Rheinmetall to acquire Hagedorn-NC to strengthen supply chain for propellant

Germany’s Rheinmetall announced on 7 March 2025 that it has has moved to take over Hagedorn-NC, headquartered in Osnabrück, Lower-Saxony, to secure its supply chain in relation to propellent production.

A corresponding purchase agreement has now been concluded between Rheinmetall and Hagedorn AG, Osnabrück, as the seller. The acquisition is subject to antitrust approval by the relevant authorities.

Over the course of the takeover, relevant parts of Hagedorn-NC’s production are to be converted to military applications, enabling Rheinmetall to strengthen its manufacturing capacity for propellants for all types of ammunition, especially 155 mm artillery rounds.

Hagedorn-NC has been producing industrial nitrocellulose for civilian applications in Lingen an der Ems for over 100 years. Nitrocellulose is an essential energetic component of propellant powders, which are used, among other things, as propellants for artillery ammunition. Nitrocellulose is produced by reacting cellulose with nitrating acids.

Rheinmetall currently produces nitrocellulose at three sites: Wimmis (Switzerland), Murcia (Spain) and Wellington (South Africa). Through this acquisition, the corporation will have an additional site.

Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall, explained in a Rheinmetall press release that the acquisition “helps us to overcome a strategic bottleneck in propellant production. It gives us an important source of raw materials and continues the vertical integration along the entire value chain in the production of ammunition.

“We look forward to welcoming the approximately 90 employees of Hagedorn NC to the Rheinmetall Corporation and to offering them secure prospects for the future, he added.

Gerd Hofmann, CEO of Hagedorn AG, stated, “I am very pleased to have found a new owner for Hagedorn-NC in Rheinmetall, which will offer the company new prospects and growth opportunities. I am convinced that both companies will work well together.”