Direct and indirect participation in companies of all kinds in Switzerland and abroad, in particular in the field of manufacturing, marketing and distribution of metal powders, granules and other materials; may establish branches and subsidiaries, participate in other companies, acquire, hold, manage, encumber, utilize and dispose of real estate and intellectual property rights, as well as finance other companies, their direct or indirect subsidiaries, and third parties, including their direct or indirect shareholders and their direct or indirect subsidiaries, provide direct or indirect financing, provide security for its own liabilities and those of other companies (including direct or indirect shareholders of the company or companies in which these shareholders are directly or indirectly involved) of any kind, including by way of pledges, fiduciary transfers or assignments of the company's assets, or guarantees, enter into sureties or otherwise secure or guarantee the obligations of these other companies, whether for consideration or not, and also engage in liquidity balancing/concentration of net liquidity (cash pooling) with the aforementioned companies or join such an arrangement, including periodic account balancing, all of this also without consideration, on preferential terms, without interest, excluding the company's profit motive and assuming cluster risks.