From a history of 'great developments'... In 1916, mining engineer K.C. Li founded a trading company for the refinement and export or tungsten and antimony ores from his native China. Li called his new company Wah Chang, meaning "great development" - and over the next several decades his company earned that name, pioneering the creation of new specialty metals and alloys. Starting with 140 employees and a single building on 45 acres, Wah Chang expanded its repertoire of refractory and reactive metals to include niobium, hafnium, vanadium and tantalum, as well as titanium. As the company's product lines grew, so did the variety of industries it served, including aerospace, chemical processing, energy production, medical and consumer goods. Today, Wah Chang is part of the Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (ATI) group of specialty metal manufacturers. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, ATI and its global resources have enabled ATI Wah Chang to strengthen its position as one of the world's preeminent providers of strong, versatile, corrosion-resistant metals and a variety zirconium-based chemical products. ... to a new century of innovation Someone always has to be first... and when it comes to solutions from specialty metals, "first" is often associated with the name ATI Wah Chang. It began in 1956 and it continues today with unique thin foil membranes made from palladium alloy for separating hydrogen used in fuel cells, electronics and other applications. For nearly half a century, ATI Wah Chang has demonstrated how experience leads to a world of exciting "firsts": The first U.S. company to handle all aspects of refractory metal production, from start to finish. First industrialized producer of high-purity zirconium and hafnium crystal bar. First to create fertilizer from metal manufacturing byproducts. Creator of C-103 niobium alloy used in the Apollo lunar spacecraft. Producer of corrosion-resistant Zircadyne? zirconium for chemical processing industry. Producer of superconduction niobium-titanium alloys used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Co-developer of Alloy "C" for use in F-119 fighter aircraft. Owner of more than 100 patents on new processes and materials. "Firsts" are built on knowledge - our own and that of our customers. ATI Wah Chang helps develop that knowledge through programs such as worldwide conferences and seminars as well as on-site support and in-plant welding seminars. Programs such as these give our customers the in-depth technical training they need for selecting, implementing and maintaining metal products that meet their unique requirements. Wonder where the next century's "firsts" in specialty metals solutions will come from? Look first to ATI Wah Chang.
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