“Governor Tom Wolf announced that Gasbarre Products, Inc., an industrial furnace manufacturer, will create and retain 172 total jobs in multiple Pennsylvania counties as part of a planned expansion at the company’s facility in St. Marys, Elk County.
The company is investing $5.8 million into the project and has leased a 150,000-square-foot facility at 835 Washington Street in St. Marys, which will triple the size of their current State Street location. Gasbarre also plans to relocate operations from their Plymouth, Michigan, location to this new facility.
“With four locations here, Gasbarre has a nearly 50-year presence in Pennsylvania,” said Sec. Weaver. “We’re very pleased to support the company’s newest expansion as they continue to grow and thrive in the commonwealth.” As part of its expansion project, the company committed to creating 16 new jobs at its St. Marys facility within three years. Gasbarre is also retaining 156 existing employees across four locations statewide: St. Marys, Elk County; Philipsburg, Centre County; and DuBois and Olanta in Clearfield County.
“Our investment in the new facility in St. Marys provides an opportunity for Gasbarre to continue to grow and flourish where we have manufactured for nearly 50 years,” said Gasbarre CEO Alex Gasbarre. “The work ethic and skills provided by past, current, and future Gasbarre team members provide a strong base for this move. We look forward to adding new team members in the coming months when the move process is completed. The people of Elk County and St. Marys will be key to our success.”
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The commercial heat treatment industry in North America has had their ups and downs in the past few years but generally it has been fairly stable. An acquisition here, an acquisition there, an occasional closing but generally not too many changes-any changes this year can be found at this brief summary from “The Monty Heat Treat News” “American Heat Treat Alabama” | The Monty from October of this year.
And yet “The Monty Heat Treat News” has run across 3, possibly 4 commercial heat treat facilities in North America closing, in the act of closing or dead to the world. In some cases this involves a consolidation of processes into other locations, this would be the case at “Certified Heat Treating” in Springfield, Ohio, USA. Certified Heat Treating is a medium sized commercial heat treat which was acquired by “Thermal Process Holdings” back on January 2, 2018. Thermal Process Holdings 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
Our understanding is that the Certified Heat Treating plant is being closed with the equipment along with some of the work being moved to other “Thermal Process Holdings” locations.
To go with this story we have this announcement about the acquisition of Certified by “Thermal Process Holdings” back in January of 2018;
“JANUARY 2, 2018; Certified Heat Treating/Springfield, Ohio, USA; Certified Heat Treating of Springfield, Ohio, USA was acquired by Thermal Process Holdings on January 2, 2018 and was the second commercial heat treater to fall under the Thermal Process Holdings banner, the first being Diamond Heat Treat of Rockford, Illinois, USA. Calvert Street Capital Partners, Mr. John Hubbard of Bodycote fame, Lewis Lance, Don Longenette and team who form Thermal Process Holdings have been very clear that their goal is a commercial heat treat organization with annual sales of $100 million USD (their vision can be found here https://www.heattreating.com/news/)”
As far as other commercial heat treat facilities closing, moving or changing stay tuned-we promise we will keep you updated.
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“The Monty Heat Treat News” has just added several quality pieces of lab equipment to our used equipment listings. Among these listings you will find automated polishers, semi-automatic polishers, wet saws and precision saws. For information and pictures about the lab equipment listings scroll down. These new listings are just a handful of the equipment we currently have available. If you don’t see what you’re looking for below let us know or visit our used equipment page at https://themonty.com/used-equipment/.
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This is a brand new, never used Struers Labotom-5 Abrasive Saw. Manual operation, 10″/250mm blade size. With quick vise clamp. Voltage is 3Ph-380-415V/50Hz. Saw has one minor cosmetic damage on hood, performance unaffected. This is a current generation unit. Recirculation system purchased separately, available from OEM.
Asking Price $6,975 USD
Item # L69 Struers TargetMaster Automated Precision Polishing System
Struers TargetMaster automated preparation system for target polishing of microelectronics. Turn-key system with all accessories, Target-X (requires X-Ray), Target-Doser, start-up consumables. 1x220V/60Hz. Target polishing system for grinding and polishing to a specific target without missing target. Paint defects, microelectronics, failure analysis
Struers Unitom-2 Manual 14″/350mm Metallographic Abrasive Saw / Cutter. Saw is in working order, complete with left/right quick vise clamps, table unit and recirculation system. Voltage: 3Ph-220V/60Hz
Struers Rotopol-22 with Roto-Force-4 semi-automatic polisher. Daul 10″ Wet Grinding Platens, choice of Specimen holder. Nice condition. 3Ph 220V/60Hz
Asking Price $5,600 USD
Item # L72 Struers TegraPol-31 Semi-Automatic 12″ Polishing System
Very good condition Struers Tegrapol-31 Semi-Automatic Polishing System. Auto-polish up to 6 samples at a time with full programming of methods. Comes with:
TegraForce-4 Head
TegraDoser-5 Auto Dosing System
Your choice of one (1) specimen holder – various sizes available
Magnetic 12″ platen
Instruction Manual
Asking Price $12,950 USD
Item # L71 Struers Accutom-2 Precision Saw Cutter
Accutom-2 Precision Saw with rotating specimen device, teardrop specimen holder, precision vise, recirculation tank/pump. Completely ready to make your precision metallographic cuts. 1x110V/60Hz
Asking Price $2,400 USD
Three times over the past 2 years we have reported on an impressive captive/commercial heat treater by the name of Ramada ACOS located in Ovar, Portugal-indeed “The Monty Heat Treat News” was able to visit the facility a little less than one year ago. Two of our previous reports on the company can be found below, one describes the company while the second outlines their plans for handling rising energy costs. The company graces our news page today for the fact that they have made a major investment in expanding and modernizing their heat treatment department. Our understanding is that earlier this year the company order a brand new batch IQ (sealed quench )system from a very large German furnace builder. Again our understanding is that the new equipment will be replacing the older, energy inefficient Brasimet furnaces which are pictured below.
