H.C. Starck, a manufacturer of customer-specific metal and ceramic powders and components, reported 2016 turnover of €688.4 million, down from €815.2 million in the previous year. According to the company, sales were down due to the tough market environment and decreases in the prices of raw materials, and it expects to see a sustained recovery of its core markets in the 2017 fiscal year.
The company created a new corporate legal structure for the three powder divisions last year. ‘This represents a new milestone in our nearly one hundred years of history as a company,’ said Dr. Engelbert Heimes, chairman of the executive board. ‘We are looking ahead to the future with confidence. That is true for the independent powder companies and for all other business units. We have laid the necessary structural groundwork for further positive development, and we assume that our core markets will see a sustained recovery in 2017.’ The company’s Tungsten Powders Division reportedly maintained its strong position on the European market in 2016. ‘Our investments in these two locations in Asia have been paying off since last year,’ said Dr Jens Knöll, chairman of the executive board of H.C. Starck GmbH. ‘This shows that we have taken a successful approach and are on the right track with our international strategy.'
Meanwhile, despite the stagnation that has set in on the electronics market, the Tantalum/Niobium Powders Division defended its position in the major market segments in 2016.
Demand increase
In the Surface Technology & Ceramic Powders Division H.C. Starck was able to expand on its market share and expects a further increase in demand over the next few years, especially in the area of 3D printing. ‘H.C. Starck is benefiting from ongoing growth in the additive manufacturing segment on a cross-division basis,’ the company said. ‘Numerous applications in fields such as aviation, medicine, automotive technology, and mechanical engineering call for materials of superior, reproducible quality. The metal powders, technology metals, and ceramic powders from H.C. Starck have been proven to meet these requirements outstandingly well in numerous products and applications.’
This story uses material from H.C. Starck with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
