Cefival

What Cefival does

Cefival S.A. is a French specialty manufacturer of hot-extruded near-net shape profiles and tubes made from special steels, stainless steels, nickel and cobalt superalloys, titanium, and advanced composites such as Metal Matrix Composites (MMC) and Oxide Dispersion Strengthened (ODS) alloys. Founded in Paris in 1905 and operating from its Persan plant since 1948, the company industrialized hot steel extrusion in 1941 using Jacques Séjournet's patented glass lubrication process and today runs extrusion presses with up to 1,950 tonnes of force, producing profiles with circumscribing circles up to 210mm, lengths up to 14m, and weights up to 64kg/m, with downstream finishing (stretching, straightening, sawing, heat treatment, surface treatment, bending, welding, grinding, turning) performed in-house or through partners.

Cefival's primary products are application-engineered profiles for aerospace aerostructures, aeroengine rings produced via flash butt welding, power generation components for nuclear and thermal plants, and specialty tubes in titanium and Inconel. Secondary markets include mechanical engineering, architecture, defense, food processing, and medical devices. The company holds aerospace-relevant certifications including EN 9100:2018, NADCAP for heat treating, ISO 9001:2015, and PED 97/23/EC, and is a qualified supplier to Safran, Airbus, Boeing, and Bombardier. Since 2021 it has operated as a subsidiary of Universal Alloy Corporation within the Montana Aerospace group, which spans 28 sites on 4 continents with 5,000+ employees.

Cefival's business model is project-based B2B sales of custom-engineered extrusions. The go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales: customers submit drawings and specifications via web contact forms or direct outreach, engineering teams collaborate on feasibility and die design, and quotes are issued under multi-year contracts. Pricing is project-specific rather than volume-tiered, with revenue generated from one-off engineered orders across an installed base of 500+ active customers and a claimed 50% export ratio supporting 6,000+ profiles designed to date.

Name

Cefival

Legal name

Cefival S.A.

Website

https://cefival.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1905

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cefival is a French specialty manufacturer of hot-extruded near-net shape steel, stainless steel, superalloy, and titanium profiles and tubes serving aerospace OEMs, power generation, and industrial customers, operating as a subsidiary of Montana Aerospace.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aerospace Metal Components Manufacturing

NAICS

Other Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing (336413), Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing (33641)

SIC

Rolling Drawing & Extruding Of Nonferrous Metals (3350)

akta.pro primary industry

Composite Structures & Layup Manufacturing (IMABAEAB)

Keywords

• Hot extruded profiles
• Special steel manufacturing
• Aerospace metal components
• Titanium extrusion services
• Near-net shape profiles

Headquarters

HQ city

Persan

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Special Steel Profiles and Tubes: Cefival manufactures and supplies hot extruded special steel products according to customer specifications. Each profile is a customized engineered solution. Revenue is generated through project-based orders for aerospace, power generation, defense, and industrial applications. The company works with customers from design and engineering phases through production delivery.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Cefival manufactures custom hot extruded special profiles and tubes in special steel, stainless steel, superalloys, and titanium using near-net shape extrusion technology. Each profile is engineered to customer specifications for use in aerospace aerostructures and aeroengines, power generation, defense, mechanical engineering, architecture, food, and medical applications. The company also produces flash butt welded rings for aircraft and helicopter engines, with finishing operations such as heat treatment, machining, and surface treatment.

