Press Releases

Conforma Clad Provides Wear Solutions for White Iron Slurry Pump Impellers

New Albany, IN – (September 07, 2006)

Conforma Clad, a global leader of severe wear solutions, announces new solutions for large components in the oil sands market.

It takes approximately two tons of sand to produce one barrel of oil in the oil sands environment.  Slurry pump impellers face harsh abrasion and erosion from this large volume of sand that must be processed, this erosion leads to costly repairs and downtime.  One major oil sands producer approached Conforma Clad about applying its cladding to conveyance impellers after Conforma Clad’s cladding extended the lifespan of shaft sleeves 3 to 6 times longer than previous overlays.

Slurry impellers are made from white iron and have a high-chromium content.  They range from 20” to 64” in diameter and weigh approximately 1000 to 6500 pounds each.  Previously, Conforma Clad capabilities had been constrained to clad only carbon or stainless steel substrates which had to be less than 48” in diameter.  However, with commitment and an insightful ingenuity, those restrictions are no longer a factor.

“We are creating wear partnerships and engineering solutions for our customers by expanding our capabilities and working with components of this magnitude,” emphasized Don Bucholz, Ph.D., Vice President of Research and Development at Conforma Clad.  “This has a huge impact because it is a value added service and we are managing and monitoring incremental improvements and expectations with the customer.”

Conforma Clad will be exhibiting its technology at the Oil Sands tradeshow (booth # 1138) September 12-13, 2006.  Application Engineers will be on hand to answer any questions from the public or press.

Conforma Clad is a leading provider of severe wear solutions for industrial components exposed to extreme abrasion, corrosion and erosion. The proprietary Conforma Clad® process brazes tungsten carbide to the base material of steel and cast iron parts, producing a hard, uniform protective cladding that is extremely durable. The company is a major supplier of wear-resistant parts for directional oil and gas drilling, plastics and food extrusion, coal-fired power plants and other industrial applications. Conforma Clad is a subsidiary of Kennametal Inc. (NYSE: KMT), the world's premier supplier of tooling solutions, engineered components and advanced materials. Customers buy over $2 billion annually of Kennametal products and services -- delivered by more than 14,000 talented employees in over 60 countries. Visit us at www.conformaclad.com and our parent company at www.kennametal.com.