Ulbrich understands the need for rapid Medical Device development cycles. With the new Ulbrich Braid Wire Accelerator™ Program, timelines and specific design performance characteristics are faster and more precise than ever before. Once an order is placed, we will ship a set of bobbins directly from our manufacturing facility within 24 hours and can have the product in customers’ hands in 72 hours or less. Alloys currently offered through this program are Stainless Steels, Nitinol, L605, MP35N, Tungsten, and Copper Beryllium, with plans of adding new materials in the future.

Braid reinforcement wires are important components in minimally invasive delivery systems. Our wires enable torque transmission and strength in these critical systems, with just the right amount of flexibility. As a leader in specialty wire production and development, Ulbrich’s wire manufacturing capabilities can reach as small as 0.0005″ diameter (about 5 times thinner than a human hair). Ulbrich’s advantages include tight dimensional and mechanical property control, which translates to a consistent program of commonly used sizes and alloys for quick response to new and existing medical braid wire customers.

Inventory management and customer service are areas in which Ulbrich excels and this program allows for braid wire customers to stabilize their supply chain. Our Development Partnership serves as an extension of your design team. When it comes to metals, we can bring expertise, technology and extraordinary processing capabilities to your project. That’s lightning-fast support from Ulbrich, your trusted partner from concept through mass production!

Ulbrich Specialty Wire Products, located in Westminster, South Carolina, is equipped for rolling, drawing, annealing, straightening and precision winding of a variety of round, flat and square wire products. Our “focus factory” (factory within a factory) dedicates managers and engineers along with state-of-the-art equipment to produce and manage industry specific requirements. Ulbrich offers technical support and applications engineers who work directly with customers to determine product needs and specifications based upon our customers processes, equipment and specific needs. Ulbrich is on the technical forefront of the metals industry delivering precision wire products to an increasingly diversified and global marketplace, expanding into the medical, solar, electronics, aerospace, microwave cable, automotive and other industries.

Hermitage PA, December 14, 2020 – Solar Atmospheres of Western PA (SAWPA) successfully achieves Nadcap AC7101/4 accreditation for their captive metallography laboratory and becomes an approved Boeing Process Source (D1-4426). The accreditation will allow SAWPA to test for microhardness, surface contamination, intergranular oxidation and grain size in accordance with various aerospace specifications including many Boeing process specifications. Furthermore, the accreditation will reduce Solar’s dependence on outside testing facilities and provide its customers with a single source supplier capable of meeting all testing needs internally. Along with the laboratory accreditation, SAWPA continued the 24-month merit status for Nadcap heat treating.

Plant Metallurgist Greg Scheuring states, “This is a critical step for Solar Atmospheres of Western PA. We were missing out on a significant amount of production work and R&D projects because we were not qualified to certify test results to aerospace standards. Customers require a facility that can provide a one-stop shop.” Scheuring continues, “But this is really just the first phase of a broader goal. With Nadcap accreditation, SAWPA can seek out approval from specific Primes like Boeing, who consider Nadcap accreditation as a pre-requisite for their own internal qualification procedures. This accreditation will open up many new opportunities for SAWPA moving forward.”

For additional information about the Nadcap Laboratory at Solar Atmospheres of Western PA, contact Greg Scheuring at 1-855-934-3284 x2253, email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and visit us at solaratm.com.

Securing a new medical quality standard is set to open up a £1m opportunity for one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of round, flat and profile wire.

Alloy Wire International (AWI), which offers a 60-strong range of Exotic alloys, has taken just nine months to refine its systems to achieve ISO 13485 - the quality standard for supplying medical devices. This accreditation is recognised throughout the world and means new and existing customers can purchase material from the firm’s two sites in the West Midlands and Yorkshire.

“Companies in the medical sector demand exacting quality, full traceability and superior performance, after all they are often producing devices that improve or save lives,” commented Paul Chatterley, Sales Executive at AWI. “We had been aware for some time that our wire has been purchased to undergo further processing for use in this industry, but Covid-19 really brought it into focus how critical a supplier we could be to clients in this field. He continued: “From supplying 5km of wire in unbelievably strict timescales for use in the Nightingale Hospital to meeting the needs of a spring maker working with the VentilatorChallengeUK consortium, our team has really stepped up to the challenge over the last nine months. 

