Kennametal Profile
Kennametal Inc. (Kennametal) operates as a global industrial technology leader.
The company helps customers across the aerospace and defense, earthworks, energy, general engineering and transportation end markets build their products with precision and efficiency.
As one of the world’s leading producers of tooling and metal cutting products, specialty wear-resistant components and ceramics, earth cutting tools and advanced metallurgical powders, the company maintains a leading competitive position in major markets worldwide. The company also supplies coated solutions and other engineered wear-resistant products to both larger corporations and smaller niche businesses.
The company's core expertise includes the development and application of tungsten carbides, ceramics, super-hard materials and solutions used in metal cutting and extreme wear applications to keep customers up and running longer against conditions such as corrosion and high temperatures.
The company’s standard and custom product offering spans metal cutting and wear applications including turning, milling, hole making, tooling systems and services, as well as specialized wear components and metallurgical powders. End users of the company’s metal cutting products include manufacturers engaged in a diverse array of industries, including transportation vehicles and components, machine tools and light and heavy machinery; airframe and aerospace components; and energy-related components for the oil and gas industry, as well as power generation. The company’s wear and metallurgical powders are used by producers and suppliers in equipment-intensive operations, such as road construction, mining, quarrying, oil and gas exploration, refining, production and supply, and for aerospace and defense.
Business Segments
Kennametal operates in two segments: Metal Cutting and Infrastructure.
Metal Cutting
The Metal Cutting segment develops and manufactures high performance tooling and metal cutting products and services and offers an assortment of standard and custom metal cutting solutions to diverse end markets, including aerospace and defense, general engineering, energy and transportation. The products include milling, hole making, turning, threading and toolmaking systems used in the manufacture of airframes, aero engines, trucks and automobiles, ships and various types of industrial equipment. The company leverages advanced manufacturing capabilities in combination with varying levels of customization to solve the company’s customers’ toughest challenges and deliver improved productivity for a wide range of applications. Metal Cutting markets its products under the Kennametal, WIDIA, WIDIA Hanita and WIDIA GTD brands through its direct sales force, a network of independent and national distributors, integrated supplier channels and digitally. Application engineers and technicians are critical to the sales process and directly assist the company’s customers with specified product design, selection, application and support.
Infrastructure
The company’s Infrastructure segment produces engineered tungsten carbide and ceramic components, earth-cutting tools, and advanced metallurgical powders, primarily for the aerospace and defense, energy, earthworks and general engineering end markets. These wear-resistant products include compacts, nozzles, frac seats and custom components used in oil and gas and petrochemical industries; rod blanks and abrasive water jet nozzles for general industries; earth cutting tools and systems used in underground mining, trenching and foundation drilling and road milling; tungsten carbide powders for the oil and gas, aerospace and process industries; high temperature critical wear components, tungsten penetrators and armor solutions for aerospace and defense; and ceramics used by the packaging industry for metallization of films and papers. The company combines deep metallurgical and engineering expertise with advanced manufacturing capabilities, such as 3D printing, to deliver solutions that drive improved productivity for the company’s customers. Infrastructure markets its products primarily under the Kennametal brand and sells through a direct sales force, as well as through distributors.
International Operations
During 2023, the company generated 59 percent of its consolidated sales in markets outside of the United States of America (U.S.), with principal international operations in Western Europe, China and India. The company also operates manufacturing and distribution facilities in Israel, Latin America, South Africa and Vietnam, while serving customers through sales offices, agents and distributors in Europe and other parts of the world.
Seasonality
The company’s business is affected by seasonal variations to varying degrees by summer road construction, traditional summer vacation shutdowns of customers’ plants and holiday shutdowns that affect the company’s sales levels during the first and second quarters of the company’s fiscal year (year ended June 2023).
Regulation
The accruals the company has established for estimated environmental liabilities represent the company’s best current estimate of the probable and reasonably estimable costs of addressing identified environmental situations, based on the company’s review of available evidence, and taking into consideration its prior experience in remediation and that of other companies, as well as public information released by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), other governmental agencies and by the Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) groups in which the company is participating.
Among other environmental laws, the company is subject to the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), under which the company has been identified by the USEPA or other third party as a PRP with respect to environmental remedial costs at certain Superfund sites.
History
Kennametal Inc. was founded in 1938. The company was incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1943.
