North American Hoganas Opens New $40 Million Metal Power Plant in Pennsylvania

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Inc.; Houston, Texas). North American Hoganas (Bethlehem, Pa.), a subsidiary of Hvgands AB (Hoganas, Sweden), recently opened a new atomized iron and steel powder manufacturing plant in Hollsopple, Pennsylvania. Hoganas purchased the former FirstMiss Steel high alloy steel mill in late 1999 and has spent close to $40 million to convert the existing steel mill into a high efficiency integrated atomized iron and steel powders manufacturing plant. Initial annual production is slated for 100,000 tons with the possibility of expansion up to 300,000 tons.

In recent years metal powder, used primarily for powdered metallurgical parts manufacturing, has taken significant market share in the automotive parts industry. The automotive industry, which traditionally used forged iron and steel for automotive parts such as connecting rods and other engine parts started showing signs of acceptance for powdered metallurgical parts as technological improvements in manufacturing and quality began to take shape 10-15 years ago. Metal powder is also used in the manufacturing of tools, home appliances, and lawn equipment. The powder metal market has shown significant growth over the last ten years and boasted record shipments in 2000. The current downward trend in the automotive market has slowed metal powder growth, but long-term prospects look good for the industry.

Hvgands AB is the world's largest supplier of metal powder. The new plant will employ approximately 100 people.