October 25, 2006 — Thresher Industries, Hanford, CA, is set to buy Talon Composites, a manufacturer of metal-matrix composites, following a recent agreement.

No purchase price has been reported. The company states that its CFO Roger Rowell is working with R.J. Easton to complete the acquisition. It adds that the transaction is expected to close on November 10.

Thresher produces aluminum and composite castings at its Hanford Foundry, an 18,000-ft² permanent-mold casting operation, with five gas-fired melting furnaces, Dynarad nitrogen auto degassing, low volume heat-treating capability, grinders, sanders, and band saw for finishing. It has sand casting capability for prototyping. The plant also houses finishing equipment, tool storage facilities, a maintenance department, quality assurance capabilities with surface plates, hand measuring equipment, and engineering and production control facilities.

Talon produces metal-matrix composites that are aluminum- and titanium-based, for applications in aerospace, transportation, sporting goods, robotics, and a variety of other industries.

Tom Flessner, Thresher president and CEO stated: "The Talon materials have proven excellent in all of our tests. Our experience casting product with the Talon cast grades of metal-matrix alloy has been excellent: we have cast parts as small as one-half pound and as large as an engine block. We subjected the finished material to multiple tests, including dye penetration inspection and X-Ray examination of finished blocks, and it is clear that the issues normally associated with metal-matrix materials are not present here.”

According to Robin Carden, president and CEO of Talon Composites, "Our material enables us to realize clear advantages over conventional aluminum alloys, including excellent thermal conductivity, stiffness and ease of machining. The Talon team looks forward to working alongside Tom Flessner and Thresher Industries in the coming years."

Thresher says the acquisition will allow it “to leverage its manufacturing strength to develop and market Talon’s products in the high-growth nuclear market and other target industries.” It says Talon's efforts to provide neutron-absorbing materials and manufactured components for nuclear transport and storage containers demonstrate a growing worldwide interest in the use of such materials in the nuclear industry.

The company says it willl relocate manufacturing operations for Talon to the Hanford manufacturing facility, and has identified 20,000-ft² of space will be outfitted to support the new manufacturing needs.