Since 1999 "The Monty Heat Treat News" has been providing a list of the largest commercial heat treaters in North America (USA, Canada & Mexico) based upon annual sales. What started as the "10 Largest" morphed into the "25 Largest" which grew into the "52 Largest" in 2025.

While the list itself makes for fascinating reading, what makes it more interesting still is that it gives us a very clear picture about which industries are growing, which are shrinking and what geographic areas are seeing positive or negative growth when it comes to heat treatment. While this list only includes commercial heat treaters, the same trends can be found amongst in-house heat treaters.

For example, when we first started compiling this list, it was dominated by heat treaters largely concentrated in the Northern USA which focused on the automotive industry. While this is still partly true ("Woodworth" and "Heat Treating Services" are good examples of this) , we are now seeing more and more firms on our list involved in the aerospace, defense and power generation industries. A striking example of this would be "Solar Atmospheres", the third largest commercial heat treater on our list which probably has little or no involvement in the automotive industry.

Another example of this would be "Stack Metallurgical Group" based in Portland, Oregon which has been growing by leaps and bounds in the past few years, again the firm has little exposure to the automotive market.

You will notice a number of changes on our list this year, some are the result of companies finding and growing new markets, some are the result of very good business decisions and some not so good changes are quite frankly the result of very poor management decisions (we are not naming names by the way).

Be that as it may this year's list largely reflects changes in the manufacturing sector throughout North America in terms of shifts in where manufacturing takes place and also changes brought about by market forces and shifting demands.

We always emphasize the point in our yearly rankings that because most of the organizations on this list are privately owned and do not publish sales figures, this is a very tricky "exercise". However, with that caveat out of the way we will in our conceit say that this is the most accurate list of the largest North American commercial heat treaters available anywhere in the world. Sincerely, Gord Montgomery

Since 1999 in a heat treat industry exclusive "The Monty Heat Treat News" has been publishing annually a list of the largest commercial heat treaters in North America based upon yearly sales, last year's list can be found at "50 Largest North American Commercial Heat Treaters 2025"

Before we get to our list here are a few points we need to add;

• Total commercial heat treat sales for 2025 are expected to be approximately $3 Billion USD
• There are approximately 530 commercial heat treat plants in North America
• Why 50+2? Kind of an accident the way it turned out. The numbers were so close for the past several entries on our list that it didn't seem fair to leave anybody out. Hence 50+2.
• Rankings are based upon anticipated sales for the calendar year of 2026. This would include heat treat sales and also other complimentary processes such as shotblasting, coatings and black oxide.
• All sales figures are in USD
• We are always asked where the information for our rankings comes from, a very fair question. The largest on our list, "Bodycote" is a publicly traded company and sales figure are freely available, this is also the case with the second largest on our list "Aalberts Surface Technologies". "Solar Atmospheres", #3 on our list, is very open and freely gave us their sales figures. Most of the other companies on this list did share sales figures with us on the basis that they not be repeated, a very reasonable request. Further verification came from knowing the number of locations, the physical size of each, number of employees and the processes each offers.
• The vast bulk of companies on this list are privately held which means exact sales figures can be difficult to find. So, while we are quite proud of our efforts and consider this list to be the most accurate available anywhere, we do not for a second claim that it is 100% correct.
• Over the years some readers have pointed out that our rankings are not always in line with "MTI" figures (Metal Treating Institute is the largest organization of commercial heat treaters in North America and they rank their members in each geographic region). While there are several reasons for this, the main was is that not all commercial heat treaters belong to MTI.
• We appreciate all the help and guidance everybody provided us with and we welcome your thoughts and comments.

Based in the UK we have ranked "Bodycote" as the largest North American commercial heat treater and indeed the largest globally for a number of years now and this year is no exception. For the purposes of this report we are only looking at Bodycote's North American sales and operations. Our understanding is that 2026 sales in North America will be approximately $445 million USD, with a total of 61 plants in North America covering Mexico, USA and Canada.

These sales figures include both heat treating and "hipping" (Hot Isostatic Pressing)-it is worth noting that Bodycote is the largest commercially available "hipping" source in the world.