The other photos show the facility as we saw it in November of 2021.
“MAY 2, 2022, OVAR PORTUGAL; How Are European Heat Treater Coping with Higher Energy Costs? High energy costs are a challenge to all heat treaters around the world, and particularly challenging to heat treaters in Europe. So what is the solution? We look to captive/commercial heat treat Ramada in Ovar, Portugal for a solution, a solution they outline in this note below. To cut a long story short the company is absorbing 80% of the cost increases themselves and passing on only 20%. “The Monty Heat Treat News” chose to look at Ramada as we are very familiar with the firm having visited just a few months ago. In addition Ramada is a reasonably large facility with a mix of atmosphere and vacuum furnaces which makes them fairly representative of heat treaters in Europe. Further down we have a summary of the company as we saw it just a few months ago.
“We are aware that the whole industry is suffering from this energy crisis, in particular industries in which the use of electricity, gases and fuels, represent a significant percentage of the cost of products or services provided, as is the case with the Thermal Treatment Industry. To cope with these increases, an “extra energy” fee was introduced on 26 April 2022 (for orders placed after that date) which is directly proportional to the price of the daily OMIE energy market https://www.omie.es/es (calculated with the current costs of gases, fuels and other consumables). The calculation is based on average consumption of electricity, gases and current fuels, by type of heat treatment.
Ramada Aços, at least in this initial period, will continue to bear the highest percentage of extra costs (80%) passing on to our customers at this time only 20% of all extra costs. However, given the current unpredictability of the costs of electricity, gases and fuels, we might have to review the percentage of cost distribution of the applied rate in the future. The evaluation of this “extra energy” fee will be carried out on the first business day of each month. The updated information will be available for consultation on our website https://www.ramada.pt/pt/extra-energia.html.
In order to facilitate the identification of the “extra energy” value, it will appear on the invoice, duly highlighted. We will as a company continue to work according to good practices, with the knowledge, experience and requirement of strict compliance with stages, temperatures, pressures, speeds and gas use, in order to continue to obtain the best performance of tools, molds and parts, subject to heat treatment. It is our intention that the application of this “extra energy” is temporary and we strongly hope that the current situation will fade away and that everything will quickly return to normal. This extra energy charge will be withdrawn when energy costs are less than €80/MWh.
“NOVEMBER 26, 2021, OVAR, PORTUGAL; We have now concluded Part I & II of our series about heat treatment in Portugal, we now move on to Part III which features a company by the name of Ramada ACOS 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.
The firm reports business to be very good this year although with the usual trials and tribulations caused by current supply chain issues. In spite of these trials the entire company is posed to grow and expand in 2022.”
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“The Monty Heat Treat News” learned lots of things at the recent heat treat exhibition, HK 22 in Cologne, Germany and amongst the things we learned is that it is possible to bar code furnace fixturing. A German foundry by the name of Friedr. Lohmann GmbH, one of the largest suppliers of heat resistant castings in Europe was touting the fact that they can now offer bar coding for heat treat fixtures. Mr. Marco Möser, Sales Director of Lohmann in North America (whose recent interview can be found at https://themonty.com/project/marco-moser-sales-director-north-america-lohmann-steel/ ) demonstrated the technology to us at the show and we were suitably impressed. Part tracking and load tracking of parts has become fairly commonplace over the years but bar coding of fixtures, base trays and baskets is a new one on us. With this technology it is now possible to know the exact life span of every alloy component in a furnace allowing users to know with a great deal of certainty what the life is and when replacement fixtures should be ordered.
In this photo we see Marco holding a fairly typical bar code which attaches to the furnace component. We would expect that for the price this technology will become very common in the heat treat industry.
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The Monty’s50 Largest North American Commercial Heat Treats 2022
Since 1999 “The Monty Heat Treat News” has been putting together a list of the largest commercial heat treaters in North America based on annual sales. We are now very proud to present to you the list of the 50 largest commercial heat treaters in 2022, a list which we believe to be the most complete in the world.
Rankings are based upon anticipated sales for the calendar year of 2022.
While the turmoil of the past two years affected most companies on our list the pain was by no means evenly distributed. Hardest hit were those companies almost exclusively tied to the aerospace industry while firms specializing in the medical industry saw little change and heat treaters related to the firearms business couldn’t keep up with demand.
Automotive heat treating has been a roller coaster ride for the past 2 years and the ride isn’t over. Those firms concentrating on this market segment have found sales going from record highs to record lows in just a few months.
The oil and gas industry has seen a tremendous upside in 2022 and the result is that there are now more commercial heat treaters in Texas on our list than in 2021.
We would estimate that on average most firms see their anticipated sales for 2022 increasing anywhere from 5% to 7 ½%.
The vast bulk of companies on this list are privately held which means exact sales figures can be difficult to find. So while we are quite proud of our efforts and consider this list to be the most accurate available anywhere we do not for a second claim that it is 100% correct.
Over the years some readers have pointed out that our rankings are not always in line with MTI figures (Metal Treating Institute is the largest organization of commercial heat treaters in North America and they rank their members in each geographic region). We would concur with this for two reasons. The first is that not all commercial heat treaters belong to MTI which “skews” the numbers. Second MTI tracks members in a particular region. For instance Specialty Steel Treating does not rank as the largest in Michigan which is where they are headquartered but when you factor in their facility in CT (a different region for MTI) the overall picture changes.
