Hyperion Materials & Technologies celebrates first year as standalone company

WORTHINGTON, Ohio — Hyperion Materials & Technologies, an advanced material science leader responsible for groundbreaking manufacturing technologies, recently marked its first year as an independent company following an investment from KKR and is moving forward on a path of growth and development.

“In just a year, we have cemented the leadership team, established an independent presence around the world and engaged our entire workforce through an employee equity program, all of which has allowed us to focus even more on innovating for our customers and creating best-in-class products,” said Ron Voigt, CEO of Hyperion.

One recent example includes the spring launch of the BZN Compacts VS-Series, which features a new chain of polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) grades for fabrication into tools capable of higher levels of productivity, precision and consistency in hardened steel turning and milling and powder metal machining. Another key advancement includes the successful industrialization of diamond-faced carbide valve and seat sub-assemblies used in Rotary Steerable System (RSS), a directional drilling tool for a major oil and gas client. Hyperion also developed unique concepts and solutions for vitrified cubic boron nitride (CBN) grinding applications.

With employee engagement being a hallmark of KKR’s Industrials team’s investment philosophy, KKR and Hyperion in February rolled out the Hyperion Ownership Participation Program as a key driver in supporting employees and building a stronger company. The centerpiece of the program has been to make employees owners in the business by granting them equity. Beyond sharing ownership, employees are also supported with training across multiple functional areas, improvements in safety and support for the company’s involvement in the community.

“The program has changed our mindset from being employees of the company to being owners because we all share in the value we create together,” Voigt said.

Working together with KKR, Hyperion’s future growth plans include:

• Continuing to engage and develop the global workforce of nearly 1,600 through training and employee ownership
• Expanding the company’s reach and expertise, both organically and through acquisitions
• Concentrating on commercial excellence by accelerating the introduction of new technologies to support existing customers and attract new ones
• Completing a lean conversion of manufacturing processes to increase efficiency and performance

 

While Hyperion Materials & Technologies is a relatively new name in the industrial world, the company has a rich legacy of expertise founded on decades of important scientific breakthroughs. Hyperion formed in July 2018 through KKR’s acquisition of Sandvik’s hard materials division, Sandvik Hyperion. Sandvik, founded in 1862, is a Sweden-based global engineering group and was one of the first to start producing cemented carbide in the early 1940s. Commonly referred to as tungsten carbide, this material is one of the most successful engineered composites ever produced. Its unique combination of strength, hardness and toughness satisfies numerous demanding applications. In 2014, Sandvik Hyperion was formed through the merger of Sandvik Hard Materials and Diamond Innovations, which had evolved from GE Superabrasives, the company that originally synthesized the first man-made diamond in the 1950s. While people often think of diamonds in jewelry, synthetic diamond materials are used in a wide range of industrial applications to cut, grind, lap, polish and coat other materials. Diamond Innovations also pioneered the use of cubic boron nitride (CBN) for cutting and grinding applications.