H.Cross Company

What H.Cross Company does

H. Cross Company is a privately held custom manufacturer of precision refractory-metal and precious-metal ribbons, sheets, foils, strips, wire, and rod, founded in 1939 in Moonachie, New Jersey. The company produces exclusively to customer specifications — nothing is held in stock — and serves defense, aerospace, lighting, medical, electronics, and scientific-instrument customers with tolerance capabilities down to .00005 inches on materials including tungsten, molybdenum, rhenium, tantalum, platinum, iridium, and a wide range of nickel, copper, and stainless-steel alloys. Manufacturing is concentrated in a single 31,500 sq ft facility equipped with high-temperature hydrogen and argon atmosphere furnaces up to 2,500°C, Stanat rolling mills, and in-house hardness, tensile, eddy current, and metallographic testing capabilities.

The company's commercial posture is that of a niche B2B specialty manufacturer: minimum order quantities of $300–$500 per line item, Ex-Works US shipping, payment in US Dollars, and a direct enterprise sales motion supplemented by Goodburn Engineering Ltd. as its UK representative. Named customers include tier-1 defense primes such as Northrop Grumman, L3Harris, CPI International, and Teledyne, as well as Ushio Lighting for halogen, xenon, and metal-halide lamp-seal applications. In November 2024, H. Cross was acquired by the ownership of Union City Filament Corp. — a closely linked firm that has shared customers and industries with H. Cross for roughly seven decades — while continuing to operate independently from its existing Moonachie facility under new leadership.

Revenue is not publicly disclosed, but operational scale signals — $1.2M+ in raw-material inventory, $750K+ in capital reinvestment over five years, 11–50 employees, and 86 years of continuous operation — place the company firmly in the small-cap specialty-manufacturing tier, with ISO 9001:2015 certification supporting its defense and aerospace supplier status. The business is fundamentally a craft-and-precision franchise rather than a technology or growth-equity story.

Name

H.Cross Company

Legal name

H. Cross Company

Website

https://hcrosscompany.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1939

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

H. Cross Company is a US-based custom manufacturer of precision refractory and precious metal ribbons, foils, strips, and wire, serving defense, aerospace, lighting, medical, and electronics customers with tolerances down to .00005 inches. Founded in 1939 and acquired by Union City Filament Corp. in November 2024.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Moonachie

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Specialty Metal Fabrication: H. Cross Company sells no product from stock; all products are made to customer exact specifications. Revenue generated through custom fabrication of precision metal ribbons, sheets, foils, strips, wire and rod in refractory metals, precious metals, and other alloys. Products are manufactured to customer-required specs, not industry standards.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

H. Cross Company is a custom specialty metal fabricator that manufactures precision ribbons, sheets, foils, strips, wire, and rod from refractory metals, precious metals, and other alloys to customer-specified dimensions and tolerances. All products are made-to-order (no stock items) with tolerances as tight as .00005 inches, serving defense, lighting, medical, aerospace, and electronics industries. Processing services include rolling, drawing, heat treating, slitting, annealing, electropolishing, and toll-rolling of customer-supplied materials.

