Aalberts Acquires Applied Process

Now this is more interesting news to start off the week. It would appear that Netherlands based conglomerate Aalberts N.V. has acquired commercial heat treater Applied Process, one of the largest commercial heat treaters in North America. Aalberts, through their “Hauck”division is the second largest commercial heat treater in Europe as ranked by “The Monty” http://www.themonty.com/largest-european-commercial-heat-treaters-february-2019/ While the company is the second largest in Europe they have a relatively small presence in North America when it comes to commercial heat treating (having said that we should add that just last week we had a news item about their Accurate Brazing facility in SC expanding-scroll down this page for that news item). Applied Process (which was started by the Keough family of AFC-Holcroft fame) is a very unique operation in that the company almost exclusively offers salt quenching and boasts the world’s largest integral quench batch austempering furnace with working dimensions of 84”W x 96”L x 54”T. It was built in 2011 by furnace builder AFC-Holcroft of Wixom, Michigan and has a gross capacity of 20,000 pounds and a quench tank which holds 400,000 pounds of salt. This photo shows Gord Montgomery standing in front of “The Monster” as it is appropriately nicknamed.

“Applied Process, the industry leader in salt quench heat treating, announced today that it has been 100% acquired by Aalberts N.V. (Aalberts), a Dutch public company. Aalberts, one of the largest heat treating companies in the world, operates in over 50 countries and is committed to adaption and innovation with a clear focus on engineering mission-critical technologies for its customers. Applied Process will join the Material Technology group within Aalberts. The Material Technology group offers a unique combination of advanced heat and surface treatment technologies utilizing a global network of service locations with excellent local knowledge to customers active in general industries, automotive, aerospace and power generation. 

Richard Wright, COO of the US Division of Aalberts Material Technology stated “Aalberts is very excited that Applied Process is joining our team of world-class service providers. Applied Process is the world-wide leader in austempering heat treatment, and we look forward to supporting their efforts to expand their technology and service offerings.” Harold Karp, Applied Process President and CEO stated, “We are very excited to be part of the Aalberts family. We especially look forward to the synergistic opportunities of providing a broader and stronger service offering to our customers that will come from the technical expertise and other businesses within Aalberts.” 

We are very grateful for our customers’ business and look forward to continued growth together. We are also excited about the new business opportunities that will come as we join the Aalberts family. We are confident our new ownership will serve us all well and provide incremental technical, capital and human resources to further strengthen our superior technical support, unrivaled customer service, and perfection in heat treating services. Our brand and Hostile Duck will continue on, as will the entire leadership team. Our customers, prospects, and friends should expect “business as usual” after the transaction. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Richard, Harold or Steve Metz with any questions.”