Where is powder made?
- Thread starter Link
- Start date
I think the only plant left in the United States is in St Marks Florida. Makes all the Winchester ball powders. I used to pass it on my way to go fishing. I had a friend who did some work on a holding tank. They store the powder under water. The concrete tank was empty but they continuously hosed him and the work area down while he jackhammered the cracked area out. They’re serious about no sparks !
Thank you for sharing.
Unfortunately, not so! The UK has had no domestic propellant manufacturer since ICI Nobel in south west Scotland closed which would have been during the late 1980s, or at latest, early 90s. (This company made the early versions of Hodgdon's extruded range after the post-war supply of US government owned surplus powders dried up - H322, H4895, H4350, H4831, maybe some others but this was pre-VarGet and later introductions.) This situation also applies to some other European countries.
A major factor is a changing health & safety environment in most western countries. This works in two ways - straight and ever more onerous regulatory change from the US EPA, UK HSE. EU 'REACH' restrictions on permissible ingredients and suchlike; older plants often from the WW1 period having been built fairly close to residential areas because of the need for workers to live nearby in ages when few people had private transport above bicycle level. Throw in encroachment by suburban spread post 1945 that took houses up to explosives plants' boundary fences and one day the H&S regulators wake up and say "Hey, we can't have inherently dangerous manufacturing processes and houses, schools etc living side by side - that plant has to close!"
Within powders, much of the 'ball' type's processes involves water based slurries and this type is inherently safer to make than extruded equivalents. A US propellant company executive told me many years ago that the US EPA hadn't banned extruded powder manufacture outright, but its regulations were now such that it made it completely uneconomic to make this type in-country. That's why the American and apple pie former Dupont made IMR powders moved to Canada.
Extruded powders are mostly made now in countries with lots of empty space and few people immediately around the factories, such as General Dynamics Valleyfield, Quebec Prov, Canada; Bofors, Karslkoga, Sweden (Norma and Alliant marques among others); Vihtavuori in Finland and Thales / ADI in Mulwala, NSW, Australia. Even so, local environmentalists are fighting hard to hobble many such plants or better still close them. Likewise, ceilings on explosives tonnages in ports and on ships have been the main cause behind Hodgdon's inability to meet demand for its Australian ADI produced extruded grades. Every time dangerous goods manufacture and regulations change, life gets harder for propellant companies. If the west continues in this line, powders will eventually only be made in 'third world' companies or totalitarian states with lower regulatory barriers.
Plenty of extruded smokeless powder is produced at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant in Virginia. All of our flake powders are produced there.
Photos http://www.ilrc.ucf.edu/powders/sample_detail.php?powder_id=1
Where made- look for the sds or msds on manufactures website . LIKE https://www.hodgdon.com/resources/safety-data-sheets/
Where made- look for the sds or msds on manufactures website . LIKE https://www.hodgdon.com/resources/safety-data-sheets/
To give a quick and dirty, ie by no means exhaustive, response for rifle powders (can't comment on pistol / revolver grades) and also excluding any of the now rare surplus military contract powders:
Hodgdon extruded: ................ Australia (Thales / ADI)
Hodgdon 'spherical' and also those 'Hybrid' grades made using the same production processes: ..... General Dynamics St. Marks Div, St. Marks, Florida. (formerly Olin Corporation)
IMR: General Dynamics Canada, Valleyfield, Quebec. (However, for marketing reasons Hodgdon which owns the IMR brand name, tagged some ADI grades as 'IMR' powders not 'Hodgdon', notably IMR Trail Boss and 8208 XBR.
Western Powders (Ramshot and Accurate marques)
Extruded grades: .......... mostly (entirely?) General Dynamics Canada, Valleyfield.
Spherical grades: .......... Eurenco P B Clermont, Belgium or General Dynamics St. Marks
Shooters World: ........... Explosia a.s., Semtin, Czech Republic. (Sold in Europe as Lovex powders.)
Norma: ........................ Eurenco Bofors, Karlskoga, Sweden
Alliant extruded grades: ............ either Eurenco Bofors, Sweden or Nitrochemie Wimmis AG, Wimmis, Switzerland (joint German / Swiss ownership - Rheinmetall and RUAG). A larger range of Nitrochemie powders is sold in Europe as 'Reload Swiss' powders.
Alliant 'sphericals': ........... General Dynamics St. Marks. (Others?)
