GrafTech
Encyclopedia
GrafTech International Holdings, Inc. , (GrafTech), is an American multinational corporation with 125 years’ experience in the carbon
and graphite
industry.
Graftech's customers are located in over 65 countries and represent a wide range of industries and end markets, including steel
manufacturing, automotive products, alternative energy
and electronics. GrafTech operates 16 manufacturing facilities on four continents and employs approximately 3 000 people.
The company’s operations are divided into two lines of business: Engineered Solutions and Industrial Materials. The company headquarters is in Parma, Ohio
.
GrafTech has been listed as GTI on the New York Stock Exchange since 1995.
, which then merged with Union Carbide
in 1917, and the business that would later become GrafTech began to operate as the Carbon Products Division of Union Carbide.
Union Carbide was reorganized in 1989, with the Carbon Products Division renamed as the UCAR Carbon Company. In 2002, the company was rebranded as GrafTech International Ltd., and in 2008, became GrafTech International Holdings, Inc.
In late 2010, GrafTech acquired two companies: Seadrift Coke LP, a manufacturer of needle coke, which is an essential component in the production of graphite electrodes; and C/G Electrodes LLC, which manufactures graphite electrodes.
In February 2011, the company acquired Micron Research Corporation, a manufacturer of superfine-grained graphite.
1914: Introduces the first 12-inch diameter graphite electrodes.
1926: Produces the first impregnated electrode pins with high density and high strength.
1956: Receives an Oscar® for the development and production of a high-efficiency yellow flame carbon for motion picture color photography.
1956-1978: Develops high performance carbon fibers
; this work is later recognized in 2003 with a National Historic Chemical Landmark from the American Chemical Society
.
1985: Develops advanced technology for carbon/carbon composites
used in spacecraft.
1990: Introduces first 30-inch diameter graphite electrodes for UHP DC arc furnaces
1995: Develops new graphite for the US Advanced Battery Consortium for lithium batteries in electric vehicle
s.
Initial public offering
1999: Develops first natural graphite-based heat spreaders for electronic thermal management.
2003: Wins a grant from the Ohio Third Frontier
for two fuel cell projects.
2004: Introduces optimized pinless joint design for large diameter graphite electrodes.
2007: Commercializes high-temperature insulation solutions for the polysilicon and solar industries .
2010: Launches high thermal conductivity SPREADERSHIELD™ products for electronics and lighting applications.
In November, acquires two US-based companies: C/G Electrodes, a graphite electrode producer and Seadrift Coke, the world’s second largest needle coke producer.
2011: In February, acquires superfine-grained graphite materials manufacturer Micron Research Corporation. In October, acquires advanced carbon composite manufacturer Fiber Materials Inc. (FMI).
The Engineered Solutions segment addresses a number of other high-growth markets, and represents approximately 20 percent of corporate sales and includes the following product lines:
Electronics
Energy
Industrial
Aerospace
Carbon
Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...
and graphite
Graphite
The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...
industry.
Graftech's customers are located in over 65 countries and represent a wide range of industries and end markets, including steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
manufacturing, automotive products, alternative energy
Alternative energy
Alternative energy is an umbrella term that refers to any source of usable energy intended to replace fuel sources without the undesired consequences of the replaced fuels....
and electronics. GrafTech operates 16 manufacturing facilities on four continents and employs approximately 3 000 people.
The company’s operations are divided into two lines of business: Engineered Solutions and Industrial Materials. The company headquarters is in Parma, Ohio
Parma, Ohio
Parma is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is the largest suburb of Cleveland and the seventh largest city in the state of Ohio...
.
GrafTech has been listed as GTI on the New York Stock Exchange since 1995.
Company history
GrafTech’s business was founded in 1886 as the National Carbon CompanyNational 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. In 1890, National Carbon merged with Thomson-Houston,...
, which then merged with Union Carbide
Union Carbide
Union Carbide Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company. It currently employs more than 2,400 people. Union Carbide primarily produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more further conversions by customers before reaching consumers. Some are high-volume...
in 1917, and the business that would later become GrafTech began to operate as the Carbon Products Division of Union Carbide.
Union Carbide was reorganized in 1989, with the Carbon Products Division renamed as the UCAR Carbon Company. In 2002, the company was rebranded as GrafTech International Ltd., and in 2008, became GrafTech International Holdings, Inc.
In late 2010, GrafTech acquired two companies: Seadrift Coke LP, a manufacturer of needle coke, which is an essential component in the production of graphite electrodes; and C/G Electrodes LLC, which manufactures graphite electrodes.
In February 2011, the company acquired Micron Research Corporation, a manufacturer of superfine-grained graphite.