Based in the Netherlands "Aalberts Surface Technologies" is one of only two companies on our list which has a substantial global presence being very strong in both Europe and North America. Since the company entered the North American market a number of years ago, they have seen spectacular growth largely through acquisitions such as Paulo, Premier Thermal, Applied Process, Alfe and several others. As of 2026, the specific annual sales for Aalberts surface technologies are not published as a standalone figure because its parent company, Aalberts N.V., does not separate its financial results down to this individual division in public summaries. However having said that we have no hesitation in naming them the second largest commercial heat treater in North America.

"Solar Atmospheres" of Souderton, PA has a very unique claim to fame being the largest privately owned commercial heat treater in North America with seven heat treat facilities in Eastern PA, Western PA, California, San Diego, South Carolina, Michigan, and Connecticut. It is worth pointing out that their sister company is "Solar Manufacturing", one of the largest vacuum furnace builders in North America.

The Solar Atmospheres family of companies announced $153.5 million in sales for 2025. The six heat treat facilities posted $109.6 million, up 94% over a five-year period, while the manufacturing companies posted $43.95 million, up 107% over the same period. Over the past five years, the Solar family of companies has grown from 291 employees to 415 today. The companies are owned by William and Myrtle Jones who started the companies from scratch, a very impressive feat.

The fourth largest North American commercial heat treater on our list, "Woodworth Inc." is a privately owned company which operates 4 facilities in two countries and specializes in large volume automotive work. "Woodworth Inc. provides a wide range of heat treatment services through our four facilities. We are currently located in Pontiac, Homer, and Flint, Michigan, as well as Puebla, Mexico. The company operates 40 large furnaces in North America. Woodworth Inc. has installed capacity to run 16 million + rotors per year. (2.2 million Lbs. / Day)." Woodworth is similar to many heat treaters on our list in that they are almost exclusively dedicated to the automotive industry, albeit on a very large scale.

The second largest family-owned commercial heat treater is "Braddock Metallurgical"which was founded in 1953 by William Braddock. The company has eight production facilities mainly in the US Southeast; however, two of these facilities are in NJ and Puerto Rico. Certainly, in the growing US Southeast region Braddock is the dominant commercial heat treater. The company is a full-service heat treater in that they offer virtually every process available. We are quite confident in saying that they are the third largest family-owned commercial heat treater in North America.

"Bluewater Thermal Solutions" offers a wide array of heat treating and boronizing processes at 7 different locations around the US. Bluewater has different heat-treating processes throughout their facilities depending upon the geographic area. For instance, the Ridgway, PA location (located in the heard of the powdered metal industry) offers different processes than say the facility in Houston, Texas. The company is owned by private venture firm Aterian Partners in New York.

Not only is "Thermtech" in Waukesha, Wisconsin the dominant commercial heat treater in their area, this family owned business is also one of the fastest growing commercial heat treaters in all of North America. "ThermTech in Waukesha, Wisconsin is a privately held commercial heat-treating company that offers a wide range of services to a diverse and discerning set of customers. It was founded in 1982 by Charles Wiberg and remains a family owned business under the guidance of Mary Springer and her brother Steve Wiberg. We would consider ThermTech to be a full service shop in that it offers most commercially available heat treat processes.

Established in 1981, "Advanced Heat Treat Corp." (AHT) is headquartered in Waterloo, Iowa and has 4 locations in Alabama, Iowa and Michigan. It offers over 20 surface treatments such as UltraGlow® Ion & Gas Nitriding, UltraOx®, Nitrocarburizing, Induction Hardening, Carburizing, Quench & Temper and more. What makes Advanced such a fascinating company is that it is the creation of Mr. Gary Sharp who started off with the idea that there was a place in the North American heat-treating industry for Plasma (Ion) nitriding). Gary started off with a small investment and has never looked back-a very impressive achievement. To this day they remain the largest commercial plasma nitriding firm by quite a margin. In this photo we see Gary on the right, Gord Montgomery in the middle and Mike Woods, President on the left.

