6K Additive Posts Record Quarter on U.S.-Made Metal Powder Demand

6K Additive reported record second-quarter revenue of $7.1 million, up 63% from the same period last year. The company's backlog grew to $11.9 million. Demand for U.S.-produced metal powder is outpacing the company's ability to make it.

Titanium drives the surge

Powder revenue reached $5 million, up 25% from the previous quarter and 63% year over year. Titanium powder revenue jumped 67% quarter over quarter and nearly tripled compared to the second quarter of 2025. Refractory powders like tungsten, niobium, and tantalum also grew strongly as more customer qualification programs moved into production.

Defense contractors, aerospace companies, and OEMs drove the demand. Repeat customers accounted for more than 90% of sales, which suggests companies are increasing orders as additive manufacturing moves from prototyping to production.

Domestic supply is the new priority

6K Additive is based in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania. It produces titanium, nickel, copper, tungsten, tantalum, rhenium, and niobium powders using a proprietary microwave plasma process. The company also recycles machining scrap, used powder, and failed builds into new feedstock.

The U.S. government is supporting that effort. In April, 6K Additive received an additional $1.9 million SBIR Phase II contract from the Defense Logistics Agency. That brings the total value of the 18-month program to $3.9 million. The goal is domestic production of critical metal powders for defense and industrial use.

Expansion is underway

The company is expanding its Burgettstown campus with support from a $23.4 million Defense Production Act Title III award. Annual production capacity is expected to grow from about 1,600 metric tons to more than 6,000 metric tons across all product lines. Initial production at the expanded facility should begin before the end of 2026.

The company ended the quarter with $22.1 million in cash to fund that expansion.

What this signals for the industry

Metal powder is the feedstock for most metal 3D printing. When demand for powder outpaces supply, machine shops and service bureaus face constraints. That is exactly what 6K Additive is seeing.

The broader signal is reshoring. Governments and manufacturers are building domestic supply chains for critical materials instead of relying on overseas sources. Metal powders sit at the top of that list. Aerospace and defense customers are leading the charge, but industrial buyers are following.

CEO Frank Roberts put it plainly in the earnings report. He said the United States is entering a sustained period of investment in defense, advanced manufacturing, and supply chain resilience. As government and industry prioritize secure domestic sources, the reshoring of strategic manufacturing is creating a structural demand tailwind.

That is a long way of saying: metal powder made in America is now a strategic product. 6K Additive is one of the few companies positioned to meet that demand at scale.