The German Design Council, in recognition of Ipsen’s pioneering innovation, has presented Ipsen Global the German Innovation Award for the ATLAS GREEN furnace platform. The award ceremony was held in Frankfurt, Germany on May 14, celebrating the innovators that emerged from a field of 520 submissions from across 23 countries. Ipsen was recognized as a winner in the Excellence in Business to Business – Machines & Engineering category for the development of the Ipsen ATLAS GREEN atmosphere furnace.
The ATLAS GREEN was selected for its ability to provide a high-quality heat treatment solution while reducing the end user’s carbon footprint. The ATLAS GREEN furnace achieves 100 percent CO2-neutral operation through a smart combination of green electricity and green hydrogen. Intelligent software monitors the availability of green electricity and switches to green hydrogen when needed. This hybrid electric/hydrogen energy approach is important for the future of an industry that has traditionally relied on the use of fossil fuels, and a correspondingly high CO2 footprint. As many countries continue to tackle climate change, Ipsen Global and ATLAS GREEN help companies find ways to reduce future carbon tax costs, while continuing to offer the same high-quality, reliable heat treating solutions that industry demands.
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Commercial heat treater Nitrion do Brasil – the largest nitriding service provider in the region – has purchased another SECO/WARWICK Vector vacuum furnace. The solution will operate in a new production hall and will handle their increasing order volume. Nitrion do Brasil is another commercial heat treater from South America that has chosen SECO/WARWICK’s solutions. This latest project is the result of the excellent synergy with the Group’s strategic partner in the region – Combustol.
In Brazil, commercial heat treaters are particularly fond of Vector single-chamber vacuum furnaces. This line of furnaces was used by Supertrat, who wanted to improve and increase their hardening process power and boost the process economics. Dynamic sales growth and good forecasts on this market are the result of close cooperation between SECO/WARWICK and strategic partner – Combustol.
“Combustol supports SECO/WARWICK not only in sales, but also in service activities and the supply of spare parts. Such a partner in such a remote location is a huge advantage, helping us to beat the competition. In the case of cooperation with Nitrion do Brasil, another factor determined the success. The customer bought a furnace that we could deliver quickly,” – said Maciej Korecki, Vice-President of the Vacuum Furnaces Segment in the SECO/WARWICK Group.
The Vector vacuum furnace on order will solve Nitron do Brasil’s problem of hardening larger elements, because the furnace is equipped with a large working space. This will affect the process economics (energy savings and the graphite chamber’s increased efficiency) as well as the process cleanliness and speed. The furnace is equipped with convection heating – a system which improves the heat transfer efficiency when heating at lower temperatures, as well as directional cooling, which allows the system to efficiently cool parts with problematic shapes in various ways
“We were looking for a solution which would help not only increase our metal processing capabilities, but also efficiency and effectiveness. Vector is the first choice furnace and will operate in a completely new production hall. We know that it works in many commercial heat treating plants in Brazil, and works perfectly everywhere in the country. The fact that SECO/WARWICK cooperates with a Brazilian company operating locally is important,” says Peter Lutz, President of Nitrion do Brasil.
Commercial heat treaters are one of the SECO/WARWICK Group’s main partners. Every day, commercial heat treaters deal with many types of materials, a wide range of processes and technologies. What all customers in this industry have in common is the key parameter- operational efficiency, i.e. short production cycles and low production costs. “We know the South American market; we have supplied vacuum furnaces to the largest commercial heat treating plants on this continent. Again, we executed the fastest vacuum furnace delivery on the Brazilian market.”– adds Łukasz Chwiałkowski, Sales Manager, SECO/WARWICK.”
To go with the news item we have this photo of part of the Nitrion facility.
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Ipsen welcomes Max Stormo as the new Ipsen Customer Service (ICS) Operations Manager as the company streamlines its aftermarket services in Souderton, PA. Stormo comes to Ipsen after an extensive career working as a manufacturing operations leader in Texas, and a recent role as Vice President of Operations at a manufacturer in the Philadelphia region.
In this position, Stormo will be a hands-on leader that directs and coordinates activities of Ipsen’s aftermarket business for the Souderton plant. This includes overseeing manufacturing activities, developing and implementing production plans, training and developing staff, and ensuring the delivery of high-quality aftermarket parts to Ipsen’s customers.
“Leading organizations through a series of step changes leads to organizational transformation. I’m a big believer in step change – which drives sustainability,” Stormo explained. “These changes lead to bigger things and set new standards.”
Born and raised in Spokane, WA, Stormo received his Bachelor of Science degree in Operations Management from Arizona State University. In 2006, he followed a career opportunity to Houston, TX where he spent the next 17 years in leadership roles with two different companies.
Stormo reports to Jake Hamid, Ipsen USA’s Director and Chief Operating Officer, and is excited to work with a team of exceptional leaders who share common values: “Ipsen has genuine leaders who represent the type of people that I enjoy working with and the culture that I was looking to join,” said Stormo.