We are always asked where the information for our rankings comes from, a very fair question. The largest on our list, Bodycote is a publicly traded company and sales figure are freely available. Solar Atmospheres, #6 on our list is very open and said that we could post their sales figures, Most of the companies on this list did share sales figures with us on the basis that they not be printed, a very reasonable request. Further verification came from knowing the number of locations, the physical size of each, number of employees and the processes each offers.
We appreciate the help and guidance everybody provided us with.
All figures quoted are in US Funds.
#1 Bodycote
Without a shadow of a doubt UK based Bodycote is the largest North American commercial heat treater and indeed the largest globally. Want to know exactly what the company’s sales are? As a publicly traded company their financial results are easily found at https://www.bodycote.com/
For the purposes of this report we are only looking at Bodycote’s North American sales and operations. The company reported 2021 sales in North American to be $300 million USD, with 72 plants in the USA, 3 in Canada and 4 in Mexico. We are not privy to anticipated sales in 2022, however we would assume there will be some increase.
#2 Aalberts Industries
Aalberts N.V. is a public company with its global HQ in the Netherlands. For years, Aalberts Surface Technologies has been the second largest commercial heat treater in Europe (previously under the name Hauck). In a relatively short period of time Aalberts went from a small player in the North American commercial heat treat industry to the second largest. This was achieved largely through acquisitions which over the years have included Premier Thermal, Applied Process, Alfe and several others. Incidentally if we put together a list of the largest commercial heat treaters in the world Aalberts would be the second largest.
Founded in 1943, Paulo is the largest privately held provider of thermal processing and metal finishing solutions in North America. Headquartered in St. Louis, Paulo operates six divisions servicing the Midwest, Great Lakes, and Southeast regions of the United States and northern Mexico. Paulo has been family owned and operated since the beginning, now the fourth generation carry on the business Ben and Pauline Rassieur started 77 years ago.The processes offered by Paulo cover austempering in mesh belt furnaces, Hot Isostatic Pressing, carburizing, nitriding, vacuum, brazing, zinc plating and black oxide to name a few. What makes Paulo unique to some extent is that the company has built in redundancy for most of their processes-if for some reason a process is not available at one particular location it can be quickly and competently shifted to another location. Paulo: Thermal Processing. Brazing. Heat Treating. Metal Finishing.
#4 Woodworth Heat Treating
The fourth largest North American commercial heat treater on our list is a company which operates 4 facility in two countries and specializes in large volume automotive work. “Woodworth Inc. provides a wide range of heat treatment services through our four facilities. We are currently located in Pontiac, Homer, and Flint, Michigan, as well as Puebla, Mexico. The company operates 40 large furnaces in North America. Woodworth Inc. has installed capacity to run 16 million + rotors per year. (2.2 million Lbs / Day).” Woodworth is similar to many heat treaters on our list in that they are almost exclusively dedicated to the automotive industry, albeit on a very large scale.
“Bluewater Thermal Solutions operates 12 different heat treatment and brazing facilities in the United States and Canada and this makes us one of the largest heat treating and brazing companies in North America. Each location has different capabilities and equipment that allows them to offer specialized different types of processing required by their local markets. Bluewater provides thermal processing and metal joining to over 2,000 customers. In addition to specialty heat treatments and brazing, most of Bluewater’s locations offer traditional heat treatments such as annealing, hardening, carburizing, carbonitriding, vacuum heat treatments, nitriding, nitrocarburizing, normalizing, solution treat and age hardening, stress relieve, and many more.” Bluewater is similar to a few of the companies on this list in that it is owned by a venture capital firm.
#6 Solar Atmospheres
Solar Atmospheres Heat Treating Operations. The Solar Nation heat treating plants includes Souderton PA, Hermitage PA, Fontana CA, and Greenville SC, and have in total 357,000 square feet of plant space. This does not include Solar Manufacturing division which produces vacuum furnaces. Solar recorded 2021 sales of approximately $56 million USD, 2022 sales are expected to increase by 5% to a total of $59 million USD. The company reports strong sales to the aerospace, space, defense, medical petrochemical and electronics industries with very little exposure to the auto industry. The company has a very strong emphasis on vacuum heat treating. Vacuum Heat Treating and Brazing Services | Solar Atmospheres
#7 Braddock Metallurgical
Braddock Metallurgical. Family owned Braddock Metallurgical was founded in 1953 by William Braddock. The company has eight production facilities mainly in the US Southeast, however the company also has a location in NJ and Puerto Rico. Certainly in the growing US Southeast region Braddock is the dominant commercial heat treater. The company is a full service heat treater in that they offer virtually every process available. We are quite confident saying that they are the fourth largest family owned commercial heat treater in North America.
THERMAL PROCESS HOLDINGS is a dynamic growth company providing critical Metallurgical services to virtually every industrial sector. Our strategy is to provide industry leading thermal services throughout North America from our expanding network of facilities. Currently the company operates 5 locations around the US.
“Established in 1981, Advanced Heat Treat Corp. (AHT) is a recognized global leader in providing heat treat services and metallurgical solutions. Between its locations in Alabama, Iowa and Michigan, AHT offers over 20 surface treatments such as UltraGlow® Ion & Gas Nitriding, UltraOx®, Nitrocarburizing, Induction Hardening, Carburizing, Quench & Temper and more.” What makes Advanced such a fascinating company is that it is the creation of Mr. Gary Sharp who started off with the idea that there was a place in the North American heat treating industry for Plasma (Ion Nitriding). Gary started off with a small investment and has never looked back.
