South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and Thomas Sax, CEO of American Titanium Works (ATW), announced that ATW would build a world-class titanium mini-mill facility in Laurens County, South Carolina. American Titanium Works LLC will invest an estimated $422 million and plans to employ 320 people at its new facility.
ATW also announced that it will establish its applications development and engineering technical center in Greenville County at the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) campus. ATW’s Tech Center will create 40 applied engineering jobs that will specialize in prototype development and fabrication techniques for multiple industry sectors.
Highly efficient, rolled titanium holds great promise for the Department of Defense and other industries, because of the metal’s strength and light weight, said U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham. ATW’s Tech Center in Greenville County and manufacturing facility in Laurens County will play an important role in developing new titanium applications and partnerships in a variety of industries. We are proud to have them in the Upstate.
By producing melted and rolled titanium products through innovative processes, ATW will reduce the costs and lead times associated with traditional titanium production, thus making the product desirable to a broader range of industries including defense, industrial, commercial, consumer and emerging markets.
“ATW’s production of rolled titanium in South Carolina presents tremendous opportunity to grow existing industries in our state and attract new industries and investors from throughout the world. We welcome ATW to South Carolina and look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with them in the years ahead,” said Joe Taylor, South Carolina Secretary of Commerce.