Kirk Ludeke

Kirk Ludeke from Imperial Capital asked if GrafTech's quality and service allow for premium pricing or primarily help win competitive ties. He also sought an estimate of the percentage of market demand sensitive to quality and service, the potential impact of the $12 billion critical material fund on pricing, and expectations for competitors to reduce capacity.

Answer

CEO Timothy Flanagan stated that premium pricing depends on the market; GrafTech prices competitively against top-tier producers, with service breaking ties. He noted a quality differential with Tier Two/Three producers (Indian/Chinese) but acknowledged some markets are purely price-driven. Flanagan asserted that 100% of demand is sensitive to quality, but the willingness to pay for incremental quality varies. He indicated it's too early to quantify the exact impact of the critical material fund but expects a positive uplift from collective government and financial initiatives recognizing synthetic graphite as a critical mineral. Flanagan mentioned that while no specific competitor capacity reductions are pending, market conditions will eventually force such decisions.