Kemet Electronics Ltd

General information

KEMET Laboratories was established by Union Carbide Corporation in 1919 to purchase the Cooper Research Company of Cleveland, Ohio, which had invented a promising high-temperature alloy. The name "KEMET" is a blend of the words "chemical" and "metallurgy." KEMET's first product used this high-temperature alloy for grid wires in vacuum tubes. In 1930, the product line was expanded to include barium-aluminum alloy getters, an essential element in vacuum tubes.

Today, KEMET maintains its corporate headquarters and a new power film manufacturing facility in Simpsonville, South Carolina. The company also operates manufacturing facilities in Mexico, China, Italy, England, Portugal, Finland, Sweden, Indonesia, Germany, Bulgaria, Tennessee, Nevada, and Macedonia.

In 2005, Mr. Per-Olof Loof was named Chief Executive Officer. Under his leadership, the company acquired the tantalum business of EPCOS AG in April 2006, the Evox Rifa family of companies in April 2007 and Arcotronics in October 2007. Most recently, KEMET agreed to acquire a 34% economic interest with a 51% voting interest in NEC TOKIN Corporation, a manufacturer of tantalum capacitors, electro-magnetic, electro-mechanical, access devices and piezoelectric ceramics from NEC Corporation of Japan.

KEMET’s common stock is listed on the NYSE under the symbol "KEM."