Notable Dates and Achievements
1886: The National Carbon Company, GrafTech’s predecessor, is founded.1914: Introduces the first 12-inch diameter graphite electrodes.
1926: Produces the first impregnated electrode pins with high density and high strength.
1956: Receives an Oscar® for the development and production of a high-efficiency yellow flame carbon for motion picture color photography.
1956-1978: Develops high performance carbon fibers
Carbon fiber
Carbon fiber, alternatively graphite fiber, carbon graphite or CF, is a material consisting of fibers about 5–10 μm in diameter and composed mostly of carbon atoms. The carbon atoms are bonded together in crystals that are more or less aligned parallel to the long axis of the fiber...
; this work is later recognized in 2003 with a National Historic Chemical Landmark from the American Chemical Society
American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society 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 161,000 members at all degree-levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical...
.
1985: Develops advanced technology for carbon/carbon composites
Composite material
Composite materials, often shortened to composites or called composition materials, are engineered or naturally occurring materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties which remain separate and distinct at the macroscopic or...
used in spacecraft.
1990: Introduces first 30-inch diameter graphite electrodes for UHP DC arc furnaces
1995: Develops new graphite for the US Advanced Battery Consortium for lithium batteries in electric vehicle
Electric vehicle
An electric vehicle , also referred to as an electric drive vehicle, uses one or more electric motors or traction motors for propulsion...
s.
Initial public offering
1999: Develops first natural graphite-based heat spreaders for electronic thermal management.
2003: Wins a grant from the Ohio Third Frontier
Third Frontier
The Third Frontier Project is a type of economic development initiative by the State of Ohio to expand research and technology economic development in the state...
for two fuel cell projects.
2004: Introduces optimized pinless joint design for large diameter graphite electrodes.
2007: Commercializes high-temperature insulation solutions for the polysilicon and solar industries .
2010: Launches high thermal conductivity SPREADERSHIELD™ products for electronics and lighting applications.
In November, acquires two US-based companies: C/G Electrodes, a graphite electrode producer and Seadrift Coke, the world’s second largest needle coke producer.
2011: In February, acquires superfine-grained graphite materials manufacturer Micron Research Corporation. In October, acquires advanced carbon composite manufacturer Fiber Materials Inc. (FMI).
Segments and Products
GrafTech’s Industrial Materials segment is focused on the global steel market. This segment represents approximately 80 percent of the company’s sales and includes the following product lines:- Graphite electrodes: Critical component in the production of electric arc furnace steel; used to conduct electricity to melt scrap steel.
- Needle coke: Key raw material in the production of graphite electrodes.
- Refractories: Unique brick technology for hearth walls installed in modern integrated steel furnaces worldwide.
The Engineered Solutions segment addresses a number of other high-growth markets, and represents approximately 20 percent of corporate sales and includes the following product lines:
- Advanced Graphite Materials: A wide range of highly engineered synthetic graphite products used in a variety of end markets, including solar, oil and gas exploration, and transportation.
- Flexible Graphite: Thin, lightweight flexible graphite solutions used to dissipate heat in demanding thermal applications, including flat panel displays, smartphones and LEDLight-emitting diodeA light-emitting diode is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for other lighting...
lighting.
Markets
Steel- Electric arc furnaceElectric arc furnaceAn electric arc furnace is a furnace that heats charged material by means of an electric arc.Arc furnaces range in size from small units of approximately one ton capacity up to about 400 ton units used for secondary steelmaking...
- Blast furnaceBlast furnaceA blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
s
Electronics
- Appliances
- Displays
- Handheld devices
- Mobile computing and entertainment
- TelecommunicationTelecommunicationTelecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
s
Energy
- Polysilicon
- Oil and gas
- Solar
- SemiconductorSemiconductorA semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity due to electron flow intermediate in magnitude between that of a conductor and an insulator. This means a conductivity roughly in the range of 103 to 10−8 siemens per centimeter...
- Fuel cellFuel cellA fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy from a fuel into electricity through a chemical reaction with oxygen or another oxidizing agent. Hydrogen is the most common fuel, but hydrocarbons such as natural gas and alcohols like methanol are sometimes used...
- NuclearNuclear powerNuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
- Solid state lighting
- Heating and cooling
- Energy storage
Industrial
- MetallurgicalMetallurgyMetallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
- Machine shop
- Thermal
- Chemical
- Automotive
- Building materials
Aerospace
- Commercial aerospace
- DefenseDefense (military)Defense has several uses in the sphere of military application.Personal defense implies measures taken by individual soldiers in protecting themselves whether by use of protective materials such as armor, or field construction of trenches or a bunker, or by using weapons that prevent the enemy...