Recently Gord Montgomery of “The Monty Heat Treat News” had the opportunity to visit DeKalb Blowers in Yorkville, IL., who we know of as a supplier of high temperature fans for the heat-treating industry. Our host was Mr. Eric Johansen, President of the company and it was obvious that he has a passion for what he does-it is always enjoyable to meet with somebody who so obviously enjoys what he is doing.
Cohosts for the tour were Eric’s wife and 3 sons who are all as equally enthusiastic as Eric himself-these pictures tell the story.
Eric Johansen, Nicole Johansen, EJ Johansen, Cole Johansen, Curtis Johansen
Gord Montgomery, Eric Johansen
Aberfoyle Metal Treating in Aberfoyle, Ontario, Canada is without a doubt one of the most unusual commercial heat treaters we have ever come across. Why? Because their largest furnace is 82 ft (25.0 m) long by 21.5 ft (6.6 m) wide by 23 ft (7.0 m) high, with a weight capacity of 400 tons and a maximum operating temperature of 2000F, making it one of the largest in North America. To give you an idea about the size we have this older photo showing Ryan Fussell, current President of MTI (Metal Treating Institute) standing in front of the furnace.
According to this press release Mr. Jason Bailey was just appointed General Manager of the facility-read on.
In the industrial sector he has held many senior positions including Consultant, Project Manager, IT Manager, Senior Supply Chain Manager, Director of Operations and General Manager. His breadth of experience and proven leadership qualities have already made a huge impact on AMT.
When he’s not busy bringing AMT to the next level of quality and customer service, Jason enjoys playing hockey, baseball and golf and hanging out with his family and two Springer Spaniels.”
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According to this press release Italian furnace builder TAV had record breaking sales in 2023-good for them, very impressive. To go with this press release we have this photo taken in 2023. In it we see a new a new TAV installation at Standard Motor Products in Greenville, SC. Standing in front of the furnace we see Mr. Jan Massholder, Managing Director of “Furnacare” the US division of TAV and Gord Montgomery. To find out more about TAV, Furnacare and Standard Motor Products we would suggest this link to the original story. https://themonty.com/premium-auto-parts-supplier-invests-in-new-vacuum-furnace/
“2023 was a standout year for us at TAV VACUUM FURNACES, achieving a record €34 million in turnover, a significant leap from €23 million the previous year. This marks the best performance in our 40-year history! In recognition of the contribution made and in compliance with the second level negotiation, TAV VACUUM FURNACES awarded employees a record production bonus, with the amount ranging from a minimum of €11,195 to a maximum of €12,875.
The company management underlined the essential role of our employees in this success. Our growth has been driven by continuous innovation in our products and processes.
Continuous research in the field of technological innovation has, in fact, led to enlarge the range of products produced with a new furnace designed for low pressure carburizing and gas quenching processes. With 72% of our sales in 2023 coming from exports, we continue to strengthen our global presence, especially in emerging markets. As we grow, we’re also expanding our team, enhancing key departments to now include 100 professionals ready to take on future challenges.”
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“The Monty Heat Treat News” has always been known to have some of the best prices in the industry for quality heat treat equipment. Now here is an offer impossible to beat-a solution heat treat furnace available for the price of removal. If you have an interest please let Jordan Montgomery know, [email protected]
This is a bottom loading solution heat treat, air atmosphere furnace with agitated water quench;
- Certified work zone of 161″ high X 61″ diameter, total work area of 272.2 cubic feet
- Operating temperature of 1600F
- Temperature uniformity of +- 15F from 1150F to 1600F
- AMS 2750
- Air atmosphere, Class III, Instrumentation C
- Includes water chiller
Currently installed, complete and under power but not in use. Good overall condition.
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“HTA Brisbane, a leader in advanced surface engineering, is proud to unveil a groundbreaking addition to their suite of services with the introduction of its new state-of-the-art Plasma nitriding service. This technology, featuring the first Rubig furnace in the country and the largest plasma nitriding system in Australia, signifies a significant leap forward for the nation’s manufacturing and engineering sectors.
This revolutionary service provides a superior alternative to traditional case-hardening methods. The Plasma nitriding process offers several outstanding advantages, including:
- An effective reduction of the white layer on nitrided materials.
