Wall Colmonoy Ltd (UK) has announced a £2 million investment to enhance its advanced Vacuum Precision Investment Casting (VPIC) capabilities, reinforcing its commitment to innovation in casting technologies and support for the UK’s defence and aerospace sectors.
Launched under the project ‘EVaCC’, this initiative will establish ‘state of the art’ VPIC capabilities at Wall Colmonoy’s Pontardawe facility in Wales. The project significantly enhances the company’s ability to produce next-generation aerospace components, while strengthening the UK’s sovereign manufacturing base and ensuring a secure, resilient supply chain, for potential customers, including the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Dr Chris Weirman, Wall Colmonoy’s technical director, said: “This investment represents a major milestone which will enable us to meet the needs of critical industry sectors and contribute to the advancement of the UK’s defence and aerospace capabilities.”
Michael Shreeve, business unit manager (precision components), said: “Wall Colmonoy is committed to the future of UK manufacturing and developing supply chain resilience to protect sovereign capabilities for a wide range of industrial applications on the global stage. Building upon our core competencies of producing specialist alloys, we have a unique value proposition to offer our customers.”
As part of the project, Wall Colmonoy will collaborate with
Rolls-Royce Bristol to retrofit and integrate this advanced technology, leveraging over 100 years of metallurgical knowledge as a partnership. The joint initiative will address key engineering challenges and push the boundaries of casting innovation, setting the stage for a long-term collaboration in the development of future-ready, engine-grade components.
Preparations for commissioning are already underway, with full operation expected to start in the coming months. Once live, Wall Colmonoy’s VPIC facility will manufacture complex components using nickel-based superalloys, critical to most aerospace engine programmes. A key secondary innovation will be the introduction of microstructural refinement technology, targeted to improve mechanical performance, allowing for more design flexibility with the goal of achieving thinner aerofoil sections and potential weight saving.
Project EVaCC has also been awarded funding from the
Defence Technology Exploitation Programme (DTEP) — sponsored by the MoD’s Directorate of Industrial Strategy and Exports (DISE) and delivered through the
Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) and
Innovate UK. DTEP plays an important role in supporting UK industry to develop cutting-edge defence technologies.