Astaras, Inc. celebrates grand opening of new tungsten heavy alloy manufacturing facility

Astaras, Inc., a trusted supplier of advanced tungsten heavy alloy materials, hosted the grand opening of its brand-new manufacturing facility at 11625 54th St. N, Clearwater, Florida on August 6, 2025. The event marked a transformative moment for the tungsten heavy alloy industry in the United States as Astaras launched the new DENSALLOY U.S. Made Tungsten Heavy Alloys brand.

The grand opening event included presentations on tungsten heavy alloy technology, brief remarks from industry leaders and Florida state officials including:

• Tobias Borawski, Managing Director, Astaras, Inc. - Served as emcee for the event and introduced the DENSALLOY U.S. Made Tungsten Heavy Alloys brand.
• Kent New, Tungsten Heavy Alloys Facilities Manager, Astaras, Inc. - Took the audience through the journey of the facility up to the point of the Grand Opening. Spoke a second time to give a “podium tour” of the facility, calling out existing machines and locations of near-term investments.
• Alex Kelly, Secretary of Commerce, FloridaCommerce - Provided an overview of the economic impact for the state of Florida and the importance of this facility to the aerospace and defense industries in Florida.
• Linda Chaney, Florida State Representative (HD 61) - Represents many Astaras employees who are residents of Pinellas County.
• Brian Scott, Chairman, Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners - Shared his thoughts on economic development and the cooperation between business and Pinellas County.
• Christofer Burger, Consul General, Federal Republic of Germany in Miami - Shared his perspective on international commerce and the cooperation between German and American companies.
• Ulrich Hocker, Chairman of Shareholders Committee, IBG, Germany - Explained the importance and the role that Astaras and the new tungsten heavy alloys manufacturing facility plays in IBG global operations.
• Dr. Emil Schubert, CEO, ABICOR GROUP - Discussed ABICOR GROUP business operations in the Americas and the tungsten heavy alloy facility investment timeline.
• Thomas Hoehn, Managing Director, WELDSTONE, Germany - Provided the audience with the perspective that opening the new tungsten alloy facility took the mentality and drive of a start-up company.
• Dr. Steve Caldwell, Tungsten Expert/Consultant, Spectrum Innovations - Provided the audience with a solid general understanding of tungsten heavy alloys and shared his thoughts on the importance and technical excellence of the new facility. 

With the launch of our U.S.-based manufacturing facility, Astaras is taking a bold step forward—offering DFARS-compliant (Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement) American-made tungsten heavy alloy solutions that meet the highest standards of quality, performance, and compliance.

“By adding tungsten heavy alloy production stateside, we’re not only expanding our capabilities—we’re making it easier for U.S. companies to meet DFARS requirements,” says Tobias Borawski, Managing Director, Astaras.

“This is a game-changer for contractors and manufacturers in industries where precision, durability, and reliability are non-negotiable,” says Jim Brown, Senior Sales Representative for Tungsten Heavy Alloys, Astaras.

Tungsten heavy alloys are indispensable across a wide range of sectors—from aerospace and defense to automotive, die casting, welding, machining, medical, and more. Valued for their high density, heat resistance, vibration damping, radiation shielding, and extreme wear resistance, tungsten heavy alloys are mission-critical for high-performance applications.

“Astaras is AS9100D and ISO 9001:2015 certified, underscoring our commitment to excellence and rigorous quality management,” says Kent New, Manager of the new Astaras Tungsten facility. New has been with Astaras for 20 years managing the engineering team and providing oversight for the Quality Control team.

At full capacity, the Clearwater facility is expected to operate 24/7, creating approximately twenty job opportunities for skilled professionals in manufacturing, warehouse operations, and technical services in Pinellas County.

“The investment not only strengthens local industry but also enhances the region’s economic vitality and workforce,” says Dr. Cynthia Johnson, Director of the Pinellas County Economic Development department.

