[2] VDM Metals operates production sites in Germany (Altena, Siegen, Unna and Werdohl) and the United States (Florham Park, NJ, and Reno, NV).

The merger took place on the initiative of Metallgesellschaft, which was the main shareholder of Heddernheimer Kupferwerke since 1893 and also took over the majority of the new corporate group.

[5] The new company had a share capital of 30 million Reichsmark and had branches and manufacturing facilities in Heddernheim, Gustavsburg, Mannheim, Nuremberg, Cologne and in Altena, Werdohl and Duisburg.

By 1939, the number of employees at VDM rose to 21,000, mainly due to the production of variable pitch propellers for aircraft of the Luftwaffe.

At the end of the war, the production collapsed completely, all works were shut down at the direction of the Allies and partly dismantled.

In the early 1950s, VDM became the world's largest manufacturer and distributor of raw, semi-finished and finished non-ferrous metals and alloys.

In 1969, the plant in Cologne was shut down and the remaining works were combined into seven business units: Despite the restructuring and some acquisitions in the 1970s, sales continued to decline.

In the following years, VDM gradually separated from all remaining production facilities and changed its name to MG Vermögensverwaltung AG in 1988.

In November 2019, the Spanish stainless steel producer Acerinox announced the signing of a share-purchase-agreement to acquire VDM Metals.