"Parker Trutec" is a North American subsidiary of Japan based Nihon Parkerizing, a very substantial player in the global heat treat industry. In North America Parker has 4 heat treat locations in Ohio, Tennessee, Arkansas and Mexico. The Springfield, Ohio facility is fairly typical of the plants and has this equipment;

• Salt Bath Nitriding Furnaces (FNC) processing our Isonite process to AMS 2755 (High Cyanide Salt).
• Salt Bath Nitriding Furnaces (FNC) processing our Isonite QPQ process to AMS 2753 (Low Cyanide Salt).
• Salt Bath Nitriding Furnaces (FNC) processing our Isonite LiFe process.
• Gas Ferritic Carburizing Furnaces (FNC) processing to AMS 2757.
• Batch Carburizing with Dowa, Surface Combustion and AFC-Holcroft Furnaces.
• Carburizing, Carbonitriding, Neutral Hardening (Quench & Temper), Normalizing.
• Continuous Roller-Hearth Carburizing Furnaces (Dowa).
• Vacuum Degreasing Systems for pre- and post-carburizing.
• Hanging and barrel shotblasters.
• Vibratory polishing equipment.

For More Information About Parker Trutec we would suggest this link "Parker Trutec-One of the Largest Commercial Heat Treaters in North America"

In the US Northwest, privately owned "Stack Metallurgical Group" is the largest commercial heat treater by a large margin and a firm which has been described to us several times as "the best run commercial heat treater in the USA". Stack has three locations, Portland, Oregon, Salt Lake City, Utah and Spokane, Washington. Stack specializes in advanced heat treating, aluminum anodizing and painting, and hot isostatic press (HIP) services. With a rich history dating back to 1946, Stack has become a trusted partner to demanding clients in industries such as aerospace, power generation, precision cutlery, oil and gas, and general industrial. Stack has been privately held by the Ederer family since 1974. Over the last 46 years, the business has grown and expanded into new markets.

Globally Japan based "Dowa Thermotech" is one of the largest commercial heat treaters in the world so it is no surprise that it also ranks as one of the largest in North America. Their facilities in "San Luis Potosi", Mexico and "Bowling Green", Ohio are both dedicated to servicing the Japanese automakers which means that they largely "fly under the radar" and don't usually appear on lists of commercial heat treaters. The company almost exclusively uses furnace built in Japan and their focus is very narrow-the automotive industry.

"Heat Treating Services" based in Pontiac, Michigan HTS is a privately owned commercial heat treater founded in 1978. Over the years the Hynes family has done a tremendous job of growing the company (current President Brad Hynes)to their current size which include 3 heat treating locations in Michigan able to process 50 million pounds of material per month in over 161,000 square feet under roof. HTS also has a fourth facility, Trojan Heat Treat in Homer, Michigan. On a side note, Jeff Hynes of used furnace brokers "Furnaces, Ovens & Baths" is a cousin of the owners of "Heat Treating Services" proving the heat treat industry is a very close one.

"Specialty Steel Treating", founded 1956, has been performing precision heat treating for more than 60 years. The privately held company has 4 locations in the US, three in the Detroit, Michigan area and one in Connecticut. While Specialty is located in the auto capital of the world it has broadened its customer base over the years and now has a very strong presence in the aerospace and bearing industries.

Founded in 1979 "FPM Heat Treating" based in Elk Grove Village, IL has two locations in the US Midwest, Elk Grove Village, IL and Cherry Valley IL. FPM has the capability to offer most heat-treating processes including Through hardening, Carburizing, Carbonitriding, FNC and Nitriding, from a variety of furnaces including batch IQ furnaces, mesh belt, vacuum and salt bath. The company has NADCAP approval along with CQI-9.

Family owned "Hansen Balk" in Grand Rapids, Michigan is very interesting is that it is a single location heat treater which is fairly unusual amongst the larger commercial heat treaters on our list. It is also very interesting in that it is one of the largest vacuum heat treeaters in North America. "Since 1955, Hansen/Balk in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA has built a reputation as a state-of-the-art provider of steel heat-treating services. Our 85,000-square-foot facility features a full cohort of best-in-class batch vacuum and batch atmosphere furnaces, capable of processing orders of all sizes. We offer a variety of services, but are best known for the breadth and depth of our vacuum heat-treating capabilities-including high-pressure quenching up to 15 Bar-as well as unique services such as cryogenic treating, flame hardening and induction heat-treating services. We adhere to the most technologically advanced heat-treating methods with modern equipment to ensure your parts meet the required specifications-from hardness tolerance to surface finishes. We also bring customers a deep well of metallurgical knowledge, formed over six decades of work on millions of parts."

