This year, H.C. Starck Solutions is celebrating the centennial of our global company by highlighting the efforts of individual plants and facilities across the world. We have already explored the importance of our Newton plant in Massachusetts and the Hermsdorf facility in Germany, sharing some of their core competencies and highlights throughout their unique history.
This month, we are looking into the history of our Euclid facility in Ohio, which is renowned for its tungsten and space-age refractory metals. In fact, our Euclid plant was built during one of the most exciting technological eras mankind has ever experienced: the space race.
A Brief History of the Euclid Plant
After the USSR launched Sputnik in 1957 and sent a man into orbit just four years later, the US President, John F. Kennedy, announced an ambitious initiative: the USA was going to put a man on the moon. This extraordinary objective motivated the creation of a flat-rolled refractory metal plant on Tungsten Road in Euclid, Ohio. For over fifty-five years, the Euclid plant has been engineering and delivering superior refractory metals and tungsten alloys for a wide range of critical objectives.
The Euclid plant has changed ownership several times over the years. In 1961 the plant was established by the General Electric Company (GE), who capitalized on their rich process knowledge in molybdenum and tungsten in lamp wire for developing a robust production line in supplying flat-rolled plate, sheet, and foils of refractory metals. Projected growth of tungsten did not occur and resulted in GE’s divestiture, as molybdenum applications for vacuum furnaces surpassed tungsten sheet demand.
American Metal Climax Company, otherwise known as AMAX with a plant in Coldwater Michigan, purchased this facility in 1972 and consolidated all the flat rolled product into the Euclid Plant. This yielded tangible dividends to AMAX. In the ‘80s, sales of molybdenum sheets grew with new applications for thermal management in electronics and new materials such as copper and nickel clad molybdenum.
After years of success, AMAX merged with a company known as Cyprus, and in 1995 Euclid, Latrobe, West Horndon and Coldwater sites were purchased by Key Equity Capital and renamed CSM Industries. Shortly thereafter the firms Moly-Press and Kulite were purchased and expanded industrial capability, capacity and experience, including tungsten heavy alloys.
H.C. Starck purchased CSM Industries with all its assets in 2000. This was during our concerted push to support growing advanced electronics applications including refractory metal based sputtering targets for flat panel display manufacturing.
In 2007, the Latrobe and Kulite facilities were consolidated in Euclid. This expanded the Euclid capabilities to include the manufacturing of tungsten heavy alloys and complex machining.
Euclid, Ohio Today Under H.C. Starck Solutions
In 2020, the Euclid site continues to produce flat-rolled plate, sheet, and foil from molybdenum and tungsten and alloys. AS9100 Aerospace certification allows the Euclid site to be a valued supplier of tungsten heavy alloy parts for critical aerospace and defense applications. With additional fabrication and machining operations, we can provide significant added-value to our customers through novel products and solutions. If you would like to learn more about our site, or any other facility covered in the 100 Years of Refractory Metals Expertise celebration, simply contact a member of the H.C. Starck Solutions team today.
