LEWISTON — For 95 years, Elmet Technologies has been a significant manufacturer in the state of Maine —and it just got bigger.

Last week, Gov. Janet Mills recognized Elmet Technologies and three other companies as winners of the 2023 Governor’s Award for Business Excellence, acknowledging their contributions to the people of Maine and the state’s economy.

With the November acquisition of its competitor, H.C. Starck Solutions, Elmet became the largest U.S.-owned and -based producer of tungsten and molybdenum materials and products, with more than 400 employees across three facilities in Maine, Ohio and Michigan.

Peter Anania, president and CEO of Elmet Technologies, says his company’s economic impact on the state amounts to several hundred million dollars a year and the employees were thrilled about receiving the governor’s award.

“They were excited, it means a lot,” Anania said Wednesday. “We’re all excited to continue the heritage here.”

The acquisition of its much larger competitor — H.C. Starck — was a strategic move that has opened new doors for Elmet as a whole.

“The two teams together are coming together fine,” Anania said, explaining, “they have figured out even more opportunities that we can do together as one — in terms of making things more efficient, getting out to bigger markets, being able to call on customers that we were competing on, calling on them together now, things like that. So, we think there’s even more opportunities than we thought of originally.”

Chief Financial Officer Derek Fox echoed Anania’s praise for Elmet’s employees and the company’s resilience in winning the Heritage Industry Award.

“I think it’s awesome, I think for employees, for all the people that worked here through the years,” he said, adding that especially for longtime employees who competed in the shadows of H.C. Starck as the “little guy,” it’s vindication.

“Our survival has been constantly developing new products, new customers,” Fox said. “So, that’s been a special part of it watching the factory change. But business is doing really good.”

So good that Elmet handed out 4.5% quarterly production bonuses, sales bonuses, 5% profit sharing in addition to the 401(k) with a “generous” match and wages above average in Lewiston.

The acquisition of H.C. Starck has broadened the markets for Elmet’s products and the need for more production. One of the biggest markets is the medical equipment and devices sector.

Anania said they’ve taken the wire that was used in light bulbs and, with some modifications, it’s now used in advanced medical applications. Elmet is now the top supplier of high-strength wire for medical applications in the country.

The wire is used in various medical instruments and Elmet is being asked to double its production. “That’s why we’re looking for people. We need more and more people,” Anania explained.

It’s not just production labor, they need specialty machinists, accountants, information technology specialists and more. Fox explained that the buyout of Starck came with production facilities and its workers, but not the corporate structure Elmet needs. In order to attract professionals and highly skilled machinists, the company is offering lots of incentives.

The incentives include a $5,000 sign-on bonus for well qualified specialty positions, a $250 monthly perfect attendance bonus and a generous benefits package. The company has also implemented a common skill matrix to reward employees with special skills.

“What we really want to do is separate people with high skill and the desire to learn everything,” Fox said. The end goal is to make it a career destination workplace and not just a job.

The new Elmet Technologies has grown from 160 employees to 450, including the Michigan and Ohio facilities and remote sales positions. There are 14 open positions in Lewiston including accounting, specialty machinists and production labor.

The expansion of Elmet also means investment in new machinery and equipment to meet demand. A new furnace will be added most likely in Michigan, where the plant’s focus is on powders like tungsten and molybdenum. The Ohio plant focuses on what Elmet calls its flat product — sheet and plate.

Lewiston primarily produces Elmet’s long product — wire and rod, although it has the capability to do everything. What the Lewiston plant makes is where most of the current product demand is.

Besides medical applications, tungsten and molybdenum are used in aerospace and defense, areas that Anania says are key for his company.

“I think that is the future,” he said. “I think there’s a lot in the satellite area, the shielding of satellites.”

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