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emphasize the point in our yearly rankings that because most of the organizations on this list are privately owned and do not publish sales figures, this is a very tricky “exercise”.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
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.
#1) Bodycote North America
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.
#2) Aalberts Surface Technologies
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.
#3) Solar Atmospheres
“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.
#4) Woodworth Inc
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.
#5) “Braddock Metallurgical”
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.
#6) Bluewater Thermal Solutions
“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.
#7) “ThermTech”, Waukesha, Wisconsin
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.
#8) “Advanced Heat Treat Corp.”, Waterloo, Iowa
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.
#9) “Parker Trutec”
“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.
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.
#11) “Dowa Thermotech”
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.
#12) “Heat Treating Services”, Pontiac, Michigan
“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.
#13) “Specialty Steel Treating”
“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.
#14) “FPM Heat Treating”, Elk Grove Village, IL
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.
#15) “Hansen Balk Steel Treating Company”, Grand Rapids, Michigan
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.”
#16 ) “Pressure Technologies Inc.”
“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.
#18) “Vac Aero International”, Oakville, Canada
“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.
#19) “Rex Heat Treat”
“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.
#20) “Continental Heat Treating” Santa Fe, CA
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.
#23) “ALD Thermal Treatment Inc.”
“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.
#24) “Nitrex Heat Treating Services”
“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.
#25) “East Carolina Metal Treating & Virginia Metal Treating”, Raleigh, NC
“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.
#26) “Flame Metals Processing Corp.”, Rogers, MN
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.”
#27) “Century Sun Metal Treating”, Traverse City, Michigan
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.
#28) “Accurate Steel Treating”, Southgate, CA
“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.
#29) “Pinson Valley Heat Treating”, Alabama
“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”
#30) “Tube Bending Technology”
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.
#31) “Modern Heat Treat”, Richland Hills, Texas
“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.
#32) “Thermetco”, Quebec, Canada
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.
#33) “Specialty Heat Treating”, Houston, Texas
“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/
#34) “Tohken Thermo Mexicana de SA de CV”, Aguascalientes, Mexico
“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.
#35) “Byron Products”, Fairfield, Ohio
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”
#36) “Kittyhawk”
“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.
#37) “Texas Heat Treating”
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.
#38) “Thermal Process Holdings”
“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”.
#39) “Phoenix Heat Treating”, Phoenix, Arizona, USA
“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.”
#40) “Worldwide Heat Treat”, Houston, Texas
“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 3rd 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.
#41) “Southwest Metal Treating Corp.”, Fort Worth, Texas
“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.
#42) “Peters Heat Treating”
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.
#45) “Lone Star Heat Treating”, Houston, Texas
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.
#46) “Lark Heat Treating”, Houston, Texas
“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.
#47) “Winston Heat Treating Inc.”, Dayton, Ohio
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.
#48) “Vacu Braze”, Quakertown, PA
“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 Metallurgicalin Portland, Oregon. For a detailed look at the company we would suggest this exclusive article; “The Monty” Visits USA Heat Treater Making Major Investments”
#49) “Q-Tech, Heat Treat LLC.”, DFW, Texas
“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.
#50) “Induction Heat Treating Corp.”, Crystal Lake, IL
“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.
#51) “Sun Steel Treating”, South Lyon, Michigan
“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.
#52) “Akron Steel Treating”, Akron, Ohio
“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.
“15 Largest Captive Heat Treats-North America”
In 2022 we published what was then and still is a heat treatment industry exclusive-a list of the “10 Largest Single Location Captive Heat Treats in North America”. We have continued this tradition and are proud to present what is now the “15 Largest Single Location North American Captive Heat Treats 2026”. However, before we do, we would like to explain our criteria and add some thoughts about this year’s list;
Our criteria are simple in that this list only includes single locations and not total heat-treating capacity in North America. As an example, the “ZF Transmission” facility in South Carolina makes this list but overall, this plant is only a small percentage of the heat-treating capacity ZF has in North America.
Our estimates are based upon a combination of number of furnaces and total throughput by weight. While we have focused largely on the total number of furnaces each location has, we have also taken into consideration total throughput. As an example “Dauch Corp.” in Mexico (formerly AAM) is ranked in the #5 position in terms of number of furnaces but based upon total throughput it might be the largest single location heat treater in North America.
It comes as no surprise to us that a majority of the firms on this list are automotive related-no other industry in North America does as much heat treating as the auto industry.
There can be no better indication of how the auto industry has embraced LPC (Low Pressure Carburizing) for transmission components that a look at this list-7 out of the 15 locations on this list are largely LPC based.
While we are on the topic of LPC, we will mention that while CFC fixturing has gained a foothold in the Vacuum Carburizing industry, a majority of the facilities on this list doing LPC are still using cast fixturing.
Our list is dominated by “atmosphere” heat treating as opposed to vacuum, with “Tinker Air Force Base” being the only “all vacuum” facility on our list. We are well aware that there are some large aerospace vacuum locations in North America (Pratt & Whitney in Maine with 10 vacuum furnaces comes to mind) however at the end of the day none come close to the names on our list in terms of throughput or number of furnaces.
9 of the names on this list are located in the USA, 4 in Mexico and 1 in Canada.
While we do not for a second claim this list is 100% accurate, we do boldly state that we are not aware of any other lists more accurate than this one.
As always we appreciate the input we received from each company on this list and we look forward to your thoughts and comments.
1) Ford Motor Company Sharonville, Ohio Transmission Facility,(64) ECM LPC Cells. We are quite comfortable in suggesting that the Ford Sharonville, Ohio Transmission facility is the single largest captive heat treat facility in North America. Ford was one of the first automotive companies to embrace vacuum carburizing and the end result is that this plant now has 64 ECM LPC cells with 20 bar nitrogen gas quench systems.
It is worth noting that this facility has almost 2.5 million cubic feet under roof with almost 2,000 employees; “The Ford Motor Company Sharonville Transmission plant is a transmission manufacturing facility located in Sharonville, Ohio, United States. Established in 1958, Sharonville has long been the backup site for overflowing work at the Ford Motor Company Livonia Transmission plant. It is also where the Ford Crown Victoria’s transmission was once assembled for over three decades. With the Crown Victoria now discontinued, the Sharonville transmission plant currently overseas production of the 64140 6-speed automatic transmission – also known as the Torqshift – destined for the Ford Super Duty line of heavy-duty trucks. Sharonville is where the Ford/GM 10R80 10-speed transmission is assembled. The facility also manufacturers individual gears for the 6R80, 6R140, 6F35, 6F50/55, 8F57 transmissions. These gears are then shipped to other Ford manufacturing plants like the Ford Motor Company Van Dyke Transmission plant and the Ford Motor Company Livonia Transmission plant
2) JATCO Aguas Caliente, Mexico,(60) ECM LPC Cells. A brand-new entry on our list is JATCO” (Japan Automatic Transmission Co., Ltd.) in Aguas Caliente in Mexico. The firm supplies continuously variable transmissions and maintains a very large vacuum carburizing (LPC) department which consists of 60 carburizing cells with hot and cold oil quenching along with gas quenching.
3) GKN Driveline, Newton, North Carolina, (39) ECM LPC Cells. In our third position we find another automotive parts supplier, GKN in Newton, NC. While not one of the first to invest in vacuum carburizing systems they certainly jumped on the bandwagon after vacuum carburizing proved it’s value. The company now has 39 LPC cells provided by ECM with 20 bar nitrogen quenching.
4) Allison Transmission, Speedway, Indiana, (38) Atmosphere Furnaces (various suppliers). In our fourth position we find the Allison Transmission Campus in Speedway, Indiana. This facility is the world’s largest manufacturer of fully automatic transmissions for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles. Their very extensive in-house heat-treating department boasts the largest number of batch IQ furnaces in one location in North America, (25) 36”x 48” IQ Furnaces and (5) 30” x 48” IQ Furnaces. These furnaces are spread out over 4 locations on the same campus with a total of over 80,000 square feet. In total the heat treat department at Allison includes this equipment, sourced from a few different furnace builders including “Surface Combustion”.
(30) IQ Furnaces
(36) Temper Furnaces
(6) Pit Nitride Furnaces
(2) Rotary Furnaces
(12) Induction hardeners
5)“Dauch Corporation”(Formerly Axle & Manufacturing Holdings), Silao, Mexico (approximately 31 atmosphere furnaces).In 2012 auto parts supplier American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM) formally opened a new plant in the city of Silao, Guanajuato, Mexico. Since that time this facility has grown to encompass roughly 10 different plants, 7 of which offer heat treatment. This posed an issue for “The Monty” in terms of ranking-does this qualify as a single location heat treat? At the end of the day, we decided that as this is one complex it will for our purposes be considered a single location. The amount of heat treating in this complex is staggering, 6 pusher furnaces (2 single row, 2 two row and 2 four row), almost 20 batch IQ units, 36″ X 48″ X 36″, several normalizing lines, two mesh belt carburizing lines and multiple tempering units, washers and endo generators. Furnace suppliers include AFC-Holcroft. For sheer throughput in terms of pounds per hour this must be one of the largest captive heat treats in North America-in terms of number of furnaces we are going to rank “Dauch Corp.”, in Silao as the fourth largest in North America.
6) John Deere Waterloo, Iowa,Approximately (31)Atmosphere Furnaces. As one of the world’s largest manufacturers of agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains used in heavy equipment, and lawn care equipment we are sure the company needs no introduction. Their location in Waterloo, Iowa is substantial with a total of 31 furnaces which are a mixture of batch IQ’s, rotary hearth and continuous. The equipment comes from a variety of furnace suppliers including Ipsen, AFC-Holcroft & Surface Combustion. We have to add that this is a very clean, well organized facility which comes as no surprise.
7) Allison Transmission (FormerlyDana Fairfield Manufacturing), Lafayette, Indiana, Roughly (26) Atmosphere Furnaces. The heat treat department of this facility covers over 65,000 square feet (6,000 square meters) and in it we find 9 pusher lines, 2 nitriding systems, 2 large annealers, several pit carburizing systems, multiple batch IQ lines and a very substantial induction hardening footprint. Incidentally while this is a very impressive heat treat facility it represents only a fraction of the over 700 heat treating systems which Dana operates around the globe.
8) Linamar, Guelph, Ontario, Canada (31) Atmosphere Furnaces In our eighth position we find a Canadian company, auto parts supplier Linamar. Linamar is a global company with many locations around the world doing heat treating however their largest heat treat department is in Guelph, Ontario. Roughly 25 years ago the firm made the decision to bring heat treating in house while at the same time deciding that going forward they would concentrate on batch processing as opposed to continuous. This plant now has twenty five AFC-Holcroft 36” X 48” X 36” batch IQ furnaces in place combined with five KGO & ALD vacuum nitriders and a rotary hearth furnace.
