Achieving precision with powder – Liberty

Pictured: (L-R) Anders Jersby (Commercial Director Materials Processing Institute), Ben Houchen (Tees Valley Mayor), Dr Simon Pike (General Manager Liberty Powder Metals), Dan Frith (Manufacturing and Engineering Manager Liberty Powder Metals), and Andrew Home (CEO of K Home International) examine plans of the atomiser. (please note: images for this article were taken at a point in time prior to the COVID-19 situation. Our businesses are actively observing all health and safety measures in line with government requirements.)

A new powder metals plant in the UK will expand Liberty’s capability in precision steel component production and help the business gain a foothold in the rapidly changing advanced-engineering sector.

Liberty has begun construction on a powder metals facility at Teesside in the UK’s Yorkshire region. An initial GPD 10 million is being invested to set up the Liberty Powder Metals business at the Materials Processing Institute, a research-and-innovation campus. A state-of-the-art vacuum induction inert-gas atomiser will form the core of the project.

The powder metals facility is designed to achieve the highest quality stainless steel and superalloy powders, helping Liberty to enhance its status in a global market estimated to be worth GBP 8 billion a year. In addition to the atomiser, there are plans to install a range of sieving, blending, packaging and analytical equipment.

The atomiser will allow Liberty to develop a new generation of powdered steels that can overcome the traditional barriers to 3D printing. These will enhance Liberty’s position in the supply chain for precision steel components used in rapidly changing and advanced sectors including aerospace, automotive, energy and specialist industrial equipment.

Commissioning commenced in December 2019 with the aim of producing powders for sale from March 2020.

The new vacuum induction furnace being installed

Equipment for the facility has been designed by the internationally recognised Atomising Systems Ltd (ASL) and partners Consarc Engineering, while K-Home International, a globally experienced engineering specialist, is managing the installation at the Materials Processing Institute. Being located on the Institute campus will give Liberty Powder Metals easy access to both state-of-the-art research facilities and the expertise based there.

Dr Simon Pike, General Manager for Liberty Powder Metals, says he is grateful to Liberty’s partners for the work they have done to reach this stage. “Finance from Tees Valley Combined Authority has been critical in making the project a reality, and I look forward to continuing all our partnerships to make Teesside a global-leading centre of expertise for powder metal production,” Dr Simon says.

Ben Houchen, Tees Valley Mayor, says the start of construction of the facility was a significant milestone in a project that will put the region at the forefront of a revolutionary new industry. “We invested GBP 4.6 million in this ground-breaking project because we could see just how important the high-grade metal powders Liberty that will produce will be,” he says. “By investing in new technologies, we’re staying ahead of the curve and creating the jobs for future industries.”