Velta to produce 3D printed titanium medical implants in Ukraine
Making the company one of the world’s first fully integrated titanium operations
Velta, a Ukraine-based titanium innovator, is expected to commence commercial production and distribution of finished titanium medical implants created through additive manufacturing and the company’s revolutionary titanium powder technology by the end of the year, becoming the world’s first fully integrated commercial titanium ore mining, powder processing, and metal manufacturing operation. Velta supplies titanium feedstock to companies and also produces its own products, in-house. The company occupies 2% of the global titanium feedstock market.
“This enormous milestone is the result of many years of intensive work behind the scenes to scale our powder technology at a pace that the global titanium market demands,” said Andriy Brodsky, CEO of Velta. “By bringing these titanium medical implants to market, we’ve proven our concept and are eager to stake out our position as the first and leading integrated titanium operation.”
In 2017, Velta launched a research and development center to innovate a new method to produce titanium powder as an alternative to titanium sponge. This patented approach to titanium powder is significantly faster and more environmentally responsible than existing titanium sponge. The company has since scaled up the semi-industrial production of metallic titanium powder at its Dnipro, Ukraine-based R&D Center, and has established two new divisions to strengthen its vertical integration efforts and fortify its market position. These new units include Velta Additive Technology, which produces finished titanium products using additive manufacturing techniques, and Velta Medical, which manufactures custom titanium medical implants in Ukraine.
As the company moves forward with its commercial and research and development operations in Ukraine, it is engaged in an intensive site selection process to build a world-class titanium powder production facility in the United States. Last month, Velta announced that it had retained the global engineering consultancy, Hatch, to develop its new US facility, which will initially produce 1,000 tonnes of titanium powder, annually.