Winchester 'ball' grades ... General Dynamics St. Marks.
Vihtavuori: ......................Nammo Vihtavuori OY, Vihtavuori, Laukaa region, Finland. This is a very small town with the plant relocated some miles outside it after the 1920s era original factory inside the town had a serious fire. Nammo also owns Lapua, SK, and Berger Bullets.
There is also a US government owned plant (operation probably contracted out to a civilian company) which makes ball types primarily for US military smallarms ammunition. Can't remember its name.
Hodgdon extruded: ................ Australia (Thales / ADI)
Hodgdon 'spherical' and also those 'Hybrid' grades made using the same production processes: ..... General Dynamics St. Marks Div, St. Marks, Florida. (formerly Olin Corporation)
IMR: General Dynamics Canada, Valleyfield, Quebec. (However, for marketing reasons Hodgdon which owns the IMR brand name, tagged some ADI grades as 'IMR' powders not 'Hodgdon', notably IMR Trail Boss and 8208 XBR.
Western Powders (Ramshot and Accurate marques)
Extruded grades: .......... mostly (entirely?) General Dynamics Canada, Valleyfield.
Spherical grades: .......... Eurenco P B Clermont, Belgium or General Dynamics St. Marks
Shooters World: ........... Explosia a.s., Semtin, Czech Republic. (Sold in Europe as Lovex powders.)
Norma: ........................ Eurenco Bofors, Karlskoga, Sweden
Alliant extruded grades: ............ either Eurenco Bofors, Sweden or Nitrochemie Wimmis AG, Wimmis, Switzerland (joint German / Swiss ownership - Rheinmetall and RUAG). A larger range of Nitrochemie powders is sold in Europe as 'Reload Swiss' powders.
Alliant 'sphericals': ........... General Dynamics St. Marks. (Others?)
Winchester 'ball' grades ... General Dynamics St. Marks.
Vihtavuori: ......................Nammo Vihtavuori OY, Vihtavuori, Laukaa region, Finland. This is a very small town with the plant relocated some miles outside it after the 1920s era original factory inside the town had a serious fire. Nammo also owns Lapua, SK, and Berger Bullets.
There is also a US government owned plant (operation probably contracted out to a civilian company) which makes ball types primarily for US military smallarms ammunition. Can't remember its name.
Laurie,
Is this from Propellant Profiles 6th Edition?
Last edited:
No. It comes from a wide range of sources mostly through Internet searches and some advice from professionals in the powder business. I have the older editions of the book though and will get the 6th edition soon since it obviously includes several recent additions.
If you read the A.S. Bulletin regularly, likewise some of the threads on this forum, there is a great deal of good information to be found here - for instance about recent additions to the Alliant ATK range from both Nitrochemie and Bofors. These are good examples as many recent developments have made make life confusing through such multiple sourcing of new grades sometimes with some very different product characteristics. For example, Alliant Re16 and 17, both double-based / high-energy types with not too far apart burning speeds (in the 4350 area), but from Bofors and Nitrochemie respectively. Re16 is a high performer and apparently as close to temperature stable as you currently get; Re17 is an even higher performer in some cartridges due to a patented unique deterrents infusion process that stretches the controlled burn period, but has garnered a reputation for being badly temperature affected.
If you read the A.S. Bulletin regularly, likewise some of the threads on this forum, there is a great deal of good information to be found here - for instance about recent additions to the Alliant ATK range from both Nitrochemie and Bofors. These are good examples as many recent developments have made make life confusing through such multiple sourcing of new grades sometimes with some very different product characteristics. For example, Alliant Re16 and 17, both double-based / high-energy types with not too far apart burning speeds (in the 4350 area), but from Bofors and Nitrochemie respectively. Re16 is a high performer and apparently as close to temperature stable as you currently get; Re17 is an even higher performer in some cartridges due to a patented unique deterrents infusion process that stretches the controlled burn period, but has garnered a reputation for being badly temperature affected.
Last edited:
The propellant speeds that you mention below however, are not offered off the shelf. OBP®124 is a 12 gauge propellant which may have made its way to the commercial Australian market when Winchester Australia ceased manufacturing ammunition in country. The other, WC450 was only sold in the USA, this product was designed as a component of a load and is not to be loaded in ammunition by itself due to the possibility of dangerously high pressure.
Upgrades & Donations
This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.