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 filing trajectory.

1,874
US patents granted
B21
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+13%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Manufacture OF Metal Sheets ranks #372 of 670 CPC technology areas - 1,874 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 13% over five years.

#372
of 670 CPC technology areas
1,874
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Jfe Steel
leading assignee (68)
+13%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: JFE Steel Corporation (68 patents)

CPC subclass B21C - 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 - covers 1,874 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class B21 (MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in B21C is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. JFE Steel Corporation leads with 68 patents, followed by Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation at 37 grants and SMS Group Gmbh at 36.

Filing activity in B21C is up 13% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a relatively steady filing pace. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is B21C innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in B21C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 13% 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

About This Class

CPC subclass B21C belongs to class B21.

1,874 patents were granted in this class between 2015 and 2025.

20 companies actively patent in this space.

Classification System

Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is a hierarchical patent classification system used by the USPTO and EPO.

← All Technology Classes Technology Rankings →

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).

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 & Sumito…Sms groupKeystone Tower SystemsDanieli & C Officine…Benteler Automobiltec…Ube MachineryNovelisPrimetals AustriaSouthwirePrimetals UsaExcoNexansFurukawa Automotive S…
Top 14 B21C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B21C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class B21C?
CPC subclass B21C covers 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. It belongs to CPC class B21 (MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL), with 1,874 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in B21C?
1,874 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass B21C between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in B21C?
JFE Steel Corporation leads B21C with 68 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for B21C collected?
Patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It covers all US granted utility patents and assigns CPC codes based on the technology described in each patent.
What is the difference between CPC class and subclass?
A CPC class (e.g., B21) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like B21C provide finer granularity within that category. PlainPatent organizes data at the subclass level (4-character codes) for the most useful view of technology domains.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent Editorial

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.