Kennametal Honors Excellence in Environment, Health and Safety

LATROBE, Pa., Oct. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Kennametal Inc. announced today that it has presented its twelfth annual Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Excellence Awards to six Kennametal projects worldwide. This year Kennametal received 56 nominations for the awards which recognize excellence in promoting progressive environmental, health and safety initiatives.

"Environment, Health and Safety are an integral part of Kennametal's core business strategy and ensure we are protecting our people and the communities in which we operate every day," said Kennametal Chairman, President and CEO Carlos Cardoso. "Our Annual EHS Awards give us an opportunity to applaud and honor teams across our company for their tremendous demonstration of leadership and their passion for keeping our employees, communities and environment safe."

Winners of the 2013 EHS Excellence Awards were selected by Cardoso and an external panel of judges representing various environmental, health and safety institutions. Nominees were judged according to their demonstration of leadership, innovation, facility collaboration, employee benefit, measurable cost and risk reduction and improvement in business operations and quality.

This year's awards were presented in two categories: 100% Safe People and 100% Safe Environment. The 2013 winners include:

• Presidential Award for 100% Safe People: TIANJIN, CHINA
  Kennametal's Tianjin, China facility was recognized for its implementation of a safety on-boarding program that consists of an introduction to the company's Management Based Safety process and is followed by a series of exams to ensure all new hires understand Kennametal's safety initiatives.
• Presidential Award for 100% Safe Environment: BANGALORE, INDIA
  Kennametal's Bangalore, India facility improved their milling process by implementing alternative water-based solutions.
• 1^st Place - 100% Safe People Award: VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
  Kennametal's Victoria, Canada facility launched an aggressive ergonomic risk program to prevent strain injuries. The site-specific program offers workshops on strain prevention, reference guides to safe work practices and job-specific stretching tips to help prevent injury.
• 1^st Place - 100% Safe Environment Award: VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
  Kennametal's Victoria, Canada facility updated its lighting fixtures resulting in energy savings of more than $24,000 per year and more than $53,000 in energy rebates and incentives from the local power provider.
• 2^nd Place - 100% Safe People Award: ROGERS, ARKANSAS
  Through the implementation of a Robotic Welding Machine (RWS), Kennametal's Rogers, Arkansas facility was able to reduce the risks of manual welding, which significantly decreased ergonomic risks among workers and increased the quality output of welds.
• 2^nd Place - 100% Safe Environment Award: XUZHOU, CHINA
  Through an evaluation of its conical cooling process, Kennametal's Xuzhou, China facility was able to significantly reduce energy consumption by replacing its existing cooling tower with a newly designed automatic cooling system.

Celebrating its 75^th year as an industrial technology leader, Kennametal Inc. delivers productivity to customers seeking peak performance in demanding environments. The company provides innovative wear-resistant products, application engineering and services backed by advanced material science, serving customers in 60 countries across diverse sectors of aerospace, earthworks, energy, industrial production, transportation and infrastructure. With approximately 13,000 employees and nearly $3 billion in sales, the company realizes half of its revenue from outside North America, and 40% globally from innovations introduced in the past five years. Recognized among the "World's Most Ethical Companies" (Ethisphere); "Outstanding Corporate Innovator" (Product Development Management Association); and "America's Safest Companies" (EHS Today) with a focus on 100% safety, Kennametal and its foundation invest in technical education, industrial technologies and material science to deliver the promise of progress and economic prosperity to people everywhere. For more information, visit the company's website at www.kennametal.com.

SOURCE Kennametal Inc.