Pittsburgh-based Kennametal, a materials science, tooling and wear-resistant solutions company, recently resumed operations at its Rogers, Ar., facility, which was closed following tornado damage on May 26.
No one was injured when the tornado struck because the facility was shut down for the Memorial Day weekend. The company is working with its insurance carrier and is assessing the financial effects of the storm.
“The restart of our Rogers facility is a testament to the great teamwork of our local team and the tremendous support and coordination of expert resources across the entire organization,” Sanjay Chowbey, Kennametal president and CEO, said. “Our team worked around the clock to ensure operations could resume safely and we continue to take important steps forward every day to meet customers’ expectations.”
The Rogers plant produces rods used in the manufacturing of certain round tools for the company’s metal cutting segment and produces engineered carbide wear components for the company’s infrastructure segment. The carbide wear components primarily are sold to the energy, general engineering and earthworks end markets.
Kennametal’s customers include the aerospace and defense, earthworks, energy, general engineering and transportation markets. The company employs approximately 8,700 people. In fiscal year 2023, it had revenue totaling $2.1 billion.