. The company has signed titanium casting supply agreements with several aerospace companies such as Safran Aircraft Engines, Dassault Aviation, and BAE Systems.
In December last year, Aerolloy signed a long-term agreement with Honeywell Aerospace Technologies to provide titanium high-temperature alloy mold castings for various aerospace applications (including key aerospace engine components), thereby including Honeywell in the diversified procurement portfolio.
