Carpenter Technology Corporation develops, manufactures, and distributes stainless steels and

corrosion Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engine ...

-resistant

alloy An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an alloy will retain all the properties of a metal in the resulting material, such as electrical conductivity, ductility, ...

s. In fiscal year 2018, the company's revenues were derived from the

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astr ...

and defense industry (55%), the industrial and consumer industry (17%), the medical industry (8%), the transportation industry (7%), the energy industry (7%), and the distribution industry (6%). The company's products are used in

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...

shaft collar The shaft collar is a simple, yet important, machine component found in many power transmission applications, most notably motors and gearboxes. The collars are used as mechanical stops, locating components, and bearing faces. The simple design ...

safety wire Safety wire or locking-wire is a type of ''positive locking device'' that prevents fasteners from falling out due to vibration and other forces. The presence of safety wiring may also serve to indicate that the fasteners have been properly tight ...

electricity generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery ( transmission, distribution, etc.) to end users or its stor ...

products, intervertebral disc arthroplasty, and engine valves and weldings.

History

The company was founded by James Henry Carpenter and a small group of New York City investors in

Reading, Pennsylvania Reading ( ; Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Reddin'') is a city in and the county seat of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city had a population of 95,112 as of the 2020 census and is the fourth-largest city in Pennsylvania after Philadel ...

on June 7, 1889 as the Carpenter Steel Company. In November 1896, the

United States Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

referred to the company's armor-piercing projectiles as "the first made that would pierce improved armor plate." The routing of the Spanish fleet in the

Battle of Manila Bay The Battle of Manila Bay ( fil, Labanan sa Look ng Maynila; es, Batalla de Bahía de Manila), also known as the Battle of Cavite, took place on 1 May 1898, during the Spanish–American War. The American Asiatic Squadron under Commodor ...

during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

of 1898 was credited in part to projectiles made by Carpenter. In 1903, Carpenter's "special" steels were used in the engine of the Wright brothers' maiden flight. In 1905, the company developed a prime grade chrome-nickel steel and by 1908 it had created 10 other steels that were used to make automobile chassis. "Old 16", the race car that won the

Vanderbilt Cup The Vanderbilt Cup was the first major trophy in American auto racing. History An international event, it was founded by William Kissam Vanderbilt II in 1904 and first held on October 8 on a course set out in Nassau County on Long Island, ...

in 1908, included front and rear

axle An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearing ...

s, crankshaft,

gear A gear is a rotating circular machine part having cut teeth or, in the case of a cogwheel or gearwheel, inserted teeth (called ''cogs''), which mesh with another (compatible) toothed part to transmit (convert) torque and speed. The basic p ...

s, and other parts fabricated from Carpenter steel. In 1917, the company manufactured its first high-strength, chemical-resistant stainless steel, which was immediately used in airplane engine components, cutlery, and

spark plug A spark plug (sometimes, in British English, a sparking plug, and, colloquially, a plug) is a device for delivering electric current from an ignition system to the combustion chamber of a spark-ignition engine to ignite the compressed fuel/air ...

s. Components of the engine of the "

Spirit of St. Louis The ''Spirit of St. Louis'' (formally the Ryan NYP, registration: N-X-211) is the custom-built, single-engine, single-seat, high-wing monoplane that was flown by Charles Lindbergh on May 20–21, 1927, on the first solo nonstop transatlanti ...

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

's plane that flew across the Atlantic Ocean in May 1927, were made from Carpenter steel. An identical engine had powered Richard E. Byrd's flight to the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Ma ...

in 1926. In 1928, the company introduced the first free machining steel. It was 0.15%

sulfur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formul ...

to make it easier to machine. In 1929, the

Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company was an American motor vehicle manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York, which was active from 1901 to 1938. Although best known for its expensive luxury cars, Pierce-Arrow also manufactured commercial trucks ...

used 24 pounds of stainless steel as trim on each of its cars. In 1934, during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, the company introduced new stainless steels with additives of selenium, tellurium, and chrome and nickel. In June 1937, Carpenter Steel Company became a

public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange ( ...

via an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investme ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the company's stainless steel was used in engine parts, steel fasteners, and cockpit instruments for fighter planes and bombers; components of Sherman tanks and submarines; radio masts for PT boats and radio equipment for battle fronts; and medical supplies such as hypodermic needles and surgical implements. In 1951, the company introduced "Stainless 20," a corrosion-resistant alloy. In 1957, after Northeastern Steel filed

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debto ...

