Toho Titanium Plans 30% Operation at New Ti Ingot Plant in Fukuoka

Toho Titanium plans around 30% operation for titanium ingot production Yahata plant in Fukuoka for the first year after the commissioning in April. When the new plant with annual 10,000 tonnes of output capacity reaches full capacity operation, the firm doubles the total ingot output. The firm starts commercial production of sponge titanium at Wakamatsu plant in Fukuoka in end of 2009. The sponge output capacity will increase by 80% to 28,000 tonnes. Yahata plant, of which construction completed in March, can make the world largest ingot through the electron beam furnace operation. The firm had annual 9,000 tonnes of ingot output capacity including vacuum arc remelting furnace at Chigasaki plant in Kanagawa and electron beam furnace at Hitachi plant in Ibaraki. With Yahata plant, the output capacity increased to 19,000 tonnes. The firm eyes additional electron beam furnace at Yahata plant in future. The firm produces sponge titanium at Chigasaki plant with annual 16,000 tonnes of output capacity. With Wakamatsu plant with 12,000 tonnes of capacity, the firm expects the supply ability expands enough to meet growing offshore demand for airplane. The firm eyes doubling output capacity of Wakamatsu and Chigasaki to 24,000 tonnes and 22,000 tonnes respectively.