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Umicore N.V.. formerly '' Union Minière'', is a multinational materials technology company headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Formed in 1989 by the
merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...
of four companies in the mining and smelting industries, Umicore has since reshaped itself into a more technology-focused business encompassing such areas as the refining and recycling of
precious metal Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high economic value. Chemically, the precious metals tend to be less reactive than most elements (see noble metal). They are usually ductile and have a high lustre. ...
s and the manufacture of specialised products from precious metals, cobalt,
germanium Germanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ge and atomic number 32. It is lustrous, hard-brittle, grayish-white and similar in appearance to silicon. It is a metalloid in the carbon group that is chemically similar to its group neighbors s ...
, zinc, and other metals. The company has been a component of Belgium's benchmark BEL20
stock market index In finance, a stock index, or stock market index, is an index that measures a stock market, or a subset of the stock market, that helps investors compare current stock price levels with past prices to calculate market performance. Two of the ...
since its 1991 inception. To symbolise this trend of moving away from mining and the production of commodities and base metals, the group Union Minière changed its name to Umicore in 2001.


History


Colonial origins

The main thread running through much of Umicore's history is the '' Union Minière du Haut-Katanga'' (UMHK), a company incorporated in 1906 to exploit the vast natural resources of the
Congo Free State ''(Work and Progress) , national_anthem = Vers l'avenir , capital = Vivi Boma , currency = Congo Free State franc , religion = Catholicism (''de facto'') , leader1 = Leopo ...
, later the Belgian Congo and now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Initially the UMHK concentrated on mining the state's extensive copper deposits, before diversifying into cobalt, tin, uranium (in which it at one point held a near-monopoly in global supply) and other precious metals. The company also constructed casting and smelting facilities, eventually growing to such an extent that it represented around half of all revenues taken in by the Congolese government. In early January 1967, the UMHK was nationalized by the regime of President
Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga (; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997) was a Congolese politician and military officer who was the president of Zaire from 1965 to 1997 (known as the Democratic Republic o ...
, and over $800 million of the company's assets were seized by the state.


After Katanga

The firm suddenly found itself without the vast majority of its business (despite later receiving financial compensation for the physical assets seized by Mobutu's regime) but managed to survive: full ownership passed to
conglomerate Conglomerate or conglomeration may refer to: * Conglomerate (company) * Conglomerate (geology) * Conglomerate (mathematics) In popular culture: * The Conglomerate (American group), a production crew and musical group founded by Busta Rhymes ** Co ...
'' Société Générale de Belgique'', where it was grouped with its other metals and mining interests. As a reflection of its enforced departure from the
Katanga Province Katanga was one of the four large provinces created in the Belgian Congo in 1914. It was one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1966 and 2015, when it was split into the Tanganyika Province, Tanganyika, Hau ...
, the new, simplified name ''Union Minière'' was adopted. With its more European focus, Union Minière began to grow its business again through the 1980s, initially largely organically. In 1989 however, Société Générale announced plans to merge Union Minière with three other Belgian metals companies in which it held a significant stake: zinc producer Vieille Montagne (with a history stretching back to 1805); , which dealt in a wide range of metals including copper, cobalt, and lead; and Mechim, an engineering firm. The much enlarged company was initially renamed Acec-Union Minière (although the prefix was dropped in 1992) and subsequently set about streamlining its organisational structure, but the global economic downturn of the early-to-mid-1990s hit
profit Profit may refer to: Business and law * Profit (accounting), the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market * Profit (economics), normal profit and economic profit * Profit (real property), a nonpossessory intere ...
s and forced management to implement a major restructuring programme in 1995. The three-year plan, implemented under the guidance of recently appointed
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
Karel Vinck, involved the loss of around 25% of Union Minière's workforce and the sale of a number of non-core assets, including a zinc wire operation,
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
roofing material retailer Asturienne and much of the company's exposure to the diamond products sector (including ).


