Recently "Gord Montgomery" of "The Monty Heat Treat News" had the opportunity to pose a number of questions to "Mr. Sławomir Woźniak", CEO of "SECO/WARWICK Group". The result was this very open, insightful and thoughtful interview;

1) We have been privileged to have had several interviews with SECO/WARWICK over the years, but this is the first of 2026 and I'm sure our readers are interested to know what is new at SECO this year. To start off, I understand this is the 35th anniversary of SECO/WARWICK. Congratulations on this very impressive milestone. Using this as a starting point perhaps you could give us some background, starting with your beginnings back in the early 1990's in Poland.

"Thank you. The 35th anniversary of SECO/WARWICK is a very important moment for us because it reflects the journey from a small, ambitious engineering company in Poland to a global Group operating across several continents. Our story began at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s, during a period of major economic transformation in Poland. The first vacuum furnace was built under very modest conditions, but it was good enough to attract the interest of the American company, SECO/WARWICK, which at the time was looking for a partner in Eastern Europe. On June 1, 1991, SECO/WARWICK Ltd. was established in Świebodzin, and we consider that the symbolic beginning of our shared history.

This story is also interesting because it brought together two worlds: the American industrial tradition of a brand rooted in the Sunbeam Equipment Corporation and Warwick Furnace Company, and the Polish engineering culture. Over time, that relationship followed a very unusual path. First, the American company entered Poland, and later the Polish company acquired a majority stake in the American business. Today, SECO/WARWICK is a Group with its competence and decision-making center in Poland, but with a global reach.

After 35 years, we can speak not of aspiration, but of position. We have delivered more than 5,000 systems to our partners, employ more than 900 people, and our solutions operate in more than 70 countries. That is a source of pride, but also a responsibility to continue setting the direction for heat treatment and vacuum metallurgy."

2) The company has made enormous investments over a relatively short period of time; this includes growing your USA facilities, investing in advanced metallurgical technologies and financing your very impressive R & D Development, all of which means money. Perhaps I am being rather forward with this question, but where is the financing coming from?

The financing for our growth comes from several sources. First, from our operating business and the consistently improving results of the Group. The year 2025 showed that SECO/WARWICK generates stable revenue, improves profitability, and effectively builds value based on a global operating model. The Group's revenue reached PLN 745.9 million, the highest in its history, while EBIT increased to PLN 43.1 million.

Second, we use external financing when it helps accelerate strategic projects. A good example is the financing of Retech Systems LLC's growth. We secured a long-term USD 10 million loan from the Foreign Expansion Fund managed by PFR TFI. These funds are intended to support the development of metal powder production technology, including the construction and installation of Plasma Gas Atomizer furnaces, as well as the expansion and outfitting of Retech's production and assembly facility.

Third, an important source of advantage is our organizational model. We are building local manufacturing, service, and engineering capabilities in the U.S., Europe and Asia. This allows us to reduce risks related to logistics, tariffs, labor costs and local market requirements. It also enables us to invest more efficiently and work more closely with our customers.

3) This question is related to the previous one and involves financing. You recently consolidated your USA companies, and I gather you were able to access a program provided by the State of Pennsylvania — can you provide any details about this?

Indeed, in Meadville, we recently invested USD 4 million in the development and expansion of our U.S. facility. This investment is part of the "Made in USA" strategy we have been implementing since 2024. Thanks to this investment, we have significantly increased the Group's production capabilities for the American market. To support this expansion, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania awarded our two U.S. Group companies last year a USD 2 million grant package from the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) under the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP).

This initiated an important process of streamlining our structure in the United States. The merger of SECO/WARWICK Corporation and SECO/VACUUM Technologies into one company, SECO/WARWICK USA, was an important step toward simplifying the organization, reducing administrative costs, and strengthening our position in the North American market. For customers, this means a clearer operating model, better resource use, and greater management efficiency.

As for financing development in the U.S., based on the materials we can currently share, the key element is the long-term USD 10 million loan from the Foreign Expansion Fund managed by PFR TFI, dedicated to our subsidiary Retech. This financing supports the development of Plasma Gas Atomization technology and the expansion of production and assembly capacity in Buffalo.

