Elkem Acquires Keyvest to Grow Specialty Business in Refractories

INDUSTRY NEWS / 行业新闻 Elkem Acquires Keyvest to Grow Specialty Business in Refractories 埃肯集团并购Keyvest公司，进军耐火材料领域

Elkem ASA has entered into an agreement to acquire KeyVest Belgium S.A, a specialist company in the sourcing of materials and production of metal powders to the refractory industry and other segments including advanced ceramics. This will expand Elkem’s product portfolio and create a platform for further growth.

KeyVest was established in 2007 as an independent processing and milling company of silicon carbide and silicon metal powders. The company is also a distributor of related products such as ferrosilicon nitride, fused silica, boron carbide, and aluminium powder. KeyVest focuses on building long-term relationships with its customers and produces around 140 tailormade products as per customer requirements, with annual revenues around NOK 100 million. "The acquisition of KeyVest fits well into Elkem’s offerings to the refractory market, enabling us to further grow by providing additional specialised products to our current customers, improve our service level and processing capabilities and grow in adjacent segments. Through this agreement, we also secure opportunities for production optimisation. This is in line with Elkem’s strategy of growth through increased specialisation," says Elkem’s senior vice president for Silicon Products, Inge A. Grubben-Strømnes.

Refractories are materials designed to withstand very high temperatures and are therefore used in furnace linings for instance in the steel, cement and aluminium industries. Elkem offers a wide portfolio of high-quality products for the production of advanced refractory and ceramic products globally, backed by a highly competent staff for customer service, technical assistance and product development. The KeyVest acquisition will further support and expand this offering.

Elkem is acquiring KeyVest from a subsidiary of Holta Invest AS, a privately held investment company headquartered in Oslo, Norway. The transaction was closed 20 June 2022 and the new name of the entity will be Elkem Processing Services Belgium. ■

埃肯集团已与比利时KeyVest公司达成收购协议， KeyVest公司是一家专门为耐火材料行业和包括先进陶 瓷在内等其他行业供应材料和金属粉末的企业。这一收 购计划将扩大埃肯的产品范围，并为埃肯的进一步发展 壮大创造新平台。 KeyVest公司成立于2007年，是一家加工和研磨 碳化硅和金属硅粉末的公司。公司也是氮化硅铁、熔融 石英、碳化硼、铝粉等相关产品的经销商。KeyVest公 司致力于与客户建立长期的合作关系，可以根据客户需 求安排生产。目前可以生产约140种定制产品，年收入 约1亿挪威克朗。 收购KeyVest公司可以为埃肯向耐火材料市场进 军提供很大帮助，使我们能够通过向现有客户提供更多 的专业产品，来取得更多发展，同时可以提高我们的服 务水平和加工能力，并在相关领域实现相应增长。通过 这项收购协议，我们还可以确保能获得生产优化的机会。 这一决定符合埃肯集团通过加强专业化实现增长的战略 方针。”埃肯硅类产品高级副总裁Inge A. GrubbenStrømnes 这样说。 耐火材料是设计用于承受极高温度的材料，因此用 于炉衬使用，应用于钢铁、水泥和铝工业。埃肯为全球 先进耐火材料和陶瓷产品的生产，提供一系列高品质的 产品组合，并同时提供极富竞争力的客户服务、技术援 助和产品开发人员等后续支持服务。对KeyVest的收 购将进一步支持和扩展这一产品和相关服务。 埃肯正在以总部位于挪威奥斯陆的私营投资公司 Holta子公司的名义，进行收购KeyVest公司的交易。 该笔交易于2022年6月20日结束，新实体公司的名字 将显示为Elkem Processing Services Belgium。■