9)General MotorsRamos Arizpe, Mexico(30) ECM LPC Cells. The heat treating department of this engine and transmission components plantconsists of 2 ECM systems with gas quenching for a total of 30 cells.
10) Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma.(27) vacuum furnaces. Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma is one of the largest US Air Force bases in the USA-to give you a perspective on the size with, 9,000 employees it is the largest single location employer in the state. This site at last count had 27 vacuum furnaces in various configurations which includes horizontal, bottom loading and oil quenching. Furnace suppliers include Ipsen.
11) Stellantis, Kokomo, Indiana.(27) Furnaces, 20 ALD LPC w HPGQ, (7) gas Nitriders (Aichelin and Nitrex). In 1956 Chrysler invested in a transmission facility in Kokomo, Indiana, a facility which now covers 3.1 million square feet (please note that there are several facilities in Kokomo, our interest is in the transmission facility). For many years now this plant which originally was called Chrysler, and subsequently FCA Kokomo before being renamed Stellantis had what was probably the largest captive heat treat in North America. At one time it included 7-Three row Holcroft Pusher Furnaces, 6-Lindberg 36 X 72 X 36 Batch IQ furnaces, 3-Holcroft single row pushers, 2- Surface rotary furnaces, 2-Seco Rotary Furnaces, 4-ECM vacuum nitriding furnaces, 30-tempering furnaces and several ECM vacuum carburizing systems. While the heat treat department is smaller than it once was it is still one of the larger in house heat treat departments in North America with a total of (20) ALD LPC Cells and (7) gas nitriders.
12) Dana Toluca, Mexico.(24) Batch IQ Furnaces. The Dana facility in Toluca, Mexico is one of three Dana facilities in North America which makes our list. This plant produces transmission components and has one of the largest batch IQ installations in North America. This facility is approximately 16 years old and has a total of 24 Surface Combustion batch IQ furnaces, each with working dimensions of 36″ X 48″ X 36″-this makes them the third largest in North America in terms of number of IQ’s, behind Allison Transmission in Indianapolis and auto parts supplier Linamar. All of the furnaces rely on an endothermic atmosphere with some of the furnaces incorporating press quenching. For a number of reasons Toluca has always gone the route of batch furnaces as opposed to continuous, most probably because of tighter control and more flexibility.
13)Detroit Diesel, Redford Michigan,(24) ECM LPC Cells. Detroit Diesel, a major American engine manufacturer, is headquartered in Redford Township, Michigan where it operates its massive 3-million-square-foot flagship manufacturing plant. The plant produces approximately 400 engines, 250 transmissions, and 1,300 axles every single day. Their heat treatment department consists of 24 ECM LPC cells with gas quenching for heat treating large truck axle rings and pinions.
14) ZF Transmission, Grey Court, South Carolina.(16) ALD Carburizing Cells and (2) Ipsen Pusher lines. ZF is a German company which ranks amongst the largest suppliers of automotive transmission components in the world. The location in Grey Court, SC opened in 2012 and became a hub for ZF’s work in large-scale transmission production, including eight- and nine-speed automatic transmissions. ZF is another company which made the decision to go with vacuum carburizing and the end result is that this facility has two ALD “Modultherm” systems in place with a total of 16 carburizing cells and 2 Pusher lines for annealing supplied by Ipsen.
15) Dana Corp., Queretaro, Mexico,(Approximately (17) Atmosphere Furnaces). Number 15 on our list is yet another large auto parts maker, Dana Corporation, Queretaro, Mexico. While Dana has numerous facilities around the globe that include heat treating the largest is an enormous complex in the Mexican city of Queretaro with several large, separate in-house heat-treating departments. There are 3 separate facilities here, Dana Forja which has a heat-treating department doing annealing in continuous furnaces, Dana Cardanes which has 7 batch IQ furnaces, roughly 40 induction lines and 11 tempers and Dana, ENCO which has 2 AFC-Holcroft UBQ furnaces along with 4 pusher furnaces (as of 2020).
52 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 2025. This would include heat treat sales and also other complimentary processes such as shotblasting, coatings and black oxide.
Roughly 8 commercial heat treaters in North America have closed in the past 10 months
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 see a number of changes from our 2024. For instance, the third largest commercial heat treater on our list in 2024 was family owned “Paulo”. It was announced at the end of 2024 that the firm would be acquired by “Aalberts Surface Technologies”, a transaction which just occured. For that reason, we have removed Paulo from our list. Another company on our list in 2024 was “Thermal Vac Technologies” of Orange, CA, USA this company was also acquired by another firm and has been removed from our list.
Very unfortunately “American Steel Treating” of Perrysburg, Ohio, USA has been removed from our list after announcing they were closing April 1 of this year.
We appreciate all the help and guidance everybody provided us with and we welcome your thoughts and comments.
#52 Vacu Braze, Quakertown, PA
A new entry on our list of “The 50 Largest North American Commercial Heat Treaters” is “Vacu Braze”of Quakertown, PA. The company offers “high end” heat treating for industries such as medical, aerospace and defense and operates out of a modern 40,000 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 Metallurgicalin Portland, Oregon.
#51 Akron Steel Treating, Akron, Ohio
“Facts and Figures on AST – 82 Years in Business – 20 Years NADCAP Accredited – 38 Employees – 65,000 SqFt Facility – Heat Treating in Salt, Controlled Atmosphere, Air and Vacuum.
“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.”
A new entry this year on our list of “The 50 Largest Commercial Heat Treaters in North America” is “Ohio Metallurgical Service, Inc.”, of Elyria, Ohio. Founded way back in 1947 the company has always been privately owned-as far as we know by the Gaydosh family with John Gaydosh the longstanding President. The firm is “Nadcap” accredited and offers a variety of processes including carburizing, vacuum hardening and induction hardening.
#49 Lone Star Heat Treating, Houston, Texas
Founded in 1945 “Lone Star Heat Treating” is one of the older commercial heat treats in the USA. As far as we know the company has always been owned and run by the Van Dorfy family, the current President is Mike Van Dorfy, Jr. Like all heat treaters in Texas, Lone Star’s business is based upon the oil and gas industries although the company has diversified to some extent over the years. Lone Star offers induction hardening, atmosphere carburizing, deep hole drilling and vertical heat treating.
#48 Engineered Heat Treat-Subsidiary of BMT Aerospace
In 2024 we added “Engineered Heat Treat”of Madison Heights, Michigan to our list of “The 50 Largest Commercial Heat Treaters in North America”. “Founded in 1959, Engineered Heat Treat, LLC provides a variety of heat treat services to the Aircraft, Agriculture, Automotive, Earth-moving equipment, High Performance Racing, Military, and Tooling Industries. As a Nadcap & AS9100 approved company, Engineered Heat Treat’s foundation for quality is coupled with rigorous controls in place for maximum customer confidence and satisfaction.”
EHT was owned and run by the Pilibosian family until it was acquired by BMT Aerospace of Belgium in 2022, although members of the Pilibosian family are still very active in the company. While the company offers a number of different processes the firm is particularly strong in the aerospace industry. EHT operates out of a 55,000 square foot facility with approximately 50 employees.
#47 Lark Heat Treating
“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.
#46 Winston Heat Treating Inc., Dayton, Ohio
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.
#45 Southwest Metal Treating Corp., Fort Worth, Texas
“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. The company operates out of a 50,000 square foot facility located on 7 acres.
#44 Voestalpine AG
“Voestalpine AG”is an Austrian steel-based technology and capital goods group based in Linz, Austria. With over 30 locations around the world offering heat treating the company would rank as one of the larger commercial heat treaters in the world. While their heat treating operations in North America are relatively modest compared with their global footprint they do operate two very impressive facilities in North America, one in Canada and one in Mexico with additional capacity in Texas. Their heat treat operations are both captive heat treating of their own products and commercial heat treating. This photo shows their Canadian facility.
#43 Peters Heat Treating
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. We are pleased to see them on our list of the “50 Largest Commercial Heat Treaters in North America”.
#42 Applied Thermal Technologies
“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.
#41 Phoenix Heat Treating, Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix Heat Treating, Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Heat Treating 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.
#40 Specialty Heat Treating, Houston, Texas
“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. Like all 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/
#39 Pacific Metallurgical, Kent, Washington
The US Northwest is not a substantial area for commercial heat treating but there are several companies in the area that stand out and “Pacific Metallurgical”in Kent, Washington is one. Founded in 1968 the firm covers many of the bases when it comes to processes offered-carburizing, gas nitriding, stress relieving, press quenching, neutral hardening and a substantial vacuum hardening department consisting of 3 GM 48x48x90 furnaces as well as two Ipsen 924s. The main focus of the company is the aerospace industry.
#38 Modern Heat Treat, Richland Hills, Texas
“Modern Heat Treat”The company 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.
#37 Texas Heat Treating
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 like most of the others the focus is on servicing the oil and gas 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 newest plant in Fort Worth, Texas. It is run by Buster Crossley and features batch heat treating equipment including IQ’s, pit furnaces, vacuum furnaces and nitriding systems.
#36 Byron Products, Fairfield, Ohio
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. The company operates out of a facility in Fairfield, Ohio.
#35 Accurate Steel Treating, Southgate, CA
For our 35th largest North American commercial heat treater we move to California to look at “Accurate Steel Treating”who bill themselves as “The Fastest Growing Aerospace Heat Treating Company in the West”. “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. Accurate is a privately held company with Mr. Chris Hall, President.”
#34 FPM Heat Treating
Founded in 1979 “FPM Heat Treating”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.
#33 Tube Bending Technology
This is the first time “Tube Bending Technology”has made our list of the “50 Largest North American Commercial Heat Treaters” and it did it through two acquisitions in 2024. 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 and the end result was that it acquired two local heat treaters, “Thermal Vac” in Orange, CA and “Scarrott Metallurgical” in Los Angeles, CA.
#32 Sun Steel Treating
“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.
#31 Metex Heat Treating, Mississauga, Canada
“Metex Heat Treating”While there are few heat treat processes the company doesn’t offer, Metex is 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 company acquired another Canadian commercial heat treater Exactatherm also in Mississauga which expanded the number of heat treat processes the company offers.
“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.
#30 Pinson Valley Heat Treating, Alabama
Pinson Valley is owned and run by the Hendry family and is now in its third generation. Founded in 1970 the company has a very unique mix of capabilities including vacuum heat treating, atmosphere and some very interesting and unique tip up style furnaces.
