VDM Metals Group (formerly Vereinigte Deutsche Metallwerke) based in Werdohl, Germany, is a manufacturer of corrosion-resistant, heat-resistant and high-temperature nickel alloys, cobalt and zirconium alloys as well as high-alloyed special stainless steels. These materials are used in the chemical process industry, the oil and gas industry, aerospace, automotive and electronics / electrical engineering. VDM Metals operates production sites in Germany (Altena, Siegen, Unna and Werdohl) and the United States (Florham Park, NJ, and Reno, NV). The company employs about 2,000 people worldwide.

The original Vereinigte Deutsche Metallwerke AG (VDM) was founded in 1930 by the takeover of Heddernheimer Kupferwerk and Süddeutsche Kabelwerk AG in Frankfurt by Berg-Heckmann-Selve AG in Altena. 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. The global economic crisis had forced a consolidation of previously competing companies.

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. The group's companies remained independent under their previous name (e. g. Heddernheimer Kupferwerk GmbH), but the production program was redistributed by material group to the individual plants. In March 1934, VDM moved its headquarters to Frankfurt am Main. The incipient rearmament of the Wehrmacht skyrocketed the demand for light metal products. 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.

Because of the great importance of the VDM for the war economy, almost all buildings and factories were heavily destroyed in the air raids on Frankfurt am Main during the Second World War. At the end of the war, the production collapsed completely, all works were shut down at the direction of the Allies and partly dismantled. It was not until 1946, under the leadership of Wilhelm Kirmser, that the gradual reconstruction and transition to civilian production began.

In the early 1950s, VDM became the world's largest manufacturer and distributor of raw, semi-finished and finished non-ferrous metals and alloys. The upswing reached its peak in the financial year 1960/61. Thereafter, the company continuously lost market share.

Already for 1966/67 no dividend could be paid to shareholders. A major cause of the difficulties was the fragmented corporate structure of six separate companies, which did not allow a consistent strategy and investment.

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. The company reacted with rationalization measures, a reorientation of the production strategy, the sale of individual company shares and the closure of unprofitable production units and plants. This reduced the number of employees from 14,200 (1970) to 6,700 in 1979. After a dramatic deterioration of the results in the financial year 1980/81, the parent plant in Frankfurt-Heddernheim was closed after 129 years on 31 March 1982.