Product overview

H. Cross Company is a specialty metal fabrication company that manufactures precision metal ribbons, sheets, foils, strips, wire, and rod to customer specifications. Their portfolio comprises three main product categories: (1) Refractory Metals including Tantalum, Molybdenum & Alloys (TZM, Moly Rhenium), Tungsten & Alloys, Rhenium & Alloys, Columbium/Niobium, Hafnium, and Iridium; (2) Precious Metals including Platinum (99.95% and 99.999% purity), Platinum/Iridium, Silver, and Iridium; (3) Other Metals and Alloys including Nickel, Copper & Alloys, Brass, Aluminium, Stainless Steels, Titanium, Hastelloy, Inconel, Monel, Kovar, Invar 36, Nichrome/Tophet A, Phosphor Bronze, Alloy 42 & 52, Vanadium, and Zirconium; and (4) Lamp Seal Products including Etched Molybdenum Foil, Platinum Clad Molybdenum, and Tantalum for the lighting industry. The company also offers processing services including rolling, drawing, heat treating, annealing, slitting, electropolishing, and testing capabilities for hardness, tensile strength, eddy current, and metallographic inspection. All products are manufactured to customer specifications, not stock.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Silver Commercially pure silver (99.95%) precision-rolled into wire, strips, ribbons, sheets, and foils for electrical contacts, jewelry, photography, and battery applications. Manufactured to customer specifications with no stock items.
• Platinum Platinum in 99.95% and 99.999% purity grades rolled into wire, strips, ribbons, sheets, and foils. Used in jewelry, laboratory equipment, thermocouples, and catalytic converters. Custom manufactured to customer specifications.
• Platinum/Iridium Platinum-iridium alloys in 90/10 and 80/20 compositions rolled into wire, strips, ribbons, sheets, and foils. Used for pacemakers, electrical contacts, spark plugs, and jewelry applications. Custom manufactured to customer specifications.
• Iridium Iridium rolled into wire, rod, strip, ribbon, foil, and sheet forms. Used as a hardening agent for platinum, in crucibles, electrical contacts, and medical devices. Custom manufactured to customer specifications.
• Tantalum Tantalum in wire, rod, ribbon, strip, sheet, and foil forms at 99.95% and 99.995% purity. Features exceptional corrosion resistance, thermal conductivity, and valve action properties for capacitors, chemical equipment, medical implants, and lamp seal applications. Custom manufactured to customer specifications.
• Molybdenum & Alloys Molybdenum and molybdenum-base alloys including TZM and 50/50 Moly Rhenium in precision ribbons, sheets, foils, strips, wire, and rod for electronic, lamp, and high-temperature applications. Custom manufactured to customer specifications.
• Tungsten & Alloys Tungsten and tungsten-rhenium alloys (3%, 5%, 25% rhenium) in precision ribbons, sheets, foils, strips, wire, and rod. Used for electron emitters, X-ray tubes, and high-temperature furnace components. Custom manufactured to customer specifications with tolerances down to .00005 inches.
• Rhenium & Alloys Rhenium in 99.98% standard grade and 99.999% zone-refined grade, plus 50/50 rhenium-molybdenum alloy, in foil, ribbon, strip, wire, rod, and sheet forms. Used for thermocouples, electrical contacts, and medical applications. Custom manufactured to customer specifications.
• Columbium/Niobium Niobium (Columbium) in strip, ribbon, foil, sheet, rod, and wire forms. Used in nuclear reactors, rocket nozzles, and as a lower-cost alternative to tantalum in semiconductor equipment and capacitors. Custom manufactured to customer specifications.
• Hafnium Hafnium in sheet and foil from 0.0005 to 0.020 inches thick. Used in nuclear fuel rods, as a getter for oxygen and nitrogen, and in radio tubes and x-ray tube cathodes. Custom manufactured to customer specifications.
• Aluminium and Alloys Aluminium in 99.999% pure and alloyed forms (1199, 1100, 2024, 5056) in wire, strips, ribbons, sheets, and foils for industrial applications and electrical transmission. Custom manufactured to customer specifications.
• Brass 70/30 Brass (CDA260, CZ106) in wire, ribbon, strip, sheet, and foil for ammunition components, radiator cores, and lamp fixtures. Custom manufactured to customer specifications.
• Copper and Alloys Type 101 Oxygen-Free Electronic copper, Type 25 Beryllium Copper, and Cupro-Nickel Alloy 715 in wire, strip, ribbon, sheet, and foil for electrical conductors, wave guides, and electronic devices. Custom manufactured to customer specifications.
