Titanium powder factory slated for Melbourne then UAE will now be built in US: Amaero

Additive manufacturing company Amaero International has said decisive action from the State of Tennessee in coordinating incentives will see the company locate its titanium powder factory — “as well as Amaero’s research & development and corporate headquarters” — in the United States.

The company, which was spun out of Monash University in Melbourne, cited commitments for incentives from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, the Cleveland-Bradley Chamber of Commerce, the Tennessee Valley  Authority and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the decision.

“Amaero is appreciative of the many stakeholders in Tennessee who quickly mobilised resources and proactively developed a compelling business case and competitive value proposition for the re-location of our flagship titanium powder manufacturing, research & development and corporate headquarters,” said Chairman Hank Holland.

TNECD Commissioner, Stuart C. McWhorter, added, “There are nearly 30 Australian companies that call  Tennessee home, and we are proud to add another great global brand like Amaero to that growing roster. 

“Cleveland, Tennessee, is the ideal location for this company’s first U.S. facility and has the workforce, infrastructure and business environment to ensure Amaero’s success.” 

It has signed a lease as sole tenant in a 12,100 square metre facility which is nearing completion in Cleveland, Tennessee’s Spring Branch Industrial Park. In conjunction with the lease, a 2,800 square metre high-bay extension will be designed and purpose- built to house four electrode inert gas atomisers (EIGAs). 

Amaero said it expected to occupy the 9,300 square metre “shell” facility in April 2024 and then the 2,800 square metre high-bay extension in July 2024.

According to the statement on Friday morning, the benefits include:

• Investment credit and a long-term electricity rate subsidy from the Tennessee Valley Authority, with electricity rates 85 per cent “less than the prevailing rates in Victoria”;
• A lease 75 per cent less than a proposed facility at KEZAD in the UAE;
• Proximity to Chattanooga, Tennessee, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

It said it expected the plant to be installed sooner than the proposed “build-to-suit” project in the UAE and the company expected, as a result, “to accelerate breakeven operations by 12 months and to reduce working capital need by $22 million.”

Amaero company originally planned to set up its powder factory in Melbourne, telling shareholders in May 2021 that it had signed an MoU with a global metal powder supply company, with planned sales of $30 million a year. 

In June 2022 it said a plant for aerospace-grade powders had been completed at an international partner and was ready to be shipped to be reassembled in Melbourne, beginning that September.

However, in September that year it said the plant would instead be built in the UAE. In March this year it announced payment of two settlements worth a total of $730,000 related to the cancelled Melbourne plant.

Picture: credit Amaero

Further reading

AMAERO REVAMPS LEADERSHIP, DUMPS PLANNED VICTORIAN FACTORY

UPCOMING MELBOURNE TITANIUM POWDER FACTORY ON TRACK: AMAERO

AMAERO LURED TO UAE – VICTORIA LOSES OUT ON NEW PLANT

Amaero pays up over cancelled powders factory