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Fire at the Hodgdon "Clays" plant ????

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Fire at the Hodgdon Clays plant? Hodgdon has never manufactured a powder in it's life. If Hodgdon Clays powder is not available due to a fire, then the fire is at the Australian ADI plant that manufactures AS30N powder, which Hodgdon calls Clays.

Don
 
I've seen the same info posted on several reputable dealers' websites. Powder Valley for sure posted this on Facebook early in the year. It applies to all 3 Clays powders. My guess is that it was a huge fire and destroyed the majority of those lines. With big manufacturing facilities it normal to have big shutdowns to repair or upgrade equipment. It's quite possible that they had planned upgrades/expansion for the near future and are taking this as an opportunity to do it now. There also was most likely an investigation to determine the exact cause, which can take time. They most likely were required to leave everything as is until the investigation was complete. Who knows what other red tape they have to break through in Australia.

I've personally searched through Australian news sources when I heard about it but couldn't find any further info. But all the distributors have said the info came straight from Hodgdon. If you relied on any of the Clays powders previously its time to start searching for new powders. Alliant Clay Dot is supposed to be very similar to Clays and Unique is supposed to be much like Universal Clays. I don't know what brand is most similar to International Clays. Just make sure you don't try to interchange data. Use data for your specific powder.

In similar news, there may have been or may be in the future, disruptions to the supply line of Vihta Vouri powders. There are a few news articles that should show up on a web search if you want info on that.
 
That's correct. But it is all labeled as Hodgdon products. It confuses many reloaders. I was definitely oblivious to that fact when I started reloading. Never thought about it until I noticed that my Hodgdon rifle and pistol powders were manufactured in different places.

ETA: I was aiming this at USSR's post.
 
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This is an ongoing Internet hoax. There has been no fire at the ADI plant....it's as simple as that. If anyone can prove otherwise post it here.
 
If it's an internet hoax it has at least several distributors fooled too.

*tin foil time* Or maybe all of those distributors are conspiring and hoarding all of the Clays for themselves and the fire is just their cover story.
 
I'm happily using IMR SR-4756 as a substitute for Universal, unfortunately there is no substitute for Clays.
 
Hondo 60 said:
glc24 - I followed your link. Not a word about a fire
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And the powder they are talking about in the link (AP70N) is the speed of Unique, Universal and SR-7625, not Clays by a long shot.

PO2Hammer said:
I'm happily using IMR SR-4756 as a substitute for Universal, unfortunately there is no substitute for Clays.
Click to expand...
There is at least one substitute for Clays. Accurate Nitro 100 is very close to Clays if you can find it instead.
 
Hondo 60 said:
glc24 - I followed your link. Not a word about a fire
Click to expand...
He didn't technically say anything about a fire, he (or she) just posted a link that may prove there's a disruption in the supply. According to ADI, http://adi-limited.com/handloaders-guide/equivalents.asp the AP70N mentioned at that link is most likely the exact same powder found in Hodgdon's containers of Universal Clays. So it could be possible that they're still producing Clays and International Clays, its likely we won't see Universal on the shelves anytime soon.
 
My local reloading supplies store had some in just a week or so ago. I even bought some. A month or so before that they had said they heard the same thing. So this delivery came in after the rumor. They may even still have some.

Clays was the first powder I bought when I started reloading. Not been doing it long and have several others now, but do like it. Thats why i picked up anothrr when i saw it.
 
Thanx for the recommendation, I'll try Clay Dot, there's lots of that at my LGS. I'll look at Nitro 100 too.
I still have 2-1/2# of Clays and 1-1/2# Universal, but there's no way I'm using them until I can buy more.
 
I've been using clay dot - I like it so far.

I think this last spring there was a report of a fire in one part of the ADI facility in OZ. It had something to do with the 'fluffing' facility. Still have never figured out if there was any facts involved - but it seems that powders in the clays family are in very short supply and expected to stay that way into next year.

A few years back when universal went through a spell where it was hard to find I switched to Alliant 20/28. I really like 20/28 - especially in the 28 gauge.
 
I couldn't find any "Hogdon" references to a fire.
I did find this, which may mean nothing:
http://nebraskafirearms.org/forum/index.php?topic=9450.0


Guns Unlimited got a powder order in yesterday

« Reply #2 on: June 19, 2013, 01:58:42 PM »

Quote from: GreyGeek on June 19, 2013, 11:07:07 AM

That's an Internet Myth that has been going around for almost 5 years. It first started in 2009. There was a tire salvage business in Hodgdon, Maine, that burned down in December of last year.

It has shown up again because an employee of Hodgdon apparently has been telling dealers/distributes that there has been a fire. Hodgdon only manufactures their black powder substitutes, the rest of their powders they import and relabel. Clays is made in Australia and there is some question if there has been a problem in the "Fluffing Room" (where the powder is dried) and that there may have been a possible fire. ADI (the manufacturer in Australia) has a note out about shipping issues causing delays in getting their powders out.

Since a lot of the shotgun powders are also used by handgunners because of the fast burn rates I can see this being a simple supply vs. demand problem, complicated by a shipping issue. But the rumor was started by a Hodgdon employee, and Chris Hodgdon's reply to questions has been less than enlightening.
Click to expand...
 
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