"Pressure Technology Inc. (PTI)" is rather rare on our list as the firm concentrates almost exclusively on one form of heat-treating technology, Hot Isostatic Pressing (Hipping). "PTI primarily services the Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Our three hot isostatic pressing facilities are located in Warminster, Pennsylvania, north of Philadelphia, Concord, Ohio, east of Cleveland and Alachua, north of Gainesville, Florida". "Pressure Technology is a leading provider of high-quality hot isostatic pressing (HIP) to the aerospace, medical, ceramics, electronics, precision casting, powder metallurgy, additive manufacturing and a variety of other industries." The firm is owned by the "Bowles" family and overall, the company has in excess of 13 vessels throughout the facilities.

"Industrial Steel Treating Company" (IST) began operations in Jackson, Michigan in 1943, initially servicing the growing tool and die industry in mid-Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. This is one of the largest single location heat treaters in the US operating out of an enormous 350,000 square foot facility and is owned and run by the "Levy" Family. "Two separate, across-the-street facilities house production, prototype samples and warehouse-inventory management capabilities. IST offers gas nitriding, carbonitriding, induction hardening and several other processes. The firm is now fourth generation which few commercial heat treaters can boast of". The company continues to invest and recently installed a new Can Eng mesh belt furnace line.

"Vac Aero International" is not only the largest commercial heat treater in Canada but also a very substantial manufacturer of new vacuum furnaces. Their heat treating/coating facilities include two plants in Quebec, their main operation in Oakville, and a new Greenville, SC, USA "Shop-in-Shop". Both their heat treating/coating operations and their furnace manufacturing facility are very heavily aerospace focused which includes being NADCAP accredited.

"Rex Heat Treat" is a family owned-and-operated business that entered business in 1938 in Pennsylvania making it one of the oldest commercial heat treats in North America. The company has two locations in PA offering a total of 30 heat treating processes which covers industries as diverse as Mining and Drilling, Energy, Aerospace and Defense, and Transportation. The company claims to have the world's largest vertical vacuum oil quenching furnace.

Nadcap approved "Continental Heat Treating" is an aerospace approved heat-treating company located in Santa Fe Springs, California. Established in 1957 in Downey, CA the company moved to their current location in Santa Fe Springs in 1969 where it has grown and prospered under the leadership of Mr. Jim Stull. Because the firm is so focused on the aerospace market, it generates very impressive revenues from a single location.

"Grupo ETSA" has 7 plants in Mexico, Guadalajara, Celaya, Aguascalientes, San Juan del Río, and Mexico City. The company is privately owned, Mario Fabian Mendez, President. Typically their operations have heavily focused on automotive and oil components (~85%), with the remaining 15% dedicated to vacuum tooling. However during a recent meeting with Mario he said that the firm is investing in more aerospace work.

"Metex Heat Treating" is the largest commercial heat treater in Canada and the first of three Canadian firms on our list. While there are few heat treat processes the company doesn't offer they are best known for their mesh belt heat treating of fasteners. Metex operates several continuous furnaces including 3 of the largest in Canada-each with a capacity of 6,000 pounds per hour meaning they can process over 300,000 pounds per day. In 2024 the firm acquired commercial heat treater "Exactatherm Limited" allowing the company to expand into aerospace heat treating.

"Metex Heat Treating Ltd. In 1983, Metex Heat Treating Ltd. was founded by Mr. Surjit Bawa to serve the heat-treating needs of the manufacturing industry in the Greater Toronto, Canada Area. Since that time Metex has grown into the largest commercial heat treater in Canada and the company services customers as far as Montreal, Cleveland and Michigan. We specialize in Continuous and Batch Neutral Hardening, Carburizing, and Carbonitriding. We also have 10 state of the art induction hardening systems.

"ALD Thermal Treatment Inc."is part of "ALD" in Germany and it's commercial heat treating operations include two facilities in North America; ALD Thermal Treatment, Inc., in Port Huron, MI, and its sister plant in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, a state-of-the-art facility in Saxony, Germany, and a location in Suzhou China. All of the plants focus on Low Pressure Carburizing (LPC) and High-Pressure Gas Quenching (HPGQ). For the purposes of this report, we only considered the US and Mexico plants. Originally, they were 100% automotive related however over the years they have diversified to some extent. Both North American facilities are extremely impressive to visit.

