SGL Carbon
A German global manufacturer of carbon, graphite and fiber-composite materials and equipment.
Last updated August 31, 2026
AI crawler reads
4requests
1companies- Anthropic4
- Profile
- 2
- Controversies
- 2
- JSON · MD
- 0
- First read
- Nov 4, 2026
- Latest read
- Nov 4, 2026
From this site's server log
Overview
SGL Carbon SE is a Germany-based industrial materials company specializing in carbon- and graphite-based products, carbon fibers, composite materials and process equipment. Its corporate history reaches back to 1878, when Gebr. Siemens & Co. was established in Berlin as a Siemens subsidiary producing carbon materials. The present company emerged in 1992 through the combination of Germany's SIGRI GmbH and the United States-based Great Lakes Carbon, creating a German-law company with a substantial international industrial footprint. SGL Carbon supplies engineered materials and systems to industries in which high temperature resistance, electrical conductivity, chemical resistance, low weight or mechanical strength are important. Its customer base includes automotive and transportation manufacturers, aerospace companies, chemical producers, semiconductor and LED manufacturers, solar and battery businesses, fuel-cell developers, energy companies and producers of technical textiles. Rather than operating primarily as a consumer-facing brand, SGL Carbon functions as a business-to-business technology and materials supplier whose products are commonly incorporated into customers' manufacturing equipment, vehicles, energy systems and industrial processes. The company is organized around three principal business units: Graphite Solutions, Process Technology and Fiber Composites. Graphite Solutions produces specialty graphite, fine-grain graphite blocks, expanded natural graphite, graphite components for semiconductor and solar manufacturing, anode materials and products for batteries and fuel cells. Its high-purity graphite components are used in equipment for growing silicon-carbide crystals and manufacturing power-semiconductor substrates. The business also serves LED, automotive, transport and other industrial applications. Process Technology designs, manufactures, services and repairs equipment and systems for corrosive industrial processes. Its portfolio includes graphite heat exchangers, pumps, columns, synthesis systems and equipment for acid concentration, dilution, absorption and desorption. The chemical industry is the principal customer group for this business, reflecting the corrosion resistance and thermal performance of graphite-based equipment. Fiber Composites supplies carbon fibers, textiles, prepreg materials and finished composite components. The unit develops customer-specific solutions based on carbon, glass and aramid fibers, with applications including automotive battery housings, glass-fiber-reinforced leaf springs, aerospace structures and carbon-based friction materials. Lightweight construction, stiffness and strength are central to its market proposition. SGL Carbon operates production facilities and a distribution and service network across major industrial regions. The reference material identifies 29 production sites at the end of 2024: 17 in Europe, eight in North America and four in Asia. Its service network reaches approximately 80 countries. Germany remains an important operating base, with facilities in Meitingen, Bonn, Wackersdorf, Limburg and Willich in addition to the Wiesbaden headquarters. The company has undergone significant strategic change. It exited its former graphite-electrode core business and related cathode, furnace-lining and carbon-electrode activities during the 2017 realignment, concentrating more heavily on specialty graphite, process technology and composite materials. It also sold several businesses and adjusted joint-venture holdings, including transactions involving SGL Rotec, Hitco, SGL-Kümpers, Benteler-SGL and SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers. The company reported 2024 revenue of €1.026 billion and approximately 4,400 employees worldwide, according to the cited Wikipedia reference. Its history also includes major antitrust litigation arising from participation in a graphite-electrode cartel during the 1990s.
