American Elements
 |
|
| Private | |
| Industry | Basic Materials |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Founder | Michael Silver |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, United States |
|
Area served
|
Worldwide |
| Products | Chemicals and Metals |
| Website | www |
American Elements is a global manufacturer and distributor of the elements on the periodic table with a 10,000 page online compendium of information on the properties and uses of the elements. The company's headquarters and educational programs are based in Los Angeles, California. Its research and production facilities are located in Salt Lake City, Utah; Monterrey, Mexico; Baotou, China; and Manchester, UK.
American Elements began as a toll chemical manufacturer and refiner serving U.S. mining companies by producing metal based chemicals from their deposits. In 1998, its two largest customers, the Unocal/Molycorp rare earth mine in Mountain Pass, California and the Rhodia rare earth refinery in Freeport, Texas closed, ending domestic U.S. rare earth production. In response, the company established mining joint ventures in Inner Mongolia, China and in 1999 became one of the first post cold war companies to export rare earth metals from China to the U.S. and Europe.
Over the following decade the company expanded operations to include production of all elements on the periodic table and established educational programs, scholarships and scientific conferences to educate the public on the properties and applications of the elements. In 2001, it founded its website, which is a compendium of information on the periodic table, the elements and the uses of advanced materials.
That same year, the company established its research & development department with the stated goal of developing new materials and the cost effective processes necessary to scale their production to bulk quantities. Materials with application promise that could not be effectively scaled were abandoned in favor of materials and technologies that had the added benefit of being producible at costs in line with their commercial application. Many of the technologies and materials developed at American Elements were co-designed and co-developed with technology partners (See table below). The company develops and commercializes technology materials in partnership with the U.S. military and 30% of the Fortune 50 list of companies.
...
Wikipedia