Westwin plant has started production

Westwin Element’s demonstration plant has started production.

DaQuawn Bruce, Westwin’s chief of public affairs, said Tuesday the plant produced its first nickel powder last week, using carbonyl refining technology at the facility located at Southwest 112th Street and Bishop Road. Bruce said the plant started operations Sept. 30 and had been testing processes since then.

City of Lawton officials said last week Westwin had received a conditional Certificate of Occupancy, a document that typically is the last paperwork needed in a construction process for property within Lawton, and the conditions on that certificate were minor items that could be quickly remedied.

The demonstration plant is intended to provide the data Westwin needs for its bankable feasibility study, the document most lending institutions and investors want to see before investing in a project, local bankers have said. The plant is the forerunner of a full-scale commercial refinery, which Westwin CEO KaLeigh Long has said is being considered for placement in Lawton, although the company has not publicly confirmed that.

The bankable feasibility study is to be done by April 2025, providing the data that, coupled with an established customer base, will determine “what we need to build to meet the first phase,” Bruce said. Westwin plans to break ground on its commercial refinery in the second quarter of 2025, company officials said.

Westwin officials said last week’s production of nickel powder makes the company the only domestic source of refined nickel, which Long says is crucial to entities ranging from the Department of Defense to electric vehicle battery manufacturers. Bruce said the demonstration plant is the first production site on U.S. soil, and production of those vials of nickel powder last week proves the viability of a process which is producing powder that is 99 percent pure.

Westwin now has 24 full-time employees working in two shifts, as it moves closer to the goal of a 35-employee demonstration plant. Bruce said the company expects full staffing to occur in the first quarter of 2025, before the decision on the refinery’s location is announced publicly in the second quarter of 2025.

“That decision is not yet made,” Bruce said, adding because the assumption is the refinery will be built in Lawton, plans are moving forward with that location in mind.

The refinery would be adjacent to the demonstration plant. As part of the $25 million incentive package offered by the City of Lawton and Comanche County Industrial Development Authority (CCIDA), CCIDA will transfer ownership of 480 acres on the south side of West Lee Boulevard, south of the west Lawton industrial park (the demonstration plant is part of that acreage).

While moving forward with refinery plans, Bruce said the company also is moving forward on discussions with customers to determine their needs. He said Westwin is satisfied the demonstration plant can produce the quality samples of refined nickel that such customers will want to see before committing.

“It’s not standard,” Bruce said, of the fact the plant’s product will not be “one size fits all.”

Toney Stricklin, vice chief of staff and vice president of aerospace and defense material for Westwin, said that means the plant will adapt to the needs of a specific customer — some may need powder; others, briquettes.

Bruce also said the plant’s work today is focused on nickel, rather than the cobalt initially announced. But, cobalt and other materials remain an option. Bruce said the demonstration plant will remain active even after the commercial refinery opens because it can continue to test processes for refining other materials.

What will the public notice about a plant designed to produce 20 tons of nickel per year?

A lot less activity, Bruce said, adding construction is “99 percent complete” and that means the work site will be quieter because there is minimal noise associated with plant processes.