He also looks forward to working with an experienced and growing team. Ipsen’s Souderton location has over 60 employees and is currently recruiting for ten additional positions: “People are an investment and the most valued asset in the company. Everyone I’ve met at Ipsen has the same attitude – enthusiasm,” said Stormo.
Stormo has lived in Pennsylvania since October of 2022. He shares his home with his wife of 24 years, his 16-year-old son, and a collection of three cats and two dogs. In his spare time, he loves to golf, fish, and cook award-winning barbecue.
Anyone interested in joining Ipsen’s Souderton team can view job opportunities here: https://recruiting.paylocity.com/recruiting/jobs/All/5bb721ef-b458-4a18-834f-26612b119f93/Ipsen-International-Inc?location=Souderton%2C%20PA&department=All%20Departments
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Applications of stainless steel (SS) have been known for over a hundred years. Enhancing tribological properties of these alloys can be achieved by using nitriding [1, 2]. However, the standard nitriding process has limited abilities to improve corrosion resistance of SS unless it is used at very low temperatures to produce the expanded austenite phase [2]. This phase is very hard and it has a better corrosion resistance than austenite SS but because it can only be formed at very low temperatures, typically its thickness does not exceed 0.010 mm (0.004”).
The physical properties of titanium are unique and they include low density, low modulus of elasticity, low coefficient of expansion and paramagnetic properties [3]. Titanium offers engineers lower density than steel, higher strength than aluminum and magnesium at all temperatures, and the fatigue, creep, and fracture toughness properties required for aerospace service [3]. In addition to these attractive mechanical and physical properties, titanium and its alloys exhibit resistance to corrosion and erosion from a wide range of industrial chemicals, natural waters, and gases [3]. However, friction/tribological properties of titanium alloys compared to SS are rather poor, and therefore, nitriding is very often used as the main surface treatment for enhancing those properties [4]. To what degree nitrided titanium can replace nitrided SS is a fundamental question, which I will try to answer.
Tribological and Corrosion Properties of Nitrided Titanium Alloys versus Nitrided Stainless Steels
Comparison of the tribological performance of nitrided austenitic and martensitic SS with nitrided titanium alloy is very important, when alternatively, both materials could be used. Linear wear of plasma-nitrided WT3-1 titanium alloy and two plasma-nitrided stainless steels is shown in Fig. 1.
The linear wear becomes accelerated after approximately 50 min for the H17N2 martensitic stainless steel and after approximately 70 min for the 1H18N9T austenitic stainless steel. The wear of the titanium alloy shows a linear evolution during the whole duration of the test, its value being lower than those of both steels.
Nitrided Titanium Alloy Has Higher Corrosion Resistance than Nitrided Steels
Anodic polarization curves of both steels and titanium alloy are shown in Fig. 2. These curves indicate a markedly higher corrosion resistance of the nitrided titanium alloy relative to that of nitrided steels. It should be noted that the corrosion resistance of stainless steels nitrided at higher temperatures to produce a thick layer diminishes after nitriding [1,2] while titanium alloys do not lose their anticorrosion properties after this treatment.
Nitriding Titanium Produces A Gold Color
It could be noticed that despite preferential treatment of stainless steel at low temperatures, its corrosion resistance is still much lower than that of nitrided titanium alloy. The structure of the nitrided layer in titanium and its alloys always contains TiN nitride at the surface in the first subzone of the layer [4]. Therefore, nitrided titanium products have a very attractive gold color.
Titanium also has excellent acoustic properties and therefore is a prime material for making sonotrodes used in ultrasonic joining as tools for super precise welding and cutting. Nitriding helps to increase the life of such tools [6].
Conclusion: Nitrided Titanium Can Be a Great Substitute for Stainless Steels
Comparative investigations of the properties of plasma-nitrided titanium alloys and alloy steels, shown above, have demonstrated that nitrided titanium alloys can be a substitute for acid-resistant steels in cases where high-contact abrasive wear resistance is required [4, 6-8].
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A recent visit by “The Monty Heat Treat News” to AVION Europa GmbH & Co., based in Hagen, Germany revealed to us a firm which is thriving as a provider of heat treating sales and services to the German heat treatment industry-both captive and commercial. Our hosts, co owners Mr. Roland Caminades and Mr. Sebastian Köchling were courteous, helpful and very informative and provided us with the details for this article. https://avion-europe.de/en/
1994 saw the founding of AVION Europa GmbH & Co. KG in Sprockhövel, Westphalia which at founding was primarily a reseller firm supplying the heat treatment industry.
In 2000 one of the current owners Roland Caminades acquired the company and relocated it to its present location in Hagen, Westphalia. At that point in time Avion focused on spare parts especially for Ipsen furnaces while at the same time acting as independent reseller company for a number of well known suppliers to the heat treatment industry. Roland’s background in the metals surface treatment industry proved to be invaluable to the firm’s growth.
Since those relatively humble beginnings Avion has become the largest full service heat treatment firm in Europe offering spare parts, complete systems and installs. Currently it has 3 locations in Europe; Swiebodzin, Poland, Hagen, Germany and Kleve, Germany (interestingly enough Avion is the second largest furnace builder in Poland-a little known fact).
