Regular Contributor Josh Hale of International Search Partners, the top recruiting firm in the North American Heat Treatment Industry sends us this article entitled “Will the Heat Treat Industry Embrace a 4 Day Work Week?”

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, Managing Recruiter, Josh Hale and 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 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.

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“Chesterfield, MI, April 1, 2024 – Solar Atmospheres of Michigan has successfully relocated from the old Fraser and Warren facilities to a new, state-of-the-art location in Chesterfield, Michigan. All ten furnaces (both new and existing) are fully operational at the Chesterfield plant, heralding a new era of efficiency and productivity. This spring, construction will begin on a 15,000 square foot expansion on an adjacent lot. The expansion will allow for the investment in cutting-edge vacuum furnaces from Solar Manufacturing.

Bob Hill President of Solar Atmospheres of Michigan states, “Our future is very bright in Michigan. The consolidation and expansion will us to elevate our service standards and meet the evolving demands of our clientele across Michigan and the surrounding states. Solar of Michigan remains steadfast in its dedication to innovation, service excellence, and customer satisfaction as it ventures into this new chapter of growth and expansion.”

For more information about the Solar Atmospheres Michigan facility contact Chris Molencupp at (586) 264-8100 ext. 1620, or [email protected], and visit us at www.solaratm.com.”

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It is with genuine regret that we mention the upcoming closing of one of the oldest commercial heat treats in North America, Metlab Heat Treat of Wyndmoor, PA, USA; “Metlab was founded in 1928 as a manufacturer of aircraft components. As part of the manufacturing process, Metlab created an in-house heat-treating facility to handle delicate, lightweight weldments. The company developed and patented the first “drop bottom” or “gantry” furnace, to allow long, slender tubes and weldments to be hung in the furnace to minimize distortion. This furnace design revolutionized the heat-treating of aluminum as well as aircraft landing gear – providing minimum distortion and rapid cooling. Expertise in deep case carburizing, coupled with large furnaces, has allowed the company to be the choice of manufacturers of large components, such as bearings and gears.”

Not only is it a shame to see the closing of such a well established and well known heat treat, it is especially sad to see one close which has such unique capabilities. Metlab you see has the largest commercially available pit carburizing furnaces in North America and because of this they drew customers from as far away as Mexico and Canada. We will miss working with the company and their owner Mr. Mark Podob.

To learn more about what the company was capable of we would suggest this “Heat Treat Podcast” which was done with the owner a year ago.

Ultra Large Gear Carburizing-“The Heat Treat Podcast”

“The Monty Heat Treat News” is absolutely ecstatic to present to you today the latest “Heat Treat Podcast” in which are handsome host Mr. Carlos Torres speaks with Mr. Mark Podob about carburizing of ultra large gears. Mark is President of Metlab Heat Treat of Wyndmoor, PA, USA a heat treat which has the distinction of having the largest commercially available pit carburizing furnaces in North America. Ultra Large Gear Carburizing | Mark Podob | THE HEAT TREAT PODCAST #49 – YouTube

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Earlier this year “The Monty Heat Treat News” published a ranking of the 10 largest North American furnace builders and in second place on that list you will find AFC-Holcroft of Wixom, Michigan. With this preamble out of the way we can say that the company has just appointed a new Manufacturing Manager.

Mr. Michael Harrison has an impressive resume in the heat treatment industry going back 20 years to when he was a Metallurgical Engineer at American Axle & Manufacturing in Detroit, Michigan. Since that time Michael has worked with companies such as Bodycote (the world’s largest commercial heat treater) and furnace builder Gasbarre (which is also on our list of the 10 largest North American builders). We have no doubt but that he will do a good job for the company.

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As business investment in the Mexican manufacturing sector continues to grow by leaps and bounds heat treatment in the country both captive and commercial also continues to grow. We will qualify this statement by adding that the vast bulk of this heat treatment is in “atmosphere” heat treating and to qualify this still further much is related to the auto and truck industries. All of this is a roundabout way of saying that vacuum heat treatment in Mexico has always been very limited mainly because there is little aerospace, medical or tool and die work in the country.

Which makes it rather odd that recently we have run across several planned or installed vacuum furnace projects in the country. The most recent install that we are familiar with just took place at the Eifeler division of Voestalpine High Performance Metals, Mexico in Monterrey. This location has just finished installing their second heat treat furnace which means that Voestalpine High Performance Mexico now has a total of 5 vacuum furnaces.

This most recent install has working dimensions of 600 X 600 X 900 (24″ X 24″ X 36″), a weight capacity of 800kg (1760 pounds) and quenching pressure of 10 Bar using Nitrogen. The furnace can be seen in this picture along with Mr. Paul Cavanagh (CEO and Regional Manager, Mexico), Jose Manuel Robledo (Managing Director, Mexico) and Mr. Tonatiuh Flores (General Manager for Coatings and Thermo-Tech).

We will shortly have news about another vacuum installation in Mexico, a brand new facility which when open later this year will boast anywhere up to 6 vacuum units. Our readers can also look forward to several profiles of large, captive heat treaters in Mexico in just two short weeks when Jordan and Gord Montgomery of “The Monty Heat Treat News” visit the Querétaro, Mexico area to attend to the upcoming ASM heat treatment show.

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December of 2023 “The Monty Heat Treat News” posted a news item about the installation of what has been promoted as the largest vacuum furnace in Turkey, this item can be found below. We can now finish this story by adding that the furnace has entered production and that it has working dimensions of 1200mm X 2700mm (approximately 48″ diameter by 106″ high).