#29 Thermetco, Quebec, Canada
Founded in 1982 “Thermetco”is a privately held company with 3 locations in Quebec; the main plant in Châteauguay (near Montreal), a smaller heat treat facility in Granby, Quebec and a third NDT location in Montreal. In terms of processes offered there are few that the company doesn’t offer in that they have vacuum hardening (3 furnaces at the main location with one have a diffusion pump), 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, they will be an approved supplier to aerospace company “Safran Landing Gear Systems”.
During a recent visit by “The Monty” what caught our eye was a brand-new robot designed for racking parts for an automotive customer. The system will come on line in the coming weeks and the reason for it is the usual-an inability to find and keep operators willing to rack loads. 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 in 2025 is quite good for them.
#28 ALD Thermal Treatment Inc.
“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.
#27 Q-Tech, Heat Treat LLC., DFW, Texas
“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. “We have grown to our current size of 100,000 sq feet and over 40 furnaces. Our main focus is on customer needs, and servicing them on a personal level. We have been ISO 9001:2015 approved since 2003.” Q–Tech remains a family owned business to this day with Sean Fussell as President which marks the third generation. It is interesting to note that the Fussell family is one of the largest names in the commercial heat treat industry in Texas, as an example Ryan Fussell is the owner of “Southwest Metal Treating” which also makes our list.
#26 Century Sun Metal Treating, Traverse City, Michigan
You would not expect to find one of the largest commercial heat treaters in North America in Northern Michigan, however such is the case with “Century Sun Metal Treating”which for over 30 years have been offering heat treating services in Traverse City, Michigan. Century Sun has a great deal of vacuum and plasma nitriding capacity which they use to service a wide variety of industries. In 2021 the company was acquired by Hillcrest Investment Partners, LLC, a private investment group.
#25 Continental Heat Treating Santa Fe
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.
#24 East Carolina Metal Treating & Virginia Metal Treating
Family owned “East Carolina Metal Treating” was founded in 1976 and 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.
#23 Kittyhawk
“Kittyhawk” was a new entry for us on our 2023 list at which point “The Monty” ranked them at #32. However March 7, 2024 it was announced that Kittyhawk, Inc. backed by their parent company Dallas-based private equity firm Trive Capital had acquired Stack HIP, LLC (“Stack HIP”) from Stack Metallurgical Group. This acquisition increased their sales to over $20 million USD and “The Monty” is putting the company in the 23 spot for 2025.
“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.”
#22 Rex Heat Treat
“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.
#21 Vac Aero, International, Burlington, Canada
“Vac Aero International” is the largest commercial heat treater in Canada and makes our list in the 21st position this year. The firm has several locations in Canada offering commercial heat treating, coatings and new vacuum furnaces. Its commercial heat-treating division is almost entirely aerospace related with a strong empasis on processing landing gear which means the company is NADCAP accredited. Under relatively new management we are seeing substantial growth in both their heat-treating division and in their furnace manufacturing division-expect to hear more about the company in the near future.
#20 Flame Metals Processing Corp., Rogers, MN
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.”
#19 Pressure Technologies Inc.
“Pressure Technology Inc. (PTI)“. Do companies doing strictly Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) deserve to be on our list of the largest commercial heat treaters in North America? In our opinion yes as “Hiping” is clearly a form of heat treating (although not one that most people think of). “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 has 3 locations in the USA; Philadelphia, Cleveland and Alachua Florida with a total of 13 vessels.
#18 Industrial Steel Treating, Jackson, Michigan
“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”.
#17 Thermal Process Holdings
“THERMAL PROCESS HOLDINGS”in the US Midwest consists of several different locations united under one banner over the past few years. The website is rather out of date in that it does not mention Rockford Heat Treaters acquired several years ago and also mentions Diamond Heat Treat in the Chicago area which is either closed down now or will shortly be. Ownership is a venture capital firm in the US Northeast.
#16 Hansen Balk Steel Treating Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan
We are going to rely on “Hansen Balk”to summarize the company, we will add that the company is privately owned and is one of the largest vacuum heat treaters 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.”
#15 Specialty Steel Treating
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. https://www.sst.net/
#14 Heat Treating Services
Based in Pontiac, Michigan HTS is a privately owned commercial heat treater founded in 1978. Being in Michigan the company is heavily involved in the auto industry and the Hynes family have done a tremendous job of guiding the company through the ups and downs of the last few years. HTS has 4 plants in Michigan and serves the ferrous metal industries with thermal process and clean capabilities, which exceed sixty-four (64) million pounds per month. In total HTS had over 200,000 square feet under roof and 250 employees. On a side note, Jeff Hynes of used furnace business “Furnaces, Ovens & Baths” is a cousin of the owners proving the heat treat industry is a very close one.Heat Treating Services | Home (htsmi.com)
#13 Nitrex
Nitrex consists of three divisions, Nitrex Turnkey Systems, United Process Controls and Heat-Treating Services-our focus is on their heat-treating services in North America. The firm has 4 locations in North America; 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. Recently the company installed what is believed to be the largest pit nitreder in North America, a picture of which can be seen here. https://www.nitrex.com/en/
#12 Stack Metallurgical
In the US Northwest privately owned Stack Metallurgical is the largest commercial heat treater by a large margin; Stack Metallurgical Group consists of three sites strategically located throughout the Pacific Northwest. 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. About Us – Stack Metallurgical Group
#11 Dowa Thermotech
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. Locations (Overseas) | DOWA Thermotech Co., Ltd.
#10 ThermTech
We would consider, ThermTech in Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA to be the dominant commercial heat treater in their area; “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. Metal Heat Treating and Metal Finishing – ThermTech
#9 Ajax Metal Processing
“Ajax Metal Processing” makes our list of the 50 (+2) Largest North American Heat Treaters for the first time ever, mainly because they do not fit the typical model of a commercial heat treater. Based in Detroit, Michigan it is supposedly the largest North American provider of raw material wire, heat treating (annealing), plating, locking and sealing services. They process over 300 million pounds of material per year and have numerous Can Eng mesh belt furnaces. By any standard this is a very large commercial heat treater even if they differ from many of the others on our list.
#8 Parker Trutec
“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.
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.
#6 Braddock Metallurgical
In 6th position we have a family-owned business, “Braddock Metallurgical”which was founded in 1953 by William Braddock. The company has eight production facilities mainly in the US Southeast; however they also have plants 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.
#5 Bluewater Thermal Solutions
“Bluewater Thermal Solutions” operates 9 different heat treat and brazing facilities around the USA. The company offers 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. Bluewater is very strong in brazing and also in the boronizing process. The company is owned by private venture firm Aterian Partners in New York.
#4 Woodworth Inc.
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.
#3 Solar Atmospheres
With recent changes to our “Top 50” listings “Solar Atmospheres” now becomes the largest privately owned commercial heat treaters in North America. “Solar Atmospheres” has 6 locations around the USA offering commercial heat treating (mainly vacuum) and two other locations related to vacuum furnace manufacturing which go under the name “Solar Manufacturing”(we should point out that Solar Manufacturing is one of the largest vacuum furnace builders in North America).
Total sales for the company in 2024 were $127,534,000.00 USD for all locations. Total number of employees 398 which equates to an extremely impressive sales per employee of $320,438.00. The companies are owned by William and Myrtle Jones.
#2 Aalberts Surface Technologies
Based in the Netherlands “Aalberts Surface Technologies”is one of only two companies on our list which has a substantial global prescence 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 Premier Thermal, Applied Process, Alfe and several others. December 27, 2024 it was announced that Aalberts was acquiring Paulo, the largest privately held commercial heat treater in North America (at that time).
This posed a bit of a question in our rankings; do we include this acquisition in our rankings as it is not 100% concluded? At the end of the day, we decided yes, which means we have removed Paulo from our rankings (in 2024 we ranked the company the 3rd largest in North America). In 2024 Paulo had sales of approximately $105 million USD, this total added to the firm’s existing sales solidly put them into second place in our rankings.
#1 Bodycote
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.
For the purposes of this report we are only looking at Bodycote’s North American sales and operations. Our understanding is that 2025 sales in North America will be approximately $445 million USD, quite similar to their 2024 sales. In total the firm has 62 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.
It is very opportune that their most recent article has to do with this question; “How can I effectively network for new employment opportunities in a manner that is professional, but doesn’t arouse suspicion with my current employer?
Attending a tradeshow can be a golden opportunity for professionals to expand their network and uncover new career prospects (and for managers and owners a great way to directly reach potential candidates for hire). However, it’s essential to navigate this terrain carefully. Job seekers don’t want to alert their current employer that they’re looking to make a change, and hiring managers may have their reasons for wanting to keep their recruitment efforts confidential. All of this is especially amplified in a niche like heat treating where word spreads fast amongst a tight knit community… so, what to do?”
Set Clear Goals. Before you step into the tradeshow, define what you hope to achieve. Are you looking for potential job openings, new hires, or general business connections? Having clear goals will help you navigate the event efficiently. Keep your objectives focused on learning and relationship-building rather than directly seeking job opportunities, which can help you avoid raising suspicions.
Optimize Your Online Presence. Ensure your LinkedIn profile and other professional online profiles are updated and polished before the tradeshow. This way, when you make new connections, they can easily find and review your credentials. Position yourself as a knowledgeable industry expert rather than overtly job-hunting. Highlighting your recent accomplishments, skills, and interests relevant to the tradeshow’s focus is a good way to garner attention before, during, and after the event.
Engage in Meaningful Conversations. When networking, focus on engaging in genuine conversations rather than pitching yourself directly. Ask questions about the other person’s experiences, challenges, and insights related to the industry. By showing interest in their work and opinions, you build rapport and position yourself as a thoughtful professional. Subtly steer conversations towards your interests and strengths to naturally highlight your qualifications.
Leverage Industry Trends. Participate in discussions about current industry trends and challenges (consolidation of smaller commercial heat treats, clean energy requirements, furnace technology upgrades are a few noteworthy topics that jump to mind for heat treating right now…). Demonstrating your knowledge about emerging news items and how they impact the industry can position you as a valuable resource. This approach allows you to showcase your expertise without overtly signaling that you’re seeking new opportunities.
Attend Seminars and Panels. Tradeshows often feature seminars and panel discussions (FNA certainly does!). Attend these sessions to gain insights and meet speakers or panelists who are leaders in the field. Engage with them during Q&A sessions or in informal settings afterward. This strategy helps you build connections based on shared interests and expertise rather than directly seeking job leads.
