Sandvik has reached an agreement to acquire Wolfram Bergbau- und Hütten (WBH), an Austrian producer and supplier of tungsten products. The acquisition is expected to be completed during the second quarter of 2009, after approval by relevant anti-trust authorities. WBH operates a refining plant for producing tungsten carbide, including a chemical plant for recycling tungsten material, in St. Martin, Austria, where the company is headquartered. WBH also operates a mine and ore dressing plant in Mittersill, Austria. It has been active within the tungsten industry since 1975 and offers tungsten carbide and tungsten metal powders. Sandvik has been part of WBH’s global customer base for many years.

In 2008, WBH had sales of about SEK 1,800 million. The company also has 300 employees. WBH will be a separate product area in the business of Sandvik Tooling. It will continue to operate independently and develop its business and customer relationships, with Burghard Zeiler continuing as Managing Director.

“This acquisition complements and strengthens our business. WBH will bring know-how, technology and capacity for world class production and recycling of tungsten carbide. It provides us with resources to manage the entire production process, from ore to finished cemented carbide powder. In this way we will be able to further strengthen our raw material supply and develop our business and customer offering,” says Anders Thelin, President of Sandvik Tooling.