Parker Trutec is a North American subsidiary of Nihon Parkerizing, a world leader in metal improvement technology. The Parker Trutec Group operates 6 facilities in the United States and Mexico which specialize in metal treatments and products that improve the resistance to wear, corrosion and fatigue of metal components. The company offers heat treating processes such as Gas Carburizing, Carbonitriding, Salt Batch Nitriding and Neutral hardening at two of it’s locations, Springfield, Ohio and Guanajuato, Mexico (note all processes are available at both locations). The Ohio location alone has over 20 furnaces. In March of 2022 the company announced that business was good enough to warrant investing $12 million USD in a new facility and additional heat treating equipment. Their business largely relies on the Japanese automotive transplants.
Globally Japan based Dowa Thermotech is one of the largest commercial heat treaters in the world so it is no surprise that it also ranks as one of the largest in North America. Their facilities in San Luis Potosi, Mexico and Bowling Green, Kentucky are both dedicated to servicing the Japanese automakers which means that they largely “fly under the radar” and don’t usually appear on lists of commercial heat treaters. The company almost exclusively uses furnace built in Japan.
Rex Heat Treat is a family owned-and-operated business that began the year of 1938 in Pennsylvania making it one of the oldest commercial heat treats in North America. In its beginning, Rex Heat Treat supported the United States military efforts during World War II. Since then, Rex has also managed heat treating plants in Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. Through a combined 190,000 square feet, between the Alabama and Pennsylvania facilities, Rex Heat Treat is able to effectively serve industries, such as Mining and Drilling, Energy, Aerospace and Defense, and Transportation. With the installation of the world’s largest Vertical Vacuum Oil Quenching Furnace, Rex Heat Treat is primed for continued growth.
Nitrex is a world leader in heat treating solutions with a unique integrated products portfolio composed of three divisions: Nitrex Turnkey Systems, United Process Controls and Heat Treating Services. Its Heat Treating Services division is an international full-service commercial heat–treatment solutions provider. With over 35 years in heat–treating, 9 locations in the U.S., China, Canada, Mexico and Europe, over 4000 unique processes, 18,000 lab test results and a team of skilled metallurgists, engineers and heat treaters, Nitrex is a solutions provider capable of going beyond traditional heat–treating services.Serving North American customers from its locations in Chicago-IL, Franklin-IN, Mason-MI, Las Vegas-NV, Montreal-Canada, and Queretaro-Mexico, Nitrex has established long term relationships with an array of OEMs, Tier 1s and end-users. While world-renowned for its nitriding expertise, Nitrex also provides a full suite of state-of-the-art vacuum, atmosphere, and LPC solutions to its many customers and will continue to expand its global footprint through 2020 and 2021.
#14 Heat Treating Services Corporation of America (HTS)
Based in Pontiac, Michigan HTS is a privately owned commercial heat treater founded in 1978.Being in Michigan the company is heavily involved in the auto industry and the Hynes family have done a tremendous job of guiding the company through the ups and downs of the last few years. HTS has 4 plants in Michigan and serves the ferrous metal industries with thermal process and clean capabilities, which exceed sixty-four (64) million pounds per month. In total HTS had over 200,000 square feet under roof and 250 employees.
Stack Metallurgical Group consists of four sites strategically located throughout the Pacific Northwest. Stack specializes in advanced heat treating, aluminum anodizing and painting, and hot isostatic press (HIP) services. With a rich history dating back to 1946, Stack has become a trusted partner to demanding clients in industries such as aerospace, power generation, precision cutlery, oil and gas, and general industrial. Stack has been privately held by the Ederer family since 1974. Over the last 46 years, the business has grown and expanded into new markets. The most recent expansion, Stack HIP, was launched earlier last year in Albany, Oregon.
ThermTech in Waukesha, Wisconsin is a privately held commercial heat-treating company that offers a wide range of services to a diverse and discerning set of customers. It was founded in 1982 by Charles Wiberg and remains a family owned business under the guidance of Mary Springer and her brother Steve Wiberg. We would consider ThermTech to be a full service shop in that it offers most commercially available heat treat processes.
ALD Heat Treat Services is considered to be one of the premier heat treat organizations in the world specializing in distortion control through its specialization in Low Pressure Carburizing (LPC) and High Pressure Gas Quenching (HPGQ). ALD Vacuum Technologies GmbH., operates two facilities in North America; each ideally located in the manufacturing heartland of the United States and Mexico. ALD Thermal Treatment, Inc., located in Port Huron, MI, opened in 2006 and the sister plant in Ramos Arizpe, Coah. (Mexico), launched in 2008, have both earned the prestigious General Motors Supplier Quality Excellence Award for six consecutive years. ALD is proud to note that they are the only outside heat treat facilities in the GM supply base who can claim this honor. ALD also operates another state of the art facility in Saxony, Germany and are on track for a fourth facility in Suzhou China in early 2021.
We are the solution for superior quality vacuum heat treating services, with a strong international presence and worldwide operation which includes furnace sales and furnace equipment servicing offered by our world-renowned ALD affiliates. Our Quality System, automation controls, Research & Development Team, in-house Laboratory, and other internal processes are robust and second to none. We are IATF 16949, AS9100, and ISO 9001 Certified, and we are also ISO 27001 and ISO 14001 compliant. We are currently seeking NADCAP certification and look forward to servicing the Aerospace Community with the highest degree of quality and precision available in the market today. Our processes minimize the distortion of precision manufactured components, such as the gears and thin walled parts found in major automotive (trucks and off-road vehicles), energy and aerospace applications. Often, our customers can reduce or totally eliminate post heat treat processing resulting in total part cost optimization.