, it was acquired by Carpenter. In 1961, the company acquired NTH Products of El Cajon, California. In 1968, the company changed its name to Carpenter Technology Corporation to reflect its research and development initiatives. In 1969, the company acquired Gardner Cryogenics, but sued its former shareholders a year later after finding irregularities. The company was sold a few years later. In May 1983, the company acquired Eagle Precision Metals of Fryeburg, Maine, a precision drilling facility that produced high quality hollow steel bars. In 1984, the company acquired a wire-finishing plant, capable of redrawing steel wire to extremely fine sizes from AMAX Specialty Metals of Orangeburg, South Carolina. The plant was closed in 2012. In September 1986, 498 employees of the company participated in a

strike action Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became common during the ...

. The strike ended in December 1986. In February 1992, the company received a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

for a super-strong Aermet alloy, first used for the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

-based jet fighters. In 1993, the company developed 14 alloys for knife blades. In January 1997, Carpenter acquired Dynamet, a titanium alloy producer based in Washington, Pennsylvania, for $161 million. In September 1997, the company acquired Talley Industries for $185 million. In July 1998, the company sold John J. McMullen Associates and Waterbury Companies. In October 1998, the company announced a $113.6 million investment to expand its Reading, Pennsylvania melt shop. In 2006, Carpenter Technology Corporation appointed Anne L. Stevens as their Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Robert J. Torcolini. She became the first female CEO in the company's history. In October 2009, the company introduced the cobalt-based BioBlu 27 alloy for the jewelry industry. In December 2009, the company launched the PremoMet alloy for high demand diesel engine components. In March 2010, the company introduced the ACUBE 100 alloy, a

beryllium Beryllium is a chemical element with the symbol Be and atomic number 4. It is a steel-gray, strong, lightweight and brittle alkaline earth metal. It is a divalent element that occurs naturally only in combination with other elements to for ...

-free material for bushings and bearings. In January 2011, the company acquired Amega West Services for $54 million, which expanded its business in the oil and gas drilling market. In February 2012, the company purchased the former

Dana Incorporated Dana Incorporated is an American supplier of axles, driveshafts, transmissions, and electrodynamic, thermal, sealing, and digital equipment for conventional, hybrid, and electric-powered vehicles. The company's products and services are aimed a ...

industrial site for about $6 million. In August 2012, the company announced plans to construct a manufacturing facility in China. In June 2015, Tony R. Thene was named president and chief executive officer of the company. In July 2018, the company announced plans to invest $52 million in a research and development center on its campus in

Athens, Alabama Athens is a city in and the county seat of Limestone County, in the U.S. state of Alabama; it is included in the Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 21,897. Histo ...

Controversies

Environmental record

On June 18, 2002, five plaintiffs filed a suit against the company to recover costs that had been paid to the

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it ...

to cleanup the Boarhead Farms

Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency ...

site in

Bucks County, Pennsylvania Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...

. A settlement of $21,800,000 was reached in 2011. The company released more than 1.2 million pounds of toxic chemical waste into the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It f ...

and was the 4th-largest polluter of toxic chemicals in Pennsylvania in 2007; however, it is not clear whether the discharge amounts were within the allowed federal permit limits.

Gallery

File:JamesHenryCarpenter2.jpg, James Henry Carpenter in 1861 or 1862 in the Union Navy at about age 15. File:JamesHenryCarpenter1.jpg, James Henry Carpenter, about 1895. File:CarTech-1893-Carpenter-Steel-Reading-PA.jpg, Carpenter Steel Company Plant in 1893, Reading, Pa, looking east. File:CarTech-Reading-PA.jpg, Carpenter plant, circa 2010, looking north. File:CarTech-1890s-Projectile-test.jpg, Carpenter projectile test on steel plate circa early 1890s. File:CarTech-CrucibleMelting1890s.jpg, Carpenter in the 1890s pouring steel into crucibles. File:CarTech-1890s-Rolling-Mill.jpg, Carpenter rolling mill in the 1890s. File:JamesHenryCarpenter3.jpg, Full picture: James Henry Carpenter in 1861 or 1862 in the Union Navy at about age 15.

References

External links

{{Authority control 1889 establishments in Pennsylvania Companies based in Philadelphia Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Manufacturing companies based in Pennsylvania Metal companies of the United States Steel companies of the United States Technology companies established in 1889