“DECEMBER 13/2023; Largest Vacuum Furnace in Turkey? Turkey has long had a very large, modern and progressive heat treating industry (both captive and commercial) with some of the most advanced heat treating technologies in the world. On the commercial side of the market one of the larger commercial shops is Döksan Isıl İşlem with at least two locations in the country. A few years back Dale & Gord Montgomery of “The Monty Heat Treat News” had a chance to visit this company and what we found were two impressive facilities largely dedicated to atmosphere and induction heat treating mainly for the automotive industry. The company has always been ambitious and looking for new markets and this leads to this news item. “Döksan Isıl İşlem ve ARGE Merkezi A.Ş. Başkent OSB will soon start production of the country’s largest vacuum furnace which can be seen in these photos. The bottom loading, vertical furnace is being provided by BMI of France and is destined to process components for the aerospace industry.” We have these 3 pictures of the install.”

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It has been announced that Surgoinsville, TN, USA will be the future home of a new commercial heat treat by the name of Vulcan Thermal. Vulcan has declared that they will be investing $5 million USD in a 15,000 square foot facility at 390 Phipps Bend Road in Surgoinsville which will create about 30 jobs.

While it is not known at this time what type of heat treating the company will offer we can look for clues at their parent company Elk County Heat Treat (EHT Inc.) in St. Marys, Pennsylvania. EHT is a privately owned firm (Ben Vrobel, Owner) which focuses on the powdered metal industry (St. Marys is the PM capital of the world). “Founded in 1984, and headquartered in St. Marys, Pennsylvania, EHT provides heat treatment, steam treatment and vibratory finishing, as well as inspection, packaging and related services to major suppliers in the automotive and agricultural segments.” EHT in St. Marys is a medium sized heat treater who has a fairly new Surface Combustion “Super 36” batch IQ line and a Surface mesh belt line amongst other equipment.

While there is not an enormous amount of industry in Surgoinsville there is a fairly substantial automotive supplier by the name of Bharat Forge PMT in the town.

These photos show Elk County Heat Treat in St. Marys. We will keep you updated on this story.

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In North America the vast bulk of capital goods sales in the heat treatment industry are done through independent sales representative organizations (this would include furnace sales, alloy, controls and coolers to name just a few). One of the more successful organizations is MetalPro Resources which covers a wide US territory which includes Ohio and Indiana. According to this press release the firm has just added a fourth partner.

“MetalPro Resources is pleased to announce that David A. Alvord has joined our group as the fourth partner of our organization. Dave comes to MetalPro Resources with over 10 years of experience in heat treatment, forging, powder metallurgy, and high-temperature materials. Working in the fields aerospace, automotive, defense, oil and gas, and medical, he has a broad understanding of the unique requirements of each respective industry. Dave’s heat treat experience ranges from small batch processing of specialty metals (Ta, W, Nb, Ti, Mo) to high volume production of transmission gears for heavy equipment. He holds an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology and a MBA. Dave will work out of Northwest Ohio where he resides and will be our main contact in that region as well as portions of Northeast Indiana and West Central Ohio.”

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“The Monty Heat Treat News” has learned that two manufacturers of new thermal processing systems are in serious discussions to jointly offer engineering services not just to the heat treatment industry but all industry around the world. McLaughlin Furnace Group of Avilla, Indiana and ION HEAT of Medellín, Colombia have been working towards an agreement whereby they would offer their engineering services to companies around the world while adding engineering capabilities in a variety of locations around the world known for their expertise and their low cost of doing business. ION HEAT as an example has a team of very experienced engineers who can offer their services at very competitive pricing because of the lower cost of doing business in Colombia, an advantage which is paired with very high levels of education in the country with an emphasis on engineering.

Jeff McLaughlin, CEO of McLaughlin Furnace Group had this to say; ” For some time now we have been speaking with Andreas Bernal, CEO of ION HEAT and over the course of the past two years we have come to have a mutual respect for each other. Our conversations have progressed to the stage where we are talking about how we could collaborate on new projects-engineering services would appear to be an obvious one. The basic concept is to utilize the experience of engineers in lower cost areas to help manufacturers around the world with their manufacturing needs. It is well known that good, experienced people are hard to find in North America and Europe, we aim to fill that void”.

Jeff went on to say that undoubtedly some people will question why he is embarking on another new project when McLaughlin Furnace is staying so busy; “I can’t help myself I love new projects and new challenges and this appears to fill a real void while at the same time helping our design capabilities at McLaughlin. Certainly over the years I have been accused of being a man in a hurry, a pushy SOB might be a better way to describe myself however this is what I live for, new challenges.”

While it would appear that this project is still in the planning stages it sounds like both sides are working towards making this happen. We will keep you posted.

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Jeff McLaughlin, Jimena Bernal, Andreas Bernal, Steven Sossa

For over 85 years “THIELE” ( https://www.thiele.de/en/) in Iserlohn, Germany has been a leading manufacturer of round steel chains and forgings in the areas of conveyor and lifting technology. During that time the company has long recognized that one of their core competencies has been heat treating and to that end the firm has always maintained a “state of the art” heat treatment department. Last Friday the company increased their heat treat capacity with the addition of a brand new batch IQ (sealed quench) furnace line.

The furnace line was supplied by Ipsen of Kleve, Germany and is a Model Atlas XXL unit with working dimensions of B1220/L1520/H1300 (48″ X 60″ X 51″) and a weight capacity of approximately 2,000 kg (4,400 pounds). This is Ipsen’s largest standard size of sealed quench furnace and it has proven to be a very successful product offering.

Typically chain manufacturers around the world have heat treated their products in house and batch IQ furnaces along with mesh or cast link continuous furnaces are the most common type of furnaces used although from time to time you run across a rotary retort furnace although they are gradually going the way of the dinosaurs.

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