Hanford is known for a lot of things: Dairies, a famous ice cream parlor, uniquely aromatic H20 and a small-town atmosphere.

What it isn't known for is a metal alloy company that wants to supply nuclear storage containers to Japan, Korea and China.

Thresher Industries, a metal foundry off 13th Avenue near Armona, has big aspirations.

It's probably the only publicly traded company with headquarters in Kings County, according to Jay Salyer, manager at Kings Economic Development Corporation.

Company founder and CEO Tom Flessner wants to supply nuclear shielding material to Asia and elsewhere.

The nuclear shielding involves composite metal plates embedded with a material that aids in the absorption of radiation from spent nuclear fuel rods.

The plates can be used for storage, but are best suited for transporting spent nuclear fuel.

That's the company's long term vision. Currently, however, it is pursuing applications for its unique aluminum alloy castings in the automotive industry, in agriculture and in a myriad of other uses.

Thresher has two patented alloys that provide less heat expansion, higher strength and greater wear resistance.

Since Thresher went public in 2006, it has acquired Talon Composites, a company with a metal matrix material designed for nuclear shielding.

But setbacks in a plan to build a joint production facility in South Korea have caused Thresher to reorient itself.

For now, the Talon Composites building next to Thresher is idle. Flessner said it will start up in a couple of months to produce non-nuclear metal matrix material, principally for aftermarket automotive components.

"(The nuclear side) has potential, but right now, we've switched focus to concentrate on what we do really well," Flessner said.

The Thresher Industries main foundry building, where its high quality aluminum castings are made, is operational.

The foundry supplies products to agribusiness, such as aluminum wheels for strawberry planters.

On Wednesday, the company announced a $1.3 million order from Plantel Nurseries, a Santa Maria firm that supplies vegetable seedlings to farmers who want to speed up their planting schedules.

The company is one of several U.S. foundries that have found ways to keep their production from going overseas.

Most metal casting is now done in China and India, Flessner said.

Flessner said his business doesn't compete with overseas foundries because they mass produce a much poorer quality product under conditions in which workers are exploited.

Thresher products made in Hanford are "low volume, high margin," said Jeff Tolle.

"We don't want to make millions of everything. We want to make thousands of things," Flessner said.

Flessner believes that the demand for aftermarket automobile parts, such as alloy brake components, will continue to increase despite a poor overall economy.

One automotive application is in engines that use nitrous oxide. Standard engines have trouble handling the intense combustion pressure that nitrous oxide produces. Thresher's alloys, with much higher strength, can tolerate it better, Flessner said.

The company also makes products for the defense industry, Flessner said.

Sales last year were around $300,000, Flessner said. He's hoping for $3 million to $4 million this year.

The company has 11 employees now. Flessner wants 20 by year's end.

"When you start from scratch, it's a really tough go. I'm hopeful for the company," Salyer said.

One of Thresher's current ventures is to set up a program where Cal Poly San Luis Obispo students can test some of its metal components in the lab, Flessner said.

Flessner, who relocated from Orange County to Lemoore, said it took him awhile to get used to Kings County.

The company has no plans to move its Hanford headquarters, Flessner said.

"(Kings County) gets under your skin and you start to like it," he said.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2432.

(Jan. 11, 2008)