Furnace builder Ipsen who we are sure needs no introduction has promoted a very experienced employee to the position of Operations Manager at their Rockford, IL, USA facility. Dan Binz has served in a variety of positions at the company and just recently was promoted to the post of Operations Manager.

“The Monty Heat Treat News” rummaged through our Ipsen Rockford photos and came up with a rather unusal one. This photo was taken during a visit to Ipsen and if memory serves us correctly what you are looking at is the prototype vacuum furnace developed by Harald Ipsen many years ago.

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Centorr Vacuum Industries, a very specialized builder of new vacuum furnaces has just promoted a long time employee to the position of Chief Operating Officer.

“Centorr Vacuum Industries, headquartered in Nashua, New Hampshire, USA, has promoted Randy Fellbaum to the position of Chief Operating Officer.

Fellbaum joined Centorr in 1997 as an Electric Engineer before rising to the Manager of the Electrical Engineering Department. With experience in instrumentation and controls technologies,, Fellbaum reportedly led Centorr’s efforts into computer-controlled HMI implementation in the early 2000s. Prior to his work with Centorr, Fellbaum worked for Saint-Gobain Diamond Film, where he headed the Furnace Deposition Team.

Fellbaum has a BS in Computer Science from Franklin Piere College, Rindge, New Hampshire, and two AS degrees in Industrial Electricity and Industrial Electronics. Founded in 1954, Centorr Vacuum Industries is a high-temperature vacuum and controlled-atmosphere furnace manufacturer with an installed base of over 6,500 units worldwide.”

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For what it is worth a recent survey came up with the 50 most physical jobs in America, the results of which can be found at 50 most physical jobs in America | Entertainment News | wfmz.com. For what it is worth the individuals who put together this ranking claim it was based upon information provided by the U.S. Department of Labor. We won’t keep you in suspense, according to this ranking loading heat treat furnaces is ranked as the 16^th most physical job in America.

#16. Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

 -Importance of having stamina in this job: 56

– Level of stamina required: 43

– Average earnings 2021: $41,560 annually; $19.98 hourly

– 2021 employment: 14,900

– Projected job growth by 2031: -9.8% (below average)

This job requires the ability to set up, operate, and troubleshoot heating equipment such as furnaces or hardening machines used to heat metal or plastic objects. Stamina is needed to work in these high-temperature conditions for entire shifts at a time. Seventy percent of employees had a high school diploma, and some work experience is required as well.

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Headquartered in Burlington, Ontario, Canada, Vac Aero International Inc., is an international supplier of vacuum furnaces, heat treat, and specialized coating services with plants in both Ontario and Québec. The 64 year old company is one of the largest commercial heat treaters in North America (as ranked by “The Monty Heat Treat News” The Monty Heat Treat News – 50 Largest North American Commercial Heat Treats 2022 | The Monty)

The company recently made some substantial changes to its management structure:

The first is the appointment of Michael Miasek, a long-time employee of the company, to the role of Vac Aero CEO. Michael will be responsible for the planning out the company’s strategies and policies as the company looks to expand.

The second is the appointment of Dave Farmery as President and COO of the company. He brings a lifetime of experience to the company, having worked in the aerospace industry around the world for over 25 years. Dave has held positions of increasing responsibility with Air Canada, Smiths Aerospace/GE Aviation, Pratt & Whitney Canada and global aerospace supplier MB Aerospace. Dave and Michael replace Scott Rush who previously served as both President and CEO and will continue lending his expertise to Vac Aero on a consulting basis.

Further important appointments include Patrick Gosselin expanding his role to the company’s Vice President of Québec operations as well as Paul Reginato to the position of CFO/CIO.

Mr. Farmery will discuss the changes at Vac Aero International in more detail in his interview with “The Monty Heat Treat News,” which will appear next week.

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From Wikepdia we have this background on Molybdenum (Moly); “Molybdenum is a silvery metal with the sixth-highest melting point of any element, it can withstand extremely high temperatures and is highly resistant to corrosion. Molybdenum is mainly used as an alloying agent in stainless steel, and also in the manufacture of aircraft parts and industrial motors. The biggest producers of the metal are: China, United States, Chile, Peru and Mexico. Molybdenum Futures are available for trading in The London Metal Exchange (LME). The standard contact has a weight of 6 tonnes.”

Heat treaters will think of moly as a material used in furnace fixturing but mainly as a metal used in the construction of vacuum furnace hot zones because of its ability to withstand extremely high temperatures. It is also widely used in the production of stainless steels. Like so many things in the world these days moly pricing has seen some serious price pressures and the result can be seen in this graph.

It would appear that there are several reasons for this pricing pressure including the facts that one of the major suppliers, Peru is experiencing major mining interruptions and China is buying large quantities for their own requirements.

