Prime Metals & Alloys, Inc.

A brief introduction.

In 1996, an agreement was reached to form a joint venture between Richard Knupp and Joseph Kovalchick. The business was to be named Prime Metals & Alloys Inc, PMAI, and would be a small scrap trading company operating from a single office in Homer City, Pennsylvania.

The company was formed and the business quickly became a success. It soon out grew the small office setting where it had originated. The need developed for additional personnel, manufacturing space, and additional office space in order to support the growing customer demand. A 36,000 sq ft building, with five acres of land, was purchased in nearby Lucernemines, Pa. The business was relocated and Brian Knupp was hired as the General Manager.

PMAI began supplying packaged charges to some of the larger steel mills and the company flourished. It became a major supplier of scrap, and other raw materials, to several large specialty mills including Allegheny Ludlum.

Richard Knupp possessed extensive knowledge and experience in the manufacturing of specialty metal products and in the management of melting facilities. He had developed numerous business relationships throughout his career and was well respected in the specialty metals industry. As the company grew, so did the business relationships. Eventually, PMAI was able to establish manufacturing agreements with several large specialty mills.

By securing the manufacturing agreements, PMAI gained the ability to produce products on a toll conversion basis utilizing the manufacturing capabilities of the mills. Prime Metals expanded its product lines to include several new products including master alloys, electrodes, and bottom poured ingots.

However, unreliable delivery schedules, fluctuating melting costs, and an uncertainty of available manufacturing capacity at the specialty mills, greatly restricted the ability of Prime Metals to pursue the new product lines. By mid 2006, the company had already outgrown the plant in Lucernemines, and a search began to locate a new facility.

In April 2007, a new property was purchased. The new facility, located in Homer City, Pa, was less than one mile from the Lucernemines plant. The purchase included approximately 38 acres of land and a 219,000 sq ft building that was well suited for establishing melting and other manufacturing operations.

The management at PMAI developed a plan to establish a melt shop at the new facility. The plan included the installation of induction melting furnaces and A.O.D. refining capability. Upon securing the project financing, the installation of the melt shop began.

The melt shop is designed to manufacture niche grades of master alloys and specialty ingot products in heat sizes up to 20 tons. The planned product mix is diversified and spans several different market segments.

The products to be produced include feedstock for large specialty mills, master alloys such as NiCrMoFe, certified scrap, VAR and ESR electrodes, bottom poured ingots, and some foundry related ingot products. Raw material blends and toll melting services are also available.