Lincoln Electric Licenses NanoSteel's Weld Overlay And Thermal Spray Technologies

Cleveland, OH and Providence, RI /PRNewswire/ - Lincoln Electric and The NanoSteel® Company announced today that Lincoln Electric has been granted an exclusive worldwide license to NanoSteel's proprietary steel coatings technology for weld overlay and thermal spray applications. This agreement expands Lincoln Electric's range of wear-resistant products, which complement the company's core arc welding, cutting and automation solutions.

"We are pleased to add NanoSteel's breakthrough technology to our product portfolio," said Tom Matthews, senior vice president of technology and R&D for Lincoln Electric. "These unique products provide a level of hardness and abrasion resistance that is superior to chrome carbides and more economical than tungsten carbides. NanoSteel's proprietary technology enables customers to significantly extend the service life of equipment used in mining, oil and gas, power generation and other industries."

For more than 12 years, NanoSteel has developed innovative iron-based alloys in various forms to advance steel's capabilities in multiple markets. The company will continue to develop and market its engineered powders and automotive sheet steel portfolio outside this agreement.

"We are proud to be aligned with a company of Lincoln Electric's worldwide reach, technology innovation, and influence," said David Paratore, NanoSteel president and chief executive officer. "This agreement reinforces our business focus of licensing our technology to the world's leading brands to offer global availability of our alloy designs."

During the transition period, NanoSteel and Lincoln Electric will work together to ensure consistent product availability and customer support. Terms of the licensing agreement were not disclosed.

About Lincoln Electric
Lincoln Electric is the world leader in the design, development and manufacture of arc welding products, robotic arc welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment and has a leading global position in the brazing and soldering alloys market. Headquartered inCleveland, Ohio, Lincoln has 48 manufacturing locations, including operations and joint ventures in 19 countries and a worldwide network of distributors and sales offices covering more than 160 countries. For more information about Lincoln Electric and its products and services, visit the Company's website at www.lincolnelectric.com.

About NanoSteel
NanoSteel is a world leader in proprietary nano-structured steel material designs. Over its 12-year history, NanoSteel has created progressive generations of iron-based alloys from surface coatings to foils to powder metals and sheet steel. For the oil & gas, mining and power industries, NanoSteel has successfully introduced commercial applications of metallic coatings to prolong service lifetime in the most extreme industrial environments. For the automotive industry, NanoSteel has achieved a significant breakthrough in the development of nano-structured sheet steel with exceptional strength and ductility. NanoSteel is a privately held company funded by lead shareholders EnerTech and Fairhaven Capital. For more information, visit http://www.nanosteelco.com or follow us on Twitter @NanoSteelCo.