Utilize Informal Networking Opportunities. During breaks, social events, or networking mixers, take advantage of less formal settings to strike up conversations. These environments are conducive to building relationships and can provide a more relaxed platform for discussing professional interests.
Exchange Contact Information Carefully. When exchanging contact information, be strategic. Use a professional but non-intrusive approach. For example, offer your business card and suggest connecting on LinkedIn. If asked about your current employment, focus on the exciting projects you’re working on rather than discussing potential career changes.
Follow Up Thoughtfully. After the tradeshow, follow up with the connections you made by sending personalized messages or LinkedIn requests. Reiterate something specific from your conversation to strengthen the connection. Use this opportunity to share relevant content or insights related to your discussions, reinforcing your expertise and interest in the field.
Monitor Industry Job Boards. If you’re exploring job opportunities, keep an eye on industry job boards (https://www.ispards.com/wp/careers/ is a great place to start) and company websites. Use tools like job alerts to stay informed about potential openings without actively advertising your job search. Pro Tip for Managers: if you’re hiring, keep an eye on recently updated LinkedIn profiles for clues as to who might be looking for a career change.
Maintain Professionalism. Throughout the tradeshow and in all follow-up interactions, maintain a high level of professionalism. Ensure that your actions and communications reflect positively on your current role and employer. This approach minimizes the risk of raising concerns or drawing unwanted attention.
By employing these strategies, you can effectively network and explore new opportunities while attending a tradeshow, all without tipping off your current employer or anyone else who you don’t want to alert. The key is to approach networking with a focus on building genuine relationships and demonstrating your expertise, rather than explicitly seeking new positions.
Bonus Tip #11: Engaging the help of a professional recruiter is another great way to ensure anonymity! ISP will be at FNA in October, so feel free to come introduce yourself to Josh, Jessica, or Jim or just slip us your business card with a “wink and a nod” and we’ll be glad to help!
Josh Hale has collaborated with companies to identify, engage, and hire top performers as a professional “headhunter” where he’s focused exclusively on the heat treat industry as part of International Search Partners since acquiring the firm in 2015. He works closely with Jessica Maier to support the practice, and, together, they’ve helped dozens of companies and hundreds of candidates find the match within the industry, including roles for engineering, sales, quality, metallurgy, management, and more. For additional information email [email protected] or call 619-465-9621
15 Largest Captive Heat Treats-North America
This week we are proud to present the 2024 list of the “15 Largest Captive Heat Treats-North America” as compiled by “The Monty Heat Treat News“. We will have the final 5 largest this Thursday.
In 2022 “The Monty Heat Treat News” published a heat treatment industry exclusive, a list of the “10 Largest Single Location Captive Heat Treats” in North America. Since that time changes have occurred and in 2023 we published our list of the “11 Largest Single Location Captive Heat Treats in North America” We are now pleased to offer our 2024 list which has expanded to the “15 Largest Single Location Captive Heat Treats in North America”.
Our criteria is simple in that this list only includes single locations and not total heat treating capacity in North America. As an example the ZF Transmission facility in South Carolina makes this list but overall this plant is only a small percentage of the heat treating capacity ZF has in North America.
Our estimates are based upon a combination of number of furnaces and throughput. For instance vacuum carburizing cells have a much small throughput than a large pusher furnace-we have tried to take this into account.
It is interesting that out of this list of 15, eleven are in the USA, three in Mexico and one in Canada
While we do not for a second claim this list is 100% accurate we do claim that it is the most complete list which we have ever come across.
As always we appreciate the input we received from each company on this list and we look forward to your thoughts and comments.
Number 15-Borg Warner, Ithica, New York. Auto parts supplier Borg Warner operates a facility in Upstate New York which has a “campus” type feel to it because of its sprawling nature and beautiful landscaping. The heat treatment department is impressive by any standards and consists of a wide variety of different styles of furnaces including batch and continuous.
Number 14-GE Gas Turbine, Greenville, South Carolina. GE makes our list of the 15 largest single location captives for the first time this year. This very substantial facility provides gas turbines and has a very substantial heat treat/brazing department consisting of 16 horizontal vacuum furnaces. Interestingly enough because of the “cell” manufacturing concept the furnaces are not in a central heat treat department, rather spread throughout the sprawling facility.
Number 13 Amsted Rail – BRENCO Bearings, Petersburg, Virginia. A newcomer to our list of the 10 largest single location captive heat treaters is a bearing company, BRENCO Bearings a division of Amstead Rail, located in Petersburg, Virginia. Amsted Rail’s Brenco® Bearings was founded in 1949 to manufacture bronze journal bearings for railroad freight cars. In 1959, Brenco received conditional AAR approval for the product it is known for today throughout the worldwide railroad industry,the tapered roller bearing-in short the company makes bearings for the railroad industry. The company has locations around the world, at least two of which have in house heat treatment departments. While the heat treatment department in Petersburg is not as large as it once one it still includes multiple pit carburizing furnaces and rotary hearth units.
Number 12 Dana Corp., Queretaro, Mexico. Number 9 on our list is yet another large auto parts maker, Dana Corporation, Queretaro, Mexico. While Dana has numerous facilities around the globe that include heat treating the largest is an enormous complex in the Mexican city of Queretaro with several large, separate in house heat treating departments. There are 3 separate facilities here, Dana Forja which has a heat treating department doing annealing in continuous furnaces, Dana Cardanes which has 7 batch IQ furnaces, roughly 40 induction lines and 11 tempers and Dana, ENCO which has 2 AFC-Holcroft UBQ furnaces along with 4 pusher furnaces (as of 2020).
Number 11 Stellantis, Kokomo, Indiana. In 1956 Chrysler invested in a transmission facility in Kokomo, Indiana, a facility which now covers 3.1 million square feet (please note that there are several facilities in Kokomo, our interest is in the transmission facility). For many years now this plant which originally was called Chrysler, and subsequently FCA Kokomo before being renamed Stellantis had what was probably the largest captive heat treat in North America. At one time it included 7-Three row Holcroft Pusher Furnaces, 6-Lindberg 36 X 72 X 36 Batch IQ furnaces, 3-Holcroft single row pushers, 2- Surface rotary furnaces, 2-Seco Rotary Furnaces, 4-ECM vacuum nitriding furnaces, 30-tempering furnaces and several ECM vacuum carburizing systems. While the heat treat department is smaller than it once was it is still one of the larger in house heat treat departments in North America.
Number 10 American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings (AAM), Silao, Mexico. In 2012 auto parts supplier American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM) formally opened a new location in the city of Silao, Guanajuato, Mexico. The Silao facility was AAM’s second manufacturing facility in Mexico, joining the Guanajuato Manufacturing Complex. The opening of these facilities marked a real change in the firms philosophy as previous to this most manufacturing was in the USA including a large facility in Buffalo, New York which featured 5 single row pusher lines. Each AAM facility (including Poland) has a varied mix of heat treating equipment which includes pusher furnaces, batch IQ’s and Induction to name a few. Each of the AAM heat treating departments is very impressive, mainly because they are relatively new and obviously no expense was spared. AAAM globally can be considered one of the larger captive heat treaters in existence.
Number 9 ZF Transmission, Grey Court, South Carolina. ZF is a German company which ranks amongst the largest suppliers of automotive transmission components in the world. The location in Grey Court, SC opened in 2012 and became a hub for ZF’s work in large-scale transmission production, including eight- and nine-speed automatic transmissions. ZF is another company which made the decision to go with vacuum carburizing and the end result is that this facility has two ALD “Modultherm” systems in place with a total of 16 carburizing cells and 2 Pusher lines for annealing supplied by Ipsen.
Number 8 John Deere Waterloo, Iowa. As one of the world’s largest manufacturers of agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains used in heavy equipment, and lawn care equipment we are sure the company needs no introduction. Their location in Waterloo, Iowa is substantial with a total of 31 furnaces (we will qualify this statement slightly by saying that 10 of these furnaces are dual chamber which we are counting as two furnaces each). The equipment comes from a variety of furnace suppliers including Surface Combustion as can be seen in this photo.
Number 7 Dana Toluca, Mexico. The Dana facility in Toluca, Mexico is one of three Dana facilities in North America which makes our list. This plant produces transmission components and has one of the largest batch IQ installations in North America. This facility is approximately 16 years old and has a total of 24 batch IQ furnaces, each with working dimensions of 36″ X 48″ X 36″-this makes them the third largest in North America in terms of number of IQ’s, behind Allison Transmission in Indianpolis and auto parts supplier Linamar. All of the furnaces rely on an endothermic atmosphere with some of the furnaces incorporating press quenching. For a number of reasons Toluca has always gone the route of batch furnaces as opposed to continuous, most probably because of tighter control and more flexibility. It is no surprise that the plant has CQI-9 certification which the company takes very seriously, currently they are in the midst of updating all of their furnace control and datalogging systems.
Number 6 Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma is one of the largest US Air Force bases in the USA-to give you a perspective on the size with, 9,000 employees it is the largest single location employer in the state. This site at last count had 27 vacuum furnaces in various configurations which includes horizontal, bottom loading and oil quenching.
Number 5 Linamar, Guelph, Ontario, Canada. In our fifth position we find a Canadian company, auto parts supplier Linamar. Linamar is a global company with many locations around the world doing heat treating however their largest heat treat department is in Guelph, Ontario. Roughly 25 years ago the firm made the decision to bring heat treating in house while at the same time deciding that going forward they would concentrate on batch processing as opposed to continuous. This plant now has twenty five 36” X 48” X 36” batch IQ furnaces in place combined with five vacuum nitriders and a rotary hearth furnace.
Number 4 Allison Transmission, Speedway, Indiana. In our third position we find the Allison Transmission Campus in Speedway, Indiana. This facility is the world’s largest manufacturer of fully automatic transmissions for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles. Their very extensive in house heat treating department boasts the largest number of 36” X 48” X 36” batch IQ furnaces under one roof in North America-26 to be exact, just ahead of auto parts supplier Linamar in Guelph, Ontario, Canada who has 25 furnaces of the same size. In total the heat treat department at Allison includes this equipment;
· (26) IQ Furnaces -36”x48”x36”
· (36) Temper Furnaces
· (6) Pit Nitride Furnaces
· (2) Rotary Furnaces
· (12) Induction hardeners
Number 3 Dana Fairfield Manufacturing, Lafayette, Indiana. Our 2023 list prompted a number of large manufacturers with substantial heat treatment departments to reach out to “The Monty” to see how they ranked on our list-one that reached out was Dana Fairfield Manufacturing in Lafayette, Indiana, USA https://www.fairfieldmfg.com/fairfield-experience-for-gears-and-drive-systems/ a supplier of custom gears and drive systems.