In 2024 the company has 20 full time employees and a further 80 individuals who are involved on a regular basis. The year is proving to be a good one for the company with sales estimated to be close to 6 million euros. Besides Roland the management team includes Sebastian Köchling co-owner of the company and Mr. Damian Szarapanowski as Technical Director. Damian studied partially in Germany and worked a couple of years for former Furnace Manufacturer ELTERMA (later Seco/Warwick) before joining AVION.
While Avion is able to offer many services to the heat treat industry a large portion of the firm’s overall business is acting as independent sales company for some of the best known suppliers to the industry. These include controls company SSi Europe of Birmingham, England, SBS Corp., of Sarasota, Florida, USA a provider of systems and solutions for fluids, Vacuum furnace builder Adencon Industrial Furnaces, furnace builder Sistem Makina of Turkey, burner company Noxmat of Germany and ITC Coatings from the USA. All this is coordinated in the background by the HEAT ALLIANCE GmbH, who is the liability company of AVION Europa.
A very interesting part of Avion’s consulting and sales, business includes their work with Texas, USA based ITC Coatings who offer a product called “Ceracoat”, a ceramic reflective coating product which amongst its many advantages can reduce furnace cycle time by 25% due to reduced heat loss and faster heat up time. Roland was positively eloquent when speaking about the advantages of this product.
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Carlos Tröder, Roland Caminades (managing Director), Ralf Winkels (Sales Manager Spare Parts), Sebastina Köchling (managing Director), Georg Cluse (Sales manager New Equipment), Vanessa Höfer (Order Processing)
2024 has also proven to be very eventful for the company, February 8th, Avion entered into an agreement with Italian furnace builder Cieffe in what is widely anticipated to be a win/win/win situation for both companies and, most important- for the customers -this is the official press release;
“Italian Furnace equipment manufacturer Cieffe Thermal Systems S.r.l. and Germany based AVION Europe GmbH & Co. KG just announced a formal strategic cooperation for services, spare parts as well as new equipment sale for the German heat treatment market. “Starting from March 1st, 2024, AVION Europe will be engaged with our German customers, suppling original Cieffe spare parts and all services around our furnace lines. This includes brick work, maintenance and revamping or upgrading productive assets to industry 4.0/5.0 of almost 600 furnaces in the German market” explains Peter Schweighofer, CEO of Cieffe International based in Zug, Switzerland.
As part of our growth strategy, we are happy to announce this single most important expansion into the German market, by engaging with one of the most experienced, and locally rooted German service companies as a partner. Addressing our customer’s needs while equally expanding our franchise for international customer groups alike, is a value chain addition on both sides of the equation”, Schweighofer concluded. “For AVION Europe this cooperation is a milestone in its company history, and we are happy to support one of the major players in the European furnace market” Roland Caminades, Managing Director of AVION Europe comments the development.”
There is little that Avion is not able to offer to the heat treat market and this includes products for salt quenching applications. It is interesting that salt quenching in Europe has seen the same changes in attitudes as have been seen in North America; from a widely accepted form of quenching, to a reluctance to use it because of environmental concerns all the way back to being considered a safe, effective form of quenching some benefits over oil and polymer quenching. George Cluse has these comments;
“We are currently experiencing a renaissance in the field of salt bath curing. While this technology has been dismantled in many places over the past 30 years, the specialists who have held on to it have now often occupied a very interesting niche that offers many advantages, and not just in terms of technology. Avion has also established itself as a reliable partner in the market in this area with various innovative solutions. Avion is known as a competent partner in the heat treatment industry for complex issues such as monitoring moisture, continuous scale removal, overall filtration, optimum temperature control/uniformity and cooling capacity, etc.
Our salt bath technology can therefore be found in chamber furnaces, classic shaft furnace applications and fully automatic baths, which are subject to the highest demands and must achieve high-quality results in continuous 24/7 operation in many sectors of industry. Avion sees itself as a provider of complete solutions for the customer that meet the requirement of “all components from a single source”. In the end, the customer should not be bothered with interface problems, but has a competent partner in Avion, who combines the individual requirements with precisely tailored & reliable solutions. Our experienced team is what sets us apart.
Further more in the last twelve years AVION was one of the first companies in Europe that sold control systems for Endogas Generators. The control system stopped the inefficient and expensive burn-off procedure, which was not seen as a problem back then. Today almost all Generator suppliers offer their own modernized control system for new generators. “Since there are more used generators than new ones, AVION Europa concentrates on retrofitting old generators and supplies an add-on kit, so that older systems do not need to burn-off excess Endogas. Our AVIOGen System enables all Generator operators to do their share in CO² reduction, independent from the original Generator manufacturer” explains Damian Szarapanowski, Technical Director and responsible for this technology at AVION Europa. We should add that we not only retrofit generators but also brand new systems. And there is more to come. “The Monty” will follow the development of AVION Europa and will update you from time to time.
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