History
SGL Carbon's industrial lineage begins in 1878 with Gebr. Siemens & Co., also known as Gesco, a Siemens subsidiary founded in Berlin to manufacture carbon products. In 1920 the business established a plant in Meitingen, Bavaria. Eight years later it combined with Planiawerke AG für Kohlefabrikation, a carbon-manufacturing company based in Ratibor, to form Siemens Planiawerke AG für Kohlefabrikate. Following the Second World War, the Meitingen operation was combined with Chemische Fabrik Griesheim. The resulting business became associated with Hoechst, which acquired a majority position in 1953. In 1967, the carbon-electrode activities of Hoechst were integrated with Siemens Planiawerke and related operations. The business was renamed SIGRI GmbH in 1985, and Hoechst acquired full ownership in 1989. The present SGL Carbon group was formed in 1992 when SIGRI GmbH merged with Great Lakes Carbon of the United States. The combination created a transatlantic carbon and graphite producer. Hoechst initially retained a 50 percent stake, but sold its remaining participation in 1996 as part of the restructuring of the Hoechst group. SGL Carbon thereafter operated as a publicly traded company. During the 1990s, graphite electrodes were a major part of the company's business. SGL Carbon was one of eight producers involved in a cartel that coordinated prices and sales volumes for graphite electrodes between July 1992 and June 1997. Investigations in the United States and Europe resulted in substantial fines and civil litigation. The company later sought Chapter 11 protection in the United States in connection with anticipated antitrust claims; a United States appellate court rejected the particular bankruptcy petition under a good-faith analysis. In the 2010s SGL Carbon began reshaping its portfolio. It sold SGL Rotec, a rotor-blade manufacturer, in 2014 and sold its United States subsidiary Hitco at a loss in 2015. In 2017, the company disposed of its former core graphite-electrode business and related cathode, furnace-lining and carbon-electrode activities. These actions marked a move away from large-volume carbon products toward specialty graphite, process technology and fiber composites. The portfolio continued to change through joint-venture transactions. In early 2018 SGL Carbon sold its interest in SGL-Kümpers to its former partner Kümpers GmbH. In the same year it acquired Benteler AG's shares in Benteler-SGL and announced the gradual purchase of BMW Group's shares in SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers. These transactions strengthened the company's control of selected composite-material activities. By the 2020s the company was structured as a management holding, SGL Carbon SE, with three operating units: Graphite Solutions, Process Technology and Fiber Composites. Its markets increasingly included semiconductor manufacturing, silicon-carbide crystal growth, batteries, fuel cells, solar and LED production, automotive lightweighting, aerospace, chemical processing and energy infrastructure. At the end of 2024, the company was described as having 29 production sites worldwide and a service network in approximately 80 countries. Its reported 2024 revenue was €1.026 billion, with around 4,400 employees. The company has also pursued opportunities in nuclear-grade graphite, including a 2026 multi-year supply arrangement associated with X-energy's Xe-100 reactor program.
- 2026
Nuclear-graphite supply agreement with X-energy
[1]SGL Carbon entered a multi-year agreement to supply graphite components for X-energy's Xe-100 small modular reactor program.
- 2024
Reported revenue reaches €1.026 billion
[1]SGL Carbon reported €1.026 billion in sales revenue and approximately 4,400 employees worldwide.
- 2018
Composite joint-venture portfolio changes
[1]The company sold its SGL-Kümpers interest, acquired Benteler AG's stake in Benteler-SGL and announced a phased acquisition of BMW Group's interest in SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers.
- 2017
Strategic portfolio realignment
[1]SGL Carbon divested its graphite-electrode business and related cathode, furnace-lining and carbon-electrode activities.
- 2015
Hitco is sold
[1]SGL Carbon sold its United States subsidiary Hitco in a loss-making transaction.
- 2014
SGL Rotec is sold
[1]The company sold its rotor-blade manufacturing subsidiary SGL Rotec.
- 1996
Hoechst exits its remaining stake
[1]Hoechst sold its remaining participation during its broader corporate restructuring, leaving SGL Carbon publicly traded.
- 1992
SGL Carbon is formed
[1]SIGRI GmbH and Great Lakes Carbon combined to create the modern SGL Carbon group.
- 1985
Business renamed SIGRI GmbH
[1]The carbon business adopted the SIGRI GmbH name during its development within the Hoechst group.
- 1928
Merger creates Siemens Planiawerke
[1]Gebr. Siemens & Co. merged with Planiawerke AG für Kohlefabrikation to form Siemens Planiawerke AG für Kohlefabrikate.
Products and positioning
A global business-to-business supplier of engineered carbon, graphite and fiber-composite solutions for demanding thermal, chemical, electrical, structural and energy applications.
Specialty graphite and advanced industrial materials
Graphite Solutions
This portfolio includes synthetic fine-grain graphite blocks, expanded natural graphite, graphite anode materials and components for batteries and fuel cells. SGL Carbon also manufactures high-purity graphite parts for silicon-carbide crystal-growth furnaces and silicon-carbide-coated graphite susceptors for LED and semiconductor processes. These products support semiconductor, LED, solar, automotive, transport, battery and energy customers where purity, thermal stability and controlled electrical properties are essential.
Chemical-process equipment
Process Technology
Process Technology supplies equipment and complete systems for corrosive chemical operations. Products include graphite heat exchangers, pumps, columns, synthesis systems and equipment for acid concentration, dilution, absorption and desorption. The unit provides new construction as well as maintenance and repair services, serving chemical producers that require equipment capable of handling aggressive media and high thermal loads.