"Nitrex HTS" is a leading global provider of fully integrated heat-treating solutions and technologies. Founded in 1984 in Montreal, Canada, the company operates Heat Treating Services (HTS), a worldwide network of commercial heat-treating service centers. Nitrex HTS serves customers globally from 8 locations across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Italy, and China. For our purposes we are looking at the North American plants only which include; Franklin, Indiana, Aurora, Illinois, Mason, Michigan and Querétaro, Mexico. While Nitrex is best known for their nitriding services their heat treat facilities offer most processes including LPC.

"East Carolina Metal Treating & Virginia Metal Treating" headquartered in Raleigh, NC is a family owned company (Jamie Ramm, President) founded in 1976 which over the years has grown into two locations; a 45,000 square foot facility just outside of Raleigh, NC and a second location (Virginia Metal Treating) in a 20,000 square foot building in Lynchburg, VA. ECMT offers a full range of heat-treating services including Vacuum, Batch IQ, Nitriding/FNC, Induction, Cryogenics, Salt bath hardening with austempering and marquenching, Stress Relieving, Age Hardening, as well as Black Oxide. The company has just announced (May 2026) a 20,000 square foot addition to their Lynchburg, VA location which will house an additional batch IQ line and aluminum quenching line.

Privately owned "Flame Metals Processing Corp." (Dennis Stevermer) was founded in 1985 and operates out of a 102,000 square foot facility with over 100 employees working 7 days a week in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area. Focus is on the General Industrial Markets-Off Highway, Construction, Marine, Outdoor Recreational, Agricultural, Mining and Wind Energy. With eleven integral quench furnaces (9000 lb. max capacity) and two pit furnaces (25,000 lb. capacity), the company is best known for its ability to process large critical components. Additional capabilities include continuous processing, vacuum, salt bath nitriding, neutral salt, induction, aluminum and car bottom."

For over 40 years "Century Sun Metal Treating" in the northern Michigan city of Traverse City has been offering "high end" heat treating services including Ion nitriding and vacuum hardening. In 2021 the company was acquired by Hillcrest Investment Partners, LLC, a private investment group. This is a very impressive heat treat by any standards.

"Accurate Steel Treating" in Southgate, CA bills themselves as "The Fastest Growing Aerospace Heat Treating Company in the West"-whether this is true or not we can't say but this privately owned firm (Mr. Chris Hall, President) is a well run, well organized operation. "Accurate Steel Treating was founded in 1962 on a strong commitment to quality and customer service. In 1989, Accurate Steel Treating was acquired by a new management team and embarked on a carefully planned expansion program. During the next 25 years, new processes and equipment were added to keep pace with growing demand including high-pressure gas quench vacuum heat-treating, precision carburizing, and ion nitriding. In 2012, management decided, along with encouragement from several key customers, to enter the Aerospace market to be better diversified and capitalize on the many opportunities developing in this sector.

Today, Accurate Steel Treating continues to be the fastest growing commercial aerospace heat treat service provider in the western US. We are AQS AC7004 certified and accredited by Nadcap for a wide range of thermal processes and support services, including vacuum & atmosphere hardening, gas carburizing, ion & gas nitriding, stress relieving, annealing, aging, pre & post cleaning, oil, salt, water & polymer quench mediums, titanium processing, straightening and metallurgical evaluations. The transformation to a full service Aerospace Heat Treat provider accelerated in 2014 when we achieved our first Nadcap accreditation, we have since accomplished many milestones that we are proud of.

"Pinson Valley Heat Treating" was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Birmingham, AL. The company has a very unique mix of capabilities including vacuum heat treating, atmosphere and some very interesting and unique tip up style furnaces. Originally a family owned business the company was acquired by Weinberg Capital Group, December 5, 2025. "Acquisition"

In 2024 "Tube Bending Technology" made our list of the largest North American commercial heat treaters by making two acquisitions, "Thermal Vac" in Orange, CA and "Scarrott Metallurgical" in Los Angeles, CA. These acquisitions gave the company annual sales of between $15 and $20 Million USD propelling them to our annual rankings. The California based company is a manufacturer and fabricator of tubing and ducting assemblies who has always sent a great deal of heat treating out to local providers of brazing and heat treating services. The firm made the decision that it wanted all parts of the manufacturing process to be under their direct control-leading to the acquisitions.

