Zoltek
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Zoltek ( until 2014) is a materials company headquartered in
St. Louis, MO St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which ...
that engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of commercial
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 ...
for various applications. Their primary customers are in the sectors of wind energy, alternative energy, lightweight automobiles, construction and infrastructure, and oil exploration. Zoltek sells commercial carbon grade carbon fibers under the Panex trade name, and oxidized acrylic fiber under the Pyron trade name.Johnson, Todd
Carbon Fiber Manufacturers.
About.com.


History

Zoltek is named for its founder, engineer Zsolt Rumy, who as a youth immigrated with his family to the United States from
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
. It began as an industrial equipment and services company, and shifted into a carbon fiber producer after a business acquisition in 1988. In 1992, Zoltek's IPO raised $4 million, which was primarily used to build their first continuous
carbonization Carbonization is the conversion of organic matters like plants and dead animal remains into carbon through destructive distillation. Complexity in carbonization Carbonization is a pyrolytic reaction, therefore, is considered a complex process ...
line for the textile-type precursor. Since then, Zoltek has taken steps to reduce the cost of their principal raw material.Zoltek Companies, Inc. History.
Funding Universe.
In 1995, Zoltek purchased Magyar Viscosa, a Hungarian producer of acrylic and other fibers for the European textile market. The acquisition supported their carbon fiber business in two ways: First, it gave them further means of driving down the cost and price, by enabling them to produce precursor from acrylic in-house and to use the acquired technology and expertise to develop other sources. Second, it ensured a plentiful supply of this raw material to meet a rapid increase in demand for carbon fibers. Today, Zoltek owns and operates five manufacturing facilities in the United States, Hungary, and Mexico. They have sales offices in the United States, Hungary, China, India, and South Korea. On 4 March 2013, Quinpario Partners disclosed a
hostile takeover In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to ...
bid for Zoltek after acquiring over 10% of Zoltek
stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...
. Quinpario sent a letter to the company requesting a special shareholders' meeting with the intent of removing and replacing all existing
board member A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organi ...
s. The Quinpario offer was rebuffed by Zoltek's legal council. Zoltek's board had not formally considered the proposals, and was unwilling to engage with Quinpario to discuss the matter. According to the company's most recent proxy statement, the vast majority of stock owned by the board is owned by Mr. Rumy himself. On 2 April 2013 Zoltek announced it would evaluate strategic alternatives for maximizing its shareholder value and had engaged J.P. Morgan Securities LLC as the Company's financial advisor. In September 2013,
Toray Industries is a multinational corporation headquartered in Japan that specializes in industrial products centered on technologies in organic synthetic chemistry, polymer chemistry, and biochemistry. Its founding business areas were fibers and textiles, ...
announced a plan to buy Zoltek for half a billion dollars. Toray acquired all of Zoltek's outstanding shares for $16.75 per share in cash, for a total equity value of approximately $584 million. As a result of the merger, the Company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Toray and will operate as a separate business unit. In December 2018, the U.S. Treasury's
Office of Foreign Assets Control The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is a financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the U.S. Treasury Department. It administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions in support of U.S. national security and foreign policy ob ...
announced that Zoltek had agreed to pay $7.77 million to settle allegations, some of which were egregious, regarding violations of U.S. sanctions against Belarus.


Products, Applications & Markets

''Panex'' is made from an abundant textile-based precursor and manufactured in a proprietary high-throughput processes that allows it to be the lowest cost carbon fiber on the market. Panex is the dominant material in the wind turbine industry, and is on the forefront of many other applications including automotive, pressure vessels, offshore drilling, and other industrial applications. ''Pyron'' is flame resistant fiber used as an effective heat-blocking and fire barrier material. Pyron fibers do not burn, melt, or drip. Instead they char and self-extinguish. The largest application for Pyron is the aircraft brake market, where Pyron holds the dominant position in the marketplace. Other commercial applications include metal working protection, automotive, aerospace, furniture and bedding, racewear and other protective apparel, military, energy storage, and noise vibration handling.


References

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External links


Official websiteAnnual Report, 2009

Google Finance profile

Composites World


Manufacturing companies based in St. Louis Companies established in 1988 Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq 2014 mergers and acquisitions