Umicore is an international metals and materials group. Its activities are centred on five business areas : Precious Metals Services, Precious Metals Products and Catalysts, Advanced Materials, Zinc and Copper. Each business area is divided into market-focused business units.

Umicore focuses on application areas where it knows its expertise in materials science, chemistry and metallurgy can make a real difference, be it in products that are essential to everyday life or those at the cutting edge of exciting, new technological developments. Umicore's overriding goal of sustainable value creation is based on this ambition to develop, produce and recycle metals in a way that fulfils its mission: materials for a better life.

The Umicore Group has industrial operations on all continents and serves a global customer base ; it generated a turnover of EUR 7.1 billion in 2004 and currently employs some 11,500 people.