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V O L . X X X I I N O. X X I V O C T O B E R 1 9 , 2 0 2 6 16 M A N U FA C T U R I N G / I N T E R N AT I O N A L T R A D E F O C U S Industrial policy shift Since June 2025, the federal govern- ment has taken stock, warrants, a golden share or a profit interest in 35 companies through the departments of Commerce, Defense, Energy and Treasury. Although there is no official list, Los Angeles-based consulting firm OAG SEO estimates that the gov- ernment has invested close to $18 billion in those companies, including Elmet. Around half of the total is rep- resented by an $8.9 billion investment in Intel Corp. for a nearly 10% stake in the California-based semiconduc- tor maker. e most recent invest- ment, $65 million in a $135 million Series A venture capital fundraising round for Hertha Metals, is aimed at helping the Texas-based startup trans- form steelmaking. e federal government has a long history of intervening in private indus- try, from railroad expansion under the Lincoln administration to Truman's seizure of steel mills in 1952 — deemed unlawful that same year by the Supreme Court — to bailouts of banks, insurers and carmakers in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Today, with private-sector consent, the Trump administration is writing a new chapter in U.S. industrial policy through investments in semiconduc- tors, nuclear energy and critical miner- als like the tungsten and molybdenum that Elmet refines and processes at its factories in Ohio, Michigan and Maine. Its products include molybdenum nozzles used in missile defense systems. Having a sizeable stake in Elmet gives Washington a long-term domes- tic source of tungsten, helping preserve U.S. capacity as China's dominance of the market drives up prices—tungsten concentrate has roughly tripled since January — and the wars in Ukraine and Iran fuel demand for military hardware. While a 2018 law bars the Defense Department from buying tungsten powder and heavy alloys made in China, Russia, Iran or North Korea, the ban will also apply to tungsten mined or refined in those countries as of Jan. 1, 2027, even if it's processed elsewhere, creating an even greater need for supply diversification. War and peace Meghan Welch, a Florida-based man- aging director with Brown Gibbons Lang & Co., says the Iran war has heightened the urgency of expanding domestic tungsten production. "at changes the question from 'How many missiles do we have?' to 'How quickly can we manufacture the next thousand?'" says Welch, who leads the law firm's aerospace, defense and government services advisory practice. "Once you ask that question, you move upstream to rocket motors, castings, critical minerals, and, ultimately, raw materials such as tungsten. at is what makes Elmet particularly interesting." But with defense accounting for only 12% of global tungsten demand, the case for Elmet extends beyond the current conflicts, says Kevin Compher, who founded a Portland-based venture called First Light Works that aims to fast- track defense innovation across New England. "Elmet's deal runs on a 10-year horizon, refilling a stockpile is peace- time work and the 2027 ban on Chinese tungsten in defense supply doesn't expire with a truce. ere is no armistice in the competition with China," he says. As Elmet approaches its 100th anniversary in 2029, the firm aims to lay the foundation for the next 100 years by using proceeds from its IPO and fresh government capital to add to its 600-strong workforce, around half of whom are based in Maine. e Defense Department has said its investment will preserve high- paying jobs in Ohio, bolster demand for upstream mining jobs in Nevada and support around 1,200 downstream jobs across manufacturing, engineering and logistics networks tied to major defense suppliers. » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E Elmet Group Co. agreed to buy a 4.9% equity stake in Vietnam-based Masan High Tech Materials Corp., which will also supply the Maine manufacturer with mined tungsten from the Nui Phao Mine and provided tungsten conversion services at a refining complex in Vietnam. An operator runs a GFM rotary forge at Elmet Technologies in Coldwater, Mich., where every second of power, tonnage and temperature data is logged for consistency. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F E L M E T G RO U P C O. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F E L M E T G RO U P C O.

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