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[July 2007]
Kyocera and Kennametal Agree on Alliance
Kyocera Corporation (Kyoto, Japan) announced on 10 July 2007 that it had signed a product supply agreement with Kennametal Inc (Latrobe, PA, USA). The agreement includes various initiatives such as private labelling, cross-licensing and sales and marketing.
The agreement is global in scope and is designed to complement the existing product lines of each company. Both Kennametal and Kyocera plan to grow sales of each others' product lines world-wide. Additionally, each company will continue to sell its own products through its established channels.
"This agreement will enable each company to leverage the strength of the other in different geographical regions," commented Yukihiro Takarabe, Kyocera Corporation Executive Officer and General Manager of the Corporate Cutting Tool Group. "As Kyocera strives to expand its global footprint, adding complementary advanced cutting tools from Kennametal, such as solid endmills, holemaking tools, and milling products, will strengthen our product lines and establish Kyocera as a global player."
Kennametal Vice President and President of Metalworking Solutions & Services Group Ron Keating said: "This agreement supports our growth strategies very well. Today's announcement presents both companies with the opportunity to offer more products, reduce costs and increase each other's production capacity utilization. Our ability to mutually complement and enhance product lines in key regions will, most importantly, enable us to offer the best possible service to our customers".
The companies will provide details of the products and services to be offered at the 2007 EMO (Exposition Mondiale de la Machine Outil) beginning 17 September in Hannover, Germany.
Kennametal is a leading global supplier of tooling, engineered components and advanced materials consumed in production processes. Customers buy over US$2.3 billion annually of Kennametal products and services – delivered by approximately 13,500 employees in over 60 countries – with almost 50% of these revenues coming from outside the USA.
Kyocera Corporation, the parent and global headquarters of the Kyocera Group, was founded in 1959 as a producer of advanced ceramics. By combining these engineered materials with metals and plastics and integrating them with other technologies, Kyocera has become a leading supplier of telecommunications equipment, semiconductor packages, electronic components, laser printers, copiers, solar energy systems and industrial ceramics. Kyocera began its cutting tool business in 1973 by applying the superior characteristics of fine ceramics, such as heat and wear resistance. The firm offers inserts, which are one of its main products, under the 'CERATIP' brand. During the year ended 31 March 2007, Kyocera Corporation's consolidated net sales totalled approximately US$10.8 billion with net income of approximately US$895 million.
http://global.kyocera.com
www.kennametal.com
ENDS