LEWISTON, Maine - Lewiston-based manufacturer Elmet Techologies has been acquired by a group of Maine-based investors. Elmet, which makes metallic products for the precision engineering industry, was founded in 1929. The company reportedly laid off 33 workers last week amid rumors of a sale.
Details of the buyout have not been released, but Elmet's new majority owner is Anania & Associates Investments Company, or A&A - an investment fund that owns and operates six other Maine-based specialty manufacturing firms.
Scott Knoll is a partner at A&A. He says other investors include the Maine Technology Institute and the Finance Authority of Maine.
"I think it's exciting for the state of Maine to have an all-Maine investor group supporting a great Maine business. Obviously, Lewiston needs all the help they can get - and Auburn - and we're glad to be supporting that," Knoll says.
Elmet employs about 200 workers at its Lewiston headquarters. It also has facilities in Georgia, Washington state and southwest China.
Scott Knoll says the company's previous owner has been looking to sell the business since last fall, when one of Elmet's major customers went bankrupt.