Wayne Mapp

Wellington, July 2 NZPA - Science Minister Wayne Mapp says a new applied powder metallurgy centre at the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic will be the innovative hub of New Zealand's emerging titanium industry.

The Government has invested nearly $8 million into the titanium industry and the powder metallurgy centre is was seen as significantly boosts the national advantage in the sector, said Dr Mapp.

While opening the centre in Tauranga today, he predicted the titanium applications industry could be worth $700 million each year to New Zealand by 2020.

The centre was a key piece of infrastructure for the titanium industry, said Dr Mapp.

"This facility is unique in New Zealand. It combines traditional and high-tech engineering," he said. "Companies can use it to turn ideas and technology into leading-edge products".

The Titanium Industry Development Association (TiDA) premises are in an engineering block at the polytechnic's Windermere campus and will work with various New Zealand companies to develop ground-breaking titanium alloy products for the international marketplace.

A Tauranga-based company, Titanox, is producing and supplying near-pure alloy powders from titanium dioxide and raw aluminium after using research from Waikato University's Professor Deliang Zhang to create titanium separation technology.

Titanium alloy powder -- lighter and stronger than stainless steel -- can be used for a wide range of specialised products including jet engines, car parts and medical implants like knee and hip joints.