Press Release

LATROBE, Pa., Sept. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Kennametal Inc. announced today that it will embark on a pilot program at its world headquarters to help attract young students into engineering and manufacturing careers, helping to build the manufacturing workforce of tomorrow.

The initiative, The Young Engineers Program, will begin in September 2011 in conjunction with Greater Latrobe School District. Fifteen high school juniors and seniors are enrolled in the 15-week program at Kennametal's state-of-the-art technology center in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, which includes a combination of classroom discussions, hands-on projects, and mentoring led by Kennametal's world-class research, development and engineering team.

"As manufacturers, we have a responsibility to educate our young people about the exciting career opportunities in our industry and help build the manufacturing workforce of the future," commented Kennametal Chairman, President and CEO, Carlos Cardoso. "Our goal with The Young Engineers Program is to provide the opportunity for exploration and discovery about the great jobs in manufacturing and engineering, and in the process find the next Philip McKenna – Kennametal's founder."

Designed to showcase engineering careers and modern manufacturing through experience, the program is one of many education and training programs already in place across the company's global operations. A similar program in conjunction with Kennametal's Solon, Ohio, facility and Auburn Career Center (serving Lake and Geauga Counties), affords students hands-on training with Kennametal equipment combined with classroom instruction and aims to provide the beginner with the skills necessary for an entry-level job in manufacturing.  

These programs are supported by the Kennametal Foundation's Tech Ed Net program, which supports secondary and post-secondary technical education opportunities globally for engineering and manufacturing students, focused on attracting more young people to careers in the industry.

Kennametal Inc. delivers productivity to customers seeking peak performance in demanding environments by providing innovative custom and standard wear-resistant solutions. This proven productivity is enabled through our advanced materials sciences and application knowledge. Our commitment to a sustainable environment provides additional value to our customers. Companies operating in everything from airframes to coal mining, from engines to oil wells and from turbochargers to construction recognize Kennametal for extraordinary contributions to their value chains. In fiscal year 2011, customers bought approximately $2.4 billion of Kennametal products and services – delivered by approximately 11,000 talented employees doing business in more than 60 countries – with more than 50 percent of these revenues coming from outside North America. Visit us at www.kennametal.com.

SOURCE Kennametal Inc.