FOE Company Profile

Ferro Corporation was incorporated in Ohio in 1919 as an enameling company. Today, we are a leading producer of specialty materials that are sold to a broad range of manufacturers who, in turn, make products for many end-use markets. We operate approximately 36 facilities around the world that manufacture the following types of performance materials:
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Frits, porcelain and other glass enamels, glazes, stains, decorating colors, pigments, inks, polishing materials, specialty dielectrics, electronic glasses, and other specialty coatings.
We refer to our products as performance materials because we formulate them to perform specific functions in the manufacturing processes and end products of our customers. The products we develop often are delivered to our customers in combination with customized technical service. The value of our products stems from the benefits they deliver in actual use. We develop and deliver innovative products to our customers through our key strengths in:
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Particle Engineering — Our ability to design and produce very small particles made of a broad variety of materials, with precisely controlled characteristics of shape, size and size distribution. We understand how to disperse these particles within liquid, paste and gel formulations.
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Color and Glass Science — Our understanding of the chemistry required to develop and produce pigments that provide color characteristics ideally suited to customers’ applications. We have a demonstrated ability to provide glass-based coatings with properties that precisely meet customers’ needs in a broad variety of applications.
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Surface Chemistry and Surface Application Technology — Our understanding of chemicals and materials used to develop products and processes that involve the interface between layers and the surface properties of materials.
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Product Formulation — Our ability to develop and manufacture combinations of materials that deliver specific performance characteristics designed to work within customers’ particular products and manufacturing processes.

We deliver these key technical strengths to our customers in a way that creates additional value through our integrated applications support. Our applications support personnel provide assistance to our customers in their material specification and evaluation, product design and manufacturing process characterization in order to help them optimize the efficient and cost-effective application of our products.
We divide our operations into four business units:

Tile Coating Systems


Porcelain Enamel


Performance Colors and Glass


Pigments, Powders and Oxides