Titanium Manufacturer From Melt to Finished Products.

Start from the medium and the temperature, not the grade number. Grade 2 covers most chemical and seawater duty; Grade 7 takes over in reducing acids and crevice-prone joints; Grade 12 handles under-deposit corrosion at elevated temperature; Grade 5 and Grade 9 are strength choices, not corrosion choices. The Grade Ladder above lists the nine grades that cover most industrial duty, with the specification and the forms we make; the plate card adds four specialty alloys we roll to order.

Neither is better in general. Grade 5 buys strength, 828 MPa minimum yield against 275 MPa for Grade 2, at the same 4.51 g/cm³ density; it doesn’t buy better corrosion resistance, and in some reducing environments unalloyed Grade 2 or palladium-bearing Grade 7 performs better. If your part is corrosion-governed rather than load-governed, paying the Grade 5 premium buys nothing.

An EN 10204 Type 3.1 inspection certificate as standard, covering heat chemistry, mechanical results and the delivered condition, plus a dimensional report and a packing list with heat numbers matched to the physical marking. Type 3.2 with a third-party countersignature, PMI, ultrasonic testing and corrosion testing are added on request at quotation stage.

Verify the certificate with the mill through independently sourced contact details, cross-check the heat number against the physical marking, run PMI on arrival, and use a third-party inspector such as SGS, Bureau Veritas or TÜV to witness the first shipment. This is a live problem: counterfeit and substandard material certificates are documented across the metals supply chain, and buyers on engineering forums regularly report certificate and label mismatches holding up incoming inspection.

Only if that heat number matches the heat you’re receiving. A mill test certificate is tied to a melt, not to a date.

ASTM B265 and ASME SB-265 for plate, sheet and strip; ASTM B338 and ASME SB-338 for heat-exchanger and condenser tube; ASTM B861 and B862 for industrial unwelded and welded pipe; ASTM B348 for bar and billet; ASTM B381 for forgings; ASTM B863 for wire; ASTM F136 for Grade 23 implant stock. AMS numbers apply where a customer specifies an aerospace-format chemistry and mechanical requirement.

According to the US Geological Survey, world titanium sponge production was about 320,000 tonnes in 2024, of which China produced roughly 220,000 tonnes. Japan contributed 55,000 tonnes, Russia 20,000, Saudi Arabia 15,000 and Kazakhstan 14,000. On capacity rather than output the picture shifts slightly: China holds 260,000 tonnes of the world’s 410,000 tonnes of installed sponge capacity, so a lot of Chinese capacity sits idle.

Industrial-grade titanium feedstock is abundant and priced accordingly: USGS put the US landed sponge price at 13 USD per kilogram in 2024. US sponge consumption relied on imports for more than 95%, sourced principally from Japan at 67%, Saudi Arabia at 23% and Kazakhstan at 7%, which is why Western aerospace supply and industrial supply behave like two separate markets.