LEWISTON — Elmet Technologies has laid off 33 employees amid rumors of a sale.

Company president and COO Andrew Nichols declined to comment Monday morning.

The Lewiston CareerCenter confirmed it has held a Rapid Response session for 20 hourly employees laid off last week, center manager Mary LaFontaine said. 

An additional 13 salaried workers were laid off Friday, according to another source who declined to be named. The Elmet employees belonged to the Teamsters Local 340. Sessions are designed to walk the newly unemployed through help and services available to them. 

Elmet Technologies, at 1560 Lisbon St., has a long history in Lewiston going back to 1929. It was owned by light bulb giant Philips Lighting Co. until 2003 and today works with molybdenum and tungsten metals for the lighting, semiconductor, medical and energy industries, according to the company’s website.

In its 2014 annual corporate filing with the Maine Secretary of State’s Office, Paul Meister and Eric Scheinerman are listed as the company’s two shareholders. Meister and Scheinerman are partners at Liberty Lane Partners, a New Hampshire investment firm. The didn’t return a call for comment Monday afternoon.

kskelton@sunjournal.com