Powdermet, Inc., Announces Initial Operational Status of Their New Microcomposite Deformation Processing Center

Euclid, Ohio, July 6, 2010 — Powdermet, Inc., announces the initial operational status of their new microcomposite deformation processing facility. The company has recently installed a 15” Mino-Battista 300 ton hot rolling mill with capabilities of constrained rolling of sheet and plate ranging from 20 mils to 4” in thickness in widths up to 14”. The now operational hot rolling facility supports development of micro/nanocomposite metals, and represents a significant new capability to the advanced metallic composites industry. Planned additions to the microcomposite deformation processing facility include a 5000 ton Harwood forming press, and a 1500 ton Watson-Farrel extrusion press and large size equal channel angular processing capability. Both machines are currently completing refurbishment and installation at Powdermet’s Euclid, Ohio facility.
The new microcomposite deformation processing center helps support Powdemet’s SComP™ syntactic composite, and MComP™ microcomposite, hierarchically structured high strength micro/nanocomposite light metal development efforts. The company’s MComP™ micro/nanocomposite hierarchically structured metals offer very high strength-to-weight ratios in magnesium and aluminum alloys, while the company’s SComP™ syntactic composites utilize ultra-low density ceramic microballoon reinforcements to provide the lowest density and the highest energy adsorption capabilities of any metallic system in advanced development today.

The new microcomposite deformation processing center equipment, coupled with Powdermet’s core competency and extensive expertise in manufacturing nanocomposite metals and ceramics from hierarchically structured powder precursors, places Powdermet as a unique bridge between university and national lab-based basic research and full scale manufacturing and component production that few facilities are poised to handle.

Andrew Sherman, Powdermet President and CEO, is a key visionary behind Powdermet’s advancing efforts. “Powdermet is excited to be able to offer these mill-scale development capabilities to advance commercialization of energy adsorbing and high strength light metals that are able to reduce weight, operating costs, and environmental footprint and improve occupant safety in military, aerospace, and transportation vehicles. Powdermet is committed to maturing and transitioning clean, sustainable, energy and life-saving advanced materials solutions to the marketplace.”

About Powdermet, Inc.
Powdermet, Inc. (www.powdermetinc.com) located in Euclid, Ohio, is a world leader in the production of nanoengineered metallic composites. The company’s Vision is “Clean, Green, Sustainable Materials Solutions.” Powdermet develops, matures, and transitions breakthrough materials innovations that enable reduced weight, reduced resource consumption, reduced environmental footprint, reduced life cycle costs, and increase energy efficiency based on value-creation gained through engineered nano-scale features and hierarchically structures of metal and/or ceramic phases in a structure.

Powdermet Group of Companies