The heat treat department of this facility covers over 65,000 square feet (6,000 square meters) and in it we find 9 pusher lines, 2 nitriding systems, 2 large annealers, several pit carburizing systems, multiple batch IQ lines and a very substantial induction hardening footprint. Incidentally while this is a very impressive heat treat facility it represents only a fraction of the over 700 heat treating systems which Dana operates around the globe.
Number 2 GKN Driveline, Newton, North Carolina. In our second position we find another automotive parts supplier, GKN in Newton, NC. While not one of the first to invest in vacuum carburizing systems they certainly jumped on the bandwagon after vacuum carburizing proved it’s value. The company now has 39 LPC cells provided by ECM with 20 bar nitrogen quenching.
Number 1 Ford Motor Company Sharonville Transmission Facility. We are quite comfortable in suggesting that the Ford Sharonville, Ohio Transmission facility is the single largest captive heat treat facility in North America. Ford was one of the first automotive companies to embrace vacuum carburizing and the end result is that this plant now has 64 ECM LPC cells with 20 bar nitrogen gas quench systems.
It is worth noting that this facility has almost 2.5 million cubic feet under roof with almost 2,000 employees; “The Ford Motor Company Sharonville Transmission plant is a transmission manufacturing facility located in Sharonville, Ohio, United States. Established in 1958, Sharonville has long been the backup site for overflowing work at the Ford Motor Company Livonia Transmission plant. It is also where the Ford Crown Victoria’s transmission was once assembled for over three decades. With the Crown Victoria now discontinued, the Sharonville transmission plant currently overseas production of the 64140 6-speed automatic transmission – also known as the Torqshift – destined for the Ford Super Duty line of heavy duty trucks. Sharonville is where the Ford/GM 10R80 10-speed transmission is assembled. The facility also manufacturers individual gears for the 6R80, 6R140, 6F35, 6F50/55, 8F57 transmissions. These gears are then shipped to other Ford manufacturing plants like the Ford Motor Company Van Dyke Transmission plant and the Ford Motor Company Livonia Transmission plant
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
“The Monty’s” 50 Largest North American Commercial Heat Treaters 2024
Since 1999 “The Monty Heat Treat News” has been publishing annually a list of the largest commercial heat treaters in North America based upon yearly sales, our 2023 list can be found at https://themonty.com/articles/auto-draft-3/
Before we get into our 2024 list we will make a few points;
Rankings are based upon anticipated sales for the calendar year of 2024. This would include heat treat sales and also other complimentary processes such as shotblasting and black oxide.
All sales figures are in USD even for companies in Canada and Mexico.
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, #4 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). We would concur with this for two reasons. The first is that not all commercial heat treaters belong to MTI which “skews” the numbers. Second MTI tracks members in a particular region. For instance Specialty Steel Treating does not rank as the largest in Michigan which is where they are headquartered but when you factor in their facility in CT (a different region for MTI) the overall picture changes.
We see some changes from our 2023 list. As an example, Lake City Heat Treat was on our list in the #31 position in 2023, however they do not appear this year as the company was acquired by Bodycote. A brand-new name on our list is that of Engineered Heat Treat in Michigan. Stack Metallurgical in the Northwest dropped slightly in our rankings as they sold their “HIP” division in Albany, Oregon earlier this year. Metex Heat Treating, the largest in Canada moved up slightly after they acquired Exactatherm earlier this year.
We have added more details in the form of links to several of the firms on this list, notably Lark Heat Treat, Lone Star Heat Treating and Specialty Heat Treat all in Texas.
We appreciate all the help and guidance everybody provided us with and we welcome your thoughts and comments.
#50 Akron Steel Treating
The history of AkronSteelTreating in Akron, Ohio makes for fascinating reading. In 1943, the U.S. army helped Prosper P. Powell convert his garage at 654 Glenwood Avenue in the North Hill area of Akron into a mini-heattreating facility for firing pins. Operating in the secrecy of soaped windows and late-night deliveries, with overflow work conducted in the family’s kitchen oven, Powell launched a successful company. When World War Two was over 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. Akron is still a family owned business and offers a very wide variety of heattreating. https://www.akronsteeltreating.com/
#49 Winston Heat Treating
In 1959 WinstonHeatTreating 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. https://winstonht.com/
#48 Engineered Heat Treat-Subsidiary of BMT Aerospace
A new entry on our list of “The 50 Largest Commercial Heat Treat in North America” is Engineered Heat Treat in Madison Heights, Michigan, USA. “Founded in 1959, Engineered Heat Treat, LLC provides a variety of heat treat services to the Aircraft, Agriculture, Automotive, Earth-moving equipment, High Performance Racing, Military, and Tooling Industries. As a Nadcap & AS9100 approved company, Engineered Heat Treat’s foundation for quality is coupled with rigorous controls in place for maximum customer confidence and satisfaction. https://engineeredheattreat.com/“
EHT was owned and run by the Pilibosian family until it was acquired by BMT Aerospace of Belgium in 2022, although members of the Pilibosian family are still very active in the company. While the company offers a number of different processes the firm is particularly strong in the aerospace industry. EHT operates out of a 55,000 square foot facility with approximately 50 employees.
#47 American Steel Treating
Founded in 1989 by three Surface Combustion employees including the current owner and CEO, Mr. Roy Waits, AmericanSteelTreating is located in Perrysburg, Ohio. While the company offers most types of heat treating covering a variety of industries we tend to think of them for high volume automotive work processed through a number of pusher furnaces. The company operates out of a 300,000 square foot facility close to Toledo, Ohio. https://www.americansteeltreating.com/
#46 Applied Thermal
Located in Warsaw, Indiana AppliedThermal like many of the companies on this list it is a family owned and run business started by Mickey Bradican-this is how the company describes themselves; “AppliedThermal Technologies Inc. is a metal processing company specializing in bright vacuum heat treating and brazing of stainless steel and exotic alloys. Founded in 1992 to service the medical and specialty products industries in Northern Indiana and has grown to over 30,000ft² with international sales. Our specialty furnaces feature temperatures to 2800°F, levels to 10-6 Torr, all metal hot zones and extremely rapid cooling.” AppliedThermal is NADCAP approved and works very closely with with the aerospace and medical industries. https://www.appliedthermaltechnologies.com/
#45 Voestalpine AG
VoestalpineAG is an Austrian steel-based technology and capital goods group based in Linz, Austria. With over 30 locations around the world offering heat treating the company would rank as one of the larger commercial heat treaters in the world. While their heat treating operations in North America are relatively modest compared with their global footprint they do operate two very impressive facilities in North America, one in Canada and one in Mexico. Their heat treat operations are both captive heat treating of their own products and commercial heat treating. This photo shows their Canadian facility. https://www.voestalpine.com/group/en/
#44 Pacific Metallurgical
PacificMetallurgical in Kent, Washington makes our list for the first time this year. Founded in 1968 the firm covers many of the bases when it comes to processes offered-carburizing, gas nitriding, stress relieving, press quenching, neutral hardening and a substantial vacuum hardening department consisting of 3 GM 48x48x90 furnaces as well as two Ipsen 924s. http://www.pacmet.com/
#43 Southwest Metal Treating
SouthwestMetalTreating Corp., (SWMT) Heat Treating Texas – SouthwestMetalTreating 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. The company operates out of a 50,000 square foot facility located on 7 acres. http://southwestmetaltreating.com/
#42 Pinson Valley
PinsonValley is owned and run by the Hendry family and is now in its third generation. Founded in 1970 the company has a very unique mix of capabilities including vacuum heat treating, atmosphere and some very interesting and unique tip up style furnaces. https://www.pvht.com/
#41 Thermal Vac, Orange
Founded in 1985 by Steve Driscol and based in Orange, CA, Thermal–Vac Technology now has two locations, the first in CA, the second brand new facility in Arizona. The company offers brazing, heat treating and finishing much of it destined for the aerospace industry. The company continues to be privately held and is run by Steve Driscol’s son and daughter. With almost 100 employees it is one of the larger heat treats on the US west coast. https://www.thermalvac.com/
#40 ETSA Mexico
ETSA Group, Mexico; Founded in 1979, Especialidades Termicas, S.A (ETSA Group) is one of the two largest commercial heat treaters in Mexico with 350 employees spread over 6 locations, Guadalajara, Celaya, Aguascalientes, San Juan del Rio and Mexico City. In actual number of furnaces the company has 6 vacuum furnaces, 4 nitrocarburizing units, 20 batch IQ’s, 3 mesh belt lines, 2 large pit carburizers, 4 bell type for annealing and 1 austemper line. ETSA is a family owned business and the current CEO is Mr. Mario Fabian Mendez son of the founder of the company. The company also has an entire division dedicated to rebuilding and installing furnaces. https://www.especialidadestermicas.com/
#39 Specialty Steel Treating
SpecialtySteelTreating, 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. https://www.sst.net/
#38 Lark Heat Treating
“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. https://www.larkheat.com/
Founded in 1945 Lone Star is one of the older commercial heat treats in the USA. As far as we know the company has always been owned and run by the Van Dorfy family, the current President is Mike Van Dorfy, Jr. Like all heat treaters in Texas, Lone Star’s business is based upon the oil and gas industries although the company has diversified to some extent over the years. Lone Star offers induction hardening, atmosphere carburizing, deep hole drilling and vertical heat treating. https://www.lsht.com/
In February of this year Gord and Dale Montgomery of “The Monty” had the privilege of touring this facility courtesy of Mr. Bud Van Rooyen, Vice President. The story of this visit and the company can be found at https://themonty.com/heat-treatment-in-texas-lone-star-heat-treating/
#36 Byron Products
Founded in 1982 by Mark Byron in a 1 car garage, Mark has grown Byron into a very significant player in the Thermal Processing Industry in North America. 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. The company operates out of 2 facilities in Ohio. https://byronproducts.com/
#35 Vac Aero
Vac Aero is our third and final Canadian heat treater to make our list this year. “VAC AERO International provides heat treating and brazing of advanced materials for the aerospace and other high technology industries. Specializing in vacuum processing, VAC AERO holds numerous heat treating and quality system approvals from prime manufacturers, with AS9100 and NADCAP accredited plants strategically located within the Toronto to Montreal aerospace manufacturing corridor of Canada. The Oakville, Ontario operation is one of North America’s largest subcontract heat treaters of aircraft landing gear components while the St Laurent, Quebec operation is focused primarily on gas turbine engine and airframe component.” Under relatively new management we are seeing substantial growth in both their heat-treating division and in their furnace manufacturing division. https://vacaero.com/metallurgical-services/heat-treating.html
#34 Thermetco
Thermetco located near Montreal, Quebec, Canada is the second Canadian commercial heat treater on our list. Thermetco is a second-generation heat treat founded by Mr. Andre Houle. The firm has over 150 employees, 4 locations and offers Carburizing, Vacuum Hardening, Austempering, Plasma Nitriding and Carbonitriding along with several other processes. Thermetco has seen tremendous growth over the past several years which includes acquiring two competitors, a new location and a number of new furnaces. Sales continue to grow for the company and there are rumors the company is once again considering expanding. It is ranked as the second largest in Canada.
