Officials at Kennametal Inc. are looking at potential spots for an advanced carbide recycling facility in the United States to serve global markets, while also expanding tungsten-cobalt blended powder operations at its existing facility in Tianjin, China, to serve the Asia-Pacific region.

Both multiyear projects focus on diversifying Kennametal's tungsten sourcing to balance supplies, costs, and access to raw materials, while also supporting sustainability and its global growth strategy to achieve one-third of revenues each from North America, Europe, and Asia/Rest of World. By adding tungsten-cobalt blended powder capacity in Tianjin close to China's source mines, the company expects to streamline customer service in that region while reducing export delays and duties on the material. The company noted that initial capital plans for these projects are included in its FY13 forecast.

Kennametal is launching preliminary work to establish an advanced carbide recycling facility in the United States where it will reclaim material from scrap and consumed products such as metal-cutting inserts, and reuse it for new production.