Kennametal Inc. announced today that it entered into a partnership with the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing.

The AMRC is a world-class centre for advanced machining and materials research for aerospace and other high-value manufacturing sectors and identifies, researches and resolves advanced manufacturing problems together with its partners. It is a partnership between industry and academia, which has become a model for research centres worldwide.

John Palmer, Kennametal's Technical Program Manager Aerospace in the UK, took over the technical lead of this cooperation and coordinates research and development projects with Boeing, Airbus and Rolls Royce on-site at the AMRC. “Driving application research in the aerospace sector at this highly sophisticated and technology-leading research centre is one of the key elements of my job”, Palmer says. “With our membership in the AMRC we will have access to AMRC's resources and generic research and together with our expertise we can help shape and determine the direction of future programs. This will help us strengthen our position in various advanced manufacturing sectors. With these kind of future leading projects we will also be able to increase our aerospace footprint in the market and win future opportunities” he proudly adds.

“This is a significant investment for Kennametal which will create many opportunities for our business and foster Kennametal's position as an innovative technology leader. With this partnership we are in a position to expand our expertise in the Aerospace sector and leverage collective experience in machining methods for advanced materials. We are looking forward to a long-term collaboration and are proud to be working together with other manufacturing businesses and institutions, from global aerospace giants to local SMEs, on individual research and business support projects.” comments Neil Walker, Director Sales Kennametal Tooling NEMEA.

AMRC Executive Dean, Prof Keith Ridgeway, CBE, said: “We are delighted to welcome fellow Boeing Supplier Excellence Award winner Kennametal as one of our 80-plus industrial partners. We look forward to working with them to push the boundaries of manufacturing even further in future.”