• Hastelloy B-2 Nickel-based Hastelloy B-2 alloy with excellent corrosion resistance to hydrochloric, sulfuric, acetic, and phosphoric acids in wire, strip, ribbon, sheet, and foil. Used in chemical processing equipment. Custom manufactured to customer specifications.
• Inconel Inconel Alloy 600 and Alloy X-750 in wire, ribbon, strip, sheet, and foil. Used in furnace components, nuclear reactors, and rocket engines for oxidation and corrosion resistance. Custom manufactured to customer specifications.
• Invar 36 36% nickel-iron alloy with minimal thermal expansion, used in radio, electronics, aircraft controls, laser systems, and bimetallic thermostats. Custom manufactured to customer specifications.
• Kovar Vacuum-melted Fe-Ni-Co low expansion alloy for making hermetic seals in hard glass, power tubes, microwave tubes, diodes, and transistors. Custom manufactured to customer specifications.
• Monel Monel Type 400 and Type 404 nickel-copper alloys with high strength and corrosion resistance to seawater, hydrofluoric acid, and alkalis. Used in marine and chemical processing applications. Custom manufactured to customer specifications.
• Nichrome/Tophet A Nickel-chromium resistance alloy (Nichrome/Tophet A) for operating temperatures up to 2150°F. Used in flat irons, quartz tube heaters, and cartridge heating elements. Custom manufactured to customer specifications.
• Nickel Nickel in grades Type 200/201, 205, 220, 225, 233, 270, K99, and P51 in wire, strip, ribbon, sheet, and foil. Used in electronic tubes, anodes, battery cases, and temperature sensors. Custom manufactured to customer specifications.
• Phosphor Bronze Phosphor Bronze CDA510 in wire, ribbon, strip, sheet, and foil. Used as spring material with good strength, formability, and corrosion resistance for contact springs and diaphragms. Custom manufactured to customer specifications.
• Stainless Steels Stainless steels including Type 302, Type 304, Type 316L, Type 347, and Type 420 in wire, ribbon, strip, sheet, and foil for food processing, cryogenics, and pressure-containing applications. Custom manufactured to customer specifications.
• Titanium Titanium in Grades 1-4 (commercially pure) in wire, ribbon, strip, sheet, and foil. Used in airframe components, cryogenic vessels, heat exchangers, and condenser tubing. Custom manufactured to customer specifications.
• Vanadium Vanadium in sheet and foil for nuclear applications, rust-resistant springs, steel tools, and as a bonding agent in binding titanium to steel. Custom manufactured to customer specifications.
• Zirconium Zirconium in wire, ribbon, strip, sheet, and foil for nuclear reactor fuel cladding, getters in vacuum tubes, and lamp filaments. Custom manufactured to customer specifications.
• Alloy 42 and 52 Nickel-iron alloys: Alloy 42 for joining to ceramic chips in miniature electronic circuits, and Alloy 52 for soft glass sealing applications with controlled linear expansion. Custom manufactured to customer specifications.
• Etched Molybdenum Foil Elliptically shaped etched molybdenum foil for hermetic sealing of quartz lamps. Used in halogen, metal halide, mercury arc, and infrared heat lamps as lead wires providing electrical connection and mechanical support. H. Cross is one of the largest suppliers of this product.
• Platinum Clad Molybdenum 15% platinum clad by weight molybdenum in wire and flat ribbon. Used as welding interface between etched molybdenum, lamp electrode, and lead wire in quartz seal lamps. Custom manufactured to customer specifications.
• Custom Specialty Metal Processing Services Toll-rolling, drawing, heat treating, slitting, annealing, and electropolishing of customer-supplied materials. Re-rolling and re-drawing of metals to specified tolerances using H. Cross's proprietary rolling equipment.

Quantifiable outcome

• First company capable of rolling tungsten and molybdenum ribbon below .0005 inches thickness
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Union City Filament Corp.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2024H. Cross Company was acquired by the ownership of Union City Filament Corp. in November 2024. H. Cross Company will continue to operate from the existing Moonachie, New Jersey facility, separate from Union City Filament Corp., supplying all historically offered products using the same personnel, equipment, processes, and supply chains. The two companies have been closely linked for the past seven decades, serving many of the same industries and customers. Together, they plan to expand innovation and offer enhanced value to customers.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/h-cross-company/about

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 H.Cross Company