Unifrax

What Unifrax does

Unifrax, operating commercially as Alkegen following its combination with Lydall, is a specialty materials manufacturer serving industrial, construction, energy, transportation, metals, mining, and medical end markets. Its product portfolio is organized into five pillars: Insulation & Thermal Management (Excelfrax, Insulfrax, Saffil, Thermfrax, Thermbond, RapidFire, and aerogel-based AlkeGel), Filtration & Catalysis (Lydair GP, LyPore MB, TriboStatiX, Purefrax, Filter Bags, and a No PFAS Added line), Battery & Mobility (SiFAB silicon fiber anode, Inovion in-cell, FyreWrap LiB, AlkeGel in-pack), Fire Protection & Construction Materials (FyreWrap DPS, Elite, Marine), and Sealing & Gasket Solutions (Interface Performance Materials, MicroPore, Millboard, Pro-Formance, Select-A-Seal). The technology platform is fiber-based, spanning ceramic fiber, polycrystalline wool, aerogel, and silicon fiber formulations developed over decades of materials R&D and consolidated through the Lydall merger.

The company generates revenue through B2B direct industrial sales of physical materials products, priced via quote-based contracts rather than transparent public pricing. It operates more than 60 manufacturing facilities globally with over 9,000 employees, enabling localized service for multinational customers and supporting an estimated 15% global share in microporous insulation. Go-to-market is executed through industry-specific landing pages, technical documentation, engineering tools (Heat Flow calculator, Alkegen Mobile App), and a direct sales force targeting enterprise buyers across construction, energy storage, oil & gas, petrochemical, power generation, aerospace, automotive, marine, rail, iron & steel, aluminum, cement, mining, and medical sectors.

Unifrax/Alkegen has pursued an active inorganic growth posture, acquiring Stellar Materials (2019), Rex Materials Group (2020), and Lydall (2021, approximately $1.3 billion) to expand product breadth and global scale. Most recently the company has publicly announced a financial restructuring to strengthen its capital structure while continuing to serve its global customer base, signaling balance sheet pressure that is occurring in parallel with continued investment in the EV battery materials and energy storage adjacency.

Name

Unifrax

Website

https://unifrax.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1891

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Unifrax (operating as Alkegen) is a global specialty materials manufacturer serving industrial, construction, energy, transportation, metals, and mining customers with fiber-based high-temperature insulation, filtration, battery thermal management, fire protection, and sealing products across more than 60 manufacturing facilities worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Insulation Materials

NAICS

Electrical Equipment Manufacturing (3353)

SIC

Plastics Foam Products (3086)

akta.pro primary industry

Aerospace Thermal Management, Insulation & Fire Protection Materials (IMABANAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Thermal & Acoustic Insulation Textiles (Insulation Felts/Soundproofing) (IMAOADAL), Fireproofing & Intumescent Coatings (IMAIAKAH)

Keywords

• High temperature insulation
• Thermal management materials
• Filtration media
• Fire protection products
• Battery materials

Headquarters

HQ city

Buffalo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Insulation Products: High-temperature thermal management products including ceramic fiber insulation, aerogel insulation, and refractory insulation for industrial applications
2. Filtration Products: Specialty filtration and catalysis products including air, liquid, and industrial filtration media, filter bags, and molecular filtration
3. Battery Technology Products: Advanced materials for thermal barriers, electrical protection, battery separator technology, and silicon fiber anode materials for EVs and consumer electronics
4. Fire Protection Products: Fire protection insulation products for industrial and commercial construction applications
5. Sealing Solutions: High-performance sealing materials for automotive, industrial, and specialty applications

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Unifrax develops, manufactures, and sells high-temperature insulation products along with filtration media, fire protection materials, battery materials for electric vehicles and energy storage, and sealing solutions. Its products are engineered for industrial customers across EV, energy storage, aerospace, automotive, and industrial filtration applications.

Product overview

Alkegen is a specialty materials platform company that unified Unifrax and Lydall to offer a comprehensive portfolio of high-performance materials organized into five core business areas: Insulation & Thermal Management (including Excelfrax, Insulfrax, Saffil, Thermfrax, Thermbond, RapidFire, and aerogel-based AlkeGel products), Filtration & Catalysis (including Lydair GP, LyPore MB, TriboStatiX, Purefrax, and Filter Bags), Battery & Mobility (including Inovion, SiFAB silicon anode material, FyreWrap LiB, and AlkeGel for battery thermal management), Fire Protection & Construction Materials (including FyreWrap DPS, FyreWrap Elite, and FyreWrap Marine), and Sealing & Gasket Solutions (under the Interface Performance Materials brand including MicroPore, Millboard, Pro-Formance, and Select-A-Seal). The company operates over 60 manufacturing facilities worldwide with 9,000-plus employees, serving industries including aerospace, automotive, construction, energy storage, industrial manufacturing, metals, mining, and petrochemical.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• High-temperature insulation products Engineered high-temperature insulation materials, including microporous insulation, designed for industrial thermal management applications.
• Filtration media Engineered filtration media sold for industrial filtration applications.
• Battery materials Specialty battery materials supplied to electric vehicle and energy storage manufacturers.
• Fire protection products Engineered fire protection materials used in industrial fire safety applications.
• Sealing solutions Engineered sealing solutions for industrial customers.

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• LydallcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Unifrax and Lydall merged to form Alkegen, combining their expertise in specialty materials. Unifrax brought high-temperature insulation and filtration capabilities while Lydall added filtration media and sealing solutions. The merger created a global leader in high-performance specialty materials with expanded product portfolio and manufacturing footprint.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Owens Corning: Public US building materials leader producing insulation, roofing, and composite solutions — broader incumbent with overlapping building insulation and industrial composite offerings.
• 3M: Diversified global materials and industrial conglomerate with significant insulation, filtration, and specialty materials businesses — broader incumbent with comparable product categories though not focused on high-temp industrial insulation.
• Johns Manville: Berkshire Hathaway-owned manufacturer of insulation, roofing, and engineered products — overlapping with Alkegen's building envelope, HVAC, and industrial insulation product lines.
• Parker Hannifin: Large diversified industrial manufacturer with filtration, sealing, and engineered materials divisions serving aerospace, automotive, and industrial markets — overlapping with Alkegen's Interface Performance Materials sealing and filtration businesses.
• Cabot Corporation: Global specialty chemicals and performance materials company with battery materials (carbon additives for Li-ion) and reinforcement materials — overlapping with Alkegen's SiFAB battery anode and specialty materials businesses.

Direct peers

• Morgan Advanced Materials: UK-listed specialty materials company producing high-temperature insulation, ceramics, and engineered components for industrial, aerospace, and energy applications — directly comparable to Unifrax's core high-temp insulation and refractory product lines.
• Donaldson Company: Public US filtration company producing industrial air, liquid, and gas filtration products including high-temperature filter bags — directly comparable to Alkegen's Purefrax and industrial filtration media product lines.
• Pyrotek: Privately held global manufacturer of high-temperature materials, filtration, and engineered solutions for aluminum, steel, glass, and foundry industries — closely comparable to Unifrax's Saffil and high-temperature insulation serving metals and industrial customers.
• Ibiden: Japanese specialty materials manufacturer with significant high-temperature ceramics and insulation businesses serving electronics, automotive, and industrial markets — comparable in technical fiber-based materials and refractory product portfolio.
• Hollingsworth & Vose: Privately held global manufacturer of specialty filtration media, battery separator materials, and industrial nonwovens — directly comparable to Lydall-originated filtration and battery products within Alkegen.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/alkegen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A4 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Unifrax