Stoody Celebrates 90 Years of Hardfacing Tradition and Leadership

May 13, 2011

Ninety years ago, no one had even heard of the concept, but in a small shop in Whittier, Calif., two brothers were experimenting with a new weld overlay process. The result was Stoody® Rod, and hardfacing history began.

In 1921 brothers Winston F. and Shelley M. Stoody opened the Stoody Welding Co. to service the growing farm implement and tractor repair business. Right after opening their storefront, oil was discovered nearby, and a whole new business was born: repairing drill bits from the oil rigs.

The Stoody brothers were convinced there was a way to make the drill bits more durable and to stay sharper longer. They developed a technique called hardfacing that would stay with the industry for many decades. Hardfacing is the overlaying of metal with a coating of abrasion-resistant alloys via a welding process. This overlay greatly extends the life of the equipment.

Over the years most of the major firsts in hardfacing technology originated in one place – the Stoody laboratory. Advances included Stoodite®, the first cast hardfacing rod, and Borium®, Stoody’s trademark for the world’s first tungsten carbide material for hardfacing. Stoody is also credited with the industry’s first application of the submerged arc welding process.

According to Stoody, other hardfacing innovations include the world’s most wear-resistant all-position wire, nonchromium-bearing consumables, and crack-free corrosion- and erosion-resistant overlays.

Since 1988 Stoody has been a member of the Thermadyne Industries family. Its welding wire and electrode products support the steel, power generation, petroleum oil and gas drilling, recycling, cement, pulp and paper, agricultural, metal casting, construction and other industries. Built in Bowling Green, Ky., in 1991, the Stoody division employs 90 people at its facilities and states that its U.S.-manufactured products are focused on helping U.S. businesses to continue to grow.

“Through imagination, dedication, and revolutionary spirit, Stoody earned its reputation for innovation and industry leadership,” said Stoody Marketing Manager Tom Penko. “Our customers can count on that same spirit today, as we deliver the finest and most cost-effective solutions to the toughest wear problems.”

Stoody’s hardfacing technology and high-alloy filler metals are used to combat various types of wear and corrosion. Its extensive family of products includes iron, nickel, stainless, cobalt, tungsten carbide, and vanadium carbide based alloys.

For more information, visit www.thermadyne.com.