Sandvik acquires Buffalo Tungsten

Sandvik has strengthened its strategic presence in North America and increases production of tungsten powder using renewable energy by acquiring New York-based Buffalo Tungsten Inc. (BTI).

“Not a day goes by when you don’t use an object containing tungsten or a product made by a tungsten tool,” says Alex Nieuwpoort, president of Wolfram Bergbau- und Hütten in Austria, tungsten powder producer and a part of Sandvik.

Tungsten provides the cutting edge of tooling inserts and drill bits for machining and mining applications. To secure the supply of such a strategic material for both Sandvik and its customers across different industries, Sandvik acquired BTI in December 2023.

“Having a North American footprint is important to us and our customers as it reduces logistical challenges and enables shorter lead times. With the acquisition of BTI Sandvik also gains access to the technology of producing high-quality tungsten powder using electricity,” said Nieuwpoort.

The BTI acquisition also reduces the environmental impact since Sandvik can serve both customers and its own units in North America without the need for long-distance shipping.

“This minimizes the risk of disruptions in our supply chain and ensures a steady, reliable supply to the US market, which is very important to Sandvik,” says Nieuwpoort.

BTI specializes in tungsten powder in larger grain sizes, while Wolfram specializes in finer grains. This means the two companies complement each other well, by offering different grain sizes to address diverse applications and industries.