An expansion of a manufacturer’s Richland facility nearly two years in the making is almost ready to come online with almost double the workforce.

Dallas-based ATI Inc. confirmed to the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business that its Richland plant has completed commissioning of its electron beam furnace and is preparing to enter production this month.

The Richland Operations facility, located in the Horn Rapids Industrial Park, specializes in melting titanium and titanium alloys for aerospace, defense and industrial markets. Total improvements are valued at an estimated $40 million.

ATI’s new state-of-the-art electron beam hearth furnace doubles capacity in Richland and upgrades its capabilities to produce premium quality titanium qualified for jet engines in addition to the standard quality titanium currently serving the airframe, defense and industrial markets, said ATI spokesperson Natalie Gillespie in a statement.

Along with the upgrades, ATI has added about 60 positions at the plant, and a few positions are still available, Gillespie said.

ATI saw $4.3 billion in sales in 2024 and has more than 6,000 employees across the country, as well as a handful working internationally. It makes materials used in everything from airplanes to nuclear reactors, turbines, medical equipment, electronics and more.

The Richland facility was the world’s largest electron beam cold hearth furnace when the facility was first commissioned. These furnaces melt titanium in a vacuum, which facilitates faster melting. The finished products are long, rounded or rectangular units weighing up to 44,000 pounds.

Along with manufacturing higher grade titanium, better control quality and efficiencies, the expansion is expected to help the company support more than $1 billion in new sales commitments at a time when demand for titanium is soaring.

“It’s probably the highest level of titanium demand most of us have seen in our careers, and maybe the highest level of titanium demand we’ll ever see. And we’re taking advantage of that,” said Daniel Fletcher, president of ATI Specialty Materials, the business unit that includes Richland, when the expansion was announced.

The expansion includes two buildings, one at 37,500 square feet and another at 11,500 square feet.

The larger structure, called Building G, is a primarily single-story production building and features multiple electrical and mechanical support rooms for each melt process, a small control room and manager’s offices. It also includes two complex deep pits up to 35 feet deep along with multiple equipment foundations, seven bridge cranes and concrete walls up to 2 feet thick to support ATI’s equipment.

The smaller structure, called Building E, is a maintenance shop with a small storage mezzanine above the employee breakroom, restrooms and managers’ office areas.

Fisher Construction Group Inc. of Burlington was the architect and general contractor on the project.

ATI applied for and received approval for a tax exemption from the city’s Targeted Urban Area, or TUA, for the project.

Under the program, companies that build or expand within a targeted area get a break on city property taxes on new improvements for 10 years. Their projects must be valued at $800,000 or more and create at least 25 family living wage jobs.

Richland’s TUA includes the Horn Rapids Industrial Park and land around the Richland Airport.

The city previously estimated it would waive $2.6 million in property tax revenue from ATI.