IperionX, Vegas Fastener to co-produce titanium fasteners for U.S. Army

IperionX Limited and Vegas Fastener Manufacturing, LLC agreed to partner to develop and manufacture titanium alloy fasteners and precision components with IperionX’s advanced titanium products.

Vegas Fastener, headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, is a global leader in the development and manufacturing of high-performance fasteners and custom machined components. Together with its allied company, PowerGen Components, Vegas Fastener serves a diverse array of customers in the defense, marine, power generation, oil & gas, nuclear, chemical, and water infrastructure sectors. Vegas Fastener develops and manufactures precision high-performance fasteners using specialized alloys to meet demanding quality specifications.

IperionX and Vegas Fastener’s commercial focus is on developing and manufacturing titanium alloy fasteners and precision components for the U.S. Army Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC), which is the United States Armed Forces' research and development facility for advanced technology in ground systems. GSVC’s research and development includes robotics, autonomy, survivability, power, mobility, intelligent systems, maneuver support and sustainment.

Additionally, the partners will design, engineer, and produce titanium fasteners for critical sectors such as the aerospace, naval, oil & gas, power generation, pulp & paper, and chemical sectors. These sectors demand fasteners that provide not only high strength-to-weight ratios but also exceptional corrosion resistance for high-performance applications.

The global market for industrial fasteners, valued at ~US$95 billion in 2023, is projected to grow at nearly 5% annually from 2024 to 20301. The U.S. is one of the largest fastener markets worldwide, with growth underpinned by strong demand for automation, aerospace, and other advanced industrial applications. Growing demand for lightweight vehicles and aircraft is leading to a shift to custom high-performance, light-weight fastener products.

IperionX’s leading titanium technology portfolio includes high-performance near-net shape titanium products, semi-finished titanium products, spherical titanium powder for additive manufacturing and metal injection molding, and angular titanium powder for a wide range of advanced manufacturing applications. These innovative patented technologies allow for world class leading sustainability and superior process energy efficiencies over the traditional Kroll titanium production process.

“We look at the combination of advanced manufacturing and titanium to help us improve corrosion mitigation and light-weighting in Army ground vehicles," says Brandon N. Pender, Associate Director U.S. DEVCOM Ground Vehicle Materials Engineering. "Any relationship that we can pursue to make titanium more affordable, as IperionX can potentially do, is valuable to us. The potential to produce titanium, with all its capabilities, that is cost-competitive with aluminum and steel only helps us improve the operational performance and readiness of Army ground systems.”

“Vegas Fastener has over 25 years of manufacturing and we specialize in the design, engineering and production of high-performance, corrosion resistant fasteners," says Marty Goeree, Vegas Fastener Manufacturing President. "Our customers GE, Boeing along with leading U.S. Navy contractors such as General Dynamics, Newport News, Electric Boat, and BAE all depend on Vegas Fastener Manufacturing to deliver the highest quality precision engineered fasteners to support their critical to performance applications. Our partnership with IperionX will co-develop and produce innovative fastener products for advanced markets that demand high strength, lower weight, and superior corrosion resistance.”

“IperionX is pleased to partner with Vegas Fastener to co-develop and manufacture precision titanium fastener products for the defense, automation, oil & gas, aerospace, chemical and marine sectors, including for U.S. Army ground vehicles," says Anastasios (Taso) Arima, IperionX CEO. "The combined strengths and expertise of Vegas Fastener and IperionX will produce innovative solutions for customers and strengthen America’s manufacturing independence.”