#33 Sun Steel Treating
SunSteelTreating in Michigan is best known as one of the largest plasma nitriding firm in North America; Since 1958, SunSteelTreating 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, SunSteelTreating pioneered the use of plasma Nitriding as a viable surface hardening treatment. SunSteelTreating has Trade-marked and registered this process as Ionitriding®. SunSteelTreating has also pioneered combining the benefits of Ionitriding® and Steam Treating to develop IonWear®. SunSteel 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. https://sunsteeltreating.com/
#32 Kittyhawk
Kittyhawk was a new entry for us on our 2023 list at which point “The Monty” ranked them as #32. However March 7, 2024 it was announced that Kittyhawk, Inc. backed by their parent company Dallas-based private equity firm Trive Capital had acquired Stack HIP, LLC (“Stack HIP”) from Stack Metallurgical Group. This acquisition will increase their sales to over $20 million USD and “The Monty” is moving the company up to 18th spot on our list.
“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.” Hot Isostatic Pressing | Kittyhawk (kittyhawkinc.com)
#31 Century Sun
You would not expect to find one of the largest commercial heat treaters in North America in Northern Michigan, however such is the case with CenturySun Metal Treating which for over 30 years have been offering heat treating services in Traverse City, Michigan. CenturySun has a great deal of vacuum and plasma nitriding capacity which they use to service a wide variety of industries. In 2021 the company was acquired by Hillcrest Investment Partners, LLC, a private investment group. https://www.century–sun.com/
#30 Industrial Steel Treating Jackson
IndustrialSteelTreating Company (IST) began operations in Jackson, Michigan in 1943, initially servicing the growing tool and die industry in mid-Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. The company is owned and run by the Levy family and operates out of a 350,000 square foot location in Jackson, Michigan. Two separate, across-the-street facilities house production, prototype sample 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. https://www.indstl.com/
#29 Q-Tech, DFW
Q–Tech Heat Treat LLC., makes our list for the first time this year. Located in Dallas, Texas it was founded in 1972 by R.D. Fussell and sons in a 1,000 sq foot building with 2 furnaces. “We have grown to our current size of 100,000 sq feet and over 40 furnaces. Our main focus is on customer needs, and servicing them on a personal level. We have been ISO 9001:2015 approved since 2003. We have also been approved for steel parts through General Dynamics, and Komatsu from Osaka, Japan.” Q–Tech remains a familyowned business to this day with Sean Fussell as President which marks the third generation. http://www.qtechht.com/
#28 Accurate Steel Treating, Southgate
AccurateSteelTreating was founded in 1962 on a strong commitment to quality and customer service. In 1989, AccurateSteelTreating 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, AccurateSteelTreating 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. Accurate is a privately held company with Mr. Chris Hall, President. https://accuratesteeltreating.com/
#27 East Carolina
Family ownedEastCarolina Metal Treating was founded in 1976. Through a commitment to continual improvement and reinvestment, ECMT has garnered a reputation for providing high quality service with great turnaround and the best customer service. ECMT has a state-of-the-art metallurgical lab and maintains Nadcap, ISO 9001, AS9100, and Appendix B certifications with the goal of achieving the automotive certification – IATF 16949.
Servicing the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions, the company has grown into a 45,000 square foot facility located just outside of downtown Raleigh, and ECMT’s second location, Virginia Metal Treating, has recently constructed a 20,000 square foot facility in Lynchburg, VA with room to grow! 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. ECMT partners with the best equipment manufacturers to provide repeatable quality results for our diversified customer base. https://ecmtinc.com/
#26 Modern Heat Treat, DFW
The company 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.
Currently the company has over 50 pieces of equipment and over 60 employees making it one of the larger privately owned commercial heat treaters in North America. Watch for our updated list to find out where we rank Modern Heat Treat. www.modernht.com – Modern Heat Treat
#25 Hansen Balk, Grand Rapids
We are going to rely on HansenBalk to summarize the company, we will add that it is one of the largest vacuum heat treaters 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. Hansen/Balk Steel Treating Company (hansenbalk.com)
#24 Texas Heat Treating
TexasHeatTreating offers a wide range of heat treatments, testing and support services, operating 24 hours a day and seven days a week. CEO C.H. “Buddy” Crossley started TexasHeatTreating 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 newest plant in Fort Worth, Texas. It is run by Buster Crossley and features batch heattreating equipment including IQ’s, pit furnaces, vacuum furnaces and nitriding systems. It is one of 7 commercial heat treaters in the great state of Texas to make our list of the 50 Largest. TexasHeatTreating – AS9100D, ISO 9001 Certified. ISO 17025 Accredited
#23 Metex Heat Treating
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. The company moved up 3 positions this year due to their acquisitions of commercial heat treater Exactatherm in Mississauga. https://themonty.com/metex-heat-treating-ltd-announces-a-strategic-acquisition-of-exactatherm-limited/
“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. https://metexht.com/
#22 Specialty Heat Treating, Houston
Specialty Heat Treat, Inc. http://specialtyheattreat.com/home/ is a family owned business 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. Like all heat treaters in Texas the company’s fortunes are closely tied to the oil and gas industries. Earlier this year Gord and Dale Montgomery of “The Monty Heat Treat News” had the opportunity to tour this facility at the invitation of Sam Moore-the story can be found here; https://themonty.com/heat-treating-in-texas-is-different-specialty-heat-treat/
#21 Continental Heat Treating Santa Fe
Nadcap approved ContinentalHeatTreating is an aerospace approved heattreating 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. Home – ContinentalHeatTreating (continentalht.com)
#20 Pressure Technologies
Pressure Technology Inc. (PTI). Do companies doing strictly Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) deserve to be on our list of the largest commercial heat treaters in North America? Well the answer is yes in our minds as the precedent has already been set. Bodycote, Paulo, Aalberts, Stack and Lake City are already on our list so for that reason we have a new entry on our list of the largest commercial heat treaters in North America-PTI.
“Pressure Technology is a leading provider of high quality hot isostatic pressing (HIPing) to the aerospace, medical, ceramics, electronics, precision casting, powder metallurgy, additive manufacturing and a variety of other industries.” The company has 3 locations in the USA, PA., OH., and Florida. PTI makes our list this year for the very first time based upon their strong position in the Hot Isostatic Pressing industry. Hot Isostatic Pressing – PTI (pressuretechnology.com)
#19 FPM Heat Treating
Founded in 1979 FPM has two locations in the US Midwest, Elk Grove Village, IL and Cherry Valley IL. FPM has the capability to offer most heattreating 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. Home – FPMHeatTreating (fpmht.com)
#18 Flame Metals
Privately owned FlameMetals 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. Home – FlameMetals Processing Corporation
#17 ALD
ALD Heat Treat Services is considered to be one of the world’s premier heat treatment organizations, providing consistent and predictable distortion control through its expertise in Low Pressure Carburizing (LPC) and High Pressure Gas Quenching (HPGQ). ALD’s Global footprint includes two operations 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 recently launched operations in Suzhou China. ALD is well-positioned to service the needs of its diverse and growing customer base.
The Company has a long history of providing superior quality vacuum heat treatment services, with a strong international presence and the support of a worldwide organization that includes furnace sales and equipment. Their robust production capabilities, quality systems, automation controls, Research & Development, and in-house laboratory have earned them the prestigious General Motors Supplier Quality Excellence Award for Nine consecutive years. ALD is IATF 16949, AS9100, and ISO 9001 certified, as well as ISO 27001 and ISO 14001 compliant. Earlier this year the Company achieved its NADCAP Accreditation and has begun servicing the aerospace community. ALD’s thermal treatment processes minimize the distortion of precision manufactured components and are ideal for the increasingly stringent requirements of tomorrow’s electric drive transmissions and drivetrain units. Additional information can be found on their website at: www.heat-treatment-services.com
#16 Dowa Thermotech
Globally Japan based DowaThermotech 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. Locations (Overseas) | DOWAThermotech Co., Ltd.
#15 Thermtech
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. Metal Heat Treating and Metal Finishing – ThermTech
#14 Rex Heat Treat
RexHeatTreat is a family owned-and-operated business that began the year of 1938 in Pennsylvania making it one of the oldest commercial heat treats in North America. In its beginning, RexHeatTreat supported the United States military efforts during World War II. Since then, Rex has also managed heat treating plants in Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. The company has two locations in PA which service industries such as Mining and Drilling, Energy, Aerospace and Defense, and Transportation. With the installation of the world’s largest Vertical Vacuum Oil Quenching Furnace, RexHeatTreat is primed for continued growth. RexHeatTreat – The Heat Treater of Choice! (rexht.com)
#13 Heat Treating Services
Based in Pontiac, Michigan HTS is a privately owned commercial heat treater founded in 1978.Being in Michigan the company is heavily involved in the auto industry and the Hynes family have done a tremendous job of guiding the company through the ups and downs of the last few years. HTS has 4 plants in Michigan and serves the ferrous metal industries with thermal process and clean capabilities, which exceed sixty-four (64) million pounds per month. In total HTS had over 200,000 square feet under roof and 250 employees. HeatTreatingServices | Home (htsmi.com)
#12 Thermal Process Holdings
THERMALPROCESSHOLDINGS is a dynamic growth company providing critical Metallurgical services to virtually every industrial sector. Our strategy is to provide industry leading thermal services throughout North America from our expanding network of facilities. Currently the company operates 5 locations around the US. ThermalProcessHoldings | A Unique Partnership for the Future You Want
#11 Stack Metallurgical
StackMetallurgical Group consists of four sites strategically located throughout the Pacific Northwest. 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. The most recent expansion, Stack HIP, was launched in 2020 Albany, Oregon. About Us – StackMetallurgical Group
#10 Nitrex
Nitrex consists of three divisions, Nitrex Turnkey Systems, United Process Controls and Heat-Treating Services-our focus is on their heat-treating services in North America. The firm has 4 locations, 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. https://www.nitrex.com/en/
#9 Parker Trutec
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.