Privately owned Flame Metals was founded in 1985 and operates out of a 102,000 square foot facility with over 100 employees working 7 days a week in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area. Focus is on the General Industrial Markets-Off Highway, Construction, Marine, Outdoor Recreational, Agricultural, Mining and Wind Energy. With eleven integral quench furnaces (9000 lb max capacity) and two pit furnaces (25,000 lb capacity), the company is best known for its ability to process large critical components. Additional capabilities include continuous processing, vacuum, salt bath nitriding, neutral salt, induction, aluminum and car bottom. Home – Flame Metals Processing Corporation
#19 FPM Heat Treating
Founded in 1979 FPM has two locations in the US Midwest, Elk Grove Village, IL and Cherry Valley IL. FPM has the capability to offer most heat treating processes including Through hardening, Carburizing, Carbonitriding, FNC and Nitriding, from a variety of furnaces including batch IQ furnaces, mesh belt, vacuum and salt bath. The company has NADCAP approval along with CQI-9.
Nadcap approved Continental Heat Treating is an aerospace approved heat treating company located in Santa Fe Springs, California. Established in 1957 in Downey, CA the company moved to their current location in Santa Fe Springs in 1969 where it has grown and prospered under the leadership of Mr. Jim Stull.
Specialty Heat Treat, Inc. is a family owned business and was founded in 1993 by Tom Moore in Houston, TX. SHT operates a 100,000 square foot facility on 9 acres and has grown to 42 furnaces up to 25’ in length. Like all heat treaters in Texas the company’s fortunes are closely tied to the oil and gas industries. Due to the upturn in those industries Speciality is seeing substantial growth these days.
Since 1955, Hansen/Balk in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA has built a reputation as a state-of-the-art provider of steel heat-treating services. Our 85,000-square-foot facility features a full cohort of best-in-class batch vacuum and batch atmosphere furnaces, capable of processing orders of all sizes. We offer a variety of services, but are best known for the breadth and depth of our vacuum heat-treating capabilities-including high-pressure quenching up to 15 Bar-as well as unique services such as cryogenic treating, flame hardening and induction heat-treating services. We adhere to the most technologically advanced heat-treating methods with modern equipment to ensure your parts meet the required specifications-from hardness tolerance to surface finishes. We also bring customers a deep well of metallurgical knowledge, formed over six decades of work on millions of parts.
East Carolina Metal Treating was founded in 1976 by Charles Ramm with just a salt pot. When Charles retired in 1998, he passed down his legacy to his son, Jamie Ramm. Through a commitment to continual improvement and reinvestment, ECMT has garnered a reputation for providing high quality service with great turnaround and the best customer service. ECMT has a state of the art metallurgical lab and maintains Nadcap, ISO 9001, AS9100, and Appendix B certifications. Servicing the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions the company has grown into a 45,000 square foot facility located just outside downtown Raleigh, and ECMT’s second location, Virginia Metal Treating, recently completed a 20,000 square foot facility in Lynchburg, VA. ECMT offers a full range of heat treating services including Vacuum, Batch IQ, Nitriding/FNC, Induction, Cryogenics, as well as Black Oxide and partners with the best equipment manufacturers to provide repeatable quality results for our diversified customer base. Interestingly enough East Carolina includes a complete list of their equipment, a list which can be found at Microsoft Word – ECMT services and equipment list (ecmtinc.com)
Metex Heat Treating Ltd. In 1983, Metex Heat Treating Ltd. was founded by Mr. Surjit Bawa to serve the heat treating needs of the manufacturing industry in the Greater Toronto, Canada Area. Since that time Metex has grown into the largest commercial heat treater in Canada and the company services customers as far as Montreal, Cleveland and Michigan. We specialize in Continuous and Batch Neutral Hardening, Carburizing, and Carbonitriding. We also have 10 state of the art induction hardening systems.
Accurate Steel Treating was founded in 1962 on a strong commitment to quality and customer service. In 1989, Accurate Steel Treating was acquired by a new management team and embarked on a carefully planned expansion program. During the next 25 years, new processes and equipment were added to keep pace with growing demand including high-pressure gas quench vacuum heat-treating, precision carburizing, and ion nitriding. In 2012, management decided, along with encouragement from several key customers, to enter the Aerospace market to be better diversified and capitalize on the many opportunities developing in this sector.
Today, Accurate Steel Treating continues to be the fastest growing commercial aerospace heat treat service provider in the western US. We are AQS AC7004 certified and accredited by Nadcap for a wide range of thermal processes and support services, including vacuum & atmosphere hardening, gas carburizing, ion & gas nitriding, stress relieving, annealing, aging, pre & post cleaning, oil, salt, water & polymer quench mediums, titanium processing, straightening and metallurgical evaluations. The transformation to a full service Aerospace Heat Treat provider accelerated in 2014 when we achieved our first Nadcap accreditation, we have since accomplished many milestones that we are proud of. Accurate is a privately held company with Mr. Chris Hall, President.
#26 Industrial Steel Treating, Jackson, Michigan
Industrial Steel Treating Company (IST) began operations in Jackson, Michigan in 1943, initially servicing the growing tool and die industry in mid-Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. The company is owned and run by the Levy family and operates out of a 350,000 square foot location in Jackson, Michigan. Two separate, across-the-street facilities house production, prototype sample and warehouse-inventory management capabilities. IST offers gas nitriding, carbonitriding, induction hardening and several other processes.
