eVAC Magnetics and VAC Group Statement on the Passing of U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham
SUMTER, S.C. – eVAC Magnetics and Vacuumschmelze (VAC) Group today released the following statement from Troy Thacker, executive chairman of eVAC Magnetics, on the death of U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.):
“We are deeply saddened by the news of Senator Lindsey Graham’s passing Saturday evening.
He served 33 years in uniform as an Air Force lawyer, and he retired as a colonel. He represented South Carolina for more than 30 years, from the statehouse to the United States Senate. He worked tirelessly to defend this country's security and to improve the lives of those he represented for so long.
That work is what brought him to Sumter. When South Carolina announced the eVAC Magnetics manufacturing facility in 2023, he was a champion of its development. Last September, he came to see the plant for himself. He walked the production floor with our team and talked about what it would take for this country to make its own rare-earth magnets again. He kept making that case publicly in the months that followed and never wavered in his commitment to position the state of South Carolina at the forefront of this global fight.
We remain grateful for Senator Graham’s service and support of our work in Sumter.
Our thoughts are with his family, his staff, and all those who knew him and loved him.”
About eVAC Magnetics
eVAC Magnetics is a U.S.-owned and operated manufacturer of high-performance Neodymium-Iron-Boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets. Backed by decades of proprietary process expertise, eVAC is dedicated to onshore production, ensuring North American supply continuity for automotive, defense, and industrial applications.
About VAC Group
VAC Group is a leading advanced magnetics company with more than 100 years of operation and over 50 years of expertise in high-grade sintered NdFeB and SmCo permanent magnets. Its work is backed by more than 400 patents, and VAC is among the few magnet producers compliant with the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (“DFARS”), a key credential for U.S. and allied defense. VAC operates magnet plants in Hanau, Germany; Ulvila, Finland; Horná Streda, Slovakia; and Sumter, South Carolina. VAC also produces soft magnetic materials and inductive components and employs about 4,000 people worldwide.