ForConstructionPros.com

J. C. Lee Construction & Supply (founded in Petrolia, Pennsylvania, in 1977, by John Lee Junior and his son, John III) specializes in drainage projects, primarily the installation of cross‐pipes and under‐drains, for the highway‐heavy construction industry. At one time, the crew actually spent 10 hours welding on its Vermeer T‐655 trenching machine's (4' long x 12.5" wide) chain for every 40 hours of application. Weekends included.

Then, Joe Pistorius, now the firm's Equipment Manager and trencher operator for more than 11 years, discovered Kennametal KenCast pads and bars.

"The same set of KenCast pads we installed in 2003 is still on the job - even after almost 1,000 hours of some of the most abrasive cutting we've encountered in our history," says Pistorius. "And, best of all, we strongly feel this set can go another
1,000 hours...with just some routine maintenance involved."

Kennametal KenCast is a product/technology that metallurgically bonds cemented tungsten carbide particles, in various sizes, to air-hardened steel. Thus combining the steel's practicality with the carbide's wear resistance and toughness to create superior weld‐on (by wire or rod) protection against even the most abusive environments. In fact, KenCast pads far outlast and are more easily attached (to trencher base plates and an endless array of mining and construction equipment) versus solidcarbide tiles, AR‐type steels, hardfacing materials, and embedded weld overlays.

"They simply keep me in the trencher seat, not in the garage doing maintenance," says Pistorius.