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90 jobs boost at hi-tech firm
A pioneering technological innovator is creating 90 highly skilled jobs in South Yorkshire with the help of a £1.5 million grant from regional development agency Yorkshire Forward.
Wath-upon-Dearne-based Metalysis was set up five years ago to commercialise the 'FFC' process developed by Cambridge University scientists to replace the highly inefficient, slow and chemically hazardous processes used for the last 70 years to produce pure titanium and other metals such as tantalum.
In the last five years the company has grown from a workforce of three to 50, registering 24 families of patents in 88 countries.
Over the same period, the company has raised 19 million in venture capital finance and a further 4.8 million in grants to develop the process, which has significant economic and environmental benefits over existing processes.
Now, Metalysis is gearing up to develop a pioneering semi-continuous plant to produce titanium powders for worldwide markets, with the help of funding from Yorkshire Forward's Selective Finance for Investment scheme.
Metalysis's chief executive, Mark Bertolini, said: "Yorkshire Forward has played a key role in enabling us to establish a commercial and core production hub in South Yorkshire as we address lucrative markets around the world.
"The Regional Development Agency has again given us essential financial support as we enter a critical project, by the end of which we expect at least another 90 people to be sharing in our continued progress.
"Now, with Yorkshire Forward among those who are investing in our technology and our workforce, we can move on to develop our capability and produce commercial grade titanium products profitably, in sufficient quantities and at competitive costs."
Yorkshire Forward's executive director of business, Simon Hill, believes Metalysis's expansion will result in even more jobs being created in supply chains across the region and will further cement the region's already strong reputation in advanced manufacturing.
Metalysis is already supplying low volumes of metallurgical grade powders to customers and says sales will increase as it starts commercialising its technology next year. By 2012 it expects to be competing for business in volume markets, serving aerospace, marine, medical, chemical, automotive, electronics and other industries, worldwide.
The FFC process takes its name from the surnames of its inventors, Professor Derek Fray and Doctors Tom Farthing and George Chen.
The process works for a wide range of metals and uses electrolysis in a bath of molten salts to turn solid oxides into pure metals, alloys and carbides.
Metalysis was recently named one of the world's most promising, private clean technology companies when it became one of only 13 UK firms and one of the few from the materials sector to gain a place in the Global Cleantech 100 listing of the 100 companies with the most potential for high growth and high market impact.
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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