Carbon-fiber and composite materials
Fiber Composites
Fiber Composites produces carbon fibers, technical textiles, prepreg materials and finished components based on carbon, glass and aramid fibers. It develops customized lightweight structures for automotive, aerospace and industrial customers. Applications identified in the reference material include battery housings, glass-fiber-reinforced leaf springs and carbon-based friction materials. The value proposition combines low weight with high stiffness, strength and application-specific engineering.
Electric-arc-furnace consumables
Graphite electrodes
Graphite electrodes were historically a major SGL Carbon business and were used in electric-arc-furnace steelmaking. The company exited this business during its 2017 strategic realignment, so it is a significant historical product line rather than a current flagship offering.
Controversies
2022
EPA fines SGL Carbon over hydrogen cyanide leak reporting
The EPA fined SGL Carbon about $139,000 for improperly reporting three hydrogen cyanide gas leaks at its Moses Lake facility beginning in late 2017. SGL admitted no wrongdoing in the consent decree. The company said it was working to remove a faulty actuator and stated that there was no health risk.
2021
Worker injured in fire at SGL Carbon factory
An employee suffered burns in a fire in an oven at SGL Carbon's Muir of Ord site. The incident caused a temporary break in production, and the Health and Safety Executive was informed.
1997
Graphite-electrode cartel
SGL Carbon was one of eight producers found to have coordinated graphite-electrode prices and sales volumes from July 1992 through June 1997. Investigations in the United States and Europe led to major fines and subsequent civil antitrust litigation. The reference material identifies an €80.2 million European fine and a $135 million United States fine for SGL Carbon.
Marketing campaigns
- 2011FC Augsburg stadium naming sponsorship
Germany
SGL Carbon became the naming sponsor of FC Augsburg's football stadium in Germany.
Outcome. The naming relationship continued until 2015.
- 2008German Olympic cycling sponsorship
Germany · China
SGL Carbon served as the main sponsor of the German cycling team at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Outcome. Brand sponsorship associated the company with German elite sport and international Olympic exposure.
Brand decisions
2026
Expansion into nuclear-reactor graphite supplyStrategyBackground
Advanced reactor developers require qualified graphite components for high-temperature gas-cooled reactor systems.
Action taken
SGL Carbon entered a multi-year supply agreement with X-energy for components for the Xe-100 small modular reactor program.
Aftermath
The reference describes an initial contract exceeding $100 million connected with a proposed four-unit project at Dow's Seadrift, Texas site.
Initial contract value. More than $100 million (2026 announcement)
2018
Consolidation of composite-material joint venturesM&ABackground
SGL Carbon adjusted its ownership structure in several composite-material partnerships.
Action taken
It acquired Benteler AG's interest in Benteler-SGL and announced the phased acquisition of BMW Group's shares in SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers, while selling its interest in SGL-Kümpers.
Aftermath
The transactions increased SGL Carbon's control of selected automotive carbon-fiber activities while reducing its position in SGL-Kümpers.
2017
Exit from graphite electrodes and related carbon productsStrategyBackground
SGL Carbon undertook a strategic realignment to reduce exposure to its former core graphite-electrode business.
Action taken
The company sold its graphite-electrode business and activities involving cathodes, furnace linings and carbon electrodes.
Aftermath
The portfolio became more focused on specialty graphite, process technology and fiber-composite materials.
Recent events
- Unconfirmed
Reported
EPA fines SGL Carbon over hydrogen cyanide leak reporting[3]
The EPA fined SGL Carbon about $139,000 for improperly reporting three hydrogen cyanide gas leaks at its Moses Lake facility beginning in late 2017. SGL admitted no wrongdoing in the consent decree. The company said it was working to remove a faulty actuator and stated that there was no health risk.
Reported
Worker injured in fire at SGL Carbon factory[4]
An employee suffered burns in a fire in an oven at SGL Carbon's Muir of Ord site. The incident caused a temporary break in production, and the Health and Safety Executive was informed.
Reported
SGL Carbon launches Arkadelphia plant expansion[5]
SGL Carbon launched a $4.5 million expansion project at its Arkadelphia, Arkansas plant to increase carbon-composites capacity; the company said it will create 35 jobs. The expansion is expected to become operational by the end of the year.
Sources5 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/sgl-carbon · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled