Magnesium makes it possible to reduce weight without losing strength. New casting alloys have low melting temperatures and good elongation, speeding up melting and cooling processes and increasing the lifetime of expensive dies. Rapid flow rates increase productivity and magnesium is fast, easy and cheap to machine. It has excellent ductility, ideal for impact-resistant safety components, and its small draft angle means that high precision parts can be used as cast.

Half the world's magnesium has traditionally been supplied from China or Russia. Shipments have been erratic, prices have lacked stability, quality has been variable and environmental practices questionable.

However. forward-thinking corporations are entering into strategic alliances with magnesium producers to guarantee stable supplies, quality and pricing. Ford was one of the first, signing a 10 year supply agreement with Australian Magnesium Corporation for 45,000 tonnes of magnesium per year.

Magnesium prices dropped below those of aluminium for the first time in 1999. The trend is set to continue as the market expects to be in surplus by 2004, and process improvements bring lower costs.

Despite all its advantages, magnesium has many weaknesses in terms of performance. It is chemically very reactive and therefore highly corrosive, relatively soft, difficult to coat and notoriously prone to scratching. Cambridge-based Keronite Ltd has developed breakthrough technology to overcome these weaknesses.

Keronite's surface properties enable magnesium to be used as a substitute for steel, cast iron, sintered ceramic or even plastic. The Keronite process uses plasma electrolytic oxidation to transform magnesium surfaces into a hard, dense ceramic oxide. As an immersion process, Keronite protects interior surfaces of even the most complex shapes. There is a strong, molecular bond between the metal substrate and the ceramic matrix, reducing the likelihood of cracking or chipping.

Tests carried out by TWI (The Welding Institute) reveal that Keronite-coated magnesium is twice as wear-resistant as anodised surfaces.

Tests carried out by the University of Hull show that Keronite-coated magnesium is seven times more scratch-resistant than its anodised equivalent. Further tests by TWI show that Keronite also prevents corrosion.

With a sealant, it withstands 2,000 hours in a salt spray environment as well as preventing galvanic corrosion.

Keronite's a porous outer layer can be impregnated with paints, lacquers, adhesives or other materials, including PTFE, to produce a surface with extremely advanced properties.

DuPont recently presented Keronite with an award for the most innovative use of Teflon.

Keronite Ltd has appointed four experienced sub-contractor licensees in the UK, each of which specialises in different areas of the market. The first was Poeton Industries which operates coating centres in Gloucester, Cardiff and Southampton for overcoming corrosion, friction and wear in all major industrial sectors.

The second appointed subcontractor licensee, Crompton Technology Group, Banbury, focuses on the motorsport industry, improving the performance and wear resistance of engines and gearboxes, and is developing new applications for Keronite as a thermal barrier on pistons.

Last year, Keronite installed a machine at Plasma Group in Derbyshire. The company's technical team is working on corrosion and wear resistance across a wide spectrum of applications, including aerospace, bio-medical, textile, paper and printing industries. They are developing new applications not only for magnesium but also for titanium components.

Abbey Metal Finishing has also chosen to invest in a Keronite facility at their state-of-the-art plant in Nuneaton.

Amfin specialises in bespoke and small batch work but is also well-equipped to deal with longer runs and repeat orders.

The company has considerable experience in the aerospace and defence industries as well as many general engineering applications.

www.keronite.com