Metal and alloys manufacturing startup Modumetal is partnering with Toyota Tsusho America Inc., Toyota’s trading arm, to open a 20,000 sq ft production facility in Houston, the Houston Chronicle reports.

The joint venture will make specialized alloy products for the oil and gas industry, with capacity to produce more than 100 tons of materials monthly.

Seattle-based Modumental makes nanolaminated metal products manufactured with layered metals using electricity rather than heat, producing products stronger than conventional steel and able to resist corrosion under high temperatures.

“Modumetal founder and CEO Christina Lomasney said the companies chose Houston for its access to oil and gas companies, their primary customer base, since these companies need various metal fastening and bolting that can withstand high amounts of stress and exposure to corrosion (think deep-sea offshore rig parts),” writes Erin Douglas of the Chronicle.

While Modumental has partnerships with Chevron and ConocoPhillips, the company anticipates selling products to construction and transportation industries.

“With several recent, corrosion-related automotive recalls over the past 12 months, our NanoGalv coatings are enabling a breakthrough in safety at a critical time for the market,” Lomasney told the Chronicle.

The current US-China trade war has prompted Modumental to shift some of its supplier relationships.

“It’s challenging timing (with metal tariffs), but we don’t have the option of waiting,” Lomasney said, citing high demand for their products.

“I expect a reshuffling of supply chains and compression of the available supplies. But the demand is there.”