What Rathbone Precision Metals does

Rathbone Precision Metals, Inc. is a Palmer, Massachusetts-based manufacturer of engineered cold drawn and cold rolled metal profiles, founded in 1905 and operating as the North American subsidiary of Italy's Calvi Holding S.p.A. (now part of the Risa Group). The company produces custom profile shapes from carbon, alloy, and stainless steels as well as copper, brass, and nickel alloys, with documented capabilities spanning cross-sections from 0.032 inches up to 2.0 inches, tolerances as tight as ±0.0005 inches, and surface finishes from 40 Ra to 125 Ra. Over its 120-year history it has produced more than 10,000 distinct profile shapes, including involute gears, miniature profiles, J-Edge turbine seals, and high-temperature alloy components such as L605. The firm holds ISO 9001:2015 certification and is pursuing CMMC, ISO 45001, and ISO 14001 certifications.

The business operates on a quote-based, project-driven revenue model in which customers submit specifications and the company develops custom dies and tooling before production. Deliverables ship as bar lengths, coils, or cut-to-length pieces depending on customer requirement. Rathbone sells exclusively through direct field sales, with the funnel supplemented by a website RFQ system and presence at industry trade shows such as IMTS, Shot Show, PMTS, and Supplier Showcase. End markets span medical devices, aerospace, defense, power generation, water distribution, automotive, firearms, heavy equipment, linear motion/automation, and hand tools, with primary verticals including medical, power generation, firearms, and automotive. The company's value proposition centers on near-net-shape production that reduces customer machining time by up to 80%, strain-hardening that yields 10-20% strength gains, and lot-to-lot repeatability backed by over a century of metallurgical expertise.

Leadership is headed by President/CEO Kathryn Orszulak, supported by Sales Manager Scott Chisholm and Sales & Purchasing Representative Dan Williams. The firm employs between 51 and 100 people and has cultivated a deep institutional knowledge base, with its Quarter Century Club representing 335 combined years of tenure among ten long-serving employees. As part of the multinational Risa Group — alongside Calvi (Italy), Sipa (Italy), Ezm (Germany), and Markmetall (Germany) — Rathbone is positioned as the group's North American platform for special steel profiles, with no independent public financial disclosures available.

Name

Rathbone Precision Metals

Legal name

Rathbone Precision Metals, Inc.

Website

https://rathboneprofiles.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1905

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Rathbone Precision Metals is a 120-year-old Palmer, Massachusetts manufacturer of custom cold drawn and cold rolled metal profiles, serving medical, aerospace, defense, power generation, automotive, and firearms customers with tight-tolerance specialty shapes as the North American arm of Italy's Risa Group.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Precision Cold Drawn and Cold Rolled Metal Profiles

NAICS

Custom Roll Forming (332114)

SIC

Sheet Metal Work (3444)

akta.pro primary industry

Metal Forming & Fabrication Machines (Presses, Bending, Shearing, Stamping) (IMAHADAC)

Keywords

• Cold drawn profiles
• Cold rolled profiles
• Precision metal profiles
• Custom metal forming
• Specialty steel shapes

Headquarters

HQ city

Palmer

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Metal Profile Manufacturing: Manufacture and sale of custom cold drawn and cold rolled metal profiles. Profiles are sold in bar form, coil form, or cut-to-length pieces based on customer specifications. Revenue is project-based with custom tooling and production runs. Pricing is quote-driven based on material, complexity, tolerances, and volume.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Rathbone Precision Metals manufactures engineered cold drawn and cold rolled metal profiles in carbon, alloy, and stainless steels as well as copper, brass, and nickel alloys. Products are produced as custom profiles in bar lengths (7-14 feet), coils, or cut-to-length pieces, with cross-sections from .032 to 2.0 inches and tolerances as tight as ±.0005 inches. The company serves manufacturers in medical, aerospace, defense, firearms, automotive, power generation, water distribution, heavy equipment, automation, and hand tools with near-net-shape production that reduces customer machining by up to 80%.

