Umicore is international metals and mining industry well known for material technology and recycling management, on a global basis, for the attainment of the main aim of ‘sustainable value creation’. The main focus of the company is on technological advancements in the fields of proficiency in material science, metallurgical procedures and chemistry related aspects of metals. The company has been founded back in the year of 1989, by the merging of 4 groups (of mining and smelting industries). The company has been headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, with the key responsibilities of it being carried out by Marc Grynberg, Chief Executive Officer and Thomas Leysen as the Chairman of the company. The overall working strength of the company is around 14,000 employees (as was the case in the end of 2012).

Trading of the shares of the company is being done on the continuously changing market of Euronext, having a total number of 12,000 million shares with a market-cap of around 4 million. The revenue generation of the company is 12.5 billion € along with the operating income of 524 million €, making a total profit of around 372.1 million €, as according to the data of 2012. The overall asset of the company turns out to be 3.512 billion € along with 1.5 billion €, as according to the fact evolved back in the year of 2010. The company has developed a huge amount of globalized customer-base by carrying out the scientific operations all over the world. Formerly, the group was known by the name - Union Miniere, for symbolizing it as the mining industry for the manufacturing of base-metals and commodities. But recently, the name of the group has been changed to Umicore, due to the reshaping of the company by technological advancements, now focusing more on technology aspects encircling the fields of refinement and recycling of precious-metals, and manufacturing of specialized products for the refined precious-metals, zinc, cobalt, germanium and the like ones.

The main products of the company include refinement and managing of precious metals, catalysts, products made from precious metals, electronic materials, electro optic materials, zinc chemicals and other specialized materials. The main objective behind the production and recycling of the materials by the company is the completion of a mission known as – ‘Materials for a better life’. There are 4 main business fields which are mainly focused by all the activities carried out including – Recycling, Performance Materials, Catalysis and Energy Materials. There is further segmentation within each of the business category that has been mentioned above, making the market focused auxiliary units for each one, for the making of newer technological advancements needed for meeting the higher living standards of today’s life.