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CPC technology class · B21

B21J - Forging

Forging; hammering; pressing metal; riveting; forge furnaces. 1,805 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

1,805
US patents granted
B21
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+10%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Forging ranks #378 of 670 CPC technology areas - 1,805 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 10% over five years.

#378
of 670 CPC technology areas
1,805
US patents granted, 2015–2025
The Boeing
leading assignee (133)
+10%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: The Boeing Company (133 patents)

CPC subclass B21J - FORGING; HAMMERING; PRESSING METAL; RIVETING; FORGE FURNACES - covers 1,805 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 B21J is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. The Boeing Company leads with 133 patents, followed by NSK Ltd. at 35 grants and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation at 29.

Filing activity in B21J is up 10% 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 B21J innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in B21J, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 10% versus 2015–2019.

50100150200250 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 93

Who leads B21J?

The 12 most active assignees in FORGING; HAMMERING; PRESSING METAL; RIVETING; FORGE FURNACES - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows The Boeing is the most active filer in B21J, holding 133 of the 1,805 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 B21J
Rank Company Patents in B21J
#1 Newfrey Llc 44
#2 NSK Ltd. 35
#3 Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation 29
#4 Böllhoff Verbindungstechnik Gmbh 27
#5 Atlas Copco IAS UK Limited 21
#6 ATI Properties Llc 17
#7 Broetje-automation Gmbh 17
#8 Profil Verbindungstechnik Gmbh & Co. KG 15
#9 TOX Pressotechnik Gmbh & Co. KG 15
#10 Henrob Limited 14
#11 SMS Group Gmbh 11
#12 Arconic Corporation 10
#13 National Machine Company 10
#14 Howmet Aerospace Inc. 9
#15 Standard Lifters, Inc. 9
#16 Richard Bergner Verbindungstechnik Gmbh & Co. KG 8
#17 Langenstein & Schemann Gmbh 8
#18 Gage Bilt, Inc. 8
#19 Daido Steel Co., Ltd. 7
#20 Neturen Co., Ltd. 7

About This Class

CPC subclass B21J belongs to class B21.

1,805 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 B21J 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 B21J assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B21J. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 B21J assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B21J. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 51015202530 01020304050 Patents in B21J Avg claims / patent (company-wide) NewfreyNskNippon Steel & Sumito…Böllhoff Verbindungst…Atlas Copco Ias UkAti PropertiesBroetje-automationProfil Verbindungstec…Tox Pressotechnik & KgHenrobSms groupArconicNational MachineHowmet Aerospace
Top 14 B21J assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B21J. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class B21J?
CPC subclass B21J covers FORGING; HAMMERING; PRESSING METAL; RIVETING; FORGE FURNACES. It belongs to CPC class B21 (MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL), with 1,805 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in B21J?
1,805 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass B21J between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in B21J?
The Boeing Company leads B21J with 133 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for B21J 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 B21J 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.