GrafTech International Ltd. manufactures graphite electrode products essential to the production of electric arc furnace (EAF) steel and other ferrous and non-ferrous metals.
The company has graphite electrode manufacturing facilities in Calais, France; Pamplona, Spain; Monterrey, Mexico and St. Marys, Pennsylvania (idled in 2024). The company is the only large-scale graphite electrode producer that is substantially vertically integrated into petroleum needle coke, its key raw material for grap...
GrafTech International Ltd. manufactures graphite electrode products essential to the production of electric arc furnace (EAF) steel and other ferrous and non-ferrous metals.
The company has graphite electrode manufacturing facilities in Calais, France; Pamplona, Spain; Monterrey, Mexico and St. Marys, Pennsylvania (idled in 2024). The company is the only large-scale graphite electrode producer that is substantially vertically integrated into petroleum needle coke, its key raw material for graphite electrode manufacturing.
The company’s only reportable segment, Industrial Materials, consists of two major product categories: graphite electrodes and petroleum needle coke products.
As of December 31, 2024, the company’s stated production capacity was approximately 178 thousand metric tons (MT) through its primary manufacturing facilities in Calais, Pamplona and Monterrey.
Products and Raw Materials
Graphite Electrodes
Graphite electrodes are an industrial consumable product used primarily in EAF steel production, one of the two primary methods of steel production and the steelmaking technology used by all mini-mills. Electrodes act as conductors of electricity in the furnace, generating sufficient heat to melt scrap metal, iron ore-derived products or other raw materials used to produce steel or other metals. Graphite electrodes are the only known commercially available products that have the high levels of electrical conductivity and the capability to sustain the high levels of heat generated in EAF steel production. As a result, EAF steel manufacturers require a reliable supply of high-quality graphite electrodes. Graphite electrodes are also used in steel refining ladle furnaces and in other processes, such as the production of titanium dioxide, stainless steel, silicon metals and other ferrous and non-ferrous metals.
The company manufactures graphite electrodes ranging in size up to 31.5 inches (800 millimeters) in diameter, over 11 feet (3,400 millimeters) in length, and weighing as much as 5,900 pounds (2.6 MT). In 2024, the company expanded its product offerings to include the addition of the 800-millimeter super-sized electrode to its portfolio to serve a small but growing segment of the UHP electrode market. The company also manufactures corresponding sizes of graphite connecting pins, which are used by customers to connect and fasten graphite electrodes together in a column for use in an EAF. The company continues to explore opportunities to increase its pin manufacturing capabilities.
Contracts and Customers
The company’s customers include major steel producers and other ferrous and non-ferrous metal producers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (collectively, EMEA), the Americas, and Asia-Pacific (APAC), which sell their products primarily into the automotive, construction, appliance, machinery, equipment and transportation industries.
The company sells its products under short-term purchase agreements, multi-year purchase agreements and spot sales. The company’s short-term agreements are either annual, semi-annual or quarterly. The company’s substantial vertical integration into petroleum needle coke supports its ability to offer contracts with varying durations, providing its customers with flexibility and surety of supply.
Approximately 90% of the company’s graphite electrodes were purchased by EAF steel producers in 2024. The remaining portion is primarily used in various other ferrous and non-ferrous melting applications, fused materials, chemical processing, and alloy metals. The company sells its products in every major geographic region globally. Sales of the company’s products to buyers outside the United States accounted for approximately 68% of net sales in 2024. Overall, in 2024, the company generated 89% of its net sales from EMEA and the Americas.
Sales and Customer Service
The company has a large customer technical service organization, with supporting application engineering and scientific groups and approximately 30 engineers and specialists around the world serving in this area. The company provides value-added technical services to its customers.
The company’s direct sales force operates from 13 sales offices located around the world. The company sells its graphite electrodes primarily through its direct sales force, independent sales representatives, and distributors, all of whom are trained and experienced with its products.
A portion of the company’s engineers and technicians provide technical service and advice to key steel and other metals customers. These services relate to furnace applications and operation, as well as furnace upgrades to reduce energy consumption, improve raw material costs and increase output.
Distribution
The company deploys various demand management and inventory management techniques to seek to ensure that it can meet its customers’ delivery requirements while still maximizing the utilization of its production capacity. The company can experience significant variation in its customers’ delivery requirements as their specific needs vary and change throughout the year. Wegenerally seek to maintain appropriate inventory levels, taking into account these factors as well as the significant differences in manufacturing cycle times for graphite electrode products and its customers’ products.
Intellectual Property
The company’s intellectual property portfolio is extensive, with approximately 100 U.S. and foreign patents and pending patent applications. The UCAR trademark is owned by Union Carbide Corporation (Union Carbide) (which was acquired by Dow Chemical Company) and is licensed to the company on a worldwide, exclusive and royalty-free basis until January 2035.
Regulatory Matters
As a company with global operations, the company is subject to the laws and regulations of the United States and the multiple foreign jurisdictions in which it operates or conducts business, as well as the rules, reporting obligations and interpretations of all such requirements and obligations by various governing bodies. These include federal, state, local and foreign environmental laws and regulations, increasingly complex and changing laws and regulations enacted to protect business and personal data in the United States and other jurisdictions, including the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), anti-corruption laws, import/export controls, anti-competition laws, U.S. securities laws and a variety of regulations, including work-related and community safety laws.
History
GrafTech International Ltd. was founded in 1886. The company was incorporated in Delaware in 2010.
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