Fort Wayne Metals plans expansion of Nitinol operations
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Fort Wayne Metals is continuing to grow its operations with plans to double its Nitinol melting capabilities in 2025.
The company didn’t specify its financial investment in this latest expansion, but noted it has invested $50 million in its Nitinol operations over the last 12 years.
Fort Wayne Metals is a developer of precision materials for the medical device industry. The company opened its Nitinol melt facility in 2012, which focuses on the entire manufacturing process—from melting to custom finishing.
Nitinol is a metal alloy that the company has traditionally melted into wire form for use by manufacturers of miniaturized and complex medical devices. Over the last year, the company said it has expanded to meet growing customer demand by melting Nitinol into bar, strip and sheet form.
“The expansion of our melting capabilities demonstrates our long-term commitment to meeting the needs of our customers and becoming the largest, most reliable source of Nitinol for medical device manufacturers,” CEO Scott Glaze said in a news release. “We are always looking to the future, continuously innovating to better serve our customers and empower their own groundbreaking developments.”
Over the last two years, Fort Wayne Metals has added equipment to double its Nitinol production output. More equipment is set to come online in early 2025.
The company said it has shipped more than 650,000 pounds of the melted alloy over the last decade. The expansion is expected to increase that number to as much as 1 million pounds per year.
Fort Wayne Metals currently has 50 employees in its Nitinol melting operations, and a spokesperson tells Inside INdiana Business that the company plans to add more positions as its production capacity grows, though a specific number was not provided.
Fort Wayne Metals employs more than 1,700 people worldwide.