Five Questions

©iStockphoto.com/tostphoto Five Questions

Five Questions provides an opportunity for SMI associate members to tell the spring industry about the products and services they offer. In this edition, we talk with Tom Mander, Managing Director of Alloy Wire International (AWI).

1|Can you tell us about Alloy Wire International and the products it offers to spring manufacturers? AWI is 100% employee-owned, creating a unique culture that has helped us lead the world in the manufacture of wire in nickel-based alloys for more than 77 years.

We provide springmakers across the globe with wire, both round and profile shaped, in more than 60 exotic alloys including Inconels, Hastelloys, Nimonics, Rene 41, Waspaloy and Nispan C902.

These alloys are selected because they can perform in high temperature and corrosive environments. Each wire order is custom-made for the spring manufacturer, with a vast dimensional choice and wire available in sizes between 0.001” to 0.827”.

2|What are the latest trends impacting wire manufacturers/distributors and what effect is it having on spring manufacturers? Engineers in high-tech sectors, such as nuclear, aerospace, medical, space and oil/ gas extraction, are increasingly stipulating raw material from selected approved sources, and the wire manufactured to specific AMS and ASTM specifications.

These practices are adopted by AWI as standard, making it simple for springmakers to select us as a strategic supplier. This is further strengthened by our quality and operational systems that are accredited to AS 9100 (aerospace) and ISO 13485 (medical devices).

With volatility in the energy markets bringing disruption to the supply chain, AWI has taken the decision to bring stability to its 7,000 customers, spanning more than 75 countries, by increasing investment in stock material. This means we now have 400 tonnes (approximately equal to 441 tons) of wire at our disposal at any given time.

3|What type of services do you offer to springmakers? High-tech applications often require only a handful of springs in these exotic alloys, so AWI has created two world-class production facilities in the U.K. that can manufacture wire in small batch quantities – in some instances, as little as a few feet of wire. This services the customer’s actual wire requirement and not the large minimums imposed by some wire mills.

Our technical team is also well respected across the sector, and we ensure that all spring engineers have access to our experts for exploring alloy selection, post heat treatment of springs and ensuring manufacturing is completed to the appropriate specifications and/or standard.

4|What logistics challenges have your company faced over the past couple of years due to COVID-19 and ongoing supply chain shortages? While most of the world was struggling with supply chain shortages, a strong investment strategy ensured we had about 18 months’ worth of alloy in stock.

We upped our investment even further, reinforcing our stock levels, extending our factory and creating stronger relationships with our domestic and international logistics providers.

AWI prides itself on giving springmakers repeatability and high quality, hence our strap line ‘Manufacturing Quality—delivering reliability.’

5|Can you tell us about a recent challenge that you were able to solve for a customer? AWI offers an emergency manufacturing service (EMS) for those rare, time-critical occasions when our standard threeweek lead time is not quick enough. For one naval submarine stuck in port and requiring Inconel 625 springs for its gearing system, our EMS delivery of five days was still not fast enough!

With the sailing of the submarine dependent on these four springs, AWI’s challenge was to manufacture this precision spring wire in half the time, while also complying with exacting specifications and safety standards.

It was completed and certified in 48 hours from start to finish. The material was then hand delivered to the springmaker at an agreed meeting point on a Friday evening, so the springs could be made the following day. This resulted in one happy submarine captain. n

Alloy Wire International 87 Dewey Ave. Warwick, RI 02886 866-482-5569 tommander@alloywire.com www.alloywire.us.com