What Safimet does

Safimet is an Italian industrial services company that recovers and refines precious metals from industrial waste streams and manufactures precious-metal salts for electroplating, operating as a Società Benefit (Benefit Corporation) since November 2022. Founded in 2000 in Arezzo and headquartered at Loc. San Zeno 63/E, the company serves manufacturers in the pharmaceutical, chemical, electroplating, electronics, automotive, goldsmith, cosmetic, and printing sectors, with commercial coverage extending across Europe, the United States, Latin America, the Middle East, India, and Asia. Customer engagement is direct B2B, mediated by commercial representatives and supported by an in-house analysis laboratory for precious-metal assay.

The company's core technical platform centers on precious-metal recovery and refining, deployed across 12 static and 2 rotary furnaces used for thermal treatment, grinding, sieving, sampling, and chemical processing of spent catalysts and electronic waste (WEEE). Safimet has commercialized proprietary SNCR (Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction) emissions control, which converts 90% of combustion emissions into molecular nitrogen and water vapor while exceeding 99% oxidation of organic macro-pollutants, paired with catalytic bag filtration for downstream treatment. Arezzo (2017) is the principal production site under an Integrated Environmental Authorization valid through 2039; a second Italian plant operates in Sandrigo (Vicenza, opened 2014) and a wholly-owned subsidiary, Safimet France, runs commercial operations from Lyon (opened 2015). The laboratory and process stack support RJC Chain of Custody traceability for gold, silver, palladium, and rhodium.

Safimet monetizes through four streams: (i) recovery and refining services that return refined PGMs, gold, and silver to industrial customers, (ii) production and sale of galvanic salts and plating/finishing baths in multiple colors using gold, silver, rhodium, ruthenium, palladium, and platinum, (iii) industrial waste treatment and inerting for pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and printing sectors, and (iv) precious-metal trading executed at official international quotations. Go-to-market is sales-led with direct representatives; inbound logistics are handled through specialist freight forwarders, and pricing is quote-based and tailored to material specification, with no public price list. The company reports €8,000,000 in share capital and operates with 51–100 employees across its Italian and French footprint, exporting impact reports, EcoVadis Silver certification (upgraded from Bronze in 2023), and active participation in Chemspec Europe and CPHI Worldwide as primary commercial signals.

Name

Safimet

Legal name

Safimet S.p.A. Società Benefit

Website

https://safimet.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Safimet is an Italian Benefit Corporation that recovers and refines precious metals from industrial waste and produces galvanic salts, serving pharmaceutical, chemical, electroplating, electronics, automotive, and goldsmith manufacturers across Europe, the Americas, Middle East, and Asia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Arezzo

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Recovery and Refining Services: Specialized services for recovering and refining precious metals from spent catalysts (pharmaceutical, industrial, automotive), electronic waste (WEEE), goldsmith and dental waste, and exhausted galvanic baths. Services provided with precision and speed using specialized furnaces and processes.
2. Galvanic Salts Production and Sales: Production and sale of precious metal salts, plating and finishing baths in different colors made with gold, silver, rhodium, ruthenium, palladium and platinum. Used in eyewear, cell phones, ceramics, glass, automobiles, airplanes and fashion accessories plating.
3. Precious Metal Trading: Purchase and sale of precious metals (gold, silver, platinum, palladium, rhodium) according to prices and conditions updated to official international quotations. Complements waste valorisation services.
4. Industrial Waste Treatment: Treatment of residues from industrial production processes, including inerting production waste and exhausted consumables for pharmaceutical, cosmetic, printing products and office consumables sectors.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Safimet recovers and refines precious metals (gold, silver, platinum, palladium, rhodium) from spent catalysts, electronic waste (WEEE), goldsmith and dental waste, and exhausted galvanic baths. It produces galvanic salts (precious metal salts for plating and finishing baths) using gold, silver, rhodium, ruthenium, palladium, and platinum, and offers supporting services including industrial waste treatment, analysis laboratory testing, and precious metal trading at international quotations.

