Fiscal Year 2025/26: Scarce Raw Materials: Plansee Group Secures Tungsten Supply

Breitenwang/Reutte, July 7, 2026 – Despite tight raw material supplies and significantly higher prices, the Plansee Group has further strengthened its position in the critical metal tungsten. For customers, this meant they could consistently rely on a steady supply – a key competitive advantage in an increasingly tense market environment. Security of supply for molybdenum was also further strengthened. The Group’s revenue rose by four percent in the past fiscal year.

“Tungsten is something like life insurance for the industry,” explained Karlheinz Wex, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Plansee Group, at the company’s annual press conference held at its headquarters in Reutte/Breitenwang. Tungsten is used in many high-tech applications in electronics, medical technology, and other key industries. The metal’s exceptional wear resistance is particularly valuable to companies that process metals or other materials. They use tools made of tungsten carbide. Without these tools, large parts of the manufacturing sector would come to a standstill. 

Since China, the world’s leading producer of tungsten with a share of over 80 percent, has reduced its exports and now imports more tungsten than it exports, the availability of tungsten in Western markets has become scarce over the past 1.5 years. The Plansee Group recognized its dependence on tungsten supplies from China early on and has been working to secure raw material supplies for 20 years. In fiscal year 2025/26, the tungsten recycling rate was 92 percent. The company’s global market share for tungsten feedstock rose to 12 percent.

The Plansee Group’s tungsten supply is based on three pillars: the systematic collection and sorting of tungsten scrap, the continuous development of its own recycling technologies, and long-term off-take agreements with mine operators. For example, the Plansee Group is the largest shareholder in the mining company Almonty Industries and has secured a long-term supply of the majority of the production from the Sangdong Mine in South Korea. The start of production at the mine, which was shut down 30 years ago and is scheduled to resume this year, is considered the largest tungsten project in the Western world. In the medium term, up to 20 percent of the tungsten concentrate mined outside of China is expected to come from there.

Due to the shortage, the price of tungsten has risen by a factor of up to ten since the beginning of 2025. This situation is only partially reflected in the past fiscal year, which ended on February 28: Revenue increased by 4 percent to 2.35 billion euros, while sales volumes rose only slightly.

“Overall, the Plansee Group has performed steadily in a persistently challenging market environment,” Wex concluded. Weak demand from the automotive, semiconductor, and energy technology industries was offset by slightly positive momentum from the mechanical engineering and construction sectors, as well as by continued growth in the aviation, defense, and medical technology sectors.

Demand for tungsten raw materials and semi-finished products has grown. In this situation, the Plansee Group stood out thanks to its high delivery capacity. “Our decades-long efforts to establish a stable, independent, and sustainable tungsten supply have paid off. We were able to reliably supply our existing customers at all times,” said Karlheinz Wex.

The equity ratio increased by one percentage point to 60 percent, underscoring the company’s solid financial foundation. The global workforce rose slightly by 230 employees to 11,120.

Investments in Property, Plant, and Equipment and Innovation

Ensuring a secure supply of molybdenum also remains a strategic priority. The company increased its stake in Molymet, the world’s largest molybdenum processor based in Chile, to 31 percent. Investments in property, plant, and equipment totaled 145 million euros. This brought investment levels in line with those of the previous year. A key focus was on expanding capacity along the tungsten value chain. This includes, among other things, the further processing of tungsten concentrate into tungsten oxide, the manufacture of tungsten powders, and the production of tungsten heavy metals. Further processing into high-quality products such as tungsten wires and sheets was also expanded.

Another focus was on automating production processes, particularly at European sites, to further increase efficiency and competitiveness. Internationally, the company invested in expanding its sites in India, Bulgaria, and Poland. In addition, investments were made at several sites in the construction of modern industrial furnaces to expand production capacity and further improve technological standards.

A total of 95 million euros was spent on research and development. Among the products developed were components for computed tomography scanners and tools for machining aircraft turbines. The share of new products in sales remained stable at 30 percent. The international Plansee Seminar, which takes place every four years in Breitenwang/Reutte, once again provided important impetus for innovation. With over 500 participants, the event is the world’s largest powder metallurgy conference for researchers, developers, and users.

Sustainability as a Differentiator

The Group continued to make progress in implementing its sustainability program established in 2021: The carbon footprint (Scope 1, 2, and 3 upstream) has been reduced by 30 percent since the base year 2020/21, to 277,000 metric tons of CO₂e. The share of renewable energy across the Group stands at 98 percent. 

A milestone was reached at the Reutte site: An electrolyzer for producing hydrogen from renewable energy sources reduces CO₂ emissions by up to 4,000 metric tons per year. The CERATIZIT and Plansee HPM business areas were each awarded the Platinum Medal by the Ecovadis sustainability platform, placing them among the top one percent of all companies evaluated worldwide.

Outlook for the Current Fiscal Year

For the current fiscal year, the Plansee Group continues to expect a challenging environment, characterized by geopolitical tensions, deglobalization trends, and high volatility in raw material prices. In particular, trade conflicts and export restrictions remain key sources of uncertainty. 

Market trends are expected to be mixed: While the automotive industry is likely to remain flat, the company anticipates moderate growth in medical technology, mechanical engineering, and the construction industry. Stronger growth is expected in the semiconductor industry, while the aerospace and defense sectors are likely to stabilize at a solid level.

Against this backdrop, the Plansee Group is committed to consistently improving its operational performance. Profitability is to be further enhanced through pricing measures and productivity gains. 

Another focus is on the digitization and automation of processes to achieve efficiency gains, particularly in production, sales, and administration. At the same time, the company is driving forward the standardization of processes and the further development of its IT system landscape.

Securing the supply of raw materials remains a key strategic goal. In this regard, tungsten recycling will continue to play the most important role, complemented by long-term partnerships throughout the supply chain. “Consistent vertical integration along the value chain is proving to be a decisive competitive advantage, especially in a volatile environment,” emphasizes Karlheinz Wex. “At the same time, sustainability continues to gain importance – particularly through circular business models, which are increasingly gaining momentum.”

Overall, the Plansee Group considers itself well-positioned, thanks to its resilient organization, to operate successfully even in a challenging and dynamic market environment.

Consolidated Key Figures of the Plansee Group

*Base year 2020/21: 397,000 tons CO₂e

Captions:

The Plansee Group's Executive Board (from left to right): Andreas Schwenninger, Karlheinz Wex (Chairman of the Executive Board), Ulrich Lausecker, and Andreas Lackner. Photo: Rolf Marke

Karlheinz Wex, Chairman of the Plansee Group’s Executive Board. Photo: Andi Mayr