"Modern Heat Treat" was founded in July of 2009 by Brad Luce and Rudy Saucedo (unfortunately Brad passed away in 2019 at a very young age, Rudy is now President and owner). What started as a relatively small operation featuring several batch IQ furnaces has grown into a very substantial company which includes numerous batch IQ furnaces, vacuum furnaces, induction equipment, flame hardening, deep freeze and straitening capabilities. The firm operates out of a 25,000 square foot building with over 60 employees and 50+ pieces of equipment.

Founded in 1982 "Thermetco" is a privately held company, the largest commercial heat treater in Quebec, Canada and the third largest overall in Canada. In terms of processes offered there are few that the company doesn't offer in that they have several vacuum hardening furnaces, 4 batch IQ units offering carburizing and neutral hardening, salt processing, stress relieving, and annealing to name a few all operating 24/7. The company is Nadcap certified and in the summer of 2025, became an approved supplier to aerospace company "Safran Landing Gear Systems". The 150 employees spread out over the 3 plants service a wide variety of industries including automotive (15% of total sales), aerospace and "general industry which includes a wider variety of gears. This diversity is probably why the company is reporting that business continues to be very good for them.

"Specialty Heat Treat, Inc." is a family owned commercial heat treater founded in 1993 by Tom Moore in Houston, TX. SHT operates a 100,000 square foot facility on 9 acres and has grown to 42 furnaces up to 25' in length. The company employees over 60 people and can process more than 50 million pounds of material annually, operating 24/7. Like many heat treaters in Texas, the company's fortunes are closely tied to the oil and gas industries. In 2024 Gord and Dale Montgomery of "The Monty Heat Treat News" had the opportunity to tour this facility at the invitation of Sam Moore, President-the story can be found here; https://themonty.com/heat-treating-in-texas-is-different-specialty-heat-treat/

"Tohken Thermo Mexico" in Aguascalientes, Mexico is part of "Tohken Thermo", the largest heat treating group in Japan. Tohken's customer base is composed of 55% Japanese customers and 45% non-Japanese clients. They process components for transmissions, steering, brakes, motors, seat recliners, safety-belts, etc. Equipment includes roller hearth furnaces, mesh belt furnaces, batch furnaces, and press tempering equipment.

This is how "Tohken Thermo Mexico" describes this location and their processes; "The Heat Treatment service we offer is the best in the world, the type of services we offer are nitriding furnaces as well as the carbonitriding, quenching and tempering type. We also have the necessary technology to provide any type of thermal treatment they require, as well as the necessary experience to respond at all times to the needs of our most demanding customers". This location has over 250 employees with annual sales of approximately $17 million USD.

Founded in 1982 by Mark Byron in a 1 car garage, "Byron Products"has grown into a very significant player in the US Midwest commercial heat-treating region. The NADCAP approved company offers brazing, heat treating, welding and coatings, all with a strong emphasis on the aerospace industry. Byron excels in the heat treating of stainless steel and high temperature aerospace alloys. For an in-depth look at the company, we would suggest this exclusive story from "The Monty", "The Monty" Visits Commercial Heat Treater "Byron Products"

"Kittyhawk" of Garden Grove, CA is the seond entry on our list to focus almost entirely on "Hiping" (Hot Isostatic Pressing). THe company is owned by "Trive Capital", a Dallas based private equity firm; "Founded in 1981, Kittyhawk is a leading provider of Hot Isostatic Pressing ("HIP") services on the West Coast from its locations in Garden Grove, CA and Canby, OR. The Company is trusted by many of the largest aerospace, defense, and space OEMs to increase the performance and safety of their most iconic platforms. HIP is an integral service that improves the strength and metallurgical properties of casted and additively manufactured parts. Kittyhawk specializes in servicing parts for high-temperature, high-pressure, and high cost of failure applications such as rocket and jet engine componentry." As of publishing the company had just announced they were investing in another vessel for their CA plant.

Everything is bigger in Texas and that includes heat treating. "Texas Heat Treating" is one of several commercial heat treaters in the state to make our list and over the years it has grown to serve a number of different industries. CEO C.H. "Buddy" Crossley started Texas Heat Treating in 1977 as a small company in a 6,000 square foot shop. Today, the company has expanded to two large facilities, the first in Round Rock, Texas, and the second in Fort Worth, Texas. "Buster Crossley" is the long standing President and the company features batch heat treating equipment including IQ's, pit furnaces, vacuum furnaces and nitriding systems.