Operations

Umicore now "generates the majority of its revenues from
clean technologies Clean technology, in short cleantech, is any process, product, or service that reduces negative environmental impacts through significant energy efficiency improvements, the sustainable use of resources, or environmental protection activities. Cle ...
, such as recycling, emission control catalysts, materials for rechargeable batteries, and photovoltaics". It is ranked as one of The Global 100's "Most Sustainable Companies in the World"; in 2013 it was the top-ranked company and in 2014 it was in ninth place. In 2011, the company was awarded with the Fray International Sustainability Award for developing breakthrough technologies for recycling lithium-ion batteries, and establishing significant environmental protection initiatives. Mining, originally the lifeblood of the company, no longer plays a direct part in the business: a minority stake in zinc producer Padaeng Industry, which operates a mine in the north of Thailand, was Umicore's last remaining presence in the sector and was sold in April 2008. Umicore's copper extraction and refining operations were divested in 2005, with its zinc refining operations following in 2007; these now form part of Aurubis and Nyrstar respectively.


Business divisions

The company divides its operations into four divisions: Energy Materials, Recycling, Catalysis, and Performance Materials.


Energy Materials

The Energy Materials division manufactures a range of specialised metal and
metalloid A metalloid is a type of chemical element which has a preponderance of material property, properties in between, or that are a mixture of, those of metals and nonmetals. There is no standard definition of a metalloid and no complete agreement on ...
products for industrial use, including fine metal powders for diamond and hard metal tools, as well as
oxide An oxide () is a chemical compound that contains at least one oxygen atom and one other element in its chemical formula. "Oxide" itself is the dianion of oxygen, an O2– (molecular) ion. with oxygen in the oxidation state of −2. Most of the E ...
s and salts of cobalt, lithium and nickel for use in
batteries Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
, glass and ceramics. The division also produces and markets products of
germanium Germanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ge and atomic number 32. It is lustrous, hard-brittle, grayish-white and similar in appearance to silicon. It is a metalloid in the carbon group that is chemically similar to its group neighbors s ...
, both in compounds for doping
optical fibre An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means to ...
s, semiconductor wafers and infrared optics. The unit is headquartered at the company's plant in
Olen Olen may refer to: Places *Olen, Belgium, a municipality in the province of Antwerp, Belgium * Olen, Russia, a village in Tula Oblast, Russia *Ølen, a former municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway **Ølensjøen, a village formerly within t ...
near
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
, with production and commercial facilities in a number of countries worldwide.


Recycling

The Recycling business segment covers four main activities: its core business is the recycling and
refining {{Unreferenced, date=December 2009 Refining (also perhaps called by the mathematical term affining) is the process of purification of a (1) substance or a (2) form. The term is usually used of a natural resource that is almost in a usable form, b ...
of various precious and other non-ferrous metals, as well as certain
nonmetal In chemistry, a nonmetal is a chemical element that generally lacks a predominance of metallic properties; they range from colorless gases (like hydrogen) to shiny solids (like carbon, as graphite). The electrons in nonmetals behave differentl ...
s such as selenium. Umicore is the world's largest recycler of precious metals. Most of the materials (around two-thirds in terms of refining charges) put through the refining process are
by-product A by-product or byproduct is a secondary product derived from a production process, manufacturing process or chemical reaction; it is not the primary product or service being produced. A by-product can be useful and marketable or it can be consid ...
s from the production of non-ferrous metals, such as dross, matte, and speiss from the zinc smelting industry and anode sludge built up during
electrolysis In chemistry and manufacturing, electrolysis is a technique that uses direct electric current (DC) to drive an otherwise non-spontaneous chemical reaction. Electrolysis is commercially important as a stage in the separation of elements from n ...
. Other sources of materials used for recycling include
slag Slag is a by-product of smelting (pyrometallurgical) ores and used metals. Broadly, it can be classified as ferrous (by-products of processing iron and steel), ferroalloy (by-product of ferroalloy production) or non-ferrous/base metals (by-prod ...
, spent
fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requ ...
s, automotive and industrial catalysts and
scrap Scrap consists of Recycling, recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap Waste valorization, has monetary ...
electronic equipment. Production is headquartered at Umicore's precious metals facility in Hoboken near
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
, with other plants in Germany and the United States.
Battery Recycling Battery recycling is a recycling activity that aims to reduce the number of batteries being disposed as municipal solid waste. Batteries contain a number of heavy metals and toxic chemicals and disposing of them by the same process as regular ...
is a second business unit, focused on the recycling of spent rechargeable batteries from laptops, mobile phones, and hybrid electric vehicles. Jewellery and Industrial Metals produces semi-finished precious metals-based products, for jewellery and industrial applications and is a major recycler of
scrap Scrap consists of Recycling, recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap Waste valorization, has monetary ...
and residues from the jewellery industry. The Recycling segment, based in
Hanau Hanau () is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and is part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ...
, Germany, also encompasses a management unit, which sells precious metals in ingot form to industrial clients and offers access to related financial instruments for hedging purposes.


