ASL started operations with three staff in a small office in January 1993. In 2001 it moved with some 15 staff to a 900 square metre factory and in 2011 moved again to its present 3000 square metre facility, where 85 are now employed.
Production capacity for steels, Ni & Cu alloys, using gas atomisation, water atomisation, and ultra-high-pressure water atomisation (for MIM grades) now exceeds 4,000t/yr.
In its 30th year of operation, £1.75m has been invested in a number of debottlenecking, expansion and quality improvement projects, including a third QC laboratory with ICP analytical facilities, a 5t blender, and a major re-location and expansion of sieving and classifying equipment for special powders, largely for the AM industry.
Plans for 2023 call for a 5th melting furnace to be installed to boost gas atomising capacity and an upgrade to the packing equipment. ASL is also applying a number of innovative in-house developments to its process plant with the objective of reducing scope 2 CO2 emissions by over 100t/yr.
John Dunkley, the founder of the company, has now worked on atomising for 50 years and is semi-retired. He is still involved in strategic planning and technical investigations, assisting a 8-strong R&D team.
Record turnover in the year ended 30/09/22 was in excess of £13m, boosted by rapidly increasing sales to the additive manufacturing industry, for both laser powder bed techniques and binder-jetting. Stainless steels, especially 316L, are the major focus of activity, but many different alloys are available.
