CBMM

Innovation and a long-term business vision have been ever-present since our inception in 1955.

We emerged out of an act of innovation: the processing of Niobium to make other materials more efficient, safer and sustainable.

Over the course of our trajectory, we have accordingly invested in developing proprietary technologies for the manufacturing of Niobium products and helped expand the market for its applications. We are the only company in the world that produces and sells the following set of products:

Global footprint

A global leader in the production and sale of niobium products, we are proud to be a truly Brazilian company. We are a private company and 70% of our capital currently belongs to the Moreira Salles family, with 40% held by BW and 30% in the form of direct investment. The remaining 30% is distributed between two joint ventures - one formed of Chinese companies and the other by companies from Japan and South Korea - each holding a 15% interest in the Company.

Our industrial facility is located in the municipality of Araxá, Minas Gerais state, and has six specialized centers, three operating exclusively to support our core business: the Technology Center, the Metal Processes and Materials Research Center and the Battery Materials Center inaugurated in 2021. The other three deliver on our commitment to the ESG topic: Integrated Monitoring Center (focused on safety), Environmental Development Center and Human Development Center, which guarantees free quality education to our employees’ children aged between four months and five years.

We produce niobium technology for more than 400 clients in over 50 countries directly from the heart of Minas Gerais state. We also have four subsidiaries (Switzerland, Netherlands, USA and Singapore) and two representative offices in China (Beijing and Shanghai). We also have sales representatives in China, Japan, South America, India and Taiwan and an extensive network of distributors, in addition to 26 warehouses strategically located to guarantee the quality of our logistical services.

Business model

Using the guidelines of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), we prepared a model that demonstrates how the resources used in our operation return to society, creating and sharing value with each of the capitals considered: Financial, Manufactured, Human, Intellectual, Social and Relationships and Natural.

Innovation in products and solutions

Innovation is a part of our Organizational Culture. We innovate in Niobium applications and technologies for our manufacturing processes. This is why we have been investing resources and efforts in implementing the Industry 4.0 concept. This model comprises cyber systems and the Internet of Things (IoT) and is the foundation of our digital transformation.

To keep up with the burgeoning global demand for niobium, in November 2021 we inaugurated facilities that raised our annual production capacity from 100 thousand to 150 thousand metric tons of niobium products a year. We invested R$ 3 billion in this venture over the course of eight years. In 2023 we will embark upon a new cycle of expansion, in a projected investment of R$ 9 billion, to double the Company’s sales volume by 2030.

In order to deliver innovation to our clients, our three specialized centers in our industrial complex are segregated into developing Research and Development (R&D) projects:

Metal Processes and Materials Research Center: dedicated to obtaining super alloys of the highest purity processed in a vacuum furnace, for the aerospace and energy industries.

Technology Center: accredited by the standard NBR ISO/ IEC 17025:2005, it develops new niobium products and applications on four work fronts: batteries, steel-based materials, iron-based materials and special products.

Battery Materials Center: with investments upwards of R$ 13 million, the center was opened in 2021 and comprises all the steps necessary to produce and grade Niobium Oxide exclusively for batteries.

In a total investment of R$ 195 million on the four work fronts (batteries, steel-based materials, iron-based materials and special products), we carried out 324 projects in 2021 (207 technical projects, 87 focused on processes and products and 30 for batteries).

The flagship project in the period was the Batteries Program, receiving investment of approximately R$ 60 million. This promising segment should account for 25% of CBMM's revenue by 2030. The program has been consolidating the Company as a global standard in the development of new niobium technologies for lithium-ion batteries. Learn more about our R&D projects in the complete version of our Sustainability Report 2021.