Product overview

Rathbone Precision Metals offers precision cold forming services primarily through two core manufacturing processes: Custom Cold Drawing and Custom Cold Rolling. These processes produce complex metal profiles in various metals including carbon steels, alloy steels, stainless steels, copper, brass, and nickel alloys. The company provides precision metal cutting as a secondary service and detailed profile capabilities engineering specifications. The portfolio serves diverse industrial markets including medical devices, aerospace, defense, power generation, water distribution, automotive, firearms, hand tools, heavy equipment, and linear motion applications. Over 10,000 custom profile shapes have been produced across their 119+ year history.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Custom Cold Drawing Cold drawing process that pulls metal through dies at room temperature to produce precision profiles with improved mechanical properties, tighter tolerances, and better surface finish. The only process that increases material's strength properties through strain hardening, with typical cross-section range from 0.032 to 2.0 inches.
• Custom Cold Rolling Cold rolling process that passes metal stock through shaped rollers at ambient temperatures to produce finished or semi-finished metal profiles. Offers improved mechanical properties, better surface finish, and reduced lead times compared to cold drawing, with no shrinkage effects allowing tighter tolerances.
• Precision Metal Cutting Precision cut-off services using abrasive saws, cold saws, band saws, and adiabatic shears for short, medium, and long production runs. Includes vibratory de-burring for pieces up to 4.000 inches long, providing cut-to-length pieces ready for customer use.
• Profile Capabilities Engineering Technical capabilities offering dimensional tolerance specifications, surface finish specifications, size limitations, mechanical properties, surface coatings, and specialty profiles such as involute gears with optical comparator-checked tooth profiles (Outside Diameter ±.002 in, Measure over pins ±.0015 in, Root Diameter ±.005 in).

Quantifiable outcome

• Machining time reduction of up to 80% compared to starting from raw bar
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles8 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sipa S.p.A. Italian sister company under Risa Group, producing special steel profiles through cold forming. Directly comparable in process technology, product category, and customer overlap with Rathbone's core business.
• Markmetall: German sister company under Risa Group, producing special steel profiles. Comparable in process and product category; serves as Rathbone's European counterpart within the group.
• Taubensee Steel & Wire Company: US producer of cold drawn steel shapes, profiles, and wire products. Directly comparable in cold drawing process, custom profile capability, and industrial customer base.
• Ezm GmbH: German sister company within Risa Group, manufacturing special steel profiles. Operates in the same precision cold-formed profile niche and shares customers in automotive, industrial, and engineering markets.
• Calvi S.p.A. Sister company under Risa Group and a leader in special steel profiles in Europe. Offers the closest direct comparison as it uses the same cold drawing and cold rolling technology to produce precision metal profiles for overlapping end-markets.
• Niagara LaSalle: North American producer of cold finished steel bars and special shapes. Closest US-based direct competitor in cold drawing of precision carbon and alloy steel profiles, serving similar industrial customers.

Broad incumbents

• Carpenter Technology Corporation: US specialty alloy producer and former owner of Rathbone (1997-2008). Overlap in specialty steel alloys used for precision components in aerospace, medical, and power generation.
• Swiss Steel Group: European specialty steel group (formerly Schmolz + Bickenbach) producing engineering and tool steel long products. Adjacent in specialty metals for precision manufacturing customers; broader portfolio but overlap in special steel profile end-markets.
• Wieland Group: Global manufacturer of precision copper, brass, and specialty metal semi-finished products including drawn profiles. Larger and broader portfolio than Rathbone, with overlap in precision non-ferrous profile manufacturing.

Emerging players

• Hitchiner Manufacturing: US investment casting specialist producing near-net-shape metal components for aerospace, automotive, and industrial customers. Comparable in delivering near-net-shape precision metal components, though using a different forming process.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@rathboneprofiles8951
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rathbone-precision-metals-inc-

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

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 Rathbone Precision Metals