COURTESY / ELMET TECHNOLOGIES
Tungsten and molybdenum — called “refractory metals,” which are metals highly resistant to heat and wear — are used in a number of applications.
November 8, 2023
Lewiston metal manufacturer buys plants in Ohio, Michigan as high-tech demand grows
COURTESY / ELMET TECHNOLOGIES
At left, Peter Anania, CEO of Elmet Technologies, and Jacob Homiller, formerly president and CEO of H.C. Starck Solutions and now a member of Elmet’s board of advisors.
Elmet Technologies LLC, a Lewiston metal manufacturer, said its recent purchase of H.C. Starck Solutions Americas will allow more choices for customers while allowing the Maine company to grow across three sites.
The acquisition creates the largest U.S.-owned producer of tungsten and molybdenum materials and products, with nearly 400 employees across facilities in Lewiston, Ohio and Michigan, according to a news release.
Elmet is part of Anania & Associates Investment Co. LLC, a Maine-based holding company that focuses on manufacturing.
“Unifying our companies provides customers in defense, aerospace, medical, industrial furnaces, semiconductor and other industries access to a single supplier with a more comprehensive portfolio of products and capabilities,” said Peter Anania, Anania’s chairman and Elmet’s CEO.
Terms of the acquisition and financing were not disclosed.
Elmet
Elmet has occupied the same location, on Lisbon Street in Lewiston, since 1929. In its early years, the company was in the lighting business, manufacturing tungsten filament for incandescent bulbs. At its peak, Elmet was one of the three largest light filament manufacturers in world and had more than 1,000 employees.
COURTESY / ELMET TECHNOLOGIES
Elmet’s Lewiston plant.
Today it operates a 210,000-square-foot manufacturing facility and has 170 employees.
Items made from tungsten and molybdenum — called “refractory metals,” which are highly resistant to heat and wear — are finding uses in a growing number of applications. But there are few domestic suppliers. Elmet, which serves customers around the world, says it is the only 100% U.S.-owned, fully integrated manufacturer of components using these metals.
One example of its current production is heatshield components for a NASA space launch system, part of the Artemis program to send flights to the moon and back.
Other programs involving Elmet components include Dragonfly, a NASA mission scheduled to launch in 2026 and land on Saturn's largest moon, Titan, in 2034. Elmet molybdenum parts are expected to play a key role in processing samples.
COURTESY / ELMET TECHNOLOGIES
Elmet Technologies operates a 210,000-square-foot manufacturing facility with 170 employees.
In August, Elmet hosted Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy Laura Taylor-Kale and her delegation for a facility tour and to discuss industrial production in support of the U.S. Department of Defense.
Starck
Starck was founded in 1920 as a small German trading company.
Primarily dealing in metals and ores, the business expanded into the U.S. in 1925, then added chemical and metallurgical manufacturing to its portfolio.
Starck has over 100 years of experience in manufacturing refractory metals. Its two manufacturing facilities are in Coldwater, Mich., and Euclid, Ohio. Starck’s mission is to work with its customers along the entire value-creation chain, through product development and solution creation.
The deal
In a process that took about a year, Elmet Technologies acquired Starck’s manufacturing plants, teams, capital and intellectual property in Euclid and Coldwater.
Starck’s Newton, Mass., headquarters were not included in the deal. The 200,000-square-foot plant in Coldwater has 140 employees and the 100,000-square-foot plant in Euclid has 90.
Starck and Elmet each have around 400 to 500 customers.
“We are still working through shared customer lists — we expect to have some overlap in shared customers, but also each have some new customers as a result of the combined company and activity,” Kevin Smith, Anania’s marketing director, told Mainebiz.
Combined, the companies will have annual revenue of $200 million.
The acquisition is expected to increase supply chain efficiency and resilience, improve quality, capability and innovation, increase overall capacity and shorten lead times.
“The consolidated portfolio now includes a breadth of capabilities and products from the largest extrusion press for refractory metals to fine wire thinner than a human hair,” Anania said.
COURTESY / ELMET TECHNOLOGIES
Manufacturing operations are seen here at the Coldwater, Mich., plant.
Scott Knoll, a partner at Anania and head of mergers and acquisitions and strategy at Elmet, said, “We also anticipate the development of new advanced materials, components and solutions as a result of our increased capabilities and combined resources and expertise.
“To support that innovation, we have immediate plans to invest in expanding our workforce and manufacturing capabilities at all three of our U.S. sites.”
On a broader level, the acquisition signal growth in industry demand.
“The applications and industry demand are both growing,” said Smith.
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