Materion Brush Inc.

Materion Brush Inc., Elmore Metals division, manufactures advanced beryllium alloys, beryllium copper components, and precision metal parts for defense and aerospace programs as both a prime contractor (44% of recent awards) and as a subcontractor (56%) to major defense primes. The division is an unaffiliated for-profit manufacturer of goods headquartered in Elmore, Ohio, operating as a subsidiary of Materion Corporation. It competes in full-and-open procurements with no SBA set-aside designations across its prime footprint, though sub-awards flow to some national security programs with restricted participation.

Prime work centers on materials science and manufacturing research for space science and defense applications. Materion Brush serves as prime on a $8.67 million cost-plus-fixed-fee research and development contract awarded by the Air Force Research Laboratory on August 30, 2023, for additive manufacturing of beryllium in support of next-generation defense systems and hypersonic vehicle technologies, running through April 1, 2027. NASA Goddard Space Center awarded a $2.48 million firm fixed-price definitive contract on September 13, 2024, for 898 pounds of instrument-grade I-220-H beryllium to support the Earth Dynamics Geodetic Explorer (EDGE) 1.2-meter diameter telescope as part of the 2023 Earth System Explorers competitive announcement; Materion Brush is cited as the sole U.S.-based manufacturer with access to the required ore for this grade. More recently, on January 25, 2027, NASA Goddard awarded a $967,685 firm fixed-price definitive contract for beryllium descent sphere components supporting the DAVINCI (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble Gases, Chemistry, and Imaging) mission, with ultimate completion on the award date. An additional Air Force Research Laboratory contract dated November 8, 2022, valued at $500,000, covered additive manufacturing of beryllides for hypersonic applications through March 27, 2027. Prime work also includes a $250,000 project grant under the Defense Health Agency's Military Medical Research and Development program (CFDA 12.420), awarded September 30, 2023, for a 3-year research effort on mortality risk and co-morbidities from beryllium exposure, running through September 29, 2026.

Customer concentration splits between defense platforms and aerospace science. The top five customer agencies by award count represent 51% of all recent awards: the Department of the Navy Naval Sea Systems Command (13 awards), Department of the Army (11 awards), Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration (8 awards), Department of the Navy as a whole (7 awards), and Department of the Navy Naval Air Systems Command (7 awards). By potential value, however, the Air Force Materiel Command Research Laboratory dominates with 2 awards carrying $9.2 million combined potential value, followed by the Defense Logistics Agency Strategic Materials (4 awards, $5.3 million), and NASA Goddard Space Center (6 awards, $4.8 million), accounting for 97% of combined potential value across all awards. This divergence reflects smaller-dollar platform sustainment and material procurement orders at Navy and Army against larger-dollar science and manufacturing research contracts at AFRL and NASA.

Subcontract activity is substantial and concentrated among prime defense contractors on high-rate production and missile systems. Materion Brush subcontracts to Electric Boat Corporation on multiple submarine construction programs (SSN 804, SSN 814, SSN 815, SSBN 826 classes) supplying materials and long-lead components, with sub-awards dating from April 2022 through June 2024. Lockheed Martin Corporation engages Materion Brush for F-35 aircraft long-lead items including aluminum metal matrix composites, housing castings, and gimbal ring castings, with sub-awards spanning October 2023 through September 2024. Bell Textron Inc. uses Materion Brush for aluminum metal matrix composite materials supporting the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program from December 2023 through January 2024. General Atomics, through multiple awards from December 2023 through May 2025, procures research and development and fabrication services for inertial confinement fusion targets for the Department of Energy's Office of Research, Technology Development & Evaluation. Raytheon Company sub-awards include beryllium mining capacity and flight instrument design and fabrication work (December 2025 and June 2025). Triad National Security, LLC, as prime on the Los Alamos National Laboratory management and operations contract, engages Materion Brush for minerals, metals, industrial fixtures, and equipment under item-level agreements (January 2026, June 2026). Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies, LLC uses Materion Brush for disk components under the National Security Campus management contract (April 2025). Lockheed Martin and Lockheed Martin Corp. awards extend through aerospace platforms including GPS Follow-on and Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared constellation support.

The award portfolio reflects strength in advanced materials underpinning platform manufacturing and space science. Top NAICS categories are Aircraft Manufacturing (18 awards), Ship Building and Repairing (13 awards), and three categories tied at 8 awards each: Other Nonferrous Foundries, Powder Metallurgy Part Manufacturing, and Research and Development in Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences. Top PSC codes align: Laboratory Equipment and Supplies (10 awards), Nonferrous Base Metal Refinery and Intermediate Forms (5 awards). Activity peaked in 2024 with 24 awards; the past two years show contraction (7 awards in 2025, 4 in 2026, 1 in 2027 year-to-date). Three awards carrying combined potential value of $10.1 million face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, presenting recompete exposure. Combined dollars obligated across all awards total $68.9 million against $20 million combined potential value, reflecting significant historical invoicing and completion of prior-year work.