Page 32 - High Duty Alloys
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Redditch Heritage High Duty Alloys
Onwards and Upwards
It was February 1953 when the new plant entered production and the official opening
brought back memories of the 1939 ceremony. By the mid-1950's the Redditch site
boasted a wide range of presses ranging from 150 to 12,000 tons, plus a special machine
for rolling rings.
Post war HDA continued to develop and expand its capabilities and supplied a wider range
of components to the Aerospace industries.
Huge Forging – Main u/c legs for Vulcan V-Bomber – 1960s/70s.
In later generations of jet engines aluminium was replaced in part by titanium and High
Duty Alloys helped pioneer the forging of this very new and expensive "wonder metal".
The 1950s and 1960s were very healthy as the firm worked flat out on day and night shifts
to fill the non-stop thirst for forgings required by British and many foreign aircraft and
engines. As an international name within the aerospace world, High Duty Alloys even got
a mention in the Ian Fleming spy novel 'Moonraker'.
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