PlainPatent

CPC technology class · B21

B21C - Manufacture Of Metal Sheets

Manufacture of metal sheets, wire, rods, tubes, profiles or like semi-manufactured products otherwise than by rolling; auxiliary operations used in connection with metal-working without essentially removing material. 1,874 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

1,874
US patents granted
#3/9
in B21
12.1%
B21 class share
-3%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Manufacture Of Metal Sheets ranks #372 of 670 CPC technology areas - 1,874 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume down 3% over five years.

#372
of 670 CPC technology areas
1,874
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Jfe Steel
leading assignee (68)
-3%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How B21C's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, B21C recorded 805 grants versus 827 in 2015–2019 (-3% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2019 at 194 grants and bottomed in 2024 at 131 (+48% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee JFE Steel Corporation holds 3.6% of the class ; the top three share 7.5%.

Leaderboard read

B21C concentration, lead at 3.6%

JFE Steel Corporation leads this historical grant record at 3.6% of B21C - foreign corporation assignees hold 72% of class grants (627 of 872). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
3.6%

68 of 1,874 grants

Top three share
7.5%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
31

more grants than Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation

Where B21C sits inside B21

Among 9 subclasses in B21 (Mechanical Metal-working Without Essentially Removing MATERIAL; Punching Metal), B21C ranks #3 and holds 12.1% of the parent class's 15,472 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

B21D 7,309 B21B 1,895 B21J 1,805 B21K 1,246 B21F 817 B21H 386 B21G 86 B21L 54

Rising assignees active in B21C

Company-wide grant multiples (2022–2024 vs 2019–2021) among assignees with ≥5 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide; class patent counts are subclass-specific.

  1. #1 H.C. Starck Solutions Coldwater, LLC 7.00x 0 → 7 company-wide · 5 in B21C
  2. #2 Hydro Extruded Solutions AS 2.33x 3 → 7 company-wide · 5 in B21C
  3. #3 North University OF China 2.08x 12 → 25 company-wide · 6 in B21C
  4. #4 Constellium Singen GmbH 1.67x 6 → 10 company-wide · 5 in B21C
  5. #5 Ball Corporation 1.38x 29 → 40 company-wide · 10 in B21C

B21C grants by year, peak 2019 (194)

US utility-patent grants per year in B21C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 3% versus 2015–2019.

120140160180200 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 128

Who leads B21C?

The 12 most active assignees in Manufacture OF Metal Sheets, Wire, Rods, Tubes, Profiles OR Like Semi-manufactured Products Otherwise Than BY ROLLING; Auxiliary Operations Used IN Connection With Metal-working Without Essentially Removing Material - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Jfe Steel is the most active filer in B21C, holding 68 of the 1,874 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

Source USPTO PatentsView, granted utility patents As of 2015–2025 grant years
View data table
Top patent holders in CPC subclass B21C
Rank Company Patents in B21C
#1 JFE Steel Corporation 68
#2 Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation 37
#3 SMS group GmbH 36
#4 Keystone Tower Systems, Inc. 25
#5 Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche S.P.A. 23
#6 Benteler Automobiltechnik GMBH 19
#7 UBE Machinery Corporation, Ltd. 18
#8 Novelis Inc. 15
#9 Primetals Technologies Austria GmbH 15
#10 Southwire Company, LLC 13
#11 Primetals Technologies USA LLC 13
#12 Exco Technologies Limited 11
#13 Nexans 10
#14 Furukawa Automotive Systems Inc. 10
#15 Ball Corporation 10
#16 Wieland-werke AG 10
#17 ATI Properties LLC 9
#18 Sandvik Materials Technology Deutschland GmbH 9
#19 H.C. Starck Inc. 8
#20 Manchester Copper Products, LLC 8

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading B21C assignee, placed by how many patents it holds in this class (horizontal) against its company-wide average claims per patent (vertical) - a read on whether the class is led by broad-but-shallow filers or focused deep-claim players.

Top 14 B21C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B21C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 5101520 020406080 Patents in B21C Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Jfe SteelNippon Steel &…Sms groupKeystone Tower SystemsDanieli & C Officine…Benteler Automobiltech…Ube MachineryNovelisPrimetals AustriaSouthwirePrimetals UsaExcoNexansFurukawa Automotive…
Top 14 B21C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B21C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near B21C's 1,874-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for B21C (#372 of 670 by volume ; lead share 3.6%) - not the B21 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

D04B 1,864 B21B 1,895 E02B 1,837 F16G 1,830

Nearest by lead-assignee share

G01H 3.6% F23J 3.6% F21S 3.6% E05B 3.7%

Questions about B21C

Which company holds the most patents in B21C?
JFE Steel Corporation leads B21C with 68 patents (3.6% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 72% of class grants.
Which B21C assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in B21C, H.C. Starck Solutions Coldwater, LLC shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (7.00x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 7 in 2022–2024) while holding 5 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does B21C compare inside parent class B21?
Inside B21 (Mechanical Metal-working Without Essentially Removing MATERIAL; Punching Metal), B21C ranks #3 of 9 subclasses by grant volume and holds 12.1% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is B21D (7,309 grants).

What to do with this data

B21C in context - here's where to go next.

Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through 2026-05-15; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.

Methodology - B21C figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (1,874 grants in the tracked window).

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.