LEWISTON – Elmet Technologies, a Lewiston-based manufacturing company, was awarded a $4.2 million Department of Defense contract to develop tungsten heavy alloy and molybdenum products for the military.

Elmet Technologies officials said the grant will allow the company to “preserve 155 jobs” and “create additional new Maine-based engineering and manufacturing jobs.”

In a statement released by Maine U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, Andy Nichols, chief executive officer of Elmet Technologies, said the company is the “last 100 percent U.S.-owned and fully integrated manufacturer of tungsten and molybdenum material and components.”

Collins, the senior member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations, said in the statement that Elmet Technologies’ “decades of experience working with refractory metals” and production of tungsten products leaves the company “well-positioned to supply our military.”

According to Collins, the funding will allow Elmet to work with the U.S. government to “provide prototypes for the evaluation of tungsten items the military needs to ensure development within targeted prices.”

The funding was awarded by the Department of Defense’s Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment Program, which, according to Collins’ office, helps the Pentagon prevent supply chain vulnerabilities and “address urgent operational needs.”

Collins successfully pushed for a $10 million increase in the program, particularly with regard to tungsten manufacturing processes.

Elmet Technologies was founded in 1929. Its headquarters is at 1560 Lisbon St.