IBC Advanced Alloys Corp. has signed an exclusive supply contract to provide investment-cast engineered components to an unnamed designer/manufacturer of high-technology assembly equipment. IBC is an integrated distributor of beryllium-based alloys and related products, and its Engineered Materials division last month announced the opening of a new investment casting plant in Wilmington, MA.
The Engineered Materials division was established when IBC acquired the former Beralcast Corp. in March 2010. Its new investment casting operation is a 63,000-ft
2 plant, “optimally configured” with a more streamlined process flow than the former Beralcast location, and includes a second investment casting furnace and other new equipment that improve production efficiencies.
The Beralcast
® family of alloys reportedly provide more stiffness than aluminum with 22% less weight and a high modulus of elasticity. They are used to produce complex, lightweight, or high-stiffness parts and frequently serve as a higher-performance or lower-cost alternative to cast aluminum, magnesium, titanium, metal matrix composites, non-metallic composites, and pure beryllium or powder metallurgy beryllium-aluminum.
Typical Beralcast
® applications include disk-drive armatures, automotive brake and structural components, advanced cycling rims, and aerospace and satellite system components.
The new contract has a term of one to three years, and it involves a current customer to whom IBC has been a preferred supplier since it acquired the investment casting organization last year. There are no minimum ordering requirements indicated by the supply agreement, but IBC expressed confidence that if existing and historical ordering levels are maintained it will earn at least $4 million in annual revenues for the Engineered Materials division
"This is a very significant business development for IBC and we are pleased to be recognized as an essential and high-quality member of our customer's supply chain," IBC president and CEO Anthony Dutton stated. "This exclusive supply agreement validates IBC's technology and business model and demonstrates our commitment to providing advanced alloys and materials solutions to our global customers."