To ensure the tungsten heavy alloy materials are separated by source, the new Astaras tungsten heavy alloy facility will be dedicated to manufacturing and distribution of Made-in-America tungsten heavy alloy materials. Customers will be reassured of material origin, as it will clearly be stated on the Certificates of Origin (Cos).

What is tungsten?
Tungsten is a chemical element with the symbol W (Wolffram) and atomic number 74. It is known for:

• Extremely high melting point (6,192 °F / 3,422 °C) — the highest of all metals.
• Nearly as dense as gold with a density of 19.25 g/cm³ (1.7 times denser than lead.)
• Exceptional hardness, ranking 9 on the Mohs scale (just below diamond)
• High tensile strength and resistance to wear, corrosion, and high temperatures.
• Naturally, tungsten is grayish silver in appearance. 

Tungsten is found in nature only in chemical compound form, not as a pure metal. Tungsten is primarily found in mineral ores, especially Wolframite (Fe,Mn)WO₄ and Scheelite CaWO₄. Other less common tungsten-bearing minerals include Ferberite (iron-rich wolframite) and Hübnerite (manganese-rich wolframite).

When mined, the raw ore is crushed and milled into fine particles. Tungsten minerals are separated from waste rock using gravity separation, flotation, and magnetic separation. The concentrated ore is chemically treated to produce ammonium paratungstate (APT) — a key intermediate in tungsten refining. The APT is converted into tungsten oxide and then reduced to pure tungsten powder, often by hydrogen reduction in furnaces. Finally, the powder is pressed and sintered into solid tungsten or alloy forms, depending on its intended use.

What is a tungsten heavy alloy?
A tungsten heavy alloy is a mixture of tungsten and one or more other metals, such as nickel, iron, copper, cobalt, or molybdenum. These are engineered materials designed to enhance or tailor specific properties of pure tungsten.

Why use tungsten heavy alloys?
Pure tungsten is too brittle for most structural or mechanical applications. Tungsten heavy alloys retain density and temperature resistance while improving strength, toughness, and machinability.

Examples:

• Tungsten heavy alloys (WHA) are used in medical imaging, aerospace, and defense.
• Tungsten carbide, a hard alloy of tungsten and carbon, is widely used in cutting tools. 

What are the key differences of tungsten vs. tungsten heavy alloy?
Pure Tungsten

• Composition - 99.9%+ tungsten
• Machinability - Very difficult to machine
• Brittleness - Brittle, especially at room temperature
• Melting Point - Extremely high
• Applications - Filaments, welding electrodes, electronics
• Cost - Expensive
  

Tungsten Heavy Alloys

• Composition - Tungsten + other metals (e.g., nickel, iron)
• Machinability - More machinable and ductile
• Brittleness - Enhanced toughness and flexibility
• Melting Point - Slightly lower, depending on alloy
• Applications - Radiation shielding, aerospace parts, die casting, counterweights
• Cost - Often more cost-effective for specific uses 

DENSALLOY U.S. Made Tungsten Heavy Alloys
DENSALLOY U.S. Made Tungsten Heavy Alloys are versatile materials with a wide range of valuable characteristics. They are often used for many different purposes, such as radiation shielding, high stiffness, and mass property uses.

DENSALLOY Tungsten Heavy Alloys are highly ductile when given the correct post-sintering heat treatment. DENSALLOY Tungsten Heavy Alloys are perfectly capable of surpassing the ideal minimum values of known standards. They may also be used for cold working processes that require higher strength and hardness levels.

DENSALLOY Tungsten Heavy Alloys are available in multiple grades, including 170F, 175F, 180F, 185F, 170L, 175L, and 180L.

DENSALLOY Tungsten Heavy Alloys have significant applications in many important industries.

• Aerospace - Balance weights, counterweights, rotor systems, high-energy radiation shielding, etc.
• Defense - Kinetic energy penetrators, ballistic applications, radiation shielding, balance weights, counterweights, high-load wear components, etc.