RMI TITANIUM Taking a stand against Boeing

RMI's long-term contract to supply titanium for Boeing does not apply to defense planes.
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
WEATHERSFIELD -- RMI Titanium is joining forces with its two largest competitors and the United Steelworkers of America to oppose Boeing Corp.'s plan to use Russian titanium in its newest crop of military transport planes.
Boeing, which is one of RMI's largest customers, has been granted an exception to a long-standing federal law that requires the use of American-made metal for military aircraft, ships and weaponry.
Federal lawmakers have agreed to let the aerospace giant use Russian-made titanium in the production of 100 new cargo planes for the U.S. military, RMI officials said.
The decision bypasses the Berry Amendment, a 1973 law that generally prohibits the use of foreign goods in products purchased by the U.S. Department of Defense.
Richard Leone, a spokesman for RMI Titanium and its parent company, RTI International Metals, called the decision "a dangerous precedent."
Taking action
He said the Weathersfield-based corporation is joining with Colorado-based TIMET and Allegheny Technologies in Pennsylvania, the first- and third-largest domestic titanium producers, to ask lawmakers to reconsider.
Leone said the company is also urging Mahoning Valley residents to contact their lawmakers, asking them to support the use of domestic titanium for defense contracts.
RMI has a five-year contract with Boeing which requires that the aircraft-maker purchase 3.25 million pounds of titanium a year or pay RMI for the metal not purchased. Boeing has failed to meet its contractual purchase obligations and paid RMI about $6 million in each of the past three years.
However, that long-term contract applies only to commercial aerospace contracts, Leone said, and does not apply to defense contracts.
Struggling industry
The titanium industry, which is heavily dependent upon the commercial aerospace industry, is still struggling from the reduction in air travel and the resulting drop in airplane orders that came in the aftermath of last year's terrorist attacks, he said.
Overall, Leone said, the industry lost $55 million last year and $56 million in the first half of 2002, resulting in some plant shutdowns and lost jobs.
RTI reported second quarter profits of $3.5 million in July, but president and chief executive Tim Rupert reported a continuing downturn in its commercial aerospace orders, traditionally 40 percent of the company's business.
At that time, he said the company's military aerospace orders were picking up. RMI is producing titanium for 13 Air Force F-22 fighter jets per year and is competing for other defense contracts.
RTI employs 595 hourly and salaried workers at its Weathersfield plant and headquarters.
vinarsky@vindy.com