“NGC Gears, one of the world’s largest wind power gearbox manufacturers, has completed the installation of two additional EndoFlex generators from UPC-Marathon, a Nitrex company, at its new facility in Jinhu, China location. This acquisition brings the total of generator sets to five since 2022, collectively generating an impressive 800 m³/h (22,252 ft3/h) capacity of endothermic gas supplied to carburizing and hardening furnaces used for processing various gear components. The latest installations in February and March of 2024 support the heat-treating operations of the company’s wind energy gearbox production.

NGC’s decision to expand capacity is in response to the growing demand for wind power solutions in China and globally. Recent statistics indicate a robust growth trajectory for wind energy, with the country leading the world in both installed capacity and the manufacture of wind power equipment. The new endothermic gas generating systems will significantly enhance the company’s production capabilities, enabling NGC to meet increasing market needs with greater efficiency and reliability.

EndoFlex offers several benefits, including precise control of production media to the carburizing and hardening environments, leading to higher quality gear production with improved longevity and performance. The result is improved carburizing and hardening processes, higher-quality hardened gears, reduced operating costs, and increased efficiency. The EndoFlex mixes ratios more accurately and efficiently, ensuring a constant furnace atmosphere and consistent gas quality. This leads to immediate cost savings through reduced electricity and gas consumption and minimized waste.

Johnny Xu, General Manager at UPC-Marathon China, shared, “The latest EndoFlex investments align with NGC’s development of low-consumption, high-efficiency gearbox products for large-scale onshore and offshore wind turbines. Our collaboration with NGC is focused on advancing excellence in the wind power sector, and we are thrilled to see the tangible benefits our EndoFlex units bring to NGC. This partnership highlights the strength of our products and reinforces our commitment to providing quality, local solutions to meet the demands of modern manufacturing for a greener future. We look forward to continuing our work with NGC and delivering the superior endogas quality needed for their high-standard production processes.

ABOUT UPC MARATHON; UPC-MARATHON, a Nitrex company, pioneers industrial process control, automation, and digitalization for heat treatment and combustion markets. Our mission is to support furnace OEMs and equipment end-users with innovative solutions, enhancing profitability and reliability while optimizing operational efficiency. End-to-end control solutions encompass probes, analyzers, controllers, flow control systems, upgrades/retrofits, SCADA, and engineered solutions for various heat treat processes. Leveraging our digitalization platform QMULUS, customers gain a deeper understanding of their assets and production processes.”

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As a long-standing employee of the AICHELIN Group, Philipp Krenn will not only be responsible for strategic and operational management in his new role, but also for the sales activities of AICHELIN Ges.m.b.H. in Mödling.

Philipp Krenn started his career at the AICHELIN Group in 2012 and has since successfully proven himself in various positions in sales and business development. He has gained valuable experience at both national and international level. His most recent position was Head of After Sales in Europe.

We are confident that Philipp Krenn, with his many years of experience and commitment, is an excellent choice for the role of Managing Director and Head of Sales at AICHELIN Ges.m.b.H. in Mödling. His successful career at AICHELIN, coupled with his deep understanding of sales and business development combined with expertise in industrial furnace construction, will help to drive our company forward.

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Phillip Krenn & Christian Grosspointer

“The Monty Heat Treat News” is looking forward to telling our readers about two success stories in the heat treatment industry, both stories originating in Europe. “Avion Europe” headquartered in Hagen, Germany was formed in 1994 as a heat treatment manufacturer representative firm and while it still operates as a rep firm the company has grown enormously over the years and now has much, much more to offer the heat treatment industry. We will give you all the details shortly in an in depth story.
From Avion in Germany we move to high temperature alloy supplier “Cronite Group” and their foundry in Arnage, France. “Cronite” is a global firm and well known to all heat treaters when it comes to high temperature alloy components. “The Monty” had a fascinating visit to their foundry just two weeks ago and we will share with you all the details about the company, where it came from and where it is going. Stary tuned.
 

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It is relatively unusual for a furnace builder to actively enter the used/rebuilt furnace market but that is exactly what furnace builder Vac Aero is doing. Under their new management the company has become much more aggressive about every aspect of their business from commercial heat treating to new vacuum furnace sales, to rebuilds and  new hot zones  These changes now include rebuilding used vacuum furnaces both their own and other manufacturers.
 
To this end the firm recently added a new building directly adjacent to their current manufacturing facility in Burlington, Ontario, Canada which will be solely dedicated to new hot zone construction and also furnace rebuilds.
 
While all furnace builders will rebuild their own equipment it is quite uncommon for a furnace manufacturer to actively seek out and buy used equipment (whether their own or somebody else’s) and rebuild-it will be interesting to see how this works out. “The Monty” visited the new facility last week and a perfect example of their rebuilding efforts can be seen in these two photos, a small 2 bar quenching furnace both before and after.

