Updated: Kennametal wear parts plant hit by tornado reopens

Pittsburgh-based Kennametal Inc. reports that its production facility in Rogers, Arkansas, had reopened by Tuesay, June 11, after sustaining damage from a tornado in late May.

Memorial Day weekend tornados in Arkansas, including one that hit Rogers, caused extensive damage and killed at least eight people in the state.

Kennametal says at the time of the storm, its facility was shut down for the holiday weekend and no employees were on-site. The extent of the damage had to be assessed, with repairs following.

“Our thoughts are with our employees and everyone in the community affected by this storm,” said Sanjay Chowbey, incoming president and CEO of Kennametal, in late May. “We are working closely with our local team to assess the damage and provide all necessary support and resources to restore operations as quickly as possible.”

The company at that time said it was “working diligently to restore production as soon as possible and to minimize shipment delays to customers.”

Kennametal also indicated it was making a contribution to the American Red Cross of Arkansas to help support immediate community needs in and around Rogers.

By June 11, the Kennametal Rogers plant was ready to restart. “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 resource across the entire organization,” said Chowbey, “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 company’s Rogers plant produces engineered carbide wear components primarily serving the energy, general engineering and earthworks end markets.

Kennametal has been an exhibitor at construction, demolition and metals recycling conventions, marketing components used in material processing, shredding and size reduction equipment.

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On its website, Kennametal lists wear parts and components such as hammers, jaws, knives and liners for shredders, crushers and pulverizers as part of its product line.