Carpenter Technology Corp., has opened a new steel service center in Redditch, United Kingdom, to position itself for an anticipated increase in demand for its high performance alloys. It is twice the size of the company's original service facility just three miles from the new location in Worcestershire.

The new and larger center, according to Mike McGarry, Managing Director of Carpenter Europe Specialty Alloys Operations, will be able to stock more inventory and operate more efficiently than the older unit it replaces.

Carpenter, a world leader in the development and manufacture of specialty metals, will continue serving customers in the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Africa and the Mideast from the io Centre, a new industrial park in Redditch.

"Our new steel service center will enable us to deliver more of the value-added alloys our customers need most, and faster than possible from the old facility," reported Skip Reinert, Marketing Manager, United Kingdom, who will manage the operation. "Our inventory will be focused entirely on customer and market needs."

The company has occupied Unit 6, a 13,000-sq. ft. building on a 10.6-acre tract at Old Forge Drive. The first tenant in the new industrial park, Carpenter has signed a long-term lease to use the building for storage and distribution of its alloy product forms.

Daniel Williams of the io Group, Ltd., which is leasing the property, noted that "The io Group focuses on occupier choice, which allows businesses to expand without property restriction. It is this flexibility which secured the deal for Carpenter Technology, and we are delighted that they have become our first tenant."

The company is the only American steel producer that owns and operates its own network of strategically located steel service centers. Currently, it produces more than 400 specialty alloys that perform vital functions in many industrial and cutting edge applications.

The original service center in Redditch was Carpenter's first distribution service center outside North America.