The CRONIMET Holding GmbH is a family-owned, international recycling corporation headquartered in Karlsruhe. Together with the CRONIMET Mining AG it forms the CRONIMET Group. The company is one of the world’s leading providers in the secondary raw material sector. Its primary business areas comprise the recycling of stainless steel scrap as well as the trading of ferro-alloys and primary metals. CRONIMET employs more than 5.000 people and has established more than 60 subsidiaries, partnerships and representatives worldwide.

In 1980, Günter Pilarsky founded CRONIMET and established two sites, one in Karlsruhe and one in Düsseldorf. Only two years later the company already expanded its business to the Dutch market and founded its first foreign subsidiary, the CRONIFER Holland B.V. (today: CRONIMET Holland B.V.). 

The company sustainably established further European affiliates before it entered the African market with the acquisition of a British subsidiary in 1995. CRONIMET continued its successful internationalization strategy and expanded its service portfolio by forming a joint-venture for the production of ferro-molybdenum and molybdenum metal with the company Plant of Pure Iron in Armenia.

During a period of expansion in 1997, CRONIMET entered the American market with the establishment of the CRONIMET corporation in the USA. Since the American market proved itself as lucrative, the company further increased its US presence by forming additional subsidiaries and acquiring several holdings in the US in 1998.  In 1999, the company founded another foreign affiliate, the CRONIMET Brazil Ltda in Sao Paulo.

The 2000s

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Besides the global expansion activities, CRONIMET further increased its European presence with affiliates in e.g. Italy, Poland, Switzerland. Over the years, the corporation increased its shares of Pure Iron plant and eventually acquired 51% of the stock in 2004. Simultaneously, Günter Pilarsky established the CRONIMET Mining GmbH as a strategic raw materials investor in order to ensure the supply of primary raw materials and products to the stainless steel manufacturing industry. In addition, CRONIMET acquired majority stakes of the Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine Mine and Armenia in order to strengthen its position in the primary raw material market.

In 2005, CRONIMET increased its global presence and entered the Asian market with a representative office in Shanghai which was the first step to the foundation of CRONIMET Shanghai in 2008. Besides the stainless steel and the primary raw material, the company extended its portfolio with specialty metals and acquired the Metalloy Metalle Legierungen GmbH in Norderstedt, Germany. 

The 2010s

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The succeeding years were marked from further choices impacting the growth of the corporation such as the expansion in Asia with the establishment of CRONIMET Singapore Pte. Ltd. in 2011. 

In 2013, CRONIMET entered a new business field with the acquisition of minority takes in the DESTIMET Green Services GmbH[2], a highly innovative business that processes industrial sludges. In 2015, CRONIMET acquired 1000% stakes of DESTIMET and renamed it in 2017 to the CRONIMET Envirotec GmbH[3]. Furthermore, the company engaged in the engine destruction, another new business field and was succesfully audited by the Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association (AFRA) in 2016.[4]

The corporation

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With 13.9% market share and an annual sales volume of 1.335.616 tons of steel, CRONIMET is one of the leading companies in the industry. The company is a family-owned business. The management board consists of several members:

  • Günter Pilarsky who initially founded CRONIMET in 1980 still contributes to strategic decisions as Managing Director of the CRONIMET Group.
  • Jürgen Pilarsky, son of Günter Pilarsky, also operates as Managing Director of the CRONIMET Group and since 2012 as CEO for the CRONIMET Holding GmbH. His responsibilities cover the product portfolio and supply chain issues as well as operational responsibilities.
  • Bernhard Kunsmann is the CFO of the CRONIMET Holding GmbH since 2011 and is in charge of financial and legal matters.
  • Oliver Kleinhempel is part of the Executive Management since 2016 and is in charge of the business in Asia and the Corporate Development within the group.[5]
  •  Annette Gartner has been appointed as Managing Director in 2017 and is responsible for Human Resources, SAP, IT, Marketing and digitalization matters.[6]

Business areas

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The operations of the CRONIMET Holding GmbH are organized in 4 business areas: Recycling, Trade & Sales, Production and Services.

