In this Q&A, Tom Mander, managing director of Alloy Wire International discusses with Ed Hill its long association of supplying wire products into the aerospace sector.

Founded in 1946 by John Stockdale in an old ambulance station in the Black Country, Alloy Wire International (AWI) has evolved to become one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of round, flat and profile wire for the aerospace sector.

The company’s founding principles of ‘manufacturing quality, delivering reliability’ has stood the test of time and remains a crucial part of how it deals with an international customer base that spans more than 55 countries, 12 markets and 7,000 firms.

Operating from two state-of-the-art factories in the West Midlands and Yorkshire, it offers 62 Exotic Alloys in precision wire sizes from 0.025mm to 21mm in both small and medium batches.

Q) How long has AWI been supplying into the aerospace sector? Is it an important market for the company?

Alloy Wire International first started supplying the aerospace sector more than 25 years ago and is now viewed as a critical supplier of material for projects aimed at both the civil and military segments of the market.

It predominantly started when we switched our focus from electrical resistance wire to Exotic Nickel Alloys in the late 90s and this approach was given a shot in the arm when we first achieved the AS9100 aerospace quality standard in 2013 – something we continue to maintain with outstanding performance scores ten years on.

Q) What sorts of materials do you supply for aerospace and what kinds of applications are they used for?

Our materials are selected for their high temperature and strength, with grades including Inconel 600, Inconel X-750, Waspaloy, Nimonic 90 & St/St 321. These are typically used in applications ranging from high temperature cord seals for gas turbine engines and high temperature exhaust systems to precision piston, sealing and retaining rings, high strength thread inserts and locking wire (safety lock wire) used to secure nuts, bolts and components.

Q) In such a highly regulated sector how do you comply to the certification requirements needed?

AWI’s compliance is rooted in our commitment to the AS9100 accreditation, which is the widely adopted quality management system for the aerospace sector and provides entry onto OASIS – the Online Aerospace Supplier Information System.

This framework allows the business to facilitate continual improvement, demonstrate traceability throughout the supply chain and, importantly, increase market opportunities as we already meet stringent quality standards.

It is much more than just compliance though. The management team are keen to motivate and encourage staff to play an active role in ensuring the company achieves even greater performance when it comes to ‘right first time’ quality and fast lead-times.

This is supported by a guarantee to have over 400 tonnes of stock available at any one time and a new £1 million investment drive that will see new wet drawing and single hole dry drawing machines arrive during the year, along with an annealing line spooler.

Q) What role does R&D play in your supply and service to customers? How do you work with them to ensure you are providing the best material solutions possible?

On the whole, R&D is predominantly customer-led, but this is beginning to change in recent months. Traditionally, we have worked with clients on solving production issues or developing new ways of achieving a specific requirement and that’s where our supportive technical team really come into their own.

We wanted to build on this and have devoted a significant amount of time in bringing two new alloys (Inconel Alloy 686 and Inconel 617) to market and exploring how our material can be used in additive manufacturing.

Q) Are there trends in aerospace, such as additive manufacturing, electrification, lightweighting and sustainability that you are addressing? How do you make sure you keep ahead of your competitors?  

We are confident we can play a role in 3D printing and, after months of R&D and technical reviews, we see our business as being a strong supplier of Exotic Nickel Alloy wire to the growing additive manufacturing sector. It’s in its infancy currently, but this is something AWI is seeing an increasing interest in from our customers, many of whom serve the aerospace sector in one way or another.

Staying ahead of our competitors revolves around maintaining our USPs of small quantities, fast lead-times, great customer service, good quality and unrivalled technical expertise!

Q) What do you see as the biggest challenges in the future? Recruitment, ramp up, automation, Industry 4.0, how will you maintain your position as one of the leading suppliers in the market?

The main challenges continue to be keeping up with demand and meeting lead-times, which involves closely managing our raw material suppliers. As ever, AWI attempted to mitigate risks outside of our control by building a new warehouse and doubling our stockholding to 400 tonnes of Nickel Alloys. This has been a very wise approach, as we have maintained our speed of turnaround whilst many of our rivals have faltered. Even with the Covid-19 crisis and global supply chain disruption factored into the mix, AWI was still meeting three-week lead-times on most orders placed, with our Emergency Manufacturing Service delivering material in just a matter of days.

Recently the company has been subject to a successful management buy-out led by myself and existing directors Andrew Du Plessis and Adam Shaw, with previous managing director, Mark Venables taking the role of chairman. The deal will see all 33 members of staff become shareholders in the business and puts us on course to hit £15m annual sales for the first time in our 77-year history.

Q) Why do you think AWI has become a trusted supplier in the aerospace sector as a global supplier?

Our AS9100 accreditation, our well-documented USPs and our longevity in the market – they all naturally lend themselves to the exacting precision of the aerospace sector. Customers know what they are getting from AWI. It basically resonates with our strapline of ‘manufacturing quality, delivering reliability’.

www.alloywire.com