---
title: "Philip McKenna"
url: "https://americanprecision.org/profile/philip-mckenna/"
language: "en-US"
updated: "2025-05-21T18:12:54+00:00"
---

# Philip McKenna

Philip M. McKenna was a talented metallurgist who broke barriers in the materials science field. After years of research, McKenna created a tungsten-titanium carbide alloy that provided a productivity breakthrough in the machining of steel. With McKenna’s innovation, the company’s tools cut faster and lasted longer than the competition, enabling customers across industries – from transportation to aerospace – to machine metal at rates never seen before. Born in 1897 to a family of scientists and researchers, he founded McKenna Metals Co, now Kennametal Inc., in 1938 in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.