Be that as it may it would appear that in the near and medium term moly pricing will be seeing increases-long term it is harder to predict like many other commodities these days.

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We are pleased to announce that a good friend of “The Monty Heat Treat News” has been appointed as the new CEO of Nutec Group. While Nutec has a number of different divisions we know them because of their Nutec Bickley division in Mexico which ranks as one of the largest furnace builders in the country. We are including two photos which we took during a visit to the company, one shows a large drop bottom oven almost ready for delivery, the second shows a continuous furnace also almost ready for delivery.

“Nutec Group has announced effective February 1, 2023, Genaro F Cueva will step down from the position of CEO, remaining in his position as Chairman of the Board. He will be replaced as CEO by Daniel Llaguno, currently President, Nutec Fibers Division. This transition had been announced internally back in September 2022.

 Genaro began his career at Nutec in 1986, a company established in 1975 by his father Genaro Cueva Barrera. Over time, Nutec Group became a leading international supplier of high-temperature insulation fibers, fire protection products, as well as engineered furnaces and thermal equipment. In January 1993, Genaro became CEO of Nutec Group.

“It’s been a privilege and honor to act as Nutec’s CEO over the past 30 years. It’s been very rewarding to work alongside talented and dedicated individuals who are committed to our customers, to our values and to our success. I will continue serving Nutec as Chairman of the Board, and I look forward to Nutec’s continued success under Daniel’s leadership as our next CEO,” said Genaro Cueva.

In addition to chairing the Board of Directors, Genaro Cueva will continue to oversee strategic relations, acquisitions, and corporate governance.

Daniel Llaguno holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Management (ITESM), with further studies at IPADE, EGADE and Harvard (HBS). He is currently the President of Fibers Division, a role he assumed in April 2021. Prior to that, from 2009, he served as the President of Nutec Bickley. Earlier, he had held various sales and management positions of increasing responsibilities, since first joining in 1997.

 “I am honored to have been appointed CEO of Nutec Group, a family that I’ve been a part of for over 25 years. Genaro has given outstanding service for many years, defining and strengthening our Culture always putting ethics first, and leaving our various companies as renowned and respected suppliers in their fields of operation,” said Daniel Llaguno.

 “On behalf of the entire Nutec team, we thank him for everything that he has done as CEO, and we are pleased that he will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board. Our Board of Directors has tasked me with continuing our efforts towards sustainable growth, always maintaining the values on which Grupo Nutec has relied since its first days. I look forward to the challenge that lies ahead.”

Daniel’s replacement as director of the Fibers Division will be decided by the Board of Directors, through its Talent and Culture Committee; while that process is being completed, Daniel will continue to be responsible for companies in the Fibers division.”

 Nutec Group comprises the following companies:

 Nutec Fibratec (Mexico)

Nutec Bickley (Mexico)

Nutec Inc (USA)

Nutec Protective Concepts (USA)

Nutec Procal (Spain)

Nutec Europe (Spain)

Nutec Ibar (Brazil)

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Want to know more about Pete Kerbel of Ipsen? “The Monty Heat Treat News” interviewed Pete a couple of years back, an interview which can be found at Pete Kerbel, Vice President of Sales, Ipsen-The Video Interview | The Monty

“Cherry Valley, ILLINOIS (February 1, 2023) – Ipsen USA is excited to announce the return of Mr. Pete Kerbel in the role of Sales Representative/Midwest Regional Sales Owner. Bringing renewed focus to this region will strengthen vacuum furnace sales and support for hundreds of current and potential customers.

Formerly Ipsen’s Vice President of Sales, Kerbel is returning with invaluable insight into customer needs and solutions. Pete started with Ipsen in 2008 and held various roles in both new equipment sales and aftermarket services. His technical knowledge and strong customer relationships will be valuable assets in his new role.

Kerbel’s home base is near Ipsen’s Vacuum Technology Excellence Center in Cherry Valley, IL, and his territory covers nine states (CO, ND, SD, NE, MN, IA, MO, WI and IL). For more information on Ipsen’s product and service offerings, visit IpsenGlobal.com.”

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“The Monty Heat Treat News” was recently invited to the Mississauga, Canada facility of Busch Vacuum Solutions (2^nd largest of three sites in Canada). Busch Group (based in Germany) is one of the world’s largest suppliers of industrial vacuum solutions (pumps, systems, service) and during our visit, we learned that the company has very ambitious plans of expanding their service offerings to the heat treatment industry.