Product overview

Safimet is a suite of industrial services for precious metal recovery and refining, centered on its core Recovery and Refining service. The offering portfolio includes Spent Catalysts with PGM processing, Electronic Waste recovery, Industrial Waste Treatment, and the production of Galvanic Salts (precious metal salts for electroplating). Supporting services include an Analysis Laboratory for precious metals testing and Precious Metal Trading for buying/selling metals at official quotations. The company operates as a Società Benefit (Benefit Corporation) and is active internationally across Europe, United States, Latin America, Middle East, and Asia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Recovery and Refining (Recupero e Raffinazione) Core service specializing in the enhancement of exhausted pharmaceutical, industrial and automotive catalysts, as well as refining of gold, silver, dental and electronic waste (WEEE) and recovery of exhausted galvanic baths. Designed for industrial clients in pharmaceutical, chemical, electroplating, goldsmith, electronics, and automotive sectors.
• Galvanic Salts (Sali per Galvanica) Precious metal salts, plating and finishing baths in different colors made with gold, silver, rhodium, ruthenium, palladium and platinum, used in eyewear, cell phones, ceramics, glass, automobiles, airplanes and fashion accessories. Supplied to electroplating and surface finishing manufacturers.
• Industrial Waste Treatment (Trattamento Rifiuti Industriali) Treatment of residues from industrial production processes, including inerting production waste and exhausted consumables for pharmaceutical, cosmetic and printing products sectors. Designed for industrial producers requiring compliant hazardous waste handling.
• Analysis Laboratory (Laboratorio Analisi) Analysis of precious metals from different matrices including alloys, waste and industrial waste such as exhausted catalysts, sludge and galvanic solutions, and electronics, using highly specialized techniques and procedures. Serves industrial clients requiring precise precious metal testing.
• Precious Metal Trading (Banco Metalli / Quotazioni) Purchase and sale of precious metals (gold, silver, platinum, palladium, rhodium) according to prices and conditions updated to official international quotations, completing the waste valorisation service and production of salts for electroplating. Designed for industrial clients trading precious metals.
• Spent Catalysts with PGM (Catalizzatori esausti con PGM) Recovery of PGM (rhodium, platinum and palladium) from spent products such as catalysts, including heterogeneous and homogeneous spent catalysts from chemical-pharmaceutical industry, for refining of platinum, palladium and rhodium. Targeted at pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturers producing spent catalysts.
• Electronic Waste (Scarti Elettronici) Recovery of precious components and metals (gold, silver, palladium, copper) from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) such as PCs, laptops, printers, and telecommunication devices. Uses thermal treatment, grinding, sieving, sampling, and chemical processing. Serves electronics manufacturers and IT asset disposition firms.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% of emissions transformed into molecular nitrogen and water vapor, with oxidation of organic macro-pollutants exceeding 99%
• +2 more outcomes

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Fondazione Sviluppo Sostenibile (Fondation for Sustainable Development)notableOthers · 22 May 2023Safimet joined Fondazione Sviluppo Sostenibile in May 2023, becoming the first Italian company in the precious metal recovery and refining sector to become a member. This follows the company's adoption of Benefit Corporation status. Membership allows continuous engagement with other companies investing in low-impact environmental technologies and with national and European institutions on new sector regulations.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Umicore: Belgian global materials technology group and the largest precious metals recycler in the world, with closed-loop PGM recovery programs serving automotive, chemical, and pharmaceutical catalyst producers. Directly comparable to Safimet's spent catalyst recovery business but at vastly greater scale and with global production footprint.
• BASF Catalysts: German global chemical giant with a major mobile emissions catalysts division and chemical catalyst operations that internally recycle PGMs from spent catalysts at industrial scale. Adjacent incumbent competing for chemical and automotive catalyst end-of-life feedstock streams.
• Heraeus Precious Metals: German-headquartered global precious metals and technology group operating precious metals trading, refining, and recycling services for PGMs, gold, and silver from industrial scrap. Comparable to Safimet across the full precious metals refining value chain but with much broader product portfolio and global footprint.
• Johnson Matthey: UK-listed specialty chemicals and sustainable technologies company with a major PGM precious metals products division, including catalyst manufacturing and PGM recovery/refining from spent auto and industrial catalysts. Closely comparable to Safimet's PGM recovery business and competing for the same pharmaceutical and chemical catalyst customers.

Direct peers

• Dowa Holdings: Japanese environmental management and non-ferrous metals company operating one of Asia's largest e-waste and precious metal recycling operations. Comparable to Safimet's WEEE and catalyst recovery businesses, particularly around urban mining of gold, silver, and PGMs from electronic scrap.
• Aurubis: German copper and non-ferrous metals producer with significant precious metals recovery operations as a byproduct of copper refining, also recycling complex industrial residues. Comparable in metals refining and recycling of industrial waste streams, though anchored on copper rather than PGM specialty.
• Tanaka Precious Metals: Japanese precious metals specialist offering refining, recycling, and manufacturing of precious metal materials and industrial catalysts. Closely comparable to Safimet's precious metals recovery, refining, and galvanic salts production with similar mid-tier scale, although geographically focused on Asian markets.
• Metalor Technologies: Swiss precious metals refiner (subsidiary of Tanaka) specializing in precious metals refining, fabrication of precious metal products, and recycling from industrial scrap. Closely comparable to Safimet in serving industrial customers with refining services and downstream precious metal products.
• Materion Corporation: US-based advanced materials specialist operating a precious metals refining and recycling business (Materion Precious Metals) recovering gold, silver, platinum, and palladium from industrial scrap, plus producing precious metal products for industrial applications. Comparable mid-tier player to Safimet with similar refining plus downstream product strategy.

Regional players

• Boliden: Swedish metals and mining company that recovers precious metals (gold, silver, palladium, platinum) as byproducts of its base metals smelting operations across Europe. Partially comparable in metals recycling from industrial streams but more focused on smelter-feed recycling than discrete spent catalyst processing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/safimet-s.p.a.

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Safimet