Recycling

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The company finds its roots of success in the recycling of stainless steel which continues to  represent the core business of the CRONIMET Holding GmbH and ensures resource efficiency in order to preserve the environment. Nowadays, CRONIMET complements its material spectrum with the recycling of carbides, HSS & tool steel and titanium as well as recycling super & special alloys through its affiliates Metalloy and United Alloys.[7]Another special business field of CRONIMET is the processing and recycling of industrial sludges which is undertaken by the CRONIMET Envirotec GmbH. The CRONIMET Envirotec GmbH is a highly innovative company that recycles sludges from the metal and oil industry with patented technology. In 2016, CRONIMET managed to expand its recycling portfolio with the audited destruction of aircraft engines.

Further, the employees of CRONIMET act as consultants in the recycling business in order to determine the exact classification of the products offered. 

Production

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Since 2005, the CRONIMET Group owns the largest copper and molybdenum mine in Armenia. Ever since the production of ferro-alloys and metal powder for powder metallurgy is the second mainstays of the company. The product ranges covers ferro-molybdenium , molybdenium metal as well as ferro-titanium.[8][9]

Trade & Sales

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As a result of the first two mainstays of CRONIMET, the Recycling and the Production, CRONIMET is considered as a system provider that manages to supply both primary and secondary raw materials. In 2016, the annual sales amounted to 1.335.616 tons of steel. The corporation has decade-long experience in its business and therefore possesses a comprehensive material know-how. Due to its 62 affiliates and representatives, CRONIMET utilizes its global network  to efficiently distribute its products to customers. Main addressees of CRONIMET business are steel works and alloy producers but also small foundries as well as the vacuum melting industries are supplied by CRONIMET. [10]

Services

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CRONIMET provides services that complement its other three business units. The company stands for qualitative and accurate analytics of different metals. Further, it offers wage labor such as pressing, crushing and briquetting bulky material in order to satisfy the customers’ needs and demands. To ensure smooth operations and to support its business partners, CRONIMET provides storage and transport logistics to them. After the successful AFRA audit the company does not only deconstruct engines but also provide documented mutilation of serialized aircraft components as specified by the AFRA.[11]

Corporate Social Responsibility

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The recycling of finite resources like metals already entails a sustainable business model that aims to reduce waste of valuable resources and foster resource efficiency. Besides its sustainable business field, CRONIMET actively engages in social responsibility projects.

In 2006, Günter Pilarsky co-established the Pilarsky Foundation which supports local social projects in Armenia and the Philippines.  The main purpose of the foundation is to promote education, research and support the public health care and welfare. [12]

Further, the company founded the CRONIMET Charity Foundation Armenia. This non-profit corporation aims to improve public welfare and emphasizes on children and adolescents. Major goals are to promote research, education, development and innovation. 

  1. History. Abgerufen am 24. Juli 2017 (englisch).
  2. CRONIMET acquires minority shareholding in DESTIMET Green Services GmbH. Abgerufen am 24. Juli 2017 (englisch).
  3. Change of name into CRONIMET Envirotec with new appearance. Abgerufen am 24. Juli 2017 (englisch).
  4. Historie. Abgerufen am 24. Juli 2017 (englisch).
  5. Management. Abgerufen am 24. Juli 2017 (englisch).
  6. Appointment of Ms Annette Gartner as another managing director of CRONIMET Holding GmbH. Abgerufen am 24. Juli 2017 (englisch).
  7. Focus Rostfrei (Hrsg.): Grenzen des technisch Machbaren. Verlag Focus Rostfrei GmbH, Xanten 6. Juni 2017, S. 34–37.
  8. Production. Abgerufen am 24. Juli 2017 (englisch).
  9. Portfolio. Abgerufen am 24. Juli 2017 (englisch).
  10. Trading + distribution. Abgerufen am 24. Juli 2017 (englisch).
  11. Services. Abgerufen am 24. Juli 2017 (englisch).
  12. Jocelyn & Günter Pilarsky Stiftung. Abgerufen am 24. Juli 2017.