(Editors Note; According to this press release "Houston Unlimited Inc.", in Houston, Texas USA, a supplier of Salt Bath Nitriding "SBN" services amongst other offerings has just acquired "Nitretex" of Houston, also a supplier of salt bath nitriding and QPQ services. More on the SBN and QPQ processes further down).

MAY 21, 2026 HOUSTON, TEXAS; "Expanding Our Presence in Texas; Growth continues—and Texas is a big part of that story. We're proud to have established Houston Unlimited Inc. late last year in partnership with HEF Groupe. This primarily HEF-owned facility in the Houston area operates under the name TS Houston Unlimited, reflecting a unified commitment to supporting customers across the region.

Building on that momentum, TS Houston Unlimited has now completed the acquisition of liquid nitriding operations from Nitretex—further strengthening our capabilities and expanding our reach across Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. These strategic moves allow HEF North America to better serve manufacturers with enhanced liquid nitriding solutions—right where you need them."

"Salt Bath Nitriding Overview; Salt Bath Nitriding (SBN), also referred to as Liquid Nitriding and Ferritic Nitrocarburizing (FNC), is a specialized diffusion treatment that is used to cost effectively enhance resistance to wear, friction, corrosion, and fatigue on all ferrous materials, including cast irons, plain carbon steels, low alloys, and stainless steels.

SBN also maintains superior dimensional stability compared to other high-temperature treatments, while hardening a part's surface up to greater than 70 Rockwell "C" (1075 HV). Unlike coatings or plating, Salt Bath Nitriding is a nearly zero-growth process that adds only a few microns, thereby maintaining extremely tight tolerances and allowing SBN to be the final step in the manufacturing process."

"Quench-Polish-Quench Overview; QPQ (Quench-Polish-Quench) is an adjunct to SBN, typically used when superior corrosion resistance is needed, and/or to enhance surface finish. QPQ begins with a standard SBN cycle, which produces a layer of iron nitride. The part is then mechanically polished and re-immersed into an oxidizing salt bath, followed by rinsing. QPQ optimizes corrosion protection, while leaving the original dimensions intact. In addition, the SBN/QPQ process results in an attractive black surface finish, ideal for applications where cosmetic appeal is especially important."