"THERMAL PROCESS HOLDINGS" in the US Midwest now consists of 4 locations having sold or closed at least two facilities over the past couple of years. The locations offer fairly standard heat treating processes including vacuum hardening, carburizing, neutral hardening and tempering. Ownership is a venture capital firm by the name of "Calvert Street Capital Partners".

"Phoenix Heat Treating" in Phoenix, Arizona has been family owned and operated since 1963. "With 75 employees operating 24/7, Phoenix Heat Treating primarily services the Aerospace and Defense markets, but Energy and Semiconductor are close behind. Not to mention general manufacturing, tool & die, and firearms. Phoenix Heat Treating is proud of its paperless quality system and merit Nadcap status. On a practical note, Phoenix Heat Treating has over 14,000 unique part number processes saved and operates 60+ thermal units. Of course, Phoenix Heat Treating performs conventional heat treating process in IQs and Vacuums, but it is the more unique processes that make Phoenix Heat Treating stand out. Processes such as, boiling water aluminum solution treating, high temperature thermal oxidations, aluminum up-hill quenching, aluminum thermal cycling, mar-quench, austempering, and titanium solutions. Phoenix Heat Treating is the diamond in the desert focused on becoming the most customer centric heat treater in the county."

"Worldwide Heat Treat" in Houston, Texas was founded in July of 2018 by Mr. Robert Gutierrez as a 6,000 square foot facility offering small batch atmosphere heat treating. After a tremendous growth spurt, only doable by a consistent volume of work from our loyal oil and gas customers, the company moved into their current location of 40,000 square feet under roof and added employees to bring our employee count to 32 presently. We now offer some of the largest vertical atmosphere / carburizing capabilities in the USA. We can accommodate up to 90.00" diameter x 140.00" long parts in our largest pit furnaces.

We can process up to 38' long in our car bottom furnaces for various types of heat treat processing. Due to our growth, we have opened a second location, "Worldwide Bor-X" here in Houston this past year. We are currently offering gas nitriding and boronizing up to 72.00" diameter x 95.00" long at this current moment in our line of pit furnaces. We will be installing another 2 pit furnaces in the 3^rd quarter of 2026 to add to our fleet. This location started off with just 1 employee last year and we are up to 10 employees at this time and we anticipate adding an additional 5 throughout this year. We anticipate opening up several more plants around the USA that offer these types of services.

"Southwest Metal Treating Corp., (SWMT)" is a family owned commercial heat treater in business for over 40 years run by Mr. Ryan Fussell. The company is full service in that it offers most heat treating processes including but not limited to; vacuum heat treating, carburizing, nitro carburizing, flame hardening, normalizing, stress relieving and Plasma Nitriding. Over the past number of years Ryan has done a tremendous job of expanding the company outside of their typical markets and now the firm can brag about being Nadcap accredited which gives them access to the booming aerospace industry.

Located in Meadville, PA, USA family owned "Peters Heat Treating" has thrived over the years, so much so that the company now has 2 locations and roughly 85 employees. "Peters" can be considered a "one stop shop" in that there are few if any processes that the company doesn't offer. Founded by "Doug Peters", the current President is "Mr. Andrew Wilkosz".

"Ohio Metallurgical" in Elyria, Ohio has become a constant on our list of the largest North American Commercial Heat Treaters. Founded way back in 1947 the company has always been privately owned by the Gaydosh family with John Gaydosh the current longstanding President. The firm is "Nadcap" accredited and offers a variety of processes including carburizing, vacuum hardening and induction hardening.

"Applied Thermal Technologies" in Warsaw, Indiana, USA is almost entirely a "vacuum" shop. This is a company which has come a long way since its founding in 1992 by Micky Bradican (current owner) and two former partners. The company now has a total of 3 buildings in one location and services a number of industries although medical and aerospace feature very prominently.

Founded in 1945 "Lone Star Heat Treating" is one of the oldest commercial heat treats in the USA. Like the majority of the companies on this list, it is a family-owned business, current President, Mr. Mike Van Dorfy Jr. Lone Star offers induction hardening, atmosphere carburizing, deep hole drilling and vertical heat treating. Lone Star can process parts up to 100,000 pounds and up to 58" in length up to a maximum temperature of 2200F.

