GrafTech International Ltd. is a manufacturer of
graphite electrodes
Graphite () is a crystalline form of the element carbon. It consists of stacked layers of graphene. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions. Synthetic and natural graphite are consumed on large ...
and
petroleum coke
Petroleum coke, abbreviated coke or petcoke, is a final carbon-rich solid material that derives from oil refining, and is one type of the group of fuels referred to as cokes. Petcoke is the coke that, in particular, derives from a final cracki ...
, which are essential for the production of
electric arc furnace
An electric arc furnace (EAF) is a furnace that heats material by means of an electric arc.
Industrial arc furnaces range in size from small units of approximately one-tonne capacity (used in foundries for producing cast iron products) up to ab ...
steel and other metals. The company is headquartered in
Brooklyn Heights, Ohio
Brooklyn Heights is a village in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,543 at the 2010 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The ...
and has manufacturing facilities in
Calais, France
Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, of which it is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's Pref ...
,
Pamplona, Spain
Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region.
Lying at near above ...
,
Monterrey, Mexico
Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...
, and
St. Marys, Pennsylvania
St. Marys is a city in Elk County, Pennsylvania, Elk County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population is 12,429 as of 2019. Originally a small town inhabited by mostly Bavarian Roman Catholics, it was founded December 8, 1842. It is home to Str ...
.
[
]
History
The company was founded in 1886 as the National Carbon Company The National Carbon Company was founded in 1886 by the former Brush Electric Company executive W. H. Lawrence, in association with Myron T. Herrick, James Parmelee, and Webb Hayes, son of U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes, in Cleveland, Ohio. ...
, which was then acquired by Union Carbide
Union Carbide Corporation is an American chemical corporation wholly owned subsidiary (since February 6, 2001) by Dow Chemical Company. Union Carbide produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more further conversions by customers befor ...
in 1917 and became its Carbon Products Division.
In 1914, the company introduced the first 12-inch diameter graphite electrodes
Graphite () is a crystalline form of the element carbon. It consists of stacked layers of graphene. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions. Synthetic and natural graphite are consumed on large ...
.[
In 1956, the company received an ]Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
for the development and production of a high-efficiency yellow flame carbon for motion picture color photography.[
Between 1956–1978, the company developed high performance ]carbon fiber
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
s; this was recognized in 2003 with a National Historic Chemical Landmark from the American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all d ...
.[
In 1985, the company developed advanced technology for carbon/carbon ]composite material
A composite material (also called a composition material or shortened to composite, which is the common name) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or ...
used in spacecraft.[
Union Carbide was reorganized in 1989, with the Carbon Products Division renamed as the UCAR Carbon Company.
In 1990, the company introduced first 30-inch diameter ]graphite electrodes
Graphite () is a crystalline form of the element carbon. It consists of stacked layers of graphene. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions. Synthetic and natural graphite are consumed on large ...
for UHP DC arc furnaces.[
In 1995, the company developed new graphite for the US Advanced Battery Consortium for a ]lithium-ion battery
A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also se ...
in electric vehicle
An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes cha ...
s.[
In 1995, the company became a ]public company
A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (l ...
via an initial public offering
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
.
In 1999, the company developed first natural graphite-based heat spreaders for electronic thermal management.[
In 2002, the company changed its name from UCAR to Graftech.][
In 2004, the company introduced optimized pinless joint design for large-diameter ]graphite electrodes
Graphite () is a crystalline form of the element carbon. It consists of stacked layers of graphene. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions. Synthetic and natural graphite are consumed on large ...
.[
In 2007, the company commercialized high-temperature insulation solutions for the ]polysilicon
Polycrystalline silicon, or multicrystalline silicon, also called polysilicon, poly-Si, or mc-Si, is a high purity, polycrystalline form of silicon, used as a raw material by the solar photovoltaic and electronics industry.
Polysilicon is produce ...
and solar energy
Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an essenti ...
industries.[
In 2010, the company launched high thermal conductivity SPREADERSHIELD™ products for electronics and lighting applications.][
In 2010, GrafTech acquired two companies: Seadrift Coke LP, a manufacturer of ]petroleum coke
Petroleum coke, abbreviated coke or petcoke, is a final carbon-rich solid material that derives from oil refining, and is one type of the group of fuels referred to as cokes. Petcoke is the coke that, in particular, derives from a final cracki ...
, which is an essential component in the production of graphite electrodes
Graphite () is a crystalline form of the element carbon. It consists of stacked layers of graphene. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions. Synthetic and natural graphite are consumed on large ...
; and C/G Electrodes LLC, which manufactures graphite electrodes
Graphite () is a crystalline form of the element carbon. It consists of stacked layers of graphene. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions. Synthetic and natural graphite are consumed on large ...
.
In March 2011, the company acquired Micron Research Corporation, a manufacturer of superfine-grained graphite.
In October 2011, the company acquired advanced carbon composite manufacturer Fiber Materials. Fiber Materials was sold in 2016.
In 2011, the company was awarded two historical markers by the Ohio Historical Society. One is for pioneering battery research made at Parma by Lewis Urry
Lewis Frederick Urry ( – ) was a Canadian chemical engineer and inventor. He invented both the alkaline battery and lithium battery while working for the Eveready Battery company.
Life
Urry was born January 29, 1927, in Pontypool, Ontario an ...
and National Carbon Company. The other recognizes the Lakewood facility’s long history and National Carbon Company.
In August 2015, GrafTech was acquired by Brookfield Asset Management
Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is a Canadian multinational company that is one of the world's largest alternative investment management companies, with over US$725 billion of assets under management in 2022. It focuses on direct contr ...
.
In 2017, the company sold its NeoGraf and Advanced Graphite Materials divisions to focus on graphite electrodes
Graphite () is a crystalline form of the element carbon. It consists of stacked layers of graphene. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions. Synthetic and natural graphite are consumed on large ...
and petroleum coke
Petroleum coke, abbreviated coke or petcoke, is a final carbon-rich solid material that derives from oil refining, and is one type of the group of fuels referred to as cokes. Petcoke is the coke that, in particular, derives from a final cracki ...
.
In April 2018, the company once again became a public company
A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (l ...
via an initial public offering
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
.
Controversies
On April 1, 1998, the company was subject to a class action lawsuit for allegedly artificially inflating stock price. In 2000, the company settled the lawsuit for $40.5 million.
In April 1998, the company was fined $110 million by the United States Department of Justice and in July 2001, the company was fined €50.4 million by the European Commission for participating in an international price fixing
Price fixing is an anticompetitive agreement between participants on the same side in a market to buy or sell a product, service, or commodity only at a fixed price, or maintain the market conditions such that the price is maintained at a given ...
cartel with 7 other firms in the market for graphite electrodes.
References
External links
GrafTech International official website
Brookfield Asset Management official website
{{Authority control
Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Companies based in Ohio
Manufacturing companies established in 1886
Parma, Ohio
1886 establishments in Ohio