- Exceptional wear and corrosion resistance, thereby extending the lifespan of treated parts.
- Minimal to no distortion of components, ensuring the preservation of precision engineering.
- The capability for high chrome materials to be plasma nitrided effectively.
- Mechanical masking, eliminating the need for stop-off requirements and therefore streamlining the process.
HTA’s investment into the Rubig furnace technology echoes the company’s continued commitment to enhancing local capabilities within Australia. With this installation, Australian manufacturing and engineering firms can now enjoy world-class treatment of materials without the necessity to send components overseas, promoting greater efficiency and self-reliance in domestic production.
The wider implications of HTA’s plasma nitriding service are poised to redefine industry standards in treatment quality and durability, further cementing Australia’s position on the cutting edge of material science and engineering innovation.
HTA Brisbane eagerly anticipates empowering industry partners with the benefits of this advanced surface treatment and invites inquiries regarding the specifications and advantages of Plasma nitriding for their applications.
About HTA Brisbane. HTA Brisbane has been at the forefront of material engineering and surface treatment technologies. Their commitment to quality and constant innovation sets them apart as a primary partner to the Australian manufacturing sector. To learn more about HTA Brisbane and the new plasma nitriding service, please email [email protected]”
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More details about Norm’s life and his business can be found below and at https://thegatewaymag.com/company-spotlight/the-sousa-corp/
“The Sousa Corp is a three generation family owned business, supplying quality heat treating services to the northeast and beyond. Established in 1963 by Norman Sousa Sr., the business is carried on today by his son and grandchildren with the same focus on quality and customer service. The markets we proudly serve include, but are not limited to aerospace, defense, firearms, medical, and automotive.
We specialize in vacuum heat treating, carburizing and neutral hardening. Our wide range of equipment can handle everything from small one or two piece orders up to larger production runs. Our vast employee experience in heat treating allows us to work with our customers to assist them in achieving their requirements.
Through our AS9100 certification and state of the art instrumentation, The Sousa Corp. ensures customer satisfaction by providing services that meet or exceed their requirements. We are able to process to a vast number of customer specifications.
Norman Sr. built the business with the early advertising slogan “it’s the extra care that counts”. We strive to carry on that tradition everyday.” https://www.sousacorp.com/
Ever since “The Monty Heat Treat News” started publishing our list of the “50 Largest Commercial Heat Treats in North America” almost 30 years ago Advanced Heat Treat Corp., headquartered in Waterloo, Iowa, USA has been included on this list (https://themonty.com/the-montys-50-largest-north-american-commercial-heat-treaters-2024-numbers-50-40/?no_cache=1718025841).
While we have visited AHT several times over the years we very much appreciated a recent invite from the President of the firm, Mr. Mike Woods to see what changes had taken place in the company, this visit happened just last week.
AHT has 4 locations around the country; 2 in Waterloo, Iowa (headquarters), Cullman, Alabama and Monroe, Michigan and in total roughly 160 employees. We have always found it fascinating that the founder and owner of the company, Mr. Gary Sharp built the company on his conviction that Ion (Plasma) Nitriding had a bright future in the heat-treating industry, a belief which at the time was not shared by many others. With a great deal of effort and plain old hard work Gary founded the company on this belief and the end result is that AHT has the largest ion nitriding capacity in North America.
This is not to say that AHT is a “one trick pony”, their capabilities include Ion and gas nitriding with over 50 units in operation, Nitrocarburizing, Cryogenics, Carburizing, Induction Hardening and several other processes. It is worth noting that the company now has one of the largest gas nitriding systems available in North America, a system capable of handling parts over 20′ in length.
Their customers run the gauntlet from aerospace to agriculture, defense, automotive firearms, medical and oil and gas with some customer coming from as far aways as Europe because of their unique capabilities.
Commercial heat treats around the world range from plain old down and dirty, primitive, smoky operations right on up to “state of the art”, clean, modern facilities-AHT certainly falls in the latter category.
