Safe, reliable and cost-effective blasting under ever-increasing environmental restrictions has, primarily, become the responsibility of the detonator. Austin seized the opportunity to bring our technology, experience and expertise to bear in an international market by producing safe, high quality detonators.

Founded in 1988, Austin Star Detonator has grown to be a major manufacturer of a full line of electric and non-electric (shock tube) detonators, sold exclusively throughout the Americas by Austin Powder and Austin International.

Austin Star Detonator has its headquarters and manufacturing facility in Brownsville, Texas. Our subsidiary, Detonadores Estrellas, is located in Valle Hermosa, Mexico, and is primarily an assembly operation.

In 1999, Austin acquired Indet, its supplier of elemented delays in the Czech Republic. Renamed Austin Detonator, this acquisition provides vertical integration into elemented delay manufacturing, and also allows Austin Star's comprehensive technology to be available through Austin International from this Czech facility. Austin Star Detonator is located in Vsetin, Czech Republic.

Brownsville, Texas has two important production operations. One is the process of coating drawn copper and iron wire with a polyethylene of PVC jacket. This coated wire will become "legwires" in a variety of electric detonators.

The other production process is that of extruding a "shock tube," a hollow plastic tube with an explosive dust coating on the inner wall. This tube will become the communication link in a variety of non-electric detonators.

The Brownsville operation also does all production and shipping, planning and, consequently, has full responsibility for all raw materials and component parts until they are sent to Valle Hermosa for assembly.