Page 36 - High Duty Alloys

Redditch Heritage High Duty Alloys

New Century, New Company
The original Slough site was closed in 1981 as the first of that decade's recessions began
to bite and the Research facilities moved up to Redditch. The deep recessions that
affected the whole of the British economy throughout the 1980s and 1990s forced a
period of consolidation within HDA. The workforce became concentrated at Redditch and
also at a facility at Smethwick which was acquired in the 1970s. There was a succession
of redundancies and the Smethwick factory was closed in 1991. The HDA name
disappeared from the Redditch site when the company was taken over by Mettis
Aerospace in September 2000.

Traditionally forging was, and still is, hot, dirty, noisy and very hard work. Lifting great
chunks of hot metal onto a die and then hitting it with a powerful hammer or press day
after day makes for a tough environment. But it is also highly skilled, even if today's
technology takes away old fashioned methods of guesswork and judgment by eye for
accuracy. The results of these skills have been defending our country or flying above our
heads for over eighty years. High Duty Alloys (HDA) holds a rich position in the history of
British Aviation.

The Staff Celebrating the Queens Award for export Award

Page: 36