Two and a half years after it was announced and 19 months after it broke ground, Allegheny Technologies $460 million facility in Rowley will begin producing titanium sponge this week, according to Dan Greenfield, the company's director of investor relations and corporate communications.

Greenfield said market conditions slowed the construction timetable and start of production at the plant — originally planned for the end of 2008.

"Due to the slump in the national and world economy, we slowed the timetable up," said Greenfield. "2009 represented a trough for the company and we hope 2010 will see an improvement."

The company hired the majority of its 100 employees in the third quarter of 2009 and has spent the past three months training them for specific technical assignments.

Greenfield said the average annual salary of the current 100 employees is around $45,000 — a promise the company made to county officials.

Allegheny announced recently that the company anticipates it will be profitable in 2009, according to Greenfield.

"Fourth quarter 2009 performance is benefiting from better volume, pricing, and mix for certain products, lower raw materials costs, and our improved cost structure," Patrick Hassey, the company's CEO said in a prepared statement Dec. 17. "In addition, we have been growing our position with key customers, and we are expanding our product, market and global diversification."

The aerospace and defense industries are the biggest drivers of the demand for titanium, Greenfield said.

"The big news is that the new Boeing 747 had a test flight and the plane flew," Greenfield said. "We are encouraged and hopeful that all goes well." Titanium is used in the production of the 747 and its jet engines, according to Greenfield.

Another use for titanium is as armor plating for military vehicles to protect them from roadside bombs, Greenfield said. The material is also used in medical implants and power production.

The plant will use magnesium from nearby US Magnesium and combine it with titanium tetrachloride, brought in by rail, to produce top-grade titanium sponge. A byproduct of the production, magnesium chloride, will be returned to US Magnesium.

"2010 should bring the hiring of more employees as we build production at the plant," Greenfield said.