The financing is being provided through the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program in coordination with the Economic Defense Unit. The unit was established this year to coordinate economic initiatives aimed at accelerating production across the U.S. defense industrial base.
Elmet expects to direct more than $165 million to manufacturing and processing operations in Maine, Michigan and Ohio. The facilities produce tungsten, molybdenum and other advanced materials and precision-engineered components.
The broader investment will also support mining and processing operations in the United States, Australia and Spain. Elmet plans to expand agreements with supply-chain partners to secure long-term access to raw materials.
The company will create Elmet Refining & Trading to coordinate material sourcing, processing and delivery across its network. The new division will connect upstream mining operations with Elmet’s expanding manufacturing base.
The federal investment will support construction of what the department described as North America’s only independent ammonium paratungstate facility. Production of ammonium paratungstate is a central stage in tungsten processing and one of the largest constraints in the U.S. supply chain.
China controls an estimated 85% of global tungsten supply and 40% of molybdenum supply, according to the department. The project is intended to reduce U.S. reliance on markets dominated by a strategic competitor while increasing domestic and partner-country capacity.
Elmet is the only U.S.-owned, fully integrated producer of tungsten and molybdenum materials and components. The Nasdaq-listed company serves defense, aerospace, energy, semiconductor, medical and industrial customers.
The department identified the F-35, Patriot PAC-3, Trident D5, Next Generation Interceptor and Precision Strike Missile among the programs supported by Elmet. The company separately listed Javelin, AEGIS, THAAD, Trident II and the Virginia- and Columbia-class submarine programs.
Tungsten is valued for its hardness, density, durability and ability to withstand extreme heat, pressure and wear. Those characteristics make the metal difficult to replace in selected high-performance military and industrial components.
“This investment reflects the Department’s commitment to rebuilding critical industrial capacity in the United States,” said Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy Mike Cadenazzi. “Expanding domestic tungsten processing will strengthen supply chain resilience, support high-quality manufacturing jobs, and reinforce the production base behind essential defense systems.”
“This investment represents an important step toward securing a resilient supply of tungsten, a material that is critical to America’s defense, industrial, and economic future,” said The Elmet Group CEO and Chairman Peter V. Anania. “The Elmet Group’s vertically integrated production capabilities, sourcing strategy, and commitment to expanding capacity positions our company to play a meaningful role in strengthening supply chains.”
The investment follows Elmet’s initial public offering earlier this year and its recent expansion into Europe. The company said the federal commitment would accelerate its growth while increasing manufacturing capacity and supply security.
“The Department is committed to empowering the American warfighter and workforce,” said George K. Kollitides II, Director of the Economic Defense Unit. “We are proud to invest in Elmet Technologies to bring tungsten-processing capacity home to the United States and strengthen the industrial might that powers and protects our way of life.”
The project is expected to create high-technology jobs in Coldwater, Michigan, and Lewiston, Maine. It is also intended to preserve manufacturing employment in Euclid, Ohio, and increase demand for mining jobs in Nevada.
The department expects the investment to support about 1,200 downstream jobs across manufacturing, engineering and logistics. Those positions are linked to the network of major defense suppliers that relies on Elmet’s materials and components.
