Our Story

In the fall of 1969 James Nance came home from one of his sales visits to a local coal mine in west Kentucky and asked his sixteen year old son if he would like to earn some money recovering tungsten carbide from mine drill bits. Now, some 40 years later, Tungco Inc. stands as one of the largest tungsten traders in the world.

Through the seventies, Steve Nance grew his business primarily to recycle tungsten from mining and drilling bits. Tungco was incorporated in 1977 and moved from its birthplace to a larger facility in Hanson Kentucky that same year. Amid the decline in tungsten prices and demand in the early eighties, Tungco diversified its market to stay strong and survive the slump. As the nineties arrived, so did strong economic growth and depth in customer relations and proved to be a launching pad for the next decade.

The new Millennium brought with it new levels for Tungco. In 2000 new acreage was purchased with an office complex and additional warehousing. In 2002, a neighboring 10,000 sq. ft. production plant was purchased and in 2007 we built 19,000 sq. ft. to accommodate additional production and warehousing. These additions equipped us to produce more material in shorter time frames, thereby enabling us to provide better pricing and pay-terms to our suppliers.

Who would have thought that a father's curiosity would lead a sixteen-year-old boy on a 40 year journey from a barn to a booming business that now measures growth in containers per month. I am proud to say that this year Tungco, Inc. will celebrate its 38th in the Tungsten Carbide business. Experience equals integrity, quality and service. I would like to personally invite you to become part of our business family. If you are already, I want to give you my warmest thanks, for without you there would be no Tungco, Inc.

-Steve Nance