Elmet Group acquires ams OSRAM Schwabmünchen refractory metals plant
The Elmet Group Co. (NASDAQ: ELMT) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the tungsten and molybdenum manufacturing operations of ams OSRAM in Schwabmünchen, Bavaria, establishing the Maine-based company's first production footprint inside the European Union. The transaction will be completed through a newly formed German subsidiary, Elmet Technologies GmbH, and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory clearance and the completion of transition activities needed to operate the site on a standalone basis.
The Schwabmünchen facility has been in continuous operation since 1961, spanning approximately 26,800 square metres of production area. It runs a fully integrated manufacturing chain covering powder formation, pressing, sintering, swaging, drawing, and finishing, and supports more than 3,500 product lines including metal powders, rods, wire, electrodes, cathodes, and machined components. The site received Germany's Smart Digitalization Factory 4.0 award in 2024. Elmet plans to retain the existing leadership and operating team, invest in equipment and capacity, and expand the materials range to include TZM and tungsten heavy alloy.
The deal
Peter Anania, chief executive and chairman of The Elmet Group, said the acquisition extends the company's vertically integrated refractory metals platform into Europe and advances a stated post-IPO objective of building a regional manufacturing presence. Derek Fox, president of the Critical Materials Components Division, said the Schwabmünchen site would give defence, fusion, semiconductor, medical, and industrial customers a local European source for both metals. To ensure supply continuity through the transition, Elmet Technologies GmbH will operate under production agreements covering products that ams OSRAM and a recent spinoff currently source from the site.
No transaction price was disclosed in the release.
Market context
Tungsten and molybdenum are classified as critical raw materials by the European Union, a designation that reflects limited European processing capacity and heavy dependence on Chinese supply. European policymakers and defence procurement agencies have pushed prime contractors to demonstrate non-Asian, non-Russian sourcing for refractory and high-density metals used in kinetic-energy munitions, radiation shielding, and aerospace components. The EU's Critical Raw Materials Act, which entered force in 2024, sets explicit domestic-processing benchmarks that are encouraging industrial buyers to contract with European-based manufacturers ahead of anticipated supply-chain audits.
Elmet currently operates refractory metals facilities in Maine, Ohio, and Michigan, all vertically integrated from powder to finished component. Adding Schwabmünchen gives the group a local-for-local production logic that reduces transatlantic logistics costs and removes the tariff and customs risk that has grown with shifting US-EU trade dynamics. The semiconductor end-market is also a notable driver: EUV lithography and chemical vapour deposition processes rely on tungsten hexafluoride and high-purity tungsten targets produced to tight specifications, and European chipmakers have shown increasing interest in qualifying regional suppliers.
Competitive positioning
The refractory metals processing industry is specialised and capital-intensive, with relatively few vertically integrated Western producers. Plansee Group, headquartered in Austria, is the dominant European incumbent in tungsten and molybdenum processing and serves many of the same end-markets. Elmet's acquisition gives it a Bavarian base from which to compete for European defence and semiconductor contracts where customers may prefer a US-allied, NATO-aligned supply chain. The extent to which Elmet can grow external sales beyond the existing ams OSRAM customer base will be the key commercial test of the deal's strategic logic. Investors will also be watching for detail on capital expenditure commitments, workforce numbers, and whether the site reaches positive contribution within a defined timeframe.