Because the company is ITAR Registered in addition to having NADCAP certification and a number of other certifications photos are tricky. However, we did manage this one photo showing Mike Woods (President), Gord Montgomery (The Monty Heat Treat News) and Gary Sharp founder and owner. For more information about AHT please visit https://www.ahtcorp.com/
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With very substantial attendance the crowd included current and former employees of the company, suppliers, customers from the US and Canada, former owner Wally Bamford, local politicians and current owner Victor Oreskovich amongst others. The open house featured a very generous buffet and bar, speeches by Victor Oreskovich, Mike Klauck, President, Can Eng and Wally Bamford as well as a tour of the facility which allowed visitors to see at least two mesh belt furnace lines under construction and two 8,000 pound per hour roller hearth line.
Certainly, it is cause for celebration that the company has reached such a significant milestone but it is also cause for celebration that the company is thriving. Currently the company has 7 mesh belt furnace lines on order and a record-breaking order backlog of $50 million which requires manufacturing at 4 different locations.
About Can Eng; More details about the company can be found at https://www.can-eng.com/. The company is ranked as one of the 10 largest furnace builders in North America by “The Monty Heat Treat News” https://themonty.com/articles/10-largest-north-american-heat-treat-furnace-builders/
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Gord Montgomery, Victor Oreskovich, Owner, Can Eng, Tim Donofrio, VP Sales, Can Eng
Jordan Montgomery, Wally Bamford, Former Owner Can Eng, Gord Montgomery
Gord Montgomery, Dan Breitkreuz, Field Service, Can Eng
Jordan Montgomery, 8,000 Pound Roller Hearth Furnace
“Aston, PA, June 15th, 2024: L&L Special Furnace is pleased to announce the delivery of the second FB435 model furnace to Doncaster Precision Castings of Groton CT, a global leader in the aerospace, industrial gas turbine, and automotive markets. This advanced furnace will bolster Doncaster’s in-house annealing, tempering, and heat treatment capabilities, significantly enhancing their production efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
The FB435 furnace from L&L Special Furnace features impressive specifications including a maximum temperature of 1850°F (1010°C) and working dimensions of 44″ width, 36″ height, and 60″ depth. The furnace operates in an air atmosphere, equipped with a vertical counterbalanced pneumatic door, and an 18″ diameter cast alloy fan. Its cooling system is powered by an automated ventilation system with a 600CFM venturi air mover, ensuring efficient and uniform cooling
Doncaster’s decision to add a second FB435 model highlights the reliable performance and trusted precision of L&L Special Furnace’s products. The 6 Zone SSR Control with digital biasing allows for easy balance of temperature gradients, Honeywell process controllers, and a NEMA12 industrial control panel with fused disconnect underscores the furnace’s advanced control and safety features. Additionally, the flat castable hearth and robust stack light audible visual annunciator system provide optimized operational functionality. By choosing L&L Special Furnace’s FB435 model for the second time, Doncaster demonstrates their commitment to maintaining high-quality production standards. The furnace’s capacity to handle a typical load weight of 2,000 pounds reinforces its suitability for heavy-duty industrial processes within the aerospace and automotive sectors.”
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A portion of their process requirement requires vacuum heat treatment, traditionally sending their heat treatment requirements out to a local commercial heat treater. However, due to supplier quality issues and some changes at their local heat treater the decision was made to bring heat treating in house. This led to the purchase of a vacuum heat treat furnace from Vac Aero International of Burlington, Ontario, Canada in 2021 and most recently a second furnace also from Vac Aero in 2023, with a third planned for the near future.
The most recent furnace installed into Domite is a Vac Aero Model VAH 3472 MP-2, rated for 2450F, with a load capacity of 2500 lbs and 2 bar quenching with Nitrogen. The new furnace will complement the brand-new automated vacuum molding line the firm recently installed. Domite stated that one of the reasons they selected Vac Aero was because of the company’s willingness to customize the furnace to their processing requirements while maintaining production volumes.
The result is that Domite is now able to run continually, two heat treat cycles per day, removing their outside heat treat supplier dependence and optimizing their productivity.
A fully Canadian owned operation, Domite® Wear Technology Inc. continues to manufacture the product with the same fearlessness for innovation and high standards today. Building on those early successes, DWT expanded the product and alloy scope to help solve a range of wear related issues. DWT manufactures a full line of standard products as well as specializing in customized engineered wear solutions to provide superior results.” https://domite.com/
Patrick Arcichowski (Manager Sales and Customer Service, Vac Aero), Andrew Guiducci (President, Domite Wear Technology)
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