2020 started as H.C. Starck Tantalum & Niobium and will end the pandemic-dominated year as TANIOBIS GmbH - but despite all the circumstances, with a thoroughly positive balance sheet and an optimistic view of the future. As a manufacturer of high-quality materials, powders and alloys based on tantalum and niobium, TANIOBIS serves customers worldwide, who in turn design products for many areas of everyday life - from smartphone chips to dental implants and aircraft turbines. A sophisticated hygiene concept protected the company from coronavirus at all of its sites.
Since mid-2018, H.C. Starck Tantalum & Niobium and its more than 660 employees have been part of the Japanese company JX Nippon Mining & Metals. On March 12, 2020, the headquarters were relocated from Munich to Goslar. The name change to TANIOBIS came into effect on July 1 of last year. With over 60 years of experience in metallurgy, TANIOBIS manufactures for customers in the automotive, energy, aviation, electronics, chemical industry and medical technology sectors, among others - in some areas also in additive manufacturing. Tantalum electrolytic capacitors are used in modern microelectronics for cell phones and PCs, for example. As a ductile, oxidation- and corrosion-resistant metal, niobium is primarily used to improve material properties. In aircraft turbines, for example, it makes a decisive contribution toreducing CO2 emissions. The high quality of TANIOBIS powders and alloys is a key factor in why the 2020 financial year was so positive.
The company management summed up that all improvement plans and measures to optimize costs came at the right time and have taken effect. The negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic were thus minimized. Compared to the rather difficult years of 2018 and 2019 from a market perspective, in which investment brakes and stock levels were noticeable, 2020 was even characterized by an increase in orders - especially in the microchip industry, which was certainly also supported by the increasing demand for home office products.
5G development in Asia as a positive driver
TANIOBIS expects sales in 2021 to be in the same order of magnitude as in 2020. Positive effects will also be related to the development of and demand for 5G technology on the Asian market. The 5th generation 5G mobile communications standard serves a huge market in Asia: the industry association GSMA predicted early on that Asian mobile operators will invest more than USD 570 billion by 2025, including USD 370 billion for 5G implementations. In turn, powders that ensure extremely high performance are required for the corresponding devices. TANIOBIS is also optimistic about the increasing demand for components for electromobility, as high-quality capacitors are needed, for which tantalum is a very important component.
In the middle of the year, the announced cooperation with the British company Alloyed was another positive highlight of 2020. The two companies will work together in the development, production and application of innovative titanium and niobium alloy powders in the future. The aim is to use high-quality powders for advanced manufacturing applications, particularly additive manufacturing. Despite all the challenges and adversities of the past few months, TANIOBIS can therefore draw a positive balance - and is no less positive about the future.
