Carpenter Technology announced Wednesday in a press release the grand opening of its newest advanced additive manufacturing (AM) facility and Emerging Technology Center (ETC) in Athens, Alabama.
“We have chosen to further invest in North Alabama and continue to grow and develop here because it offers three important advantages — a high-quality, tech-oriented workforce, a clear connection with the aerospace industry and a close working partnership with state and local government officials,” said Tony Thene, Carpenter Technology President and CEO. “The state of Alabama continues to be an ideal partner for us.”
The Philadelphia-based Carpenter Technology Corporation was founded in 1889 and estimates its number of employees to be around 5,100. They describe themselves as a “recognized leader in high-performance specialty alloy-based materials and process solutions for critical applications in the aerospace, defense, transportation, energy, industrial, medical, and consumer electronics markets.”
Carpenter Technology has invested approximately $40 million to date in the new facility, which is expected to create approximately 60 jobs over the next five years.
The ETC investment complements Carpenter Technology’s 500,000-square-foot Athens manufacturing facility, which began operations in 2014, and produces high-end specialty alloy products, primarily for the aerospace and energy markets.
To date, the company has invested a total of over $600 million in its Alabama operations.
“I have been looking forward to the opening of Carpenter Technology’s Emerging Technology Center since we joined with company leaders to announce plans for the facility at the Farnborough International Airshow in 2018,” Governor Kay Ivey said.
“Our Emerging Technology Center is a critical component of Carpenter Technology’s future growth and development and is aligned with our business strategy of evolving to an end-to-end solutions provider and influential leader in the AM area,” Thene outlined.
“Carpenter Technology’s new Emerging Technology Center will power game-changing advances in the company’s development of sophisticated new additive manufacturing technologies,” said Greg Canfield, secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce. “With the ETC, Carpenter Technology is bringing new capabilities to Alabama’s manufacturing sector, and I can’t wait to see how the work conducted there helps to shape the future for this great company.”
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: henry@new-yhn.local or on Twitter @HenryThornton95.
