US aluminium atomizer Ampal Inc. files exclusion request from import tariffs, fears downsizing

The recently imposed tariffs on aluminium it imports from Canada are slowly affecting the small and medium size aluminium product manufacturers in the US creating a concern over supply disruption and cost increase.

Ampal Inc., the nation’s most productive aluminium atomizer whose parent company, U.S. Metal Powders Inc., is celebrating its 100th anniversary this weekend, has filed exclusion requests with the U.S. Department of Commerce.  President Louise Ramsey Thomas has filed a request to pull off the tariffs on aluminium imports from Canada in the interest of a bigger community.

The 40-employee family business has been in operation since 1981and currently produces more than 10,000 pounds of aluminium powder annually. Ampal has opened R&D lab and is planning a manufacturing line that would increase production by 50% and add up to 10 jobs.

According to Ms Thomas, there is just one U.S. smelter from which Ampal can buy the T-bar ingots compatible with its manufacturing line — and it’s in Washington State. The transportation costs make this option a tough one for them. The majority of its raw material comes from Canada via rail.

In a letter sent to the federal, state and local officials, Thomas said the 10% tariffs represent a major disruption to Ampal’s business. It competes against companies in Bahrain, Germany, Australia and other countries, all of whom sell aluminium powder without paying any tariff to American businesses.

She said that Ampal may have to halt its expansion plans and even consider downsizing because of the extra tariffs. The tariffs, according to her have added uncertainty to already difficult business decisions.

“We have long-term, fixed-price contracts with defense suppliers to the United States government, which have been established based on our prior understanding of the aluminium markets and pricing,” Thomas wrote. “It is ironic that the administration is citing national security as one of the primary driving forces for this pending action.”

Aluminum powder and aluminium alloy powders have a variety of uses like reagents in the chemical industry, explosives and propulsion, welding and conductive inks for solar cells etc. Under the leadership of technical director Jessu Joys, employees in the new R&D center are working on innovations in additive manufacturing, powder metallurgy and powder-injection moulding.

Ampal is also working with Iowa State researchers on atomization technology that reduces wastage of raw materials. The latest development in the use of metal powder is in additive manufacturing or 3D printing.  

“Right now additive manufacturing is driven by aerospace and medical [device] manufacturing, but as the material becomes more flexible in properties and price, it will hit lower-level commodities,” Joys said.

Ampal is in the process of creating a partnership with Lehigh University’s Center for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology and Additive Manufacturing Lab, which is at the forefront of metals-based 3D printing research.

The Department of Commerce received more than 20,000 exclusion requests since the implementation of the tariffs. A recent study by the Trade Partnership, a Washington, D.C., consulting group, Trump's steel and aluminium tariffs will create an estimated 33,000 U.S. jobs while cutting down another 180,000 jobs.