"Lark Heat Treating" was founded in 1978 by brother's Frank and Gene Clark with the guidance and inspiration of their father, Wade Clark, whose heat treating career started in 1936. Now owned and operated by Frank and Gene, Lark Heat Treating is one of the top commercial heat treaters in the southern United States. Lark operates out of a 55,000 square foot facility and can be classified as a "full service provider" in that they offer most commercially available processes, carburizing, nitriding, vacuum hardening, induction and a few others.

During a tour of the plant in 2024 what "The Monty" found was a commercial heat treater who has been growing and investing substantially in just the past few years. For all the details as well as future plans please follow this link; https://themonty.com/the-monty-visits-top-50-heat-treater-in-texas/?no_cache=1707835733 In this photo you see Matt Clark of Lark Heat Treating and Gord Montgomery.

In 1959 "Winston Heat Treating Inc.", was formed to service the local tool & die market. Since then the company has always focused on moving forward with new technologies and in the 1970's the firm became a real pioneer in vacuum hear treating which resulted in Winston becoming one of the first to achieve both ISO and NADCAP status. Like so many on this list this is a family owned business with David Reger acting as President. We have watched Winston grow and invest and it is a fine example of a modern commercial heat treater.

"Vacu Braze" of Quakertown, PA is a company which has seen tremendous growth over the past years, mainly due to a very forward-looking management team. The company offers "high end" heat treating for industries such as medical, aerospace and defense and operates out of a modern 60,000 square foot facility. The firm was founded by Mr. Ralph Puerta and interestingly enough his son Doug is President of another company on our list, Stack Metallurgical in Portland, Oregon. For a detailed look at the company we would suggest this exclusive article; "The Monty" Visits USA Heat Treater Making Major Investments"

"Q–Tech Heat Treat LLC." Located in Dallas, Texas was founded in 1972 by R.D. Fussell and sons in a 1,000 sq foot building with 2 furnaces. The company now has over 100,000 square feet of operating space, over 40 furnaces and specializes in high production Quench & Tempering, Normalizing, Annealing and Stress Relieving. Like many commercial heat treaters in Texas this is a family owned business, and claims to be the largest family owned heat treat in the Dallas/Fort Worth Texas area.

"Induction Heat Treating Corporation" founded in 1946 recently celebrated its 80th anniversary as a family-owned and operated company. Headquartered in Crystal Lake, Illinois, the company operates 24 hours a day under the leadership of its fourth-generation owner. Expansions into Seymour, Indiana and Waukesha, Wisconsin have further strengthened IHT as the largest induction heat treater in North America.

Dedicated exclusively to induction, IHT's combined 89,900 square feet of facilities house 45 induction machines ranging from 1 kHz to 450 kHz, with power capabilities from 15 Kw to 400 Kw. The company also plans to add two new state-of-the-art machines this year, capable of vertically scanning parts up to 12 feet, 6 inches in length, further enhancing its ability to serve a wide range of customer needs.
In addition to its heat-treating operations, IHT owns and operates its own tooling company, manufacturing induction coils not only for internal use, but also for captive and commercial induction companies worldwide.

"Sun Steel Treating" in Michigan is best known as one of the largest commercial plasma nitriding firms in North America; "Since 1958, Sun Steel Treating has specialized in providing our customers exceptional quality, expertise, and timeliness. Whether it's hardening alloys, carbon steels, tool steels or high-speed specialty steels, our engineers know the precise metallurgical processes to apply. In 1981, Sun Steel Treating pioneered the use of plasma Nitriding as a viable surface hardening treatment." Sun Steel is privately owned by Mr. Jim McGuirk and operates out of large facility close to Detroit, Michigan. The company concentrates on two areas, vacuum heat treating and Plasma Nitriding.

"Akron Steel Treating"was founded in 1943 by an Italian immigrant, Prosper P. Powell, in his home's detached garage. Operating in the secrecy of soaped windows and late-night deliveries, with overflow work conducted in the family's kitchen oven, Powell assisted the US Army in remedying issues with the heat treating of carbine firing pins for the war effort. Once WWII came to a close Prosper asked the US government when they wanted the furnaces back, the answer was "they are yours now" and thus one of the oldest commercial heat treaters in the USA was born. 82 years later, AST is in its third generation of family ownership and operation. AST has been NADCAP accredited for 20 years and provides world class quality batch heat treating services out of air, controlled atmosphere, molten salt and vacuum." Mr. Matt Moldvay, President.