Titanium producer Perryman Co. commissioned two new furnaces at its California, PA, plant, systems designed and built by Retech Systems LLC under a contract announced in late 2017. At that time, Perryman explained it would more than double its titanium melting capacity with the addition of a new electron-beam (EB) furnace and a new vacuum arc remelt (VAR) furnace.
Retech Systems is a SECO/Warwick Group subsidiary.
Perryman Co., Houston, PA, is an integrated producer of titanium ingots, bar, coil, fine wire, net shapes, and hot-rolled products. Its Forge and Fabrication business operates 300-, 500-, and 650-ton closed-die presses, with in-house tool and die design and manufacturing. Finished products are supplied to aerospace, medical, consumer products, industrial, recreation and infrastructure markets.
Perryman also performs contract manufacturing for medical devices, in titanium and other materials.
“We have worked with Retech previously and were pleased with the partnership and results," recalled COO Jim Perryman, according to the furnace builder. "We are very satisfied with all aspects of the outcome. The systems were delivered on-time and started-up without issues. We were able to move from startup to production immediately after the installation was complete."
An electron-beam furnace uses a high-energy, electron beam under vacuum to deliver heat to the titanium or other material being melted. At Perryman, EB melting is used to produce electrodes weighing up to 12,500 lbs.
Vacuum arc remelting (VAR) is a secondary process that melts the electrodes and refines the metal alloys using an electric arc under vacuum, to produce metal ingots, which become feedstock for forging or rolling.
According to Retech Systems, the Perryman project made use of Retech's global manufacturing capabilities as part of the SECO/Warwick Group: "Given the size and scale of these systems, the successful design, manufacture, installation, and on-time delivery of the equipment, along with the production objectives, was a significant achievement by all those involved," according to the announcement.