A significant milestone in the development of Liberty Powder Metal’s new £10 million facility at the Materials Processing Institute’s (MPI) Teesside campus was reached last month.

Various pieces of equipment that make up the ‘state of the art’ vacuum induction inert-gas atomiser were craned in and lowered into position after the roof of the building was removed — the weight of the main lift was 13.5 tonnes.

The facility is designed to achieve the highest-quality stainless steel and super-alloy powders, helping Liberty Powder Metals (part of the GFG Alliance of industrial companies) to enhance its status in a global market estimated to be worth £8 billion a year.

Alongside the atomiser, there are plans to install a range of sieving, blending, packaging and analytical equipment.

This facility will enable Liberty Powder Metals to develop a new generation of powdered steels that can overcome the traditional barriers to 3-D printing and enhance its position in the supply chain for precision steel components for advanced sectors such as aerospace, automotive, energy and specialist industrial equipment.

Being located on the campus gives the company easy access to the Institute’s research facilities and the expertise based there.

Simon Pike, Liberty Steel UK’s technical director (www.libertyhousegroup.com), said: “After a lot of work by the team, we are proud to see our plans coming to fruition.

"This development is another step forward in our strategy to be at the leading edge of sustainable and innovative metals manufacturing.”

Commissioning is due to take place soon with the aim of producing powders for sale from March.