Bluewater Thermal Solutions which operates 10 different heat treat and brazing facilities around the USA. The company offers 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. Bluewater is very strong in brazing and also in the boronizing process. It is similar to a few companies on our list in that it is owned by a venture capital firm. https://bluewaterthermal.com/
#7 Advanced Heat Treat Corp
“Established in 1981, AdvancedHeatTreatCorp. (AHT) is a recognized global leader in providing heattreat services and metallurgical solutions. The company has 4 locations in Alabama, Iowa and Michigan and 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. He is still involved in the day to day operations of the company. AdvancedHeatTreatCorp (ahtcorp.com)
#6 Braddock
Braddock Metallurgical. Family owned Braddock Metallurgical was founded in 1953 by William Braddock. The company has eight production facilities mainly in the US Southeast, however the company also has a location 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 saying that they are the fourth largest family owned commercial heat treater in North America. Quality Metal Heat Treating | Braddock Metallurgical (braddockmt.com)
#5 Woodworth
The fifth largest North American commercial heat treater on our list is a company which operates 4 facility 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. FNC brake rotors rust free brakes nanotechnology oil and gas industry corrosion resistance woodworth inc heat treatment (woodworthheattreating.com)
#4 Solar Atmospheres
Solar Atmospheres is one of the largest commercial vacuum heat treaters in North America and their sister company “Solar Manufacturing” is in turn one of the largest vacuum furnace builders in North America.
“The “Solar Nation” consists of eight operating companies in the USA, all 100% owned by Mr. & Mrs. Jones. Six perform thermal processing and two are related to vacuum furnace manufacturing. Projected sales for 2024 for the six heat treating companies are over $95.5 Million. The six companies currently employee 323. The two manufacturing companies project 2024 sales of $37.1 Million. Currently the two companies have a total of 75 employees. So, for the “Solar Nation” projected sales, all companies, is $132.6 million with 398 employees for year end 2024.” https://solaratm.com/
#3 Paulo
Founded in 1943, Paulo is the largest privately held provider of thermal processing and metal finishing solutions in North America. Headquartered in St. Louis, Paulo operates six divisions servicing the Midwest, Great Lakes, and Southeast regions of the United States and northern Mexico. Paulo has been family owned and operated since the beginning, now the fourth generation carry on the business Ben and Pauline Rassieur started 77 years ago. The processes offered by Paulo cover austempering in mesh belt furnaces, Hot Isostatic Pressing, carburizing, nitriding, vacuum, brazing, zinc plating and black oxide to name a few. What makes Paulo unique to some extent is that the company has built in redundancy for most of their processes-if for some reason a process is not available at one particular location it can be quickly and competently shifted to another location. Paulo: Thermal Processing. Brazing. Heat Treating. Metal Finishing.
#2 Aalberts
Headquartered in the Netherlands, Aalberts surface technologies has five divisions on three continents and is part of the worldwide leading and globally positioned technology company Aalberts N.V. which has 132 locations worldwide and more than 14,000 employees. Aalberts is committed to adaptation and innovation with a clear focus on customers. For many years Aalberts (under the name Hauck) was one of the largest commercial heat treaters in Europe with a very small footprint in North America. This changed rather dramatically over the past number of years with the acquisitions of Premier Thermal, Applied Process, Alfe and several others which between them offer most forms of heat treating. We have not the slightest doubt about Aalberts Surface Technologies being the second largest commercial heat treater in North America. https://www.aalberts-st.com/
The Monty Heat Treat News has worked closely with International Search Partners(a US search firm known for being the only recruiting firm in the world working exclusively in heat treating), for over 20 years.That relationship has blossomed into a regularly featured article, “Ask the Heat Treat Recruiter,” where ISP’s seasoned team answers questions about salaries, interviewing, negotiations, and a host of other topics related to recruiting and job searching for companies and/or individual employees.
Every quarter in 2024, ManagingRecruiter, Josh Haleand Sr. Recruiter, Jessica Maier, will address questions that come up regularly from industry professionals (email questions for future editions to [email protected]). Today’s question stems from a debate between commercial heat treat GMs about the benefits and feasibility of a 4-day workweek:
What are the pluses and minuses of a 4-day workweek or other alternative schedule such as work-from-home, hybrid models, or other variations?
The traditional 5-day workweek has come under recent scrutiny with many companies beginning to explore the potential benefits of different models, including the surging popularity of 4-day work weeks or so-called 9/80s with one extra day off every two weeks. Of course, COVID-19 also forced many workers to a work-from-home (or “WFH” for short) model, which some companies, and many employees, have taken a liking to and continued beyond the pandemic.
Many of those who have made the switch will swear by it, pointing to studies and empirical evidence showing increased employee happiness, productivity, and engagement along with reduced employee stress, burnout, and absenteeism. Additionally, alternative schedules are typically seen as a perk and can be used as recruiting and retention too. A final added benefit for companies considering making this transition is reduced costs in the form of savings on utilities, office space, and some minor things that still add up like snacks and coffee.
On the other hand, it takes some planning and coordination to make the shift and, while most studies support an overall productivity boost, there can be a slight dip in the short-term during the transition. It may also require upfront investment in technology and tools that can negate some of the cost savings previously mentioned. Most importantly, it is critical to remember that the 4-day workweek (or WFH or other flexible schedules) doesn’t necessarily function well for all positions or industries. Customer facing roles come to mind as something that might require a more traditional approach, as does businesses requiring 24/7 operations or tight turnaround schedules (*cough* “heat treating” *cough*).
While many companies have successfully made the transition and overcome some of these hurdles(yes, including commercial heat treats), the success or failure of this change ultimately depends on management and their foresight to address any prospective problems that may arise. Factors to consider when deciding on implementing such a program include industry, workplace culture, employee engagement, and resources available.
Remember, moving to a 4-day workweek is a significant change. Careful evaluation of company needs, employee feedback, and meticulous planning are key to reaping any potential reward while minimizing disruptions. When feasible, however, it can help boost morale and improve employee satisfaction and retention, while also acting as a strong lure when recruiting new workers.
Josh Halehas collaborated with companies to identify, engage, and hire top performers as a professional “headhunter” where he’s focused exclusively on the heat treat industry as part of International Search Partners since acquiring the firm in 2015. He works closely with Jessica Maier to support the practice, and, together, they’ve helped dozens of companies and hundreds of candidates find the match within the industry, including roles for engineering, sales, quality, metallurgy, management, and more. For additional information email [email protected] or call 619-465-9621.
The Monty Heat Treat News has worked closely with International Search Partners(a US search firm known for being the only recruiting firm in the world working exclusively in heat treating), for over 20 years.That relationship has blossomed into a regularly featured article, “Ask the Heat Treat Recruiter,” where ISP’s seasoned team answers questions about salaries, interviewing, negotiations, and a host of other topics related to recruiting and job searching for companies and/or individual employees.
Kicking things off for 2024, ManagingRecruiter, Josh Haleand Sr. Recruiter, Jessica Maier, address the most common question that comes up when talking to people in the industry:
What are the average salaries for a heat treater right now?
In the early post-pandemic days wages were rising incredibly fast and, while the upticks have slowed down a bit, salaries are continuing to go up to meet market demand for talent. It remains a “candidate’s market” and, whereas we previously saw “good” offers for new hires equate to roughly a 10-15% increase in salary, today’s workers are demanding (and getting) 20%+ to switch companies.
Recognizing these overall market conditions, here are some “back-of-envelope numbers” for the most common jobs within a commercial heat treat in 2024…
Furnace Operators – The bottom line is that every commercial heat treat is hurting for production hourly workers right now and those laborers have seen their wages increase with demand. As recently as a few years ago, operators were earning in the low teens to the low twenties, but those averages have risen to $25+/hrplus the availability for OT.
Field Service Engineer – For the entirety of ISP’s existence (25+ years), FSEs have been one of the most in-demand and difficult to recruit for and hire positions. As such, they are well compensated with most good field techs taking home well over $100k when factoring OT and per diems. The most recent hires that we’ve made in this area have been starting in the $33-40/hr range.
Maintenance –The demand for in-house maintenance has boomed over the past 2-3 years and wages for these professionals along with it… these days expect to pay $40 or more per hour for a seasoned maintenance mechanic and upwards of $125-150k+/yr for a strong manager with preventative maintenance and supervisory responsibilities.
Quality Engineers/Managers and Metallurgists – There can be a lot of variation for base salaries between plant metallurgists, lab metallurgists and those who specialize in quality, but as with all positions in heat treat, the supply-demand ratio has led to an increase in pay, with current salary ranges from $70-$125k and above depending on the level of experience and technical expertise required.
Design Engineers (mechanical and electrical) – Engineering and design is another job function that has seen a large increase in need since the pandemic. OEMs can expect to pay degreed mechanical engineers with experience near or above $100k and experienced PLC programmers or EEs are earning $125-150k. Some companies have found success hiring recent grads and offering training programs, which can of course be more affordable with starting salaries for engineers closer to $60-70kish.
Sales Engineers –Business development deserves special attention because of the variable nature of commission-based compensation; however, a good salesperson is worth their weight in gold and market rates for their talents reflect that fact with base salaries rising to the low$100ks for someone with experience in the industry, who can easily take home $150-175k+/yr with incentives. Typically, technical salespeople working for furnace manufacturers will earn more than commercial heat treat BDMs who are usually compensated at the lower end of that range.
Plant Managers/GMs –It’s difficult to give a reasonable range for managers because many factors come into play, such as size of company, number of employees, location, etc., but also at the top of the pyramid titles can be somewhat nebulous and a “Plant Manager” at one company might be more akin to a “GM” at another. Trends for leadership roles have been to include more variable compensation in the form of bonuses, commissions, or even a path to equity. As with all roles within the heat treat industry, there is more need for companies to hire managers, supervisors, and executives, than there is qualified talent. As such, compensation and incentives have been instituted to lure more people to the industry.
If a position you work in or are thinking about hiring for wasn’t mentioned, or you would like to discuss specifics, please feel free to reach out to Josh or Jessica via LI or at the contact info below. Also, let us know your other questions for future editions of “Ask the Heat Treat Recruiter!”
Josh Halehas collaborated with companies to identify, engage, and hire top performers as a professional “headhunter” where he’s focused exclusively on the heat treat industry as part of International Search Partners since acquiring the firm in 2015. He works closely with Jessica Maier to support the practice, and, together, they’ve helped dozens of companies and hundreds of candidates find the match within the industry, including roles for engineering, sales, quality, metallurgy, management, and more. For additional information email [email protected] or call 619-465-9621.
