Heat Treat Industry News

December 11, 2007

Latrobe Specialty Steel Licenses Corrosion-Resistant Landing Gear Alloy

Evanston, IL,QuesTek Innovations licensed the production and distribution of their Ferrium S53® alloy to Latrobe Specialty Steel. Ferrium S53® is a high strength, high toughness, corrosion-resistant alloy. Most importantly, landing gears made of Ferrium S53 no longer need cadmium coating. “This gives our customers one more way to succeed by using engineered, vacuum remelted steels from Latrobe,” stated Hans J. Sack, President and CEO of Latrobe Specialty Steel.

QuesTek designed Ferrium S53® to meet the U.S. Air Force’s requirements for landing gears that eliminate the need for toxic cadmium coatings. Dr. Charles Kuehmann, President and CEO of QuesTek said, “Ferrium S53® significantly benefits the environment as well as the reliability of commercial and military aircraft. With their capabilities and experience in aerospace, Latrobe will expand Ferrium S53® penetration of the market.”

Latrobe Specialty Steel’s metallurgical and aerospace engineers foresee many other defense and aerospace applications beyond landing gears for Ferrium S53®. Latrobe will bring many new high performance materials to the market in the coming years. “Our cooperation with QuesTek helps Latrobe Specialty Steel to commercialize materials sooner. That means our customers can offer innovative products faster,” explained Latrobe’s Director of Technology and Quality Systems, Scott Balliett.
Latrobe Specialty Steel Company, headquartered in Latrobe, PA, manufactures and distributes precision-engineered specialty alloys for customers globally. Airframe and defense systems manufacturers specify other grades of Latrobe’s high-performance, vacuum melted and vacuum remelted alloys for jet engine bearings, helicopter rotor shafts, fighting vehicle torsion bars and spacecraft components. Latrobe Specialty Steel offers a wide variety of solutions for the most demanding industry requirements. In business continuously since 1913, Latrobe Specialty Steel employs approximately 900 people in ten locations throughout North America and Europe. Find additional information about Latrobe Specialty Steel at latrobesteel.com or contact Lisa Pierce at 724-539-0139 or lisa.pierce@latrobesteel.com.

QuesTek Innovations LLC, based in Evanston, IL, computationally designs alloys to customer specifications and licenses the use and/or production of these alloys to appropriate partners. Information about QuesTek can be found on the Internet at www.questek.com or contact Brian Tufts at 847-425-8241, btufts@questek.com

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