Tungsten parts manufacturer opens new US facility
March 1, 2017
Tungsten parts manufactured at the new facility (Image: Shannon Broderick/Boomerang photographer)
Tungsten Heavy Powder & Parts (THPP) has begun operations at its new facility in Laramie, Wyoming, USA. As construction of the new site nears completion, it has been reported that the company has started operating its CNC machining line and plans to open its Powder Metallurgy line and general machine shop in the coming weeks.
The company, headquartered in San Diego, California, manufactures a wide range of tungsten components and is moving production to the new site in Wyoming. As well as being the largest supplier of military fragments in the world, THPP also manufactures fragment subassemblies, penetrators of all kinds, sabots, tails and various tungsten alloy rods. The company primarily serves the aerospace, aviation and military industries.
In the CNC section, penetrating tips are machined for military grade ammunition. “Tungsten is nice in this application because it’s armour piercing. Our customers are the big defence contractors,” General Manager Eric Riley told the Laramie Boomerang.
With the first of three process lines underway the company can now focus on getting its Powder Metallurgy process up and running. “In a few weeks time we hope to start up the Powder Metallurgy section,” stated the company’s CEO and owner Joseph Sery
“When the (Powder Metallurgy) starts, it will produce 2,750 parts per minute. When manufacturing at that rate, quality is a major part. Because when you make a bent part at that rate, you’ve made 100 bent parts before you’ve sneezed,” added Sery.
As Tungsten Heavy Powder & Parts starts more applications at its Laramie branch, Sery said it will move all of its manufacturing stateside. The San Diego, California, branch will remain open as a centre for administrative and sales purposes, Riley said.
