VSMPO-AVISMA marks half-century anniversary of the first large-diameter titanium ingot melt

SVERDLOVSK REGION

 

Fifty years ago, on February 24, 1976, VSMPO successfully melted its very first large-diameter VT-6ch titanium alloy ingot. This pioneering ingot measured 1200 millimeters in diameter, stood 3.1 meters tall, and weighed 15 tons. This landmark event, significant not only for the enterprise but for the entire domestic metallurgical industry, saw the participation of Vladislav Tetyukhin, who would later become CEO of VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation, a renowned scientist, philanthropist, and Doctor of Technical Sciences.

 

In the corporation's production chain, titanium ingot melting is a critical stage in manufacturing finished products for customers. As VSMPO-AVISMA's press service informed RusBusinessNews, the process begins with the pressing of charge materials, including titanium sponge produced at AVISMA's facility in the Perm Territory, in a vertical hydraulic press. The resulting electrode is then strengthened and sent for melting.

 

In the 1980s, VSMPO’s engineers, scientists, and workers faced an unprecedented challenge of this magnitude, encompassing everything from modernizing furnaces and tooling to fine-tuning remelting parameters and controlling high-power arcs. Leading specialists from the plant and industry research institutes collaborated on furnace reconstruction and the development of melting techniques.

In preparing for the pioneering melt, four electrodes weighing between 2.2 and 5.1 tons, with diameters ranging from 515 to 600 millimeters, were pressed and melted into four primary ingots. These were then welded together in pairs at the gate ends and remelted. From these two secondary ingots, the final tertiary ingot was produced. The 16.3-ton rough blank, measuring 1,200 millimeters in diameter, was subsequently machined to its final dimensions.

 

"This event was of great importance for the country, both in terms of fulfilling specific objectives, primarily for the shipbuilding industry, and for charting the future course of ingot production and the development of large-capacity melting furnaces. The technology created back then by top-tier specialists, alongside Vladislav Tetyukhin, continues to operate and evolve within the corporation today," said Dmitry Trifonov, CEO of VSMPO-AVISMA.

 

The first 15-ton ingot was an experimental breakthrough, as previous ingots had not exceeded 12 tons. Subsequently, the plant upgraded its melting shop and commissioned the DTV 12-G25 electric arc furnace, capable of producing 25-ton ingots with a diameter of 1,200 millimeters. Titanium production at the facility continues to advance and expand. On August 22, 2025, the one-millionth titanium ingot was cast in a vacuum arc furnace at temperatures exceeding 3,000 degrees Celsius. Witnessing this historic moment were Denis Pasler, Governor of the Sverdlovsk Region, and Mikhail Shelkov, the majority shareholder of the VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation and founder of the Empathy Charitable Foundation.