Company

EXPERTISE SINCE 1898

Development partner and reliable supplier of materials for the most stringent requirements in the inorganic chemistry and metallurgy sectors.

Our high-performance materials can be found in many demanding applications, such as in the pharmaceutical industry, the aviation and aerospace industries, the automotive industry, the electronics industry, the steel industry, the carbide industry, biomedicine, water purification and environmental catalysts.

Der Spezialist für Seltene Erden seit mehr als 120 Jahren

WHERE HAVE WE COME FROM?

The success story

In 1898, Dr. Carl Auer von Welsbach, the world-renowned inventor, discoverer and entrepreneur, established our company in Althofen/Austria. His almost insatiable thirst for research in the field of metallurgy and rare earths gave rise to many products which originally formed the nucleus of Treibacher. Over the decades, new companies and a broad product portfolio were built on these foundations.


Dr. Carl Auer von Welsbach

  • Discoverer of the rare earths praseodymium, neodymium, ytterbium and lutetium
  • Inventor of the gas mantle
  • Pioneer of electric lighting
  • Laid the foundations for the OSRAM company
  • Inventor of the flint

SPECIALISTS FOR RARE EARTHS

As one of the world’s leading specialists in rare earths, Auer von Welsbach also focused on these elements of the periodic table in his company.

Over the decades, Treibacher Industrie AG (formerly: Treibacher Chemische Werke) has developed into the most important rare earth processor outside the People’s Republic of China. The company has also become a leading supplier of zirconium chemicals.

In addition, we are now the largest producer of vanadium in Europe and also a leader in the recycling of spent vanadium-bearing catalysts from the petroleum industry.

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WHERE ARE WE GOING?

Pioneers in terms of environmental protection, sustainability and circular economy

Both the chemical and the metallurgical industries have been in a state of flux for years. Today, the two industries are among the pioneers in terms of environmental protection, sustainability and circular economy. Our performance in these areas is also remarkable.

For example, we have been recycling metal-bearing residual materials for 40 years to recover the metals vanadium, nickel and molybdenum which are important to us. They are processed in the company’s own production facilities into high-quality ferroalloys (ferrovanadium, ferromolybdenum, ferro-nickel-molybdenum) which are used in the global steel industry. A recycling rate of more than 99% demonstrates the high efficiency of our recycling process. Another plus is the saving of 500,000 metric tons of ore per year that would have to be processed if primary raw materials were procured. This is roughly equivalent to 25,000 truckloads. But this is just the beginning.

SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Our vision is to develop materials that contribute to a sustainable future.

Our focus is therefore on materials which our customers process into high-quality products that contribute to environmental protection, sustainability and to a better life overall – so-called “better life products”.

Our product portfolio already includes a number of products for such applications and we plan to add more in the future. To this end, we work closely with our customers and jointly develop solutions that did not exist until now.

We manufacture our products and solutions exclusively in Austria – and stand by this in the long term.