Elkem Acquires VUM, A Slovak Producer of Carbon Materials

Lately, Elkem announced the acquisition of VUM, a carbon material manufacturer in Slovakia. This transaction will further increase Elkem’s capacity and competence in attractive specialty markets, and will give Elkem improved access to central and eastern European markets.

With the transaction complete, VUM will rebrand and operate under Elkem Carbon AS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Elkem ASA.

VUM, founded in 1954, is located in the center of Slovakia. The company is an independent producer of carbon-based materials for industrial smelters, including anode paste, electrode paste and ramming paste as well as recarburizers. VUM has a calcining technology based on rotary kilns furnaces which adds flexibility to handle different raw materials. Research and development work by VUM will also add competence and knowledge to Elkem’s competence center for carbon. Moreover, Slovakia’s electricity generation is mainly emissions-free, with nuclear and hydropower as the country’s two largest power sources, which aligns Elkem’s green development philosophy.

Being both a producer and consumer of carbon solutions, Elkem will provide VUM with development resources and best-in-class industry expertise to improve efficiency and economies of scale. Elkem also aims to realize synergies of its carbon business from optimizing its value chain and market structure to provide customers with better products and services.