Captive/Commercial Heat Treater Stays “On Top” of HT Technology

Far too often “in house” heat treaters fail to realize that a “great” heat treat department requires constant upgrades in terms of technology and maintenance and become rather complacent when it comes to keeping their equipment up to date-such is certainly not the case with “Snyder Industries” in Tonawanda, NY, USA.

“In 1970, Wayne J. Snyder founded W.J. Snyder Manufacturing in a rented 2,000 sq. foot facility. They supplied their clients with packing glands, rollers, and other miscellaneous machined parts. The W.J. Snyder Manufacturing Company developed a reputation for manufacturing as a reliable source of machined parts with a knack for solving unique machining challenges. This approach led to the introduction of Snyder as a Supplier of wheel units and internal gears for the mining and machining industry.”

Subsequent to the incorporation of the company it was decided that an in-house heat treat department must be a core competency of the company and consequently in 1992 the first “Surface Combustion” batch IQ furnace was installed, quickly followed by a second which was in turn followed by a number of Induction heating systems and a cryogenic system.

All of this equipment was installed in a separate 30,000 square foot building just down the street from the main manufacturing facility operating under the name “Great Lakes Metal Treating”. While “Great Lakes” is primarily a captive/in-house heat-treating operation, it does offer commercial heat treating to a number of local manufacturers.

Under the direction of two really top-notch individuals, Mr. Rick Rife”, General Manager and “Mr. JT Wilson”, Maintenance Manager, the heat treat department is constantly being upgraded to the latest standards. Very recent investments include complete furnace rebuilds/upgrades by “McLaughlin Furnace Group” (which includes their unique heath design), a brand-new dunk/spray washer also provided by “McLaughlin” and a state-of-the-art probe/IR furnace control system provided by controls company “SSi”.

The induction department is no exception; each of the induction systems has recently undergone software and controls updates, also bringing them up to the latest standards.

None of these investments are cheap, which means the heat treat team requires a great deal of support from top management and this is provided by “Mr. Aaron Bruning”, “Snyder Industries” President who provides whole hearted support to the heat treat division (indeed we would suggest that he has a true affinity for the heat treat department which is rather unusual for company Presidents in our experience).

“Snyder” is a perfect example of a captive heat treat department that receives the support and financial backing from top management that is required to transform an average heat treat department into a really impressive heat treat department.

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