Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Niagara Specialty Metals?
We’re a 100% employee-owned steel mill located in Western New York, and we’ve been hot-rolling specialty alloys since 1982. With just 41 employee-owners, we’re small enough to care about every order, and big enough to handle the alloys that make planes fly and knives truly legendary. If you’ve ever cut with CPM MagnaCut, then you have been working with steel that came from our mill. We supply industries that demand precision — from aerospace and defense to cutlery and tooling — and we do it fast, custom, and right here in the USA.
What does “employee-owned” mean?
At NSM, everyone has skin in the game. Through our Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), every person here owns a share of the company.
When we succeed, the value of those shares goes up. That’s not a slogan — it’s a big part of our retirement plan. So when you call us, you’re not talking to an hourly worker; you’re talking to an owner who wants your order to be perfect because it literally affects their future.
And yes, we share profits with our employee-owners every month — no private equity firm, no outsiders, just us. It’s one of the reasons we’ve been growing and reinvesting for over four decades.
What’s the story with Crucible and the CPM steels?
Crucible Industries was the original inventor of CPM powder metallurgy steels — the alloys that revolutionized knife making. They created legends like CPM-154, S30V, S35VN, and MagnaCut.
When Crucible went bankrupt and went out of business, the industry was left wondering what would happen to these grades. We didn’t wait for someone else to solve it — we worked with Erasteel and Carpenter Technology to keep the chemistry, performance, and quality alive.
Today, we’re hot-rolling these same high-performance alloys (and a few next-generation ones, like MagnaMax™) for the knife, tool, and industrial markets. Same technology, new life — all rolled with pride right here in the U.S.
What exactly is “powder metallurgy steel”?
It’s molten steel that is atomized into a fine powder, sieved, then HIP’d (Hot Isostatically Pressed) into a dense, uniform billet.
The result? A super-clean, consistent microstructure with fine carbides evenly distributed throughout. That means better edge retention, improved toughness, and superior wear resistance — all the reasons knife makers and machinists rely on CPM and PM steels.
Can you laser cut knife blanks for me?
Yes! Send us your DXF drawings, and we’ll provide an all-inclusive quote for cutting and material. We can laser-cut blanks directly from the sheet here in our plant. We stock most common grades and thicknesses, so lead times of less than a week are typical.
Benefits:
- Lower freight costs due to smaller, fewer, and lighter shipments.
- No risk of poor yields from another company.
- Faster turnaround, since you’re getting blanks in the same time it takes to ship sheets to an outside processor.
What is “hot rolling,” and why does it matter?
Hot rolling is how we take massive billets of specialty steel and transform them into usable sheet and plate. The steel is heated to over 2,000°F and passed through our rolling mill — repeatedly — until it reaches the precise thickness and flatness we require.
We have the capability to roll everything from 0.040" sheet up to 4" plate. The result is flat, clean, and consistent steel, ready for your next operation — whether it’s grinding, cutting, or heading into a jet engine test cell.
What aerospace materials does NSM supply?
For the aerospace and defense sectors, we supply high-performance alloys like:
- Maraging 250 and 300 (C250 / C300) — ultra-high-strength, nickel-based steels ideal for tooling, landing gear, and structural components. Meets MIL-S-46850, AMS 6520, and AMS 6521.
- 6Al-4V Titanium (Ti-6-4) — aerospace-grade titanium known for its strength-to-weight ratio and corrosion resistance. Meets AMS 4911.
- 4340-VAR, 15-5 PH, 300M, and Greek Ascoloy — critical for rotating hardware, fasteners, and turbine components. Applicable AMS specifications.
We’re AS9100 certified and approved by Boeing and RTX, meaning our processes meet strict aerospace standards for quality, traceability, and material integrity.
Do you only sell large quantities?
Not at all. Some of our best relationships started with small orders — a few blanks for a custom knife maker or a single plate for a prototype project. We specialize in short runs, quick turnarounds, and custom dimensions. Whether you need a strip from our warehouse, a custom-sized sheet, or 40,000 pounds, we’ll make it happen — without the typical minimums that exclude smaller innovators.
Do you offer additional processing and finishing?
Yes — and that’s one of the biggest reasons our customers keep coming back. We can cut, grind, flatten, waterjet, laser, or machine your material to your exact specifications. That eliminates wasted time, freight costs, and middlemen. Our goal is to ship you ready-to-use steel — not “semi-finished” products that still need work.
Why buy from a U.S. mill when imports are cheaper?
Because quality, traceability, and accountability matter, we’re DFARS compliant, and every pound we ship can be traced to its melt source. Our customers choose Niagara because we deliver exactly what we promise, exactly when we promise it.
How does profit sharing work at NSM?
A portion of profits goes directly to the employees — every month. It’s a strong motivator to maximize yields and quality while minimizing waste and lead times. The better we perform, the more we all earn — which is a great incentive to keep quality high and customers happy.
It's old-school American capitalism done right: hard work, shared success, and no outside investors telling us what to do.
Can I visit the mill?
Yes — we love visitors! You’ll likely see 2,000°F steel, laser cutting, and hot rolling in action, all while meeting the people who make it happen. Just call ahead so we can arrange a safe tour.
Bring safety shoes — not flip-flops.