The link below will take you to the May 2024 issue of “The Monty” for 30 years the world’s largest source of news and trends about the heat treatment industry. In this months issue we cover these stories amongst others;

In addition to our 90 pages of heat treatment news and trends “The Monty” also offers one of North America’s largest lists of quality used heat treat equipment-this list can be found at https://themonty.com/used-equipment/

As always the entire team at “The Monty” looks forward to your thoughts and comments. Sincerely, Gord, Jordan, Dale and Anne.

Click Here To Read The Full Magazine: The Monty Heat Treat Magazine May 2024

During a recent tour of some of the largest captive heat treats in Mexico, Gord and Jordan Montgomery of “The Monty Heat Treat News” had the opportunity to visit “Tremec” a global supplier of automotive transmissions;
 
About Tremec; “Welcome to TREMEC, a leading manufacturer of torque transfer solutions. From high performance vehicles to rugged-duty agricultural, vocational and line haul vehicles, TREMEC is a well-respected brand for world-class transmission assemblies and components. TREMEC torque transfer solutions include manual rear-wheel drive transmissions, dual clutch transmissions, hybrid & EV transmissions, gears, shafts, clutches, shift controllers, synchronizers, and mechatronic systems with integrated clutch systems and control software
 
TREMEC’s products solve key challenges faced by the powertrain industry, including mandates for increased fuel efficiency, reduced emissions, lower weight, and compact size. Its technology addresses the industry’s stringent requirements for reliability, cost, and quality – while providing fun-to-drive characteristics. Founded in 1964, TREMEC serves its global client base with over 1,450 employees and operations in North America and Europe. TREMEC is a wholly-owned business unit of Grupo KUO, S.A.B. de C.V., a diversified manufacturer of automotive, chemical and food products. Grupo KUO markets its products to over 70 countries and is headquartered in Mexico City, Mexico.” https://www.tremec.com/menu/about-us/
 
During our visit we had the chance to speak with Mr. Hector Simental, Plant Manager at the Queretaro location and his team who shared with us some very interesting information about their heat treatment department and its’ challenges. The in house heat treatment department is a combination of continuous furnaces (7 in total) and batch IQ units (4), volumes determine which parts will be run in the continuous and batch furnaces. The firm has always felt strongly that heat treating is a “core competency and will remain in house-in the words of Hector “this allows us to control our own destiny”.
 
As is the case in many areas, CO2 emissions are a constant concern and in this case Tremec is being mandated by the Mexican government to reduce emissions which has lead to many discussions about gas heating vs; electric and induction heat treating as opposed to atmosphere heat treating-we would imagine that these issues will not be resolved for some time. Along the same lines the debate about electric vehicles compared to internal combustion vehicles has played havoc with production predictions, just as it has around the world. (incidentally the furnaces are gas heated). 
 
This is a world class facility and the heat treat department is absolutely immaculate as you can see in one of these pictures. Hector can be seen in the center of the photo taken outside the facility. We thank the entire “Tremec” team for their time and their top notch hospitality. 

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It is well known that the war in the Ukraine has put enormous pressure on increasing production of munitions, and at the top of the list this would include 105 and 155 mm artillery shells. This “war pressure demand” was bound to increase production in western countries of munitions which would include added heat treat capacity and we now have an example of this.
 
IMT (https://imtcorporation.com/) is located in Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada and for years now the company has produced a rather odd combination of products-truck axles and artillery shells, the mix depends upon market demand for each product. We have now heard that the munitions side of the business has gained the upper hand in the form of a very substantial order for artillery shells which is directly related to the ongoing war in Ukraine. (more about IMT Defense https://imtdefence.com/)
 
How does this change their heat treating requirements? For many years IMT has had a very modest heat treat department in the form of 2 very old Surface Combustion “Super 30” Allcase batch IQ lines. We now believe that the heat treat department will be vastly expanded with several new Surface batch IQ furnaces on the way with the expectation that installation of the units will start shortly.
 
It brings joy to the hearts of everybody at “The Monty Heat Treat News” to see a Canadian company actually adding heat treat capacity rather than the never ending story of Canadian firms closing down their manufacturing facilities.
 
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Earlier this year we had a news item about Commercial Steel Treating in Madison Heights, Michigan, USA closing-the initial news item can be found below. One of the biggest questions about this closing was what would happen with the surplus equipment, in particular the three Can Eng, 4,000 pounds per hour mesh belt furnace lines (large mesh belt furnace lines seldom pop up on the used furnace market). Well we have been lead to believe that all three lines have been purchased by a Turkish fastener manufacturer by the name of Norm Fasteners (to find out why, please read our posting about the company at https://themonty.com/michigan-usa-fastener-manufacturer-to-install-3-mesh-belt-lines/.)

What we have been hearing is that all 3 lines will be rebuilt from top to bottom and will enter production in Lansing, Michigan the end of 2025. We will keep you updated on this story.

“MICHIGAN HEAT TREATER TO CLOSE, FEBRUARY 22, 2024It is the understanding of “The Monty Heat Treat News” that commercial heat treater Commercial Steel Treating in Madison, Heights, Michigan will be closing in the near future. The company has a long and distinguished history which we will try and summarize.

