CeramTec

CeramTec AG

Type	Public Company
Industry	High-performance Ceramics, Technical Ceramics
Founded	1996 / 1903
Headquarters	Plochingen (Headquarters), Germany
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Dr. Ulf-D. Zimmermann (CEO)
Services	Ceramic Engineering
Revenue	USD 505,900,000 (2008)[1]
Employees	> 3.000 (2008)
Parent	Rockwood Holdings Inc.
Website	http://www.ceramtec.com/

CeramTec AG manufactures and develops high-performance ceramic components. The products are used in many different applications, especially in medical technologies, automotive manufacturing, electronics, equipment and machine construction, defense technologies, and chemical industries. The company headquarters are in Plochingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

CeramTec AG has subsidiaries, branches and offices in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic, Poland, Great Britain, Sweden, the USA, Mexico, Brazil, China, Malaysia, Korea and India.

In Germany, the main sites are Plochingen, Lauf and Marktredwitz in addition to the company’s other German sites in Ebersbach, Lohmar, Wilhermsdorf and Wittlich. The history of the three main sites is closely tied to the history of the company in its present-day form, which also reflects the development of the ceramics industry in Germany.

The company is a member of the Ceramic Industry Association (German: Verband der Keramischen Industrie e.V. - VKI).

History

CeramTec AG resulted from the acquisition of Hoechst CeramTec AG by Cerasiv GmbH in 1996.^[2]

The Thomas factories (Thomaswerke) were founded at the Marktredwitz site in 1903, and taken over by Philipp Rosenthal & Co. AG in 1908. In 1921 Philipp Rosenthal & Co. AG began cooperating with AEG in the development of technical porcelain for early industrial applications of ceramic materials. The two companies intensified this partnership in the area of technical ceramics in 1936, resulting in the foundation of Rosenthal Isolatoren GmbH, also known as RIG.

With the intention of manufacturing technical ceramics, they reorganized their cooperation in 1971. The result was the company Rosenthal Stemag Technische Keramik GmbH, which was renamed Rosenthal Technik AG in 1974. In 1985 Hoechst AG acquired the company and from that point on operated it under the name Hoechst CeramTec AG. Cerasiv GmbH, a company based in Plochingen, took over Hoechst CeramTec AG in 1996 and the newly formed company received the name CeramTec AG.

The site in Lauf an der Pegnitz has its roots in STEMAG AG (Steatit-Magnesia Aktiengesellschaft), founded in 1921. Following an initial incorporation into AEG in 1970, the company merged into Rosenthal Stemag Technische Keramik GmbH in 1971 as part of the reorganization of the partnership between Rosenthal and AEG.

Südplastik Gummi- und Kunststoffverarbeitung GmbH began operations at the Plochingen site in 1951. Feldmühle AG took over the company in 1953, renaming it Südplastik und -keramik GmbH (SPK). Feldmühle AG refocused its ceramic activities in 1991 in the newly founded Cerasiv GmbH, but then quickly sold it in 1992 to Metallgesellschaft AG, which integrated the company into its subsidiary Dynamit Nobel AG. Cerasiv GmbH’s acquisition of Hoechst CeramTec AG followed in 1996, resulting in the founding of CeramTec AG as a Metallgesellschaft AG (mg technologies AG) company.

Metallgesellschaft AG’s subgroup Dynamit Nobel AG broke away from Metallgesellschaft AG in 2004. KKR, an American private equity firm, became the main buyer, integrating parts of Dynamit Nobel AG into Rockwood Holdings Inc. In the process, the Princeton, New Jersey-based Rockwood Group took over ownership of the CeramTec AG Group.^[3] CeramTec AG continued to grow, acquiring and integrating Emil Müller GmbH (Wilhermsdorf, Germany) into the company as a subsidiary in 2007. A further acquisition followed in 2008; ETEC Gesellschaft für technische Keramik mbH also became a subsidiary and was renamed CeramTec-ETEC GmbH. Today, CeramTec AG is one of the largest international manufacturers of ceramics for exclusively technically-demanding applications.

Applications and products

Applications range from ceramic components for artificial hip and knee replacements to dental ceramics, seal and regulator discs as well as cartridges in sanitary fittings, inserts for metalworking, substrates for electronic circuits, appliance and mechanical components, fuse components, protection components, ceramics for ballistic protection of persons and vehicles, anti-wear components, dipping formers for surgical gloves, to piezoceramics as the key components of sensor and actuator technology products.

Product brands

• BIOLOX - prosthetic components for hip and knee joints
• SPK - inserts for turning and milling cast components and toughened steels
• CeramCool - heat sinks for high-power LEDs and high-power electronics
• Aloslide - inrun for giant ski jumps
• Ceramaseal - vacuum-sealed ceramic/metal components
• CeramDisc - seal and regulator discs for sanitary fittings
• AloTec - anti-wear and ballistic protection components

Main materials

Oxide ceramics

• Aluminum oxide (Rubalit)
• Zirconium oxide
• Aluminum titanate
• Silicate ceramic
• Piezoceramic (SONOX)

Non-oxide ceramics

• Silicon carbide (ROCAR / Sicadur)
• Silicon nitride
• Aluminum nitride (Alunit)

Composite materials

• Metal Matrix Composite (MMC)
• Ceramic Matrix Composite (CMC)

References

1. ^ Rockwood Inc. annual report 2008, item 6, 2009-03-02
2. ^ Website Museum of Plastic Materials, Troisdorf, Germany
3. ^ Rockwood buys CeramTec, Advanced Ceramic Report, 2004-07-01