Nuclear boost powers Alloy Wire’s expansion

Supplying high performance nickel alloy wire to fuel the growth in nuclear power is helping a UK manufacturer expand.

Alloy Wire International (AWI) has seen a 10% surge in orders for its specialist wire, which is being used within components for the sector and critical seals and springs found in many of the world’s largest reactors.

Employing 31 people across sites in the West Midlands and Yorkshire, the company is on course to hit £1m of sales for this industry for the first time in 73 years and the management team believe its ability to fulfil orders in three weeks is a big factor in this increase.

It also pointed to the way a lot of the nickel alloy wire in its range can be treated with a special process that can offer the critical performance required to operate in one of the most demanding business arenas in the world.

“We have been supplying into this sector for a long-time and our track record for manufacturing quality is well known with customers in both the UK and overseas,” explained Mark Venables, Managing Director of Alloy Wire International.

“The last nine months have definitely been our busiest time to date and we are supplying wire that is going into both existing plants and also new projects taking shape across the globe.”

He continued: “Companies need to know the material they’ve ordered will withstand harsh temperatures/corrosion and is manufactured in accordance with strict quality controls. With the world relying on nuclear power more than ever, any type of disruption would impact on a lot of people.”

Alloy Wire International is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of round, flat and profile wire.

It has over 200 tonnes of EU/DFARS approved stock available at any one time, with its 60-strong range including Inconel® 600, Inconel® 718, Inconel® 750, Nimonic® 80A and Nimonic® 90 – all materials suited to nuclear applications.

The firm’s Emergency Manufacturing Service, which involves wire being produced and delivered within a few days, has also been in high demand, up nearly 15% on the same period last year.

This underlines the fluctuating requests being placed on spring makers supplying into nuclear and the importance of being able to access material quickly to meet sudden spikes in usage.

Mark continued: “Investment in our manufacturing capabilities and our technical team allow us to offer this unique service and we have spent over £250,000 already this year in the acquisition of 560mm single block and 200mm multi-block drawing machines.

“This has increased our capacity to be able to take on even more nuclear work as we look to build on a record year in this sector.”