History

The complicated story actually begins in 1910 with the birth of a company called Vanadium Alloys Steel Company. This firm was founded in Latrobe, Pennsylvania by A. G. McKenna and several of his family members. The company was one of the early predecessors of what is today Kennametal. The company grew rapidly because it was learned that the addition of 1% vanadium to 18% tungsten alloy tool steel virtually doubled cutting ability. The company came to be known by the acronym VASCO. The ability to cut very difficult materials allowed VASCO to make a significant contribution to the victory effort of World War I.

Following the War, it was discovered that the Krupp family owned certain patents granted in the U.S. for tungsten carbide mixtures. These German-Americans had developed this new material for use in metal cutting tools in the United States by 1927. Meanwhile, the General Electric Company in the U.S. entered into agreements with Krupp representatives to acquire the U.S. patents.

In 1928, the Krupp Company was producing tungsten carbide tools for the American market under the trade name "Widia." Krupp had sold licenses to Firth Sterling Steel Company and Allegheny Ludlum Steel Company prior to General Electric entering the field. G.E. worked out an agreement in which the patents of the various companies would be under its control. In 1928, General Electric formed a subsidiary, Carboloy Company, Inc., into which all of its carbide business was transferred.

At about this same time, the VASCO began to work with a tantalum alloy tool material developed by Dr. Clarence Balke who was a consultant and later an employee of the Fansteel, a Chicago metals company. In order to complete the first developmental production run of the new tool material VASCO purchased 100 pounds of tantalum powder from Fansteel. In 1930, VASCO began purchasing finished carbide blanks from Fansteel and mounting them into cutting tools which were sold under the trade name "Vascoloy."

Because of the successes in this revolutionary material, Fansteel found itself in possession of a great product but in an unfamiliar marketing universe. Perhaps recalling the effort and expense required to establish itself with radio jobbers after the introduction of the Balkite Rectifier, the Fansteel opted to launch a joint effort which combined Fansteel's metallurgical and manufacturing facilities with VASCO's tool engineering experience and sales outlets. On August 16, 1933, the Vascoloy-Ramet Corporation was formed.

Things became complicated when the General Electric Company filed suit over alleged infringements on its carbide tool patents it had purchased from the Krupp family. Ultimately, a five party agreement had to be worked out among VASCO, Fansteel and its subsidiary, Ramet Corporation of America, General Electric Company and its subsidiary, the Carboloy Company. Fansteel maintained two-thirds of the stock of V-R, while VASCO had one-third. VASCO remained the exclusive sales agent and had the right to sell products made under the Carboloy license, as long as it maintained the price as dictated to G.E. by the Krupps. This was, of course, the birth of the operation division today known as VR/Wesson.

The early attempts to sell cemented carbide tools quickly uncovered the fact that most of the metal cutting machines at the time did not have the speed, power, and rigidity necessary. Something in the formula was needed that would absorb the conditions of shock, bibration, or interrupted cutting which made the use of carbide tools difficult or even dangerous.

Fansteel learned that the inclusion of tantalum or columbium carbide in a hard cast alloy of the tungsten-chromium-cobalt group would provide just such properties. These materials also provided a sales outlet for the tungsten carbide powders and a by-product market for tungsten metal. In 1937, an alloy called Tantaloy® was marketed in the form of rod, which could be applied by acetylene torch to a steel bar, sharpened, and put to work as a heavy duty cutting tool.

The result was improved performance in heavy hogging cuts where 1/4 to 1/2 inch of metal was removed; however, tool steel still worked better on light to medium cuts. Something better was needed. Two years later, the lab produced an alloy of cobalt, chromium, tungsten, tantalum along with other elements in a proprietary alloy trade-named Tantung® Originally it was produced and ground into the square, rectangular and round tool bits, tipped tools, and wear-resisting parts.

In august of 1948, an arrangement was concluded with Vanadium-Alloys whereby a new issue of Vascoloy-Ramet Cumulative Preferred Stock was exchanged for the common stock held by Vanadium-Alloys. This placed the ownership of all of the Vascoloy-Ramet common stock with Fansteel, making it in effect a wholly owned subsidiary.

In 1961, the Fansteel acquired the Wesson Tool Company and made it a wholly owned subsidiary of the Vascoloy-Ramet Corporation which, of course, was a wholly owned subsidiary of Fansteel. The acquisition of all of the assets and properties of the Wesson Tool Company took place in April of 1961, and provided for the purchase of all of the capital stock of Wesson and the liquidation of that company into Fansteel. The purchase brought the addition of four new manufacturing plants to Fansteel. The plants were located at Ferndale, Michigan; Brighton, Michigan; Lexington, Kentucky; and Toronto, Ontario. The acquisition of Wesson brought a number of additional cutting tools and products to Fansteel and gave the Vascoloy-Ramet Division, "the most complete product line in the industry." Ultimately, both Vascoloy-Ramet and the Wesson Corporation were dissolved and reorganized as a division of Fansteel which was then known simply as VR/Wesson.

In 2001 Fansteel was forced to sell off several of its companies to generate cash needed to perform an environmental cleanup in one of its Oklahoma mining locations. By late 2001 the VR Wesson company was sold to AG&I of Cape Coral Florida and AGI-VR Wesson was formed. AG&I having the latest in insert manufacturing equipment and VR Wesson having its vast 65 years of sales and marketing created the perfect fit for two companies that today uses the world renowned name VR Wesson.