Specialty Steel Treating, founded 1956, has been performing precision heat treating for more than 60 years. The privately held company has 4 locations in the US, three in the Detroit, Michigan area and one in Connecticut. While Specialty is located in the auto capital of the world it has broadened its customer base over the years and now has a very strong presence in the aerospace and bearing industries.
Lake City Heat Treating in Warsaw, Indiana is part of a very small select group in that for years the company has offered Hot Isostatic Pressing which only a handful of companies can say. With roughly 13 vacuum furnaces and 3 “Hip” Vessels the company focuses on the medical and aerospace industries. Major shareholder is Mr. Bill Davis. Lake City has made our news section several times over the years, each time when the company was making a new equipment investment.
#29 Century Sun Metal Treating, Traverse City, Michigan
You would not expect to find one of the largest commercial heat treaters in North America in Northern Michigan, however such is the case with Century Sun Metal Treating which for over 30 years have been offering heat treating services in Traverse City, Michigan. Century Sun has a great deal of vacuum and plasma nitriding capacity which they use to service a wide variety of industries. In 2021 the company was acquired by Hillcrest Investment Partners, LLC, a private investment group.
#30 Thermal Vac, Orange, California
Founded in 1985 by Steve Driscol and based in Orange, CA, Thermal-Vac Technology now has two locations, the first in CA, the second brand new facility in Arizona. The company offers brazing, heat treating and finishing much of it destined for the aerospace industry. The company continues to be privately held and is run by Steve Driscol’s son and daughter. With almost 100 employees it is one of the larger heat treats on the US west coast.
Texas Heat Treating offers a wide range of heat treatments, testing and support services, operating 24 hours a day and seven days a week. CEO C.H. “Buddy” Crossley started Texas Heat Treating in 1977 as a small company in a 6,000 square foot shop. Today, the company has expanded to two large facilities, the first in Round Rock, Texas, and the newest plant in Fort Worth, Texas. It is run by Buster Crossley and features batch heat treating equipment including IQ’s, pit furnaces, vacuum furnaces and nitriding systems.
Thermetco located near Montreal, Quebec, Canada is the second Canadian commercial heat treater on our list. Thermetco is a second generation heat treat founded by Mr. Andre Houle. The firm has over 150 employees, 4 locations and offers Carburizing, Vacuum Hardening, Austempering, Plasma Nitridng and Carbonitriding. Thermetco has seen tremendous growth over the past several years which includes acquiring two competitors, a new location and a number of new furnaces. It is ranked as the second largest in Canada.
Founded in 1945 Lone Star is one of the older commercial heat treats in the USA. As far as we know the company has always been owned and run by the Van Dorfy family, the current President is Mike Van Dorfy, Jr. Like all heat treaters in Texas, Lone Star’s business is based upon the oil and gas industries although the company has diversified to some extent over the years. Lone Star offers induction hardening, atmosphere carburizing, deep hole drilling and vertical heat treating.
ETSA Group, Mexico; Founded in 1979, Especialidades Termicas, S.A (ETSA Group) is one of the two largest commercial heat treaters in Mexico with 350 employees spread over 6 locations, Guadalajara, Celaya, Aguascalientes, San Juan del Rio and Mexico City. In actual number of furnaces the company has 6 vacuum furnaces, 4 nitrocarburizing units, 20 batch IQ’s, 3 mesh belt lines, 2 large pit carburizers, 4 bell type for annealing and 1 austemper line. ETSA is a family owned business and the current CEO is Mr. Mario Fabian Mendez son of the founder of the company. The company also has an entire division dedicated to rebuilding and installing furnaces.
Founded in 1982 by Mark Byron in a 1 car garage, Mark has grown Byron into a very significant player in the Thermal Processing Industry in North America. The NADCAP approved company offers brazing, heat treating, welding and coatings all with a strong emphasis on the aerospace industry. Byron excels in the heat treating of stainless steel and high temperature aerospace alloys. The company operates out of 2 facilities in Ohio.
Since 1958, Sun Steel Treating has specialized in providing our customers exceptional quality, expertise, and timeliness. Whether it’s hardening alloys, carbon steels, tool steels or high speed specialty steels, our engineers know the precise metallurgical processes to apply. In 1981, Sun Steel Treating pioneered the use of plasma Nitriding as a viable surface hardening treatment. Sun Steel Treating has Trade-marked and registered this process as Ionitriding®. Sun Steel Treating has also pioneered combining the benefits of Ionitriding® and Steam Treating to develop IonWear®. Sun Steel is privately owned by Mr. Jim McGuirk and operates out of large facility close to Detroit, Michigan. The company concentrates on two areas, vacuum heat treating and Plasma Nitriding.
#37 Pinson Valley Heat Treat, Pinson, Alabama
Pinson Valley is owned and run by the Hendry family and is now in its third generation. Founded in 1970 the company has a very unique mix of capabilities including vacuum heat treating, atmosphere and some very interesting and unique tip up style furnaces.
#38 Voestalpine AG
Voestalpine AG is an Austrian steel-based technology and capital goods group based in Linz, Austria. With over 30 locations around the world offering heat treating the company would rank as one of the larger commercial heat treaters in the world. While their heat treating operations in North America are relatively modest compared with their global footprint they do operate two very impressive facilities in North America, one in Canada and one in Mexico. Their heat treat operations are both captive heat treating of their own products and commercial heat treating. This photo shows their Canadian facility.
