RTI announces engine launch customer for EB furnace & signs long term agreement with Pratt & Whitney to supply rotor-quality titanium for advanced turbofan engines

RTI International Metals, Inc., has entered into a 13-year contract with Pratt & Whitney, a Division of United Technologies Corporation to supply rotor-quality titanium mill products for Pratt & Whitney's PurePower® family of Geared Turbofan™ jet engines. As part of the agreement, Pratt & Whitney has agreed to be the engine launch customer for the new Electron Beam Furnace that recently started production at RTI's Canton, Ohio facility.

“This agreement is particularly significant to RTI for several reasons,” said Dawne S. Hickton, Vice Chair, President and CEO of RTI. “First and foremost, the award to supply Pratt & Whitney with rotor-quality titanium marks the reemergence of RTI as a competitive supplier in the rotor-quality, jet engine market for titanium – a market currently estimated to be approximately 30 million pounds annually. In addition, the agreement validates our decision to invest in EB furnace technology and strategically positions RTI for further successes in this important growing aerospace market,” concluded Ms. Hickton.