TIMET TO EXPAND MELTING CAPACITY

Titanium Metals Corp. (Timet) will construct a new, state-of-the-art electron beam (EB) cold-hearth melt furnace at its facility in Morgantown, PA. The new furnace will provide Timet with the additional capacity to melt approximately 8,500 metric tons/year of titanium metal, increasing the company's

The latest furnace design capitalizes on Timet's position in EB melting technology, and incorporates sophisticated data-acquisition controls, sensors, and the Timet's patented monitoring systems. It will cost approximately $35 million, and upon full commissioning early in 2008 it will be capable of producing products for use in all market sectors.

EB single melt (EBSM) technology is well established in the production of commercially pure titanium, while the alloyed products require subsequent final vacuum arc remelting. Timet has pioneered EBSM production of alloyed products, to the approval of industrial and automotive customers. EBSM provides the necessary productivity improvements to support expansion into these markets because it eliminates secondary melts and, for some products, downstream forging processes, too.

The new EB furnace is one of several steps that Timet is taking, including expansion of the company's VDP sponge facility in Henderson, NV, to meet growing demand from several markets segments, especially the commercial aerospace sector.

Christian Leonhard, Timet's president and COO, said, "The decision to increase our EB melting capacity will allow Timet to capitalize upon recent increased acceptance of EBSM for alloyed titanium for use in both industrial and aerospace applications, providing improved yields and production cycle time reductions."