#39 Southwest Metal Treating Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Southwest Metal Treating Corp., (SWMT) Heat Treating Texas – Southwest Metal Treating is a family owned commercial heat treater in business for over 40 years run by Mr. Ryan Fussell. The company is full service in that it offers most heat treating processes including but not limited to; vacuum heat treating, carburizing, nitro carburizing, flame hardening, normalizing, stress relieving and Plasma Nitriding. Plasma Nitriding is a relatively new addition to the company in that it was added just a year ago. The company operates out of a 50,000 square foot facility located on 7 acres.
#40 Applied Thermal Technologies, Warsaw, Indiana
Applied Thermal is our second company based in Warsaw, Indiana to make our list of the 50 largest commercial heat treaters in North America. Like many of the companies on this list it is a family owned and run business started by Mickey Bradican-this is how the company describes themselves; “Applied Thermal Technologies Inc. is a metal processing company specializing in bright vacuum heat treating and brazing of stainless steel and exotic alloys. Founded in 1992 to service the medical and specialty products industries in Northern Indiana and has grown to over 30,000ft² with international sales. Our specialty furnaces feature temperatures to 2800°F, levels to 10-6 Torr, all metal hot zones and extremely rapid cooling.” Applied Thermal is NADCAP approved and works very closely with with the aerospace and medical industries.
Vac Aero is our third and final Canadian heat treater to make our list this year. VAC AERO International provides heat treating and brazing of advanced materials for the aerospace and other high technology industries. Specializing in vacuum processing, VAC AERO holds numerous heat treating and quality system approvals from prime manufacturers, with AS9100 and NADCAP accredited plants strategically located within the Toronto to Montreal aerospace manufacturing corridor of Canada. The Oakville, Ontario operation is one of North America’s largest subcontract heat treaters of aircraft landing gear components while the St Laurent, Quebec operation is focused primarily on gas turbine engine and airframe component. The company also has a division, Vac Aero Furnace Manufacturing which builds vacuum furnaces.
Founded in 1989 by three Surface Combustion employees including the current owner and CEO, Mr. Roy Waits, American Steel Treating is located in Perrysburg, Ohio. While the company offers most types of heat treating covering a variety of industries we tend to think of them for high volume automotive work processed through a number of pusher furnaces. The company operates out of a 300,000 square foot facility close to Toledo, Ohio.
Making our list of the “Largest Commercial Heat Treaters in North America” for the second time is “Metal Finishing Company” based in Wichita, Kansas, USD who bill themselves as the largest family-owned aerospace processing company in North America. This third generation company, formed in 1940 has a total of 9 locations in the US and Mexico, two of which are dedicated to heat treating, one for aluminum parts and the second for “hard metals”. Processes offered include Hot Forming, Straightening, Tempering, Normalizing, Annealing, Carburizing, and Carbo-Nitriding as well as Aluminum Solution Furnaces and aging ovens. This is in addition to the company’s plating, coating and NDT offerings.
#44 Zion Industries
Zion Industries based in Ohio is rather unique in that it is part of a very select group of commercial heat treaters, a group which focuses on Induction Heat Treating. “Zion Industries is an induction heat treating company that has been an industry leader since its founding in 1977. We provide high quality both in heat treating services and handling equipment for induction heating applications. Zion, like so many others, strives for excellence in service and quality. What distinguishes us is our primary motivation: Excellence that brings glory to God. We care about our customers, and are committed to the services we provide. Our goal is to meet the outsourcing needs of the manufacturing industry by delivering unmatched customer service and enhancing value for all stakeholders. Today Zion’s 100+ employees serve customers nationwide with facilities in Ohio, North Carolina and Michigan. We also serve clients from Pennsylvania (PA), Indiana (IN), Tennessee (TN), and Kentucky (KY).”
#45 Winston Heat Treating, Dayton, Ohio
In 1959 Winston Heat Treating was formed to service the local tool & die market. Since then the company has always focused on moving forward with new technologies and in the 1970’s the firm became a real pioneer in vacuum hear treating which resulted in Winston becoming one of the first to achieve both ISO and NADCAP status. Like so many on this list this is a family owned business with David Reger acting as President and his father John remaining very active. We have watched Winston grow and more importantly invest and it is a fine example of a modern commercial heat treater.
Metallurgical Processing Company, Warren, Michigan. Located in Warren, Michigan, USA Metallurgical Processing in Warren, Michigan, USA has been in business since 1954. Being located next door to Detroit it is absolutely no surprise that the company is almost exclusively dedicated to the auto industry. To take it one step further the company almost exclusively runs batch IQ furnaces offering processes such at carburizing, nitrocarburizing, carbonitriding and Ferritic Nitrocarburizing. Under the direction of long time heat treaters Jeff Pyne and Kevin Brown the company has been thriving over the past number of years.
The history of Akron Steel Treating in Akron, Ohio makes for fascinating reading. In 1943, the U.S. army helped Prosper P. Powell convert his garage at 654 Glenwood Avenue in the North Hill area of Akron into a mini-heat treating facility for firing pins. Operating in the secrecy of soaped windows and late-night deliveries, with overflow work conducted in the family’s kitchen oven, Powell launched a successful company. When World War Two was over Prosper asked the US government when they wanted the furnaces back. The answer was “they are yours now” and thus one of the oldest commercial heat treaters in the USA was born. Akron is still a family owned business and offers a very wide variety of heat treating.
#48 Euclid Heat Treating, Euclid, Ohio
As are so many commercial heat treaters in North America, Euclid Heat Treat is another family owned business in this case the Vanas family. “The Monty Team” has had the opportunity to visit this facility a number of times over the years and have always been impressed with the variety of processes the company offers. “The Euclid Heat Treating Company was established in 1946 in a garage building at 1408 E. 222nd St. with salt furnaces and open fired furnaces. Since our inception we have expanded to include endothermic atmosphere furnaces, an entire building devoted to induction hardening, an array of vacuum furnaces including a vacuum oil quench and two 10 bar vacuum furnaces, pit furnaces, nitriding equipment and much more.”
