Successful accreditation to a prestigious quality standard is set to create £2 million of global opportunities for Brierley Hill-based
Alloy Wire International (AWI). The UK’s leading manufacturer of precision drawn, flat and profile wire has taken just nine months to gain ISO 19443, the international benchmark for supplying critical components and material to the nuclear sector.
AWI recorded zero non-conformities during the assessment, with the business praised for its strong quality management systems, employee culture and enhanced communications strategy that was integral to the successful application. The firm’s 62-strong range of exotic alloys is in growing demand from the sector, with sales to this market increasing to 10% of the firm’s annual £16.5 million turnover.
Kevin Guest, head of quality, Health & Safety and environmental management at AWI, said: .“We pride ourselves on delivering world class manufacturing performance for the best part of eight decades, so we knew we had a lot of things already in place. Culture was a critical part of the review, and we had to create a special questionnaire that proved all our 33-strong workforce understood their roles and how they impact on the finished part that is heading to clients in the nuclear industry.”
He continued: “This has proved to be an excellent introduction. It has opened new dialogue within different parts of our business and has further enhanced an already impressive ‘people first’ culture. Securing ISO 19443 will ensure we not only retain existing turnover, but importantly it will open up new doors for us both in the UK and overseas. In fact, we are already quoting for an additional £1 million of new work.”
Corrosion-resistant propertiesMaterial manufactured at AWI’s ‘state of the art’ facility in the West Midlands has high temperature and corrosion resistant properties ideal for end-use applications and components destined for nuclear reactors, development of new mini reactors, and in the complex world of decommissioning. Inconel 718, Inconel X750, Alloy 400, Nimonic 90, Alloy 80A and Stainless Steel 316 are the six most popular alloys being requested by the company’s global customer base and all are currently available in just three weeks from placing the order.
Mr Guest continued: “Traceability is a major pre-requisite and the ability to prove the authenticity of the materials (traced back all the way to the mills) we process at our factory. A close working relationship with our suppliers ensures we get their original data that we can then build into our management system, a management system that now meets the stringent demands of ISO 19443.”
Alongside this, AWI has invested more than £400,000 into its in-house testing department so it can retain as much control as possible, not to mention speed of turnround with the well-documented backlog being seen at testing houses. Testing equipment — including tensile testers, a Micro-Vickers Hardness tester and the purchase of new lab furnaces to support heat treatment — means the firm can offer 90% of all mechanical tests at its factory. The newly refurbished and updated metallography lab has also benefitted from the purchase of new automatic mounting and polishing machines to enhance macro, micro, metallography and visual inspection capabilities.
AWI’s managing director Tom Mander concluded: “More and more countries are returning to nuclear as a viable power source moving forward. Sizewell C is a large project getting underway in the UK and Rolls-Royce has developed a strong reputation in mini reactors. Our material is often at the very start of these supply chains and that’s a big opportunity for us and one we are looking to discuss when we head to
Wire 2026 next month (Hall 11, Stand E26).”