The Precious Metals Division incorporates Johnson Matthey's worldwide precious metals operations and is organised into two global businesses — Platinum and Gold and Silver. Platinum includes Johnson Matthey's precious metal marketing and Noble Metals fabrication facilities in the UK and the US. The Gold and Silver business consists of the group's worldwide gold and silver refining activities in the US, Canada, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.

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The Noble Metals business was expanded with the acquisition in February 2001 of Shape Memory Applications in San Jose. This facility produces nitinol, a unique nickel-titanium alloy most notable for its shape memory and super elasticity characteristics, for use in medical components.

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COLOURS & COATINGS

The Colours & Coatings Division manufactures products used in functional and decorative coatings for ceramics and glass - chiefly tableware, glassware and tiles. These products range from colours and stains to decals, inks and liquid precious metal preparations.

Johnson Matthey's Glass business, based in Maastricht, in the Netherlands, manufactures black obscuration and silver conductive enamels for automotive glass. It also makes enamels and decorative precious metal products for other glass applications such as bottles and architectural glass.

The Speciality Coatings business supplies colours, glazes, decals and decorative precious metal products to manufacturers of fine tableware in the UK and around the world. The division also manufactures inorganic pigments and pigment dispersions for plastics, paints, woodstains, automotive finishes and printing inks.

Johnson Matthey's Structural Ceramics business is located in the main centres of the global tile industry: Castellon in Spain, Spezzano in Italy, Estiva Gerbi in Brazil and Staffordshire in the UK. It supplies colours, glazes and frits worldwide.

Johnson Matthey has zircon milling operations in Italy, UK, US, Brazil, Malaysia, China, Australia and India. The fine zircon product is used as an opacifier in glaze production.

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