#49 Hi TechMetal Group (HTG)
Since 1943 Hi TechMetal Group (HTG) has been one of the largest commercial heat treaters in the Ohio, USA area. The firm has several locations in the Cleveland, Ohio area which offer Induction Hardening, Brazing, Vacuum Hardening and Brazing amongst other processes. President is Mr. Cole Coe, son in law of the founder Mr. Terry Profugi. The company recently took over the customer base of another local heat treat who suffered a devastating fire recently, this will certainly have a positive effect on the firm’s sales.
#50 Contour Hardening, Indianapolis, Indiana
Contour Hardening, Indianapolis, Indiana. Contour was established in 1986 with the goal of providing a cost-effective solution to difficult heat treatment applications-specifically induction hardening systems. However the company is also known as a substantial commercial heat treater. Contour is located in Indianapolis, Indiana with a second location in Sialo, Mexico. While primarily known for their Induction hardening expertise Contour also offers gas nitriding and Nitrocarburizing.
In North America the majority of the suppliers to the heat treatment industry work through independent sales representatives. These rep firms range in size from single person to multi person organizations and operate in geographically defined areas, their renumeration is in the form of commissions paid by the suppliers. This sales structure in North America goes back almost 100 years and has proved to be very successful for all the parties involved. One such firm is Vectorr Industries in Upstate NY, USA which was founded in 2020 by Adler Moldenhauer. The company covers the largest geographic territory of any rep firm in North America, Canada, Upstate NY, Washington and Oregon. Amongst the firms it represents are furnace builder AFC-Holcroft, Schunk CFC fixturing and tube supplier INEX.
Adler has just announced that he will be leaving the Canadian market and moving to the US Southeast to carry on as an independent sales representative. At this point in time we have no information on what lines Adler will be handling.
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Supply chain issues have hit the burner industry in a big way with deliveries for some new burners now stretching out to literally 1 year for some suppliers. This of course is presenting opportunities for a number of companies which have either developed new products or expanded their efforts into other regions. Noxmat Combustion Technology is a good example. This German based company with is part of the Aichelin Group has always had a strong reputation in Europe and the organization has decided to take this reputation to North America is a big way. A discussion with the CEO, Mr. Matthias Wolf last week revealed that Noxmat has just incorporated in the US with the new facility located on 18 Mile Road in Sterling Heights, Michigan,USA. “The Monty Heat Treat News” has few other details available at this time but we will as always keep you posted. This photo shows the CEO himself, Mr. Matthias Wolf being presented with an award from the Chemnitz Chamber of Commerce.
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Just as everybody in the North American heat treatment industry is aware of MTI (Metal Treating Institute) everybody in the German Heat Treatment industry is familiar with IHT. Both organizations count as their members virtually every single commercial heat treater in their respective countries along with associate members which are industry suppliers.
In the case of IHT it was formed in 1977 and includes roughly 100 member companies; 65 commercial heat treaters and 35 supporting members which includes firms such as Ipsen, Aichelin, KGO, Rohde and others.
In 1977 Wilhelm Wingens, the patriarch of the “heat treating Wingens” family was one of 5 founding members of IHT. Interestingly enough his company “Wingens Heat Treat” in Nuremberg, Germany was the first acquisition by heat treat giant Bodycote outside of the UK. And why are they known as “the heat treating Wingens? Thomas Wingens (shown in this photo) has long been involved in the industry both in Germany and in the US where he now resides and has worked for companies such as furnace builder Ipsen. Thomas’s cousin continues in the family tradition by owning a commercial heat treat by the name of Technotherm in Stuttgart, Germany. With 3 generations in the industry they have earned the nickname “the heat treating Wingens”.
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Gord Montgomery of “The Monty Heat Treat News” was fortunate enough to be able to visit two German furnace builders this past week, one of which is family owned ROHDE Schutzgasöfen GmbH located in Hanau, Germany (near Frankfurt). The company was founded in 1979 and it is now a second generation firm with the current owners being Joern & Natasha Rohde. With roughly 30 employees we would consider this to be a mid sized furnace builder, one who specializes in retort style furnaces. One of their many claims to fame is the fact that just a few short years ago the company built what is one of the largest pit carburizing furnaces in Germany, a unit with working dimensions of 17′ X 17′ with a weight capacity of 50,000 pounds which is located at commercial heat treater “Reese” in Bochum, Germany.
In addition to their line of pit furnaces Rohde is also very well known for their Salt Recovery Units, a system designed to reclaim all the salt from wash tanks where the quenching medium is salt. Interestingly enough the company recently announced a partnership with a US furnace builder, McLaughlin Furnace Group of Avilla, Indiana.
These photos show a couple of the furnaces currently under construction.
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In North America the majority of the suppliers to the heat treatment industry work through independent sales representatives. These rep firms range in size from single person to multi person organizations and operate in geographically defined areas, their renumeration is in the form of commissions paid by the suppliers. This sales structure in North America goes back almost 100 years and has proved to be very successful for all the parties involved. One such firm is Vectorr Industries in Upstate NY, USA which was founded in 2020 by Adler Moldenhauer. The company covers the largest geographic territory of any rep firm in North America, Canada, Upstate NY, Washington and Oregon. Amongst the firms it represents are furnace builder AFC-Holcroft, Schunk CFC fixturing and tube supplier INEX.
