Directors of Universal Stainless & Alloy Products Inc., Bridgeville, PA, have approved the purchase of a seventh vacuum arc remelt furnace, which will be the second unit for operation at Bridgeville, when it becomes operational in September. No supplier for the new VAR unit has been reported, but Universal indicated it would invest $2-2.5 million on the project and finance it through existing credit facilities.
Universal Stainless uses vacuum-arc remelting to produce high-quality grades of steel, primarily for aerospace applications. Suppliers of high-grade materials to aerospace manufacturers have been aggressively adding new production capacity over the past year, including Allegheny Technologies and Perryman Co.
Mac McAninch, president and CEO, stated: "The addition of VAR capacity is a necessary step based on our substantial backlog of products requiring VAR remelting and the anticipated needs of our customers. It also is in line with our strategy to focus on higher value-added products."