Commercial was founded by Ralph Hoensheid in 1927 making it what we believe is the oldest commercial heat treater in North America. At some point in time Commercial became part of  Curtis Metal Finishing which has several locations including in the Chicago, IL area. 

In 2023 Curtis was acquired by an Italian Company by the name of Primat Curtis with locations in Brazil, Europe and the US. What precipitated the decision to close the Madison Heights facility we can’t comment on but it is our understanding that this only effects this location.

At one point in time Commercial was a very substantial commercial heat treater with batch IQ furnaces, induction hardening and continuous furnaces, we believe only the continuous furnaces are still in operation. We will keep you posted on any updates which become available.”

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This is how Höganäs describers themselves;  “Höganäs is the world leading manufacturer of metal powders for powder metallurgy. By utilizing the endless opportunities of our metal powders, we inspire industry to make more with less. The applications of metal powders seem almost endless. Today, our metal powders are used in areas as diverse as brazing, pressing & sintering, surface coating, additive manufacturing, welding, friction and many others. https://www.hoganas.com/en/“

With that background out of the way lets talk about why the company graces the pages of “The Monty Heat Treat News” today. Their facility in Belgium has just commissioned a brand new vacuum brazing furnace. The furnace was provided by a French vacuum furnace builder by the name of “BMI” and the company has this to say about the furnace “We are thrilled to announce the successful commissioning of a state-of-the-art vacuum brazing furnace at our esteemed client, Höganäs, located in Belgium. This is a large furnace, specifically designed to cater to the evolving needs of metal powder treatments (additive manufacturing, brazing, sintering…). With its capability for precise temperature control and vacuum environment, this furnace will mainly be used to best meet the high level requirements of Höganäs customers in a wide range of industries, through processes such as annealing and stress relieving.”
 
BMI is well respected around the world as a very competent vacuum furnace builder although they are best known in Europe with very limited name recognition in North America. 

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Over the years “The Monty Heat Treat News” has reported several times on a large captive/commercial heat treater in Ovar, Portugal by the name of Ramada S.A. The last time we mentioned the firm was November of 2023 when we spoke about the company investing in 2 new sealed quench furnaces being provided by Ipsen of Kleve, Germany. The installation is now complete as we can see in this photo and the press release below.

“APRIL 28/2024; RAMADA AÇOS is launching a new line of automatic heat treatments with controlled atmosphere and oil cooling – carburizing, carbonitruding, tempering, among others. With more than 70 years of experience, the Heat Treatment unit in Ovar thus increases its production capacity to a maximum of 9,000kg/day, with the possibility of treating pieces up to 1300 mm in length and 1,500 kg.

This new line of heat treatments is the result of a partnership with the supplier IPSEN, a global reference in this type of equipment. Cutting-edge technology allows you to automate and digitalize heat treatment processes, making the production unit safer, more efficient and sustainable, also ensuring the automation of quality control.

RAMADA AÇOS thus reinforces its positioning in the Iberian market as a true partner in the industry, such as metalworking, molds, among others. The company combines greater production capacity with close customer support and a specialized team capable of finding the best technical solutions, prioritizing the quality and speed of service execution, competitiveness and trust.”

“NOVEMBER 22/2023; Captive Heat Treater Prepares to Receive New Sealed Quench Furnaces; The Monty Heat Treat News has spoken several times about captive/commercial heat treater Ramada S.A. in Ovar, Portugal-as a matter of fact Gord and Dale Montgomery visited this facility in 2021 (you can read our summary of that visit further down).

As we have previously reported the company recently invested in two brand new Ipsen Sealed Quench furnaces (Batch IQ furnaces to our North American readers)-the project involves 2 Ipsen-RTQF-XL-GRM furnaces with all the ancillary items required. The furnaces are now completed at Ipsen in Kleve, Germany and prior to shipping Ipsen hosted the entire Ramada heat treat team for a week of training as you can see in this picture.

“NOVEMBER 2021; Ramada ACOS is a captive/commercial heat treater located in the northern part of Portugal in the city of Ovar. The firm is another example of a company which offers some of the most “state of the art” heat treatment processes available anywhere in the world. Ramada has been in business  for more than 75 years both as a heat treater and a distributor of steel for Uddeholm. The company has 13 vacuum hardening and vacuum nitriding furnaces all from French furnace builder BMI along with 8 sealed quench furnaces with oil quenching https://www.ramada.pt/pt/servicos/acos-ligas/tratamentos-termicos.html, Interestingly enough at least some of the sealed quench furnaces are from a Brazillian furnace manufacturer by the name of Brasimet which caught our attention-as it turns out because of the historical connection between Portugal and Brazil this is a not uncommon occurence.

The vacuum furnaces include a hardening furnace with dimensions of 1200 mm X 1200 mm X 1800 mm (48″ x 48″ x 72″) with 13 bar nitrogen quenching, a vacuum carburizing system, several tempering units and some nitriding systems. Every single one as mentioned previously was provided by BMI in Lyon, France and in many cases Ramada has been the testing ground for new processes being developed by BMI.””

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