At this stage, I would prefer not to go into detail about any additional state-level programs beyond what we can officially communicate. What I can say is that the U.S. remains one of our most important markets, and investments in American production capabilities, R&D and vacuum metallurgy are one of the pillars of the Group's continued growth.

4) I briefly mentioned your R & D Development program, of which I can clearly see you are very proud of. All I know is that this includes three R & D centers, but that is all I know. Could you please elaborate on what form your R & D work takes?

R&D at the SECO/WARWICK Group is not a department detached from the market. It is a very practical part of our business model. We currently operate R&D centers in Poland, the U.S. and China. Their role is not only to develop new technologies, but also to test processes for customers before industrial implementation.

In practice, this means the ability to conduct technological trials using materials and parts supplied by the customer. Among the processes we test are FineCarb low-pressure carburizing (LPC), high-pressure gas quenching (HPGQ), ZeroFlow gas nitriding, ferritic nitrocarburizing, aluminum brazing in a protective atmosphere and in vacuum, as well as processes for equiaxed, directional and single-crystal castings.

In Europe and China, our R&D teams continue to develop CAB technology, where we are a leader in this segment. R&D in CAB focuses on reducing energy consumption, shortening process time, improving the quality of the nitrogen atmosphere, and integrating additional stages, such as thermal degreasing, drying, fluxing, final cooling and internal transport. In practice, this means delivering not a single furnace, but a complete, optimized process that increases control over production and improves the partner's process reliability.

A very important role is also played by the metallographic laboratory in Świebodzin. That is where we verify microstructure, hardness, case depth, and carbon and nitrogen profiles. In other words, we do not just design the furnace — we scientifically confirm that a given technology will enable the customer to achieve specific properties in the final product.

This is extremely important for our partners because it reduces investment risk. The customer can validate the process, optimize the parameters, and make sure the technology will work in the intended application.

5) Are these R & D efforts taking you into any new technologies or directions that you can share with us? A revolutionary new type of heat treating as an example? Energy savings beyond anything now seen in the market?

Yes, our R&D efforts are taking us in new directions. One of the most important areas is the development of technologies related to specialty materials in the form of metal powders. In the U.S., through Retech, we are developing Plasma Gas Atomization technology that enables the production of advanced metal powders used in aerospace, space and metal 3D printing, among other applications.

This is a highly promising direction because powder metallurgy enables greater efficiency, higher process purity, lower costs, and lower energy consumption in production. For industry, this means both technological and environmental benefits.

The second direction is further digitalization. We use digital twin technology to design, test and implement equipment more predictably, faster and with lower risk. This is especially important for custom-engineered projects, which naturally entail greater project risk.

A third important area is solutions that support energy efficiency and industrial decarbonization. We do not view the green transition solely as a regulatory obligation. For industrial customers, energy savings mean a real cost advantage, higher efficiency, and greater business resilience.

6) Recently I read a press release from SECO/WARWICK in which you mentioned record profits — needless to say it caught my eye. Could you please summarize the press release and more importantly tell us why? In other words, what contributed to such a great year?

The year 2025 was very strong for the SECO/WARWICK Group. Revenue reached PLN 745.9 million, which means 4.6% year-over-year growth and the highest result in the Group's history. EBIT increased to PLN 43.1 million, up 35.7% year over year, and the EBIT margin rose to 5.8%. Net profit reached PLN 26.1 million, and EPS increased to PLN 3.82.

Several factors were behind this performance. First, organic growth and a better sales mix. Second, the very strong performance of the Aluminum Process segment which became one of the new growth engines. Third, the solid position of the melting furnaces segment which generated revenue of nearly PLN 250 million.

Geographic diversification also played an important role. Europe generated PLN 260 million in revenue and accounted for 35% of the Group's sales, the U.S. represented 36%, and Asia was the fastest-growing region with year-over-year growth of 25.4%. This shows that our global operating model delivers results.

These results are also the outcome of a consistent strategy: customer proximity, local capabilities, investment in technology, and simplification of the organizational structure. So this was not a one-time success, but the result of many decisions made over several years.

7) I have always considered SECO/WARWICK to have the most diversified product mix of any major furnace builder. You are strong in the vacuum market, well respected when it comes to aluminum heat treat and melting furnaces and have a strong following in atmosphere furnaces to name just a few. This leads to a number of questions including doesn't this spread your resources too thinly? And second can you say that any of these technologies is your "main focus"?

