Profile: Dynamic Materials Corp (BOOM.O)

Dynamic Materials Corporation, incorporated in 1971, is an industrial manufacturer of equipment and materials, to support the infrastructure of the process and energy industries. The Company is a provider of explosion-welded clad metal plates. The Company operates in three business segments: Explosive Metalworking (which is also referred as DMC Clad), Oilfield Products (which is also referred as DYNAwell or DYNAenergetics) and AMK Welding (AMK Welding). DMC Clad's products are used in critical applications in a range of industries, including oil and gas, alternative energy, chemical and petrochemical, hydrometallurgy, aluminum production, shipbuilding, power generation and industrial refrigeration. The Company through the Oilfield Products segment provides a range of products for the global oil and gas industries. The AMK Welding segment provides advanced welding services, primarily to the power turbine and aircraft engine manufacturing industries. In October 2009, Dynamic Materials Corporation acquired LRI Oil Tools Inc.

Explosive Metalworking

During the year ended December 31, 2008, the Explosives Metalworking segment represented approximately 84% of the Company’s revenues. The four manufacturing plants and their respective shooting sites in Pennsylvania, Germany, France and Sweden provide the production capacity to address concurrent projects for DMC Clad's domestic and international customer base.

The primary product of the Explosive Metalworking segment is explosion-welded clad metal plate. Clad metal plates are used in the construction of heavy, corrosion resistant pressure vessels and heat exchangers for oil and gas, alternative energy, chemical and petrochemical, hydrometallurgy, aluminum production, shipbuilding, power generation, industrial refrigeration, and similar industries. The principal product of metal cladding, regardless of the process used, is a metal plate composed of two or more dissimilar metals, usually a corrosion resistant metal and steel, bonded together. Prior to the explosion-welded clad process, the materials are inspected, the mating surfaces are ground, and the metal plates are assembled for cladding. The process involves placing a sheet of the cladder over a parallel plate of backer material and then covering the cladder material with a layer of specifically formulated explosive.

Explosion-welded cladding technology is a method to weld metals that cannot be welded by conventional processes, such as titanium-steel, aluminum-steel, and aluminum-copper. It can also be used to weld compatible metals, such as stainless steels and nickel alloys to steel. The cladding metals are typically titanium, stainless steel, aluminum, copper alloys, nickel alloys, tantalum, and zirconium. The base metals are typically carbon steel, alloy steel, stainless steel and aluminum.

Explosion-welded clad metal is used in applications in a range of industries, including oil and gas, alternative energy, chemical and petrochemical, hydrometallurgy, aluminum production, shipbuilding, power generation, industrial refrigeration and other industries where corrosion, temperature and pressure combine to produce demanding environments. Explosion-welded clad metal is also used to produce bimetal transition joints or other components, which are used in ship construction, and in a variety of electrochemical industries, including aluminum production.

DYNAwell

DYNAwell manufactures, markets, and sells perforating explosives and associated hardware and seismic explosives, for the international oil and gas industry. The kinds of perforating products manufactured by DYNAwell are essential to certain types of modern oil and gas recovery. The products are sold to large, mid-sized, and small oilfield service companies in the United States, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, including direct sales to end users.

AMK Welding

AMK Welding employs a range of processes and equipment to provide specialized welding services principally to the power turbine manufacturer and to commercial and military aircraft engine manufacturers. Welding services are provided on a project-by-project basis based on specifications set forth in customers' purchase orders. Upon receipt of an order for welded assemblies, AMK Welding performs welding services using customer specific welding procedures. Welding processes utilized by AMK Welding include electron beam and gas tungsten arc welding processes.

The Company competes with Asahi Kasei, Halliburton and Schlumberger.