Norsk Titanium – Business Focus

No matter how advanced aircraft design becomes, it will always be limited by what it is physically possible to do with the material. “With the current technologies that are available, there are limitations to airframe and engine manufacturing,” says Boyd Adams, Chief Commercial Officer of Norsk Titanium. “It means you have to design parts in a certain way.”

Norsk Titanium intends to change that. The additive manufacturing company has developed a truly game changing technology that uses a plasma welding process to build parts. Rapid Plasma Deposition, or RPD™, is a technique that uses significantly less material than traditional casting, forging or machining from solid methods.

“We have developed this technology and equipment to make this technology. To produce it, we have got facilities in Europe and the US, and we are out there trying to change the world,” says Adams.

Changing the World

Adams does not see this technology as competing with the additive manufacturing sector. Instead, he describes it as a viable alternative to more traditional casting and closed-die forging processes, particularly in the aerospace market. It can be used to create titanium and nickel parts with properties equivalent to those made by forging, but it uses significantly less material and less energy.

“If you want a new closed-die forged piece for the aerospace sector, you are looking at anywhere from 12 to 18 months for delivery,” Adams tells us. “We can produce it in a matter of weeks.”

With traditional processes, the ratio of material bought to material that actually gets used, can be eight to one or even nine to one. That means 90% of the material used in forging gets machined away during the manufacturing process. With Norsk Titanium’s technology, that figure changes to 10%. It means using less material, with half the CO2 footprint and 75% less energy. This all makes it groundbreaking from a sustainability point of view, but its ramifications go even further than that.

“When they design new aircraft in the future, they will design them with RPD™ technology in mind. It will change how they design components,” Adams insists. “With our process there really is no limitation. You can design a part to give you the strength and the properties you need in the direction that you want them.”

It was this opportunity to be involved in genuinely transforming the way aircraft are designed and built that drew Adams to Norsk Titanium in the first place.

“That is what really attracted me to the job after 25 years in the forging industry,” Adams tells us. “One of the biggest constraints in the aerospace industry is the ability to get forgings. There is a big reluctance by the forging industry to make additional investment, so there’s a real need for a viable alternative.”

Currently, big manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing cannot build at the rates customers need, and a significant portion of this is due to a lack of capacity in the supply chain. RPD™ technology provides a viable solution for increasing that capacity.

“The State of New York has invested in our Plattsburgh facility, meaning we can now print 700 tons of parts a year,” Adams says.

The First Movers

Being the first to market with a new technology brings its own challenges.

“Because our technology is revolutionary, and we are the first mover with this technology in the airframe manufacturing sector in particular, the speed of adoption and the length of the qualification process have been a lot longer than owners expected,” Adams says. “Our rates of revenue growth have been slower because of that. The good news is we are now qualified by Boeing and Airbus. Our machines are qualified, our plants are qualified. We have been through part-by-part qualification, and it is a slow process.”

To ensure that the business is able to keep running throughout this approval process, it has implemented a diversification drive.

“This technology was developed with aerospace in mind, but it offers a big advantage in a lot of other industries,” Adams points out. “We are going out and exploring other markets with lower barriers to entry and the ability to adopt a new technology quicker than the aerospace industry does.”

Developing, implementing and finding new applications for this technology requires talent, and Norsk Titanium invests in that talent as much as it does its machinery and equipment. Just like Adams, many of those people are drawn to the company by the revolutionary work that it is carrying out.

“We have got a facility in Norway where this technology was originally developed. That is our Research & Development facility now. It is where we develop additional processes, new materials the process can apply to and specific programs for new parts we are making,” Adams says. “That facility is staffed with scientists and engineers. It is a very technical group of people. The people who work there see what we are doing is game changing.”

It gives Norsk Titanium access to a workforce powered by enthusiasm and a real commitment to the work. Adams is particularly proud of Norsk Titanium’s New York production facilities and the great base of local talent it has to draw from.

“The people who work here see we are out there changing the world, and there’s a lot of enthusiasm to be part of that journey,” Adams says. “The future is really promising. We have been qualified by two of the main OEMs in the commercial aerospace sector, as well as several US defence airframe OEMs. We have also had interest from some of the engine OEMs. All of that means we are developing a lot of products which will generate a significant amount of revenue in the next couple of years.”

It has been a long journey for Norsk Titanium to get to this point. The firm has invested close to $500 million in its facilities and the development of its processes and equipment. Even now, Adams believes they are just scratching the surface.

“There are over 3,000 RPD™ produced parts already approved and flying in aircraft today” Adams says. “We are just now starting to reap the benefits of many years of effort and investment.”