Cutting Tool Maker Secures Raw Materials

One of the world’s largest suppliers of cutting tools is gaining access to a strategic reserve of tungsten oxide in the U.S. For Ceratizit Group, one of the top producers of cemented carbide, cermet, and ceramic components, a new agreement by its majority stakeholder Plansee Group to establish a tungsten-oxide stockpile will solidify its “fully integrated tungsten value chain … from tungsten powder to finished tools - creating control over crucial steps and reducing exposure to short-term market fluctuations.”

Tungsten oxide (WO3) is a chemical compound of tungsten (also known as wolfram) and oxygen valued for electrochromic, photochromic, and semiconducting properties. Among several critical applications in energy, chemical, and industrial activities, it is a raw material for tungsten metal and carbide powders, used in forming cutting tools and wear-resistant parts.

“A significant portion of production will support a strategic tungsten-oxide reserve intended to serve government, defense, and critical industry demand,” according to the Plansee Group announcement.

Plansee Group subsidiary Plansee US Holding Corp. and Manhattan Five Partners LLC (a real-estate development and asset management firm) are forming a joint venture to expand Plansee’s tungsten oxide refining operation in Towanda, Penn., to a capacity of approximately 12,000 metric tons/year. That plant, Global Tungsten & Powders (GTP), is a division of the Ceratizit Group.

Ceratizit’s sources a high volume of the materials it processes through recycling, with a FY2024/25 recycling rate of ~90%. “This circular approach reduces dependence on primary raw materials and lowers the carbon footprint while strengthening long-term supply resilience,” it stated.

Tungsten scrap is collected and sorted by Stadler Raw Materials and processed with advanced recycling technologies at GTP facilities in the United States and Finland

In the joint-venture structure, Plansee will manage the production and supply; and Manhattan Five will oversee warehousing, logistics infrastructure, and long-term asset management.

The cost of the expansion project and other terms of the joint venture were not announced.

The expansion is expected to be completed shortly, with initial deliveries of tungsten-oxide material within the current calendar year.