Product overview

Cefival is a world leader in hot extruded special profiles and tubes, operating as a specialized steel profile manufacturer. The core product is hot extrusion technology producing near-net shape profiles from various steel grades (special steels, stainless steels, super alloys, and titanium alloys). The portfolio includes standard and custom-engineered profiles, seamless tubes and hollow profiles, and flash butt welded rings. Products serve diverse industrial markets including aerospace (aerostructures and aeroengines), power generation (nuclear and thermal), defense, food industry, medical, architecture, and mechanical engineering. Manufacturing capabilities include extrusion force of 1950 tons, circumscribing circles up to 210mm diameter, lengths up to 14m, and weight per meter up to 64kg. Finishing operations offered include stretching, straightening, sawing, heat treatment, surface treatment, bending, welding, grinding, and turning.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hot Extruded Special Profiles Custom-engineered near-net shape profiles manufactured through hot extrusion technology using steel, stainless steel, titanium, and specialty alloys for demanding industrial applications.
• Aerospace Aerostructure Profiles and Tubes Special profiles and tubes for aerostructures manufactured using hot extrusion to achieve near-net shape, improving Buy-to-Fly ratio. Processes all steel and titanium alloys per customer specifications.
• Flash Butt Welded Rings for Aeroengines Rings for aircraft and helicopter engines manufactured via hot extrusion, offering improved Buy-to-Fly ratio compared to traditional forgings. Available in blank or machined finish in all aeronautical steel grades.
• Tubes and Hollow Profiles Seamless hollow profiles and tubes produced via hot extrusion, suitable for aerospace, nuclear, and power generation applications, utilizing high-value materials such as titanium and Inconel.
• Power Generation Profiles and Tubes Special profiles for turbines and tubular products for nuclear power plants and thermal power plant boilers. Includes finned, omega, and double-omega tube profiles for heat exchangers, resistant to high temperatures and corrosion.
• Defense Profiles Special profiles for land, air, and sea vehicles in special steels including armored steel and high-strength hardened structural steel.
• Food Industry Profiles Special profiles in titanium and stainless steel for food processing machinery components and conveyor rails.
• Medical Industry Profiles Special profiles in titanium and stainless steel for medical equipment and prostheses.
• Architecture Profiles Custom special steel profiles for construction and architectural projects. Duplex and stainless steel extrusion provides safe and sustainable long-lasting solutions for architecture.
• Mechanical and Engineering Profiles Special profiles and tubes for mechanical and engineering industries, produced via hot extrusion as near-net shape rough finished bars in various forms and steel grades.
• Structural Profiles Standard structural profiles in stainless steel for construction and civil engineering, with flexibility for small batch production and rapid delivery.

Quantifiable outcome

• Improved Buy-to-Fly ratio for aerospace components compared to traditional forging
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• voestalpine: Austrian steel and technology group with significant aerospace exposure across specialty steel and metal forming. Comparable to Cefival as a diversified specialty metals supplier with aerospace customers.
• Sandvik: Swedish materials technology company producing advanced stainless steels, alloys, and additive manufacturing powders. Comparable to Cefival in specialty metallurgy serving aerospace and industrial markets.
• Eramet: French mining and metallurgy group, parent of Aubert & Duval, producing specialty alloys for aerospace and energy. Comparable to Cefival as a French specialty alloys supplier serving aerospace OEMs.
• Outokumpu: Finnish stainless steel manufacturer serving industrial and specialty applications including architecture and chemical processing. Comparable to Cefival as a stainless steel specialist with overlapping end markets.

Direct peers

• Tubacex: Spanish manufacturer of stainless steel and high-alloy seamless tubes serving aerospace, power, and industrial markets. Comparable to Cefival in stainless/high-alloy tube production for demanding applications.
• Aubert & Duval: French manufacturer of high-performance specialty alloys and forged parts for aerospace, defense, and energy. Comparable to Cefival as a French specialty metallurgy supplier serving major aerospace OEMs.
• Carpenter Technology: US manufacturer of specialty alloys including titanium, stainless, and high-performance materials for aerospace and defense. Comparable to Cefival in producing advanced specialty alloys for aerospace OEMs.
• Vallourec: French manufacturer of seamless premium tubes including for aerospace and power generation. Directly comparable to Cefival in specialty tube production for demanding industries and similar French industrial heritage.
• Special Metals: US manufacturer of nickel-based superalloys and high-performance materials for aerospace and defense. Comparable to Cefival in superalloy and high-performance alloy production for aerospace applications.
• Salzgitter Mannesmann: German manufacturer of seamless and welded steel tubes for mechanical engineering and energy applications. Comparable to Cefival in tube and profile manufacturing using advanced metallurgical processes.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cefival/?originalSubdomain=fr

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Cefival