NKK Ties Up with RMI to Expand Market for SP-700 Titanium Alloy

NKK and RMI officials commemorate their business tie-up agreement.

NKK has established a new U.S. subsidiary, NKK Titanium U.S.A. Corporation, to expand the market for the NKK-developed titanium alloy SP-700, especially in the American and European aerospace industry. Through NKK Titanium U.S.A. , a fully-owned, New York-based subsidiary of NKK U.S.A. Corporation, NKK has concluded a business tie-up agreement with RMI Titanium Company, a leading titanium producer based in Niles, Ohio, to further develop demand for SP-700.

Titanium alloys have been widely used in aerospace and other industries because of their light-weight and high strength. Conventional 6Al-4V titanium alloys, however, suffered from poor formability, resulting in poor yield and limited use.

SP-700 is an NKK-patented titanium alloy that has superior hot-forming characteristics compared with other alloys. The alloy can be fabricated or formed to near-net shapes at low temperatures, thereby significantly reducing the cost of producing titanium components. This superior formability, combined with excellent fatigue-strength and toughness, makes the alloy attractive for applications ranging from golf club heads to critical airframe structures and rotating jet engine fan blades. SP-700 is named for its "super plasticity" obtained at temperatures as low as 700°C. The alloy consists of titanium with 4.5% aluminum, 3% vanadium, 2% molybdenum and 2% iron.

Since developing SP-700 in 1989, NKK has successfully marketed the product in Asia mainly for use in golf clubs, mountaineering equipment and watch cases, while working to expand the market to the aerospace industry, the largest market for titanium alloys.

Based on RMI's long experience selling titanium to the world's major aerospace companies and its supply of titanium ingots to NKK over the past several years, the two companies conducted a one-year joint study to determine the potential markets for SP-700. The NKK-RMI cooperative business development agreement is the result of their positive evaluation of SP-700's promise for aerospace markets.

RMI Titanium is the second largest titanium producer in the world, with a 60% market share in titanium flat products for aerospace use. It manufactures titanium mill products, hot-formed and superplastically-formed parts, and engineered systems for energy-related markets. The company's products are used for fabricated components in commercial and military aircraft and engines, among other uses.

Through this partnership, RMI obtained an exclusive right to manufacture SP- 700 at its facilities for sale throughout North and South America and Europe , while NKK provides technical support. By combining NKK's versatile titanium development expertise with RMI's wide-ranging manufacturing technologies and marketing strength, the two companies intend to further reinforce their alliance and jointly sell SP-700 to American and European aerospace companies. In Asia, NKK will continue its successful market development for SP-700, by procuring ingots from RMI and making mill products.

SP-700 is expected to see widened applications not only in commercial goods but also in aerospace markets. NKK and RMI hope to sell a combined total of 1,000 tons of titanium products annually by 2005, up from the less than 100 tons currently produced by NKK.