Indeed, SECO/WARWICK has a very broad portfolio. It includes five key technology areas: vacuum heat treatment, aluminum heat treatment, atmosphere technologies, heat exchanger brazing, and vacuum metallurgy.

We do not see this as dilution, but as strategic diversification. Our customers operate in industries with different investment cycles. Defense, aerospace, automotive, energy, medical, recycling, tooling and aluminum production all have different needs and different development tempos. A broad portfolio allows us to stabilize the business, capture opportunities across segments, and offer customers end-to-end solutions.

Of course, each of these technologies requires specialized expertise. That is why the Group is organized by segment. We do not manage everything from one place as a single, uniform offering. We build centers of competence with their own know-how, engineering teams, and responsibility for developing each area.

Do we have one main focus? We are not focused on a single furnace type, but on advanced heat treatment and metallurgy. We want to be the first-choice company wherever a partner needs quality, process repeatability, reliability, and technology tailored to a specific application.

8) What are your customers asking for these days; let me elaborate on this question before you answer. For instance, I see little interest amongst North American heat treaters for reduced carbon emission technologies which is substantially different I know from European heat treaters. Reduced energy usage is not a major concern for North Americans, again very different than Europeans. However, the increased cost of new furnaces is a major issue for everybody around the world. So what are your customers most concerned about and does this vary by region?

Customer expectations vary by region, but several themes are shared worldwide. The first is investment cost. New furnaces are becoming increasingly advanced technologically and therefore more capital-intensive. As a result, partners expect not only a good purchase price but, above all, a predictable total cost of ownership, a stable process, shorter downtime and effective service support.

The second theme is operational security. After the pandemic, logistics crises and geopolitical changes, our partners pay much closer attention to supply continuity, local capabilities, service availability, and the ability to produce closer to the end market. That is why we continue to develop a model based on local manufacturing and service resources in Europe, the U.S. and Asia.

The third area is energy efficiency. I agree that in Europe this topic is often more strongly linked to climate regulations and CO₂ emission costs, while in North America it is more often viewed through the lens of process economics. But ultimately, all customers want to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and achieve more predictable production.

In Asia, in turn, we see very strong price competition, but at the same time a growing group of customers that want to move to a higher level of quality and export to demanding markets — and that is why they choose premium technologies, exactly the kind SECO/WARWICK offers.

9) I get a real kick out of a recent award that Mr. Slawomir Wozniak CEO received — "Personality of the Year 2025" — what is the story behind this award?

This award is, of course, a personal distinction, but I see it above all as recognition of the work of the entire SECO/WARWICK team. The company's history and my professional story are closely connected. I started at SECO/WARWICK in 1994 as an electrician intern, later worked as a service engineer, helped build structures in China and India, and today I have the honor of leading the entire Group.

Perhaps that is exactly the perspective that was recognized: the journey from the shop floor and service work to managing an international organization. It gives me a very practical view of the company. I understand the technology, the people, the customers, and the operational challenges because over the years I have seen them from different levels of the organization.

For me, "Personality of the Year" is not an award for media visibility. It is rather a symbol of leadership built on experience, consistency and trust in people. SECO/WARWICK is now a global Group, but its strength still comes from the expertise of specific engineers, technologists, service teams, salespeople and managers. Without them, no leader's personality would matter.

10) For our final question — in 2026, are you going to be able to beat your very impressive 2025 results?

After a record year, the bar is always set high. I do not want to make statements that would sound like a market promise, but I can say that we are entering 2026 with strong fundamentals.

We have a global presence, a diversified portfolio, growing local capabilities, a strong R&D base, and very clear development directions: vacuum metallurgy, metal powders, energy efficiency, digitalization, automation and the continued strengthening of our presence in the U.S. and Asia.

The goal is not only to "beat the result," but to maintain the quality of growth. We want to grow profitably, securely, and in a technology-driven way. The year 2025 showed that the strategy works. In 2026, we will continue to execute it consistently, keeping in mind that in our industry, true success is measured not by a single quarter, but by the durability of customer relationships, the effectiveness of implementation, and the resilience of the business in changing market conditions.