Specialty metals maker Allegheny Technologies Inc. has completed its earlier announced sale of its tungsten materials business to Latrobe, PA-based wear-resistant products company Kennametal Inc. for $605 million. Shares of Allegheny moved up as much as around 2% during the trading session following the declaration of the news.

Allegheny decided to divest its tungsten materials business so that it can focus more on its core businesses – High Performance Metals and Flat-Rolled Products. The acquisition is also expected to increase Allegheny’s financial flexibility and simplify its capital allocation and deployment.

Allegheny’s tungsten materials business operates through roughly 1,175 employees across 14 operating facilities globally and consists of two market-leading divisions – ATI Firth Sterling and ATI Stellram. It produces tungsten powder, tungsten heavy alloys, tungsten carbide materials and carbide cutting tools. The business unit generated $338.6 million of total net revenues and $37.2 million of operating profit for the year ended Dec 31, 2012.

Kennametal paid for the acquisition partly by cash and partly by available borrowings under its existing revolving credit facility.


Tungsten Heavy Alloy Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.tungsten-alloy.com
Tel.: 86 592 5129696; Fax: 86 592 5129797
Email: sales@chinatungsten.com
Tungsten & Molybdenum Information Bank: http://i.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten News & Tungsten Prices, 3G Version: http://3g.chinatungsten.com
Molybdenum News & Molybdenum Price: http://news.molybdenum.com.cn


 

BlueFire Equipment Corporation (BLFR) announced today its team of scientists and engineers are working to finalize production of custom designed proprietary polycrystalline diamond cutter (PDC) tungsten carbide drill bits for its international clients.

Using advanced manufacturing techniques, BlueFire is optimizing and adapting its leading edge tungsten carbide drill bit technology for international applications.

Chairman and CEO of BlueFire Equipment Corporation William A. Blackwell said, “BlueFire’s team is customizing its highly engineered drilling equipment for very deep, high pressure environments and dense, hard rock formations.” He added, “We are casting these PDC tungsten carbide drill bits using our company’s advanced manufacturing techniques and made-to-order design specifications. The result is an improved product with the same cost and time saving attributes as our previous designs.”

Using data from a large US health survey, the study has shown that high tungsten levels – as measured in urine samples – are strongly linked with an increase in the occurrence of stroke, roughly equal to a doubling of the odds of experiencing the condition.

Conducted by a team from the University of Exeter, the study represents the most comprehensive analysis to date of the potential health effects of the metal.

According to figures from the World Health Organisation, stroke is currently the second leading cause of death in the Western world, ranking only second to heart disease. It is also the leading cause of disability in adults, often resulting in loss of motor control, urinary incontinence, depression and memory loss.

The research used data from the US based National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), analysing information for 8614 participants aged between 18 and 74 over a 12 year period.

Higher tungsten levels were found to be strongly associated with an increase in the prevalence of stroke, independent of typical risk factors. Importantly, the findings show that tungsten could be a significant risk factor for stroke in people under the age of 50.

Toyota Motor Corporation was honored this month for its ongoing efforts to promote a sustainable society by reducing, reusing and recycling resources, such as tungsten and tungsten carbide materials.

At this year's 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) Awards hosted by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) 3Rs Promotion Council, Toyota and Toyota Tsusho Corporation shared the 2013 Prime Minister's Prize.

Separately, Toyota and Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. shared a Rare Metal Recycling Award from the Japan Environmental Management Association for Industry (JEMAI) presented earlier this month at the Awards for Resources Recirculation Technologies and Systems. The award, announced on October 11, recognized the companies' jointly developed system for recycling the rare metal tungsten.

Toyota was one of the first automakers to respond to the implications of mass production and disposal of vehicles. In 1970, Toyota and Toyota Tsusho Corporation founded Toyota Metal Co., Ltd., the first end-of-life vehicle shredding plant established by an automaker. The Toyota Group (consisting of 17 companies including TMC and Toyota Tsusho Corporation) has remained committed to the responsible disposal of end-of-life vehicles, and has developed a wide variety of world-first recycling technologies and systems to recover tungsten materials.

Toyota is also working to recycle rare metals that are used in non-hybrid vehicles. In 2010, Toyota teamed up with Sumitomo Electric Industries to establish a business focused on recycling tungsten, which is most commonly used to produce highly resilient carbide tools. The system combines processes for sorting and collecting scrap from cemented carbide products with new, world-first recycling technology to enable 100 percent recovery and recycling of tungsten in cemented carbide scrap. To date, the venture has recycled 75 tons of tungsten.


Tungsten Carbide Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.tungsten-carbide.com.cn
Tel.: 86 592 5129696; Fax: 86 592 5129797
Email: sales@chinatungsten.com
Tungsten & Molybdenum Information Bank: http://i.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten News & Tungsten Prices, 3G Version: http://3g.chinatungsten.com
Molybdenum News & Molybdenum Price: http://news.molybdenum.com.cn