Made in the USA: Allied Titanium to begin fabrication

Published 9:53 am Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Editor’s note: This is a revised version of the story that appears on page A-1 of the Jan. 14 edition of the Sequim Gazette. — MD

Last week officials with Allied Titanium gained the ability to begin fabricating titanium products in America at the company’s western headquarters in Sequim.

Receiving two of eventually many machines is big step toward the company’s plan to move their production from China to Sequim.

The ability to create USA-made products is a “milestone” for the 2007-founded company, Chief Executive Officer Christopher Greimes said.

Although the corporate headquarters for Allied Titanium is in Delaware, the majority of its fabricating is done in China, but in 2012 company officials established a western headquarters in Sequim with the longterm goal to manufacture products in America instead of overseas.   “We’ve gotten a couple of machines in and have fabricating abilities, but are limited by personnel,” Nick Adams, executive assistant at Allied Titanium, said.

To begin fabricating primarily marine products and fasteners for both private and wholesale customers, the next step for company officials is to hire a production lead with the machining skills and knowledge required to fulfill the position. Once Greimes and Adams are able to assemble a few thoroughly trained employees, Greimes said they’ll be open to training employees, too.

With the current available shop space, Greimes estimates filling about 10 production positions plus sales people. However, in a June 2014 interview, Greimes told Gazette staff that he estimates employing anywhere from 50-150 workers at the company’s full build-out, which is still a couple of years away according the company’s multi-phase business plan.

Eventually, in order to stay competitive on a global scale, Allied Titanium will be run following a “lights out” model that allows for 24-hour production where the machines are programed to run unmanned for 16 hours per day.

Greimes’ understanding of the need for employment opportunities in Sequim and the surrounding area was among the reasons he chose to establish Allied Titanium’s western headquarters in Sequim, but admits he was unaware of how great the demand for work was until he moved to Sequim with his family from Hawaii.

“I didn’t realize how badly people needed jobs here,” Greimes said. “I wasn’t emotionally or psychologically prepared … the last four weeks have been tough.”

In addition to classical machining and welding, because Allied Titanium is a “digital manufacturer,” meaning it utilizes digital data to fabricate things, production employees need to have basic reading, writing and computer skills.

Though Greimes is finding the hiring process more challenging then he anticipated, Allied Titanium continues to move forward. On Thursday Greimes finalized an agreement with officials representing the large Internet-based retailer Amazon.com.

Steadily, more than seven years in the making, Greimes admits his excitement for nearly being ready to create things in America.

Successfully anchored within in the boat-repair and marine industry in Hawaii, Greimes turned his attention to finding an alternative to stainless steel and bronze for marine products following multiple deaths associated with dismasting because stainless steel had failed given it corrodes from the inside-out. Because of this trait found with stainless steel, Greimes said it’s hard to tell whether it’s corroding and dangerous. “We started with the mission to stop people from getting killed,” Greimes said.

“We started investigating titanium and it turns out it’s not rare or expensive like people tend to think in the United States,” Greimes said. “It’s the fourth abundant mineral in the world.”

Not only is titanium naturally abundant, obtainable, affordable, stronger and thus safer alternative to stainless steel, it isn’t environmentally harmful, Greimes explained – aligning with his innate consciousness for the environment. If there’s a safer, cleaner alternative to something, Greimes is eager to try it. For example, Greimes uses olive oil instead of water-based oils as a cutting fluid.

“One of the reasons we came to Sequim is because it seems to be fairly environmentally progressive,” Greimes said.

For building a business, the area offers Greimes many things, including an eager work force, a sense of environmental awareness and the ease of shipping with both UPS and FedEx via the William R. Fairchild International Airport, but on a global scale Greimes is finding “capital” to be a missing component in the U.S. Unlike China that continues to increase its use of titanium, the U.S. is lagging, he explained while reviewing the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) ongoing status reports and data on titanium.

“You need three things for economic prosperity and we have two of the three,” Greimes said. “We have a need and people that want to do it, but we don’t have the capital.”

“Bottom line … we’re a bootstrap company.”

Reach Alana Linderoth at alinderoth@sequimgazette.com.

Allied Titanium, Inc.

Where: 1400 E. Washington St.

Phone: 302-725-8300

Online: www.alliedtitanium.com