 “This got us thinking…are there more opportunities out there than we actually realise? Are we missing out by not holding the necessary quality accreditation? The answer to both questions was yes!” AWI, which holds more than 200 tonnes of EU/DFARS compliant stock at any one time, immediately assigned its quality and technical team to work towards ISO 13485, starting with integrating the clauses into the firm’s QUENSH (Quality, Environmental, Safety & Health) Management System. Care was taken to ensure that the medical clauses didn’t contradict ones used in aerospace and, once this was completed, the business was ready for its two-stage audit by URS, an audit the company passed with no non-conformances raised.

Paul added: “ISO 13845 gives our clients peace of mind that we operate to the highest standards and we believe could deliver an additional £1m of sales in this sector. “We’re already seeing clients in China purchasing Phynox and other alloys for medical applications, whilst European customers are investing in Alloy MP35N, stainless steel 316LVM and 304V (vacuum melted grades).”

Whilst 2020 has definitely thrown up a number of challenges, Alloy Wire International has remained true to its annual investment plans, spending over £1m on material to ensure it can meet demand from sectors including medical, power generation and commercial air transport. There has also been the redevelopment of its offices in the West Midlands and the introduction of the latest wet drawing machine for producing wire from 0.063” (1.6mm) to 0.028” (0.7mm) diameter, plus a take-up spooler that can handle and store larger weight rolled wire profiles. 

For further information, please visit www.alloywire.com or follow Alloy Wire International on LinkedIn

Central Wire Industries (CWI) is pleased to announce that select CWI Generation4 welding products manufactured in their Lancaster facility are now certified as meeting the requirements of the Canadian Welding Bureau standard for Arc Welding Electrodes.

The list of certified Gen4 welding products include the following:
GEN 308/308L (ER308L)
GEN 309/309L (ER309L)
GEN 316/316L (ER316L)
GEN 308LSi (ER308LSi)
GEN 309LSi (ER309LSi)
GEN 316LSi (ER316LSi)
GEN 409Nb (ER409Nb)
GEN 430 (ER430)
GEN 430LNb (ER430LNb)

The standard met for all above products is CSA W48-18 (GMAW/GTAW Stainless Steel) in sizes between 0.020” (0.5mm) and 0.157” (4.0mm). The certification is effective through November 16, 2022. A Certification of Welding Consumable has now been issued for each of the qualified products, and a copy is available by request. Driven by North American customer demand, CWI Lancaster joins the CWI Perth, ON location, having previously been certified.

This is the culmination of months of work by the dedicated and expert staff within CWI along with the CWI Lancaster manufacturing plant. The process of certification involved, among other things, passing rigorous testing requirements as witnessed by authorized CWB auditors. A sincere congratulation to all members of the CWI Lancaster team.

About Central Wire Industries
Central Wire Industries (CWI) is an international leader in wire drawing, value added services, and downstream products. With 14 locations in 3 countries, 750+ employees and over 60 years of
excellence, CWI offers the widest range of high-performance specialty alloys in nickel, stainless and red.

Anne Nichols
860-630-4224
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
metal. CWI manufactures round and shaped wire, strand, cable and wire rope, cable hardware,
assemblies, and more. Learn more by visiting www.centralwire.com

Michael Homa, who had a long career with Tamaqua Cable Products/Draka Cableteq, died Nov. 11, 2020, at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Homa’s 35-year career saw him work for Draka Cableteq in Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania, formerly Tamaqua Cable Products, which was owned by two generations of the Combs family prior to its sale. He was vice president of manufacturing at Tamaqua Cable when the company was acquired by Draka in 1997. He retired in 2005.

Homa, a 1998 recipient of the WCMA Distinguished Career Award, retired in 2005. He was a member of the Columbia Hose Company for 60 years, a member of the Six County Firemen’s Association for 50 years, a lifetime member of the Schuylkill County Historical Fire Society, a member of the Saint Clair Fish and Game Association and a former president of the Schuylkill County Society for Crippled Children. He is survived by his wife, Carol Ann; daughter Heather; and son Michael.