The service offering in Canada, will be accelerated by leveraging resources and staff of Vacuum Furnace Engineering (VFE) in the UK, acquired by the Busch UK division 2021. VFE is a company dedicated to servicing the vacuum furnace industry, from vacuum and thermal audit to hot zone replacement and total overhaul. Already offering full warranty overhaul of all vacuum pump/blower makes, the team in Canada is also aggressively entering the leak detection business, utilizing instruments designed and built by Pfeiffer Vacuum – the companies are linked by Busch Group (Global) share ownership. In addition to other plans in Canada, an ISO certified metrology lab will be established, with service delivery planned by Q4 2023. “Our focus on service in the metallurgy market, including all vacuum furnace and coating applications, is also a response to demand”, as Sean Duffin Director of Business Development, explains, “…it’s a byproduct of the aging technical work force and retirement of that knowledge from the workplace. We’re expanding our technical workforce and using the knowledge/expertise of the Busch Global network of companies to grow.”

Busch, with approximately 90 staff, operates in Canada through four locations, Montreal/Mississauga/Calgary/Vancouver. Each site stocks pumps and spares while also delivering shop-overhaul and field-service. The Montréal (Boisbriand) site, headquarters for over 35 years, is also home to the engineering and systems assembly group, who provide advanced solutions to markets ranging from medical and food to chemical and plastics. Given there is already land available, growth plans may likely be reflected at the Mississauga and Montreal locations.

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Sean Duffin, Martin Arsenault (Busch Canada), Jordan Montgomery (“The Monty Heat Treat News”)

Sean Duffin, Gord Montgomery

Sean Duffin, Martin Arsenault (Busch Canada)

“2022 was a difficult year for global geopolitics and the economy. Despite this, SECO/WARWICK, the first choice among manufacturers of metal heat treatment and vacuum metallurgy furnaces, can talk about an excellent year. The great results of the Group were influenced by several factors: the growth of production activities in China, dynamic market development in America, and the huge number of orders related to the electromobility industry expansion. In the first three quarters of 2022, the company had over 100 % more profit than in the previous year, and sales revenues amounted to PLN 448.87 million in this period (PLN 335.09 million in 2021).

The Group’s financial results prove how good this year was for SECO/WARWICK. At a time when the world was plunged into chaos and a deep economic crisis, SECO/WARWICK recorded record profits. The first three quarters of 2022 brought an increase in sales by 34% y/y, with a sales gross margin higher by 1 percentage point (22.9% in the reporting period). The higher sales value reflected the Group’s order book condition. The largest sales increase was recorded by the Vacuum Furnace segment (52%). The segment of furnaces for aluminum heat treatment and brazing – Aluminum Process – showed higher sales by 49% compared to the previous year’s corresponding period, and the segment of melting furnaces was up by +3%. Aftersales (spare parts and service) increased by 36%.

“Our results support current macroeconomic trends which have changed the way customers view supply chains. Primarily in the USA in the titanium processing area. In connection with the pandemic period experience, the war in Ukraine and the tense situation between the USA and China, manufacturers want to secure the acquisition of titanium for the products intended for the aviation market, and this means that we are gaining more and more orders from North America. Such reshoring, in other words, moving production back to Western Europe and the USA, is of great importance to us. Another direction supporting our results is electromobility – the Chinese subsidiary sells equipment for heat exchanger production to markets around the world. Electromobility is a very strong trend, and, despite the crisis, this direction is not changing. Currently, thanks to this trend, a noticeable part of our margin comes from China,” said Sławomir Woźniak, CEO of SECO/WARWICK Group.

For SECO/WARWICK, 2023 will be the year of American companies. The SECO/WARWICK Group boasts customers in 70 countries, while the American branch – SECO/VACUUM – serves 125 customers, after only five years of operation! Development also means the need to hire additional engineering and production personnel and the need to increase production capacity, hence the company’s move to a new headquarters with 50% more office space and 300% more hall space. The second American company belonging to the Group – RETECH, which will celebrate its 60th birthday next year, has delivered and commissioned many vacuum metallurgy equipment projects during the last year, mainly VIM, VAR, PAM solutions and furnaces using a consumable electrode. In turn, the third American company focused on the service and sale of products from the atmospheric furnace segment, including aluminum process and CAB, increased sales under the leadership of the new managing director – Marcus Lord. Last month, the company won a significant contract for a furnace renovation at the U.S. Mint, and a key contract for an aluminum melting furnace project.

“Undoubtedly, the VIM furnace, one of the most popular products in the Retech vacuum metallurgy portfolio, has contributed to our success. There is also interest in modern technologies, such as the PAM furnace, of which Retech is the undisputed market leader. The Group’s key step on the American market will be the start of vacuum furnace production and the needs of our partners for titanium melting furnaces. Titanium processing is currently the second most important industry for us,” explains S. Woźniak.”

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