Engineering Tomorrow: STC

In the Engineering Tomorrow series, Artemis highlights many of our portfolio company products by outlining key aspects of the technologies, industries, and end markets within which the business operates. In the most recent installment, we discussed Tekscan and their embedded sensing solutions enabling a broad spectrum of mission-critical industries and applications. This week we are looking to highlight Artemis’ Advanced Materials platform, STC, and their Technical Ceramic technologies.

One of Artemis’ main differentiators is our team’s depth of knowledge around the technologies of our portfolio companies and the passion for building meaningful businesses. From high precision lab automation and specialty chemicals to mission-critical Optics & Photonics and RF/Microwave devices, the Artemis team, from the Associates to the Operating Partners, is able to have entrepreneur-to-entrepreneur conversations on an engineer-to-engineer level because of our deep product, application, and market fluencies.

Across Artemis’ portfolio of Industrial Tech manufacturers, one of the firm’s most mission-critical platform theses has surrounded STC and their Technical Ceramic technologies. For those who may not be familiar with the industry, it relates specifically to those engineered Ceramic Materials, from Aluminas and Sialons to Oxides and Nonoxides (with a great degree of diversity in between), that are crafted from powder to part for some of the most demanding, challenging, and precise applications in the world. 

Like many Industrial Tech markets, this industry continues to be driven by an increasing demand for lightweight, durable, and highly complex components. This reality, coupled with a rising adoption of new and Technical Ceramics across end-markets continues to inspire confidence in the long term trajectory of the space. Growth in high-conviction Artemis end-markets like Aerospace and Medical, recently grew to 100 billion and shows no sign of slowing down.

With Technical Ceramics’ myriad of applications from Medical and Aerospace to Industrial and Semiconductor, the chosen Ceramic technology is required to carry a different set of characteristics with heat & shock resistance, conductivity, and weight playing a major role in consideration. In many situations, these products are absolutely essential to the success of multi-billion dollar aerospace and satellite programs, mission-critical medical systems, and global defense initiatives. For much of these cases, the failure of a single component could mean mission failure for the entire operation.

Artemis portfolio company, STC, seeks to provide the solution to these customers and end-users. They are a Ceramic Technology platform that provides advanced materials solutions to achieve greater global sustainability, security, and health.

One of the main difficulties facing the Aerospace industry is the need for lower size and weight owing to government regulations requiring greater fuel efficiency. Due to the enhanced material properties and reduced weight of ceramic compounds, these material technologies have become extremely prevalent in the construction of new aerospace parts. 

From Aluminas and Silicates to Zirconias and Hermetic sealing, STC's diverse product offering solves for virtually all potential customer challenges. One of the company’s most advanced offerings is their Ceria Stabilized Zirconia (CSZ). This is the solution of choice for high strength and toughness in hot, humid or highly caustic conditions.  With the combination of both high flexural strength and high compressive strength, this material is ideally suited as a structural component in sensors, instrumentation, probes, pumps and fluid control systems.

We hope you enjoyed this discussion of one of STC’s technologies. Next month, we will be going deep to address a critical economic reality for the manufacturing industry: Labor & Human Capital. As always be sure to follow the Artemis LinkedIn and check back for more content surrounding Industrial Tech Innovations, Portfolio Company News, Private Equity, and Macroeconomic Trends. Comment to let us know what you think and suggest any topics you'd like to hear Artemis discuss.