Catalysis

Umicore's third business segment, its largest in terms of revenue, is composed of two subdivisions, Automotive Catalysts and Precious Metals Chemistry. In automotive catalysts, a field in which the company had begun research in 1968, the company ranks third in global market share behind BASF Catalysts (formerly Engelhard) and Johnson Matthey. Umicore increased its presence in the sector with the June 2007 purchase of the catalyst division of troubled American auto parts manufacturer
Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...
for $55.6 million. Furthermore, Umicore went on to acquire Haldor Topsøe’s heavy duty diesel and stationary catalyst businesses in 2017


Performance Materials

Performance Materials concentrates on the production of specialised items, chiefly from precious metals and zinc. There are five business units: * Building Products (the production of zinc-based items for the construction industry) *
Electroplating Electroplating, also known as electrochemical deposition or electrodeposition, is a process for producing a metal coating on a solid substrate through the reduction of cations of that metal by means of a direct electric current. The part to be ...
(organized in the daughter company Allgemeine Gold- und Silberscheideanstalt AG) * Platinum Engineered Materials ( platinum for the production of
gauze Gauze is a thin, translucent fabric with a loose open weave. In technical terms "gauze" is a weave structure in which the weft yarns are arranged in pairs and are crossed before and after each warp yarn keeping the weft firmly in place. ...
s for fertilizer production and nitrous oxide abatement) * Technical Materials (including alloys for brazing, metallic contacts for use in
electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
, various materials and components from platinum and materials for hermetic sealing and electronic packaging) * Zinc Chemicals (
zinc oxides Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic t ...
and powders used for corrosion or ultraviolet radiation protection, such as Zano (ZnO)) It also comprises a 40% shareholding in Element Six Abrasives, a joint venture with
De Beers De Beers Group is an international corporation that specializes in diamond mining, diamond exploitation, diamond retail, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors. The company is active in open-pit, large-scale alluvial and c ...
.


Financial information


Shareholder structure

At 9 February 2011, five institutions had declared holdings of 3% or greater in Umicore: the company itself in treasury stock (6.19%),
Fidelity International Fidelity International Ltd, or FIL for short, is a company that provides investment management services including mutual funds, pension management and fund platforms to private and institutional investors. Fidelity International was originally es ...
(6.75%), BlackRock (8.33%), Ameriprise Financial (3.00%) and
Fidelity Management and Research Fidelity Investments, commonly referred to as Fidelity, earlier as Fidelity Management & Research or FMR, is an American multinational financial services corporation based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company was established in 1946 and is o ...
(3.22%). The implied free float of the company is 100%.


Sponsorship

The company serves as title sponsor of the , the
Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...
-based entrant in the 2005, 2007 and 2009 editions of the
World Solar Challenge The World Solar Challenge (WSC), since 2013 named Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, is an international event for solar powered cars driving 3000 kilometres through the Australian outback. With the exception of a four-year gap between ...
, a
solar-powered car A solar car is a solar vehicle for use on public roads or race tracks. Solar vehicles are electric vehicles that use self-contained solar cells to power themselves fully or partially from sunlight. Solar vehicles typically contain a rechargeable ...
race through the Australian Outback. The germanium substrates in the car's solar cells were also provided by Umicore. The team finished in second in the 2007 race.


See also

* Element Six, independently run company jointly owned by Umicore and
De Beers De Beers Group is an international corporation that specializes in diamond mining, diamond exploitation, diamond retail, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors. The company is active in open-pit, large-scale alluvial and c ...
* Nyrstar, company spun off from the zinc and lead smelting assets of Umicore and
Zinifex Zinifex was an Australian company that operated lead and zinc mines, refineries and a lead smelter. It was established in April 2004, when the assets of Pasminco were spun-off. In 2008 it merged with Oxiana to form OZ Minerals. History In ...


References


Further reading

*


External links

* * {{Authority control Chemical companies of Belgium Companies based in Brussels Companies established in 1989 Metal companies of Belgium Multinational companies headquartered in Belgium Bullion dealers Companies listed on Euronext Brussels