Tungsten Carbide Supply Shortages: What Reliability and Maintenance Engineers Must Know

If you work in power generation, oil & gas, or chemical processing, you may have felt the ripple effect of the global tungsten carbide squeeze. Over the last year, prices have jumped and lead times have stretched as the Chinese government has tightened availability. Since China controls a major share of the world’s tungsten supply, the entire thermal-spray ecosystem has felt it.

We don't know how long this disruption will last. But what we can control is how we prepare for it and how we help our customers stay ahead of it.

At HFW, We Planned for This

Before supply constraints really made news, our team began proactively building and maintaining tungsten carbide inventories. We’ve made a deliberate choice to safeguard availability for our customers—not just for day-to-day work, but for high-urgency outage and turnaround scenarios where timing determines everything.

That’s the benefit of a one-source manufacturing and repair partner: thermal spraying, hardfacing, machining, precision grinding/finishing, and assembly all in one facility. When material availability gets tight, having full control of the entire process, from coating through final machining, becomes a real competitive advantage for reliability-driven organizations.

It means no finger-pointing. No “the powder is stuck at a supplier.” No multi-vendor bottlenecks. Just reliable schedules and consistent quality.

When Tungsten Carbide Isn’t an Option, Alternatives Exist

Tungsten carbide remains one of the most versatile, proven materials for combating wear, abrasion, and erosion. But in some applications, especially where impact, temperature, or chemical resistance dominate, other materials can perform just as well or better.

At HFW, we regularly help customers evaluate options such as ceramics, Colmonoy® alloys, and iron-based amorphous alloys. Connect with our engineering team to see if one of these alternatives might be the right choice for your repair needs.

Because all coating, machining, grinding, and inspection happens in a single facility, we can test, model, and validate these material choices quickly. You aren't coordinating between a spray shop, a machine shop, and a finishing vendor: we handle the full lifecycle and deliver a finished-ready component that meets spec on the first pass.

A Track Record of Solving Wear Problems When It Matters

The reliability teams we work with know we don’t just “spray what the print says.” We diagnose the root cause and offer a solution that extends life and cuts unplanned downtime.

A few quick examples:

• Chemical processing rolls' useful lives extended 30× after we redesigned the coating approach.
• Custom housings for an OEM reduced assembly time by 75%.
• We rebuilt valve discs and seats for a southeastern utility with upgraded processes to combat Stellite delamination that caused repeated failure.

This is the “one-source reliability” difference: fewer handoffs, fewer surprises, and a partner who owns the full performance of the finished component.

What This Means for You Going Forward

If tungsten carbide availability tightens again—or if pricing keeps climbing—your operations shouldn’t be held hostage. You should have options, and those options should be engineered around performance, not compromise.

Here’s how we’re supporting reliability teams right now:

• Maintaining tungsten carbide inventory for critical coatings.
• Offering engineered alternative materials when the application allows it.
• Providing end-to-end service in one facility, eliminating vendor delays.
• Consulting directly with reliability and maintenance teams to ensure material decisions match the real operating environment, not just the blueprint.

If you want to evaluate a component, explore alternative coating systems, or simply understand how supply chain changes could affect your next outage window, we’re here to help. Connect with our engineering team for a personalized consultation.

📧 RFQ@hfwindustries.com or 📞 (716) 875-3380

Let’s keep your equipment running. Let’s keep your schedule reliable. And let’s stay ahead of whatever the material market throws at us next.

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Sign up for our newsletter and explore these resources from our Knowledge Base:

• Overview of Thermal Spray Coatings: HVOF & Tungsten Carbide — Why these materials are key to high-performance surface protection
• How HFW Extends Equipment Life — Real-world example of innovation in action: 30x increase in service life for a chemical client
• Reducing Assembly Time by 75% at 1/3 the Cost — Learn how HFW's one-source strategy can streamline our customer's processes and rein in costs
• How Does HFW Serve the Turbomachinery Industry? — Learn about HFW's one-source repair and manufacturing strategy for turbines, rotors, and other turbomachinery equipment
• Precision Grinding at HFW — A look inside our plant, detailing HFW's precision finishing capabilities and CNC grinding
• What are HFW's Hardfacing Capabilities? — Explore how HFW’s hardfacing expertise restores industrial equipment with proven weld procedures and precision inspection