Ferroglobe PLC
Ferroglobe PLC, a subsidiary of Grupo Villar Mir, S.A.U., was established in 2015 as VeloNewco Limited before adopting its current name in December 2015. Headquartered in London, United Kingdom, the company operates globally, with significant activities across the United States, Europe, and other international markets, focusing on the silicon and specialized metals industry. The company manufactures a comprehensive range of products vital to diverse sectors. Its offerings include silicone chemicals, indispensable for personal care products, construction materials, healthcare solutions, and electronics. Silicon metal is also a key product, primarily supplied to both primary and secondary aluminum producers. For the steel industry, Ferroglobe provides silicomanganese, which acts as a deoxidizing agent, and ferromanganese, crucial for deoxidizing, desulphurizing, and degasifying steel by eliminating nitrogen and other harmful impurities. Additionally, Ferroglobe's ferrosilicon products are fundamental to the production of stainless steel, carbon steel, various other steel alloys, electrodes, and aluminum. Calcium silicon serves multiple critical functions, such as deoxidizing and desulfurizing liquid steel, creating coatings for cast iron pipes, use in powder metal welding processes, and pyrotechnics. The company also produces nodularizers and inoculants, which are essential for iron manufacturing. Silica fume, a valuable byproduct, is generated during the electrometallurgical production of silicon metal and ferrosilicon. Beyond manufacturing, Ferroglobe holds substantial operational assets, including quartz mines located in Spain, South Africa, the United States, and Canada, as well as low-ash metallurgical coal mines in the U.S. The company also has investments in a hydroelectric power plant in France. Ferroglobe serves an extensive customer base, including manufacturers of silicone chemicals, aluminum, and steel, along with automotive companies and their suppliers, ductile iron foundries, producers of photovoltaic solar cells and computer chips, and concrete manufacturers.