The Monty Heat Treat News has worked closely with International Search Partners, a US search firm which is known for being the only recruiting agency in the world working exclusively in the heat treatment industry, for many years now. In 2023, The Monty is pleased to announce that this relationship will continue with ISP offering a regular exclusive feature where they will answer questions about salaries, interviewing, negotiations, and a host of other topics related to recruiting and job searching for companies and/or individual professionals in the heat treat industry.
Thismonth, ManagingRecruiter, Josh Haleanswers a question from the HR Manager of a large commercial heat treater:
How many interviews does it take before we can feel confident that we’ve seen enough candidates to make our hiring decision?
Josh: Short answer –one. Long answer – seriously, it only takes one.
In today’s hypercompetitive job market, employers face unprecedented challenges finding and retaining key talent. As the demand for skilled workers continues to outpace supply, the war for talent becomes a fierce battle; one where speed wins.
The days of a leisurely hiring process where you can look for multiple candidates and seek comparisons across a broad swatch of resumes are long gone. Today, companies who hesitate will lose the best candidates to more agile competition.
With more options than ever before, top performers have the luxury of choosing their employers and are consistently gravitating towards those with a frictionless and speedy hiring process.
Still not convinced? Here are three reasons why an employer should move quickly on extending an offer, even before they’ve had additional interviews for comparison:
Fast hiring signals a company’s culture. The speed of the hiring process is a telling indicator of the company’s culture and values. A fast and efficient system for hiring suggests that the company values its employees’ time and is committed to creating a positive work environment. The best employees are drawn to this type of environment.
A quick offer demonstrates the company’s commitment to the new hire. A prompt offer shows that you are genuinely interested in the hire and value their skills and experience. This goes a long way toward building rapport and engagement and is the first step in a smooth and successful onboarding process.
Candidates are being filtered in other ways. Even though you may have only had one interview, how many resumes have you reviewed? How many other potential applicants didn’t apply because they screened themselves out? Are you working with a recruiter, and, if so, how many did they pass on before the candidates got to you? Even if it doesn’t feel like it, you’re often at a narrower end of the proverbial funnel that you think you are…
Now that your convinced that you only need one good candidate and are ready to extend an offer as soon as you realize that this is someone who can add value to your team, here are a few quick tips for streamlining and expediting your process so you can make hires more quickly:
Clearly define the role and requirements.
Avoid wasting time with obviously unqualified individuals.
Schedule multiple interviews in a day or within a short period of time – don’t drag this out.
Be upfront and as transparent as possible re: salary and compensation.
Set realistic expectations from the beginning.
We may address more ways to improve your hiring process in future issues of ATHTR but this will give you a head start amongst much of your competition who are still living in the days of high unemployment when it was an employer’s market. Under current conditions,when there’s an outright war for talent at all levels, speed is a powerful weapon. By acting quickly and decisively, you gain a competitive edge and can secure more top hires.
Remember, in today’s fast-paced world, hesitation is the enemy of success.
Josh Hale collaborates with companies to identify, engage, and hire top performers as a professional “headhunter” where he’s focused exclusively on the thermal processing industry as part of International Search Partners since acquiring the firm in 2015. He works closely with Jessica Maier to support the practice, and, together, they’ve helped dozens of companies make hundreds of hires in a variety of roles within the industry, including engineering, sales, quality, metallurgy, and management. For more information email [email protected] or call 619-465-9621.
The Monty Heat Treat News has worked closely with International Search Partners, a US search firm which is known for being the only recruiting agency in the world working exclusively in the heat treatment industry, for many years now. In 2023, The Monty is pleased to announce that this relationship will continue with ISP offering a regular exclusive feature where they will answer questions about salaries, interviewing, negotiations, and a host of other topics related to recruiting and job searching for companies and/or individual professionals in the heat treat industry.
This month, Sr. Recruiter, Jessica Maier and Managing Recruiter, Josh Hale give some “rapid fire” answers to several questions that came up during last month’s ASM Heat Treat 2023 show in Detroit.
What are the most in demand positions in this market?
Jessica: Field Service Engineers. In my 8 years with ISP, I have never seen a time when we didn’t have at least three clients (and often many more – we have over a dozen right now) looking for FSEs. Because of this field engineers often get scooped up quickly, so I always advise my clients to jump if there’s any interest in a candidate. If you wait too long, it is likely the candidate will be hired elsewhere.
Josh: I agree with Jessica – FSEs are ALWAYS in demand! Right now, we’re seeing an uptick in demand for electrical engineers and PLC programmers on the OEM side and maintenance on the commercial heat treating side.
Have compensation ranges calmed down since the pandemic?
Jessica: Yes… and no. We have passed the point where we saw the market demand an increase of almost 30% for a candidate to make a move, however that percentage is still higher than pre-covid times (closer to the 15-20% mark).
Josh: Salaries are on the rise due to demand, inflation, and various other market conditions, but expectations have tempered to more realistically aggressive numbers vs. the crazy numbers we saw during the early stages of the end of the pandemic.
What are you seeing as the biggest challenge in recruiting top candidates right now?
Jessica: I see two different challenges, one on the candidate end, one on the company end.
Firstly, on the candidate end, I see a much lower interest in relocating. The best thing to do here is show off your town the best way you can through the interview and hiring process. In any face-to-face interview make sure you leave enough time to allow the candidate to drive around the neighborhood, recommend some hot spots to check out, etc. (We recently wrote an article all about relocation, check it out!)
The second challenge comes from the company side. We often see that the market price for new candidates doesn’t match the compensation the internal employees are currently making. This is an internal issue that is often more complicated than simply giving everyone in the company a raise. Each company needs to look within and determine the best course of action to retain current employees as well as attract new candidates.
Josh: Competition. Good employees are hard to find and if a company has one, they’re doing everything they can to keep that person happy and engaged – making it difficult for a new employer to woo them over without a strong “hook” – be that significantly more money, opportunities for advancement, or flexible work schedules.
You recently wrote about commissions for salespeople and mentioned that it is common to transition a sale to a “house account” after a certain period – that doesn’t seem fair! Don’t you want to incentivize the salesperson to develop an account and upsell for future new business?
Jessica: That’s a fair point. The theory goes that you want to keep your salesforce “hungry” and if they get recurring commission in perpetuity then they lose motivation to go after NEW business! That said, it makes sense that you want to incentivize them to grow existing accounts too – maybe there’s a way to include a bonus or special reward for key activity with “house accounts?” Something to consider…
Josh: We’re just reporting the facts and don’t really hold an opinion either way and that type of declining commission plan with a transition to a “house account” is very common in the industry.
What does the future hold? Any predictions for 2024?
Jessica: My prediction for the new year is the labor market will continue to be tight which will drive up salaries, albeit in a more linear progression than the exponential growth we’ve seen recently. Also, and this isn’t necessarily going out a limb, but I’ll say that field service continues to be the number one most in-demand role.
Josh: I think we’ll see more movement in 2024. While it will continue to be a candidate driven market, more workers will be open to the prospect of shifting careers or moving geographically. As we get further from the pandemic and the market continues to perform well, people will loosen up on taking risks and making changes – this will provide a great opportunity for forward thinking and fast acting companies who are willing and able to move on strong candidates.
Josh Hale collaborates with companies to identify, engage, and hire top performers as a professional “headhunter” where he’s focused exclusively on the thermal processing industry as part of International Search Partners since acquiring the firm in 2015. He works closely with Jessica Maier to support the practice, and, together, they’ve helped dozens of companies make hundreds of hires in a variety of roles within the industry, including engineering, sales, quality, metallurgy, and management. For more information email [email protected] or call 619-465-9621.
“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.
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.
“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”
“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.
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.
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 2024”
“THERMAL PROCESS HOLDINGS” in the US Midwest consists of several different locations united under one banner over the past few years. The website is rather out of date in that it does not mention Rockford Heat Treaters acquired several years ago and also mentions Diamond Heat Treat in the Chicago area which is either closed down now or will shortly be. Ownership is a venture capital firm in the US Northeast. 
In 6th position we have a family-owned business, “Braddock Metallurgical”which was founded in 1953 by William Braddock. The company has eight production facilities mainly in the US Southeast; however they also have plants 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. 
In 1959 Winston Heat Treating 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. https://winstonht.
Founded in 1989 by three Surface Combustion employees including the current owner and CEO, Mr. Roy Waits, American Steel Treating is located in Perrysburg, Ohio. While the company offers most types of heat treating covering a variety of industries we tend to think of them for high volume automotive work processed through a number of pusher furnaces. The company operates out of a 300,000 square foot facility close to Toledo, Ohio. https://www.
Pinson Valley is owned and run by the Hendry family and is now in its third generation. Founded in 1970 the company has a very unique mix of capabilities including vacuum heat treating, atmosphere and some very interesting and unique tip up style furnaces. https://www.pvht.
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. https://www.sst.
Founded in 1982 by Mark Byron in a 1 car garage, Mark has grown Byron into a very significant player in the Thermal Processing Industry in North America. 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. The company operates out of 2 facilities in Ohio. https://byronproducts.
You would not expect to find one of the largest commercial heat treaters in North America in Northern Michigan, however such is the case with Century Sun Metal Treating which for over 30 years have been offering heat treating services in Traverse City, Michigan. Century Sun has a great deal of vacuum and plasma nitriding capacity which they use to service a wide variety of industries. In 2021 the company was acquired by Hillcrest Investment Partners, LLC, a private investment group. https://www.century–
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.
Founded in 1979 FPM 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. Home – FPM Heat Treating (fpmht.com)
THERMAL PROCESS HOLDINGS is a dynamic growth company providing critical Metallurgical services to virtually every industrial sector. Our strategy is to provide industry leading thermal services throughout North America from our expanding network of facilities. Currently the company operates 5 locations around the US. Thermal Process Holdings | A Unique Partnership for the Future You Want
Nitrex consists of three divisions, Nitrex Turnkey Systems, United Process Controls and Heat-Treating Services-our focus is on their heat-treating services in North America. The firm has 4 locations, 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. https://www.nitrex.com/en/
Braddock Metallurgical. Family owned Braddock Metallurgical was founded in 1953 by William Braddock. The company has eight production facilities mainly in the US Southeast, however the company also has a location 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 saying that they are the fourth largest family owned commercial heat treater in North America. Quality Metal Heat Treating | Braddock Metallurgical (braddockmt.com)
