An on line search says the facility is closed permanently.
“The Monty Heat Treat News” profiled this location a number of years ago-the report can be found at “Bodycote New Berlin, Wisconsin, USA”
Welcome to the May 2026 edition of “The Monty Heat Treat News” featuring over 100 pages of the most up to date heat treatment industry news and trends combined with updated surplus heat treat equipment listings. This issue features these stories and lots more;
- AI Data Centers Spiking New Vacuum Furnace Orders
- Vacuum Aerospace Heat Treating/Singapore
- Mexico Heat Treat Market Through the Eyes of an Expert
- “Boeing” Vacuum Furnace Order-The Inside Scoop
- Fire at a Heat Treat Leads to Furnace Auction
- Bluewater Thermal Solutions Announces the Appointment of Jamie Kuriger as Chief Revenue Officer
Recent surplus heat treat equipment listings include these;
- Item# IQ 527 Complete Batch Austemper Line
- Item# T443 1700F Temper, 3 Years Old-Excellent Condition
- Item# L214 NEW Mitutoyo HR-523L (2022) Automatic Rockwell Twin Tester
- Item# VF478 “Ipsen” Titan Vacuum Furnace Unused
- Item# B493 Unitherm Car Bottom 72″ wide x 144″ deep x 60″ h
- Item# M523 Cryogenic Processor
As always the entire team at “The Monty Heat Treat News” appreciates your thoughts, comments and interest. We sincerely look forward to hearing from you whether is involves a heat treatment question, a furnace appraisal, a press release or an advertising question. Sincerely, Gord, Jordan and Dale Montgomery.
“The Monty Heat Treat News” is a division of “WG Montgomery Ltd., a family owned business serving the heat treatment industry since 1969.”
Phone 705 259-3650, [email protected], [email protected] www.themonty.com
Click Here To Read The Full May Magazine
(Editors Note; Wm. Wright & Associates has represented AFC-Holcroft in their US Midwest territory for many years. What is new is that they will now also be representing some of the other companies under Aichelin’s banner including Nitrex, G-M and UPC-Marathon).
“Wixom – May 2026 — AICHELIN Americas is pleased to announce a new strategic partnership with Wm. Wright & Associates, effective May 9, 2026. Through this agreement, Wm. Wright & Associates will represent a broad portfolio of thermal processing technologies, equipment, and services across the AICHELIN Americas group.
This partnership strengthens AICHELIN Americas’ commitment to delivering enhanced regional support and improved access to its comprehensive range of solutions. Expanded Portfolio Representation Under this agreement, Wm. Wright & Associates will support the promotion and delivery of solutions from leading brands within the AICHELIN Americas group, including:
- AFC-Holcroft
- Nitrex
- G-M Enterprises
- UPC-Marathon
About Wm. Wright & Associates; Wm. Wright & Associates is an established industrial sales representative firm with extensive experience supporting manufacturers through technical expertise, strong customer relationships, and regional market knowledge.”
About Andis
About ECM Technologies
ECM Technologies is an innovative low pressure vacuumfurnacemanufacturer with headquarters in Grenoble, France. With subsidiaries and ventures around the world, including ECM USA located in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin USA. ECM’s global presence is well known in the automotive, aerospace, nuclear, energy, electronic, induction and 3D additive industries. With such versatile product lines and service capabilities, ECM is the ideal furnace system supplier for heat treatment processes ranging from rapid thermal processing(RTP) to low pressure vacuum carburizing (LPC). Our service capabilities include advanced automation, robotics, after sales, spare parts, on-site training and more.
“J&M Plating” in Rockford, IL, USA offers plating, coating, electroplating, sorting, heat treating and Patch-“The Monty” would hazard a guess that there are not more than 10 companies in North America that offers this combination. While it has been a challenging time for fasteners manufacturers in the US Midwest, J&M has found business to be robust enough to add further heat-treating capacity.
Recently the company brought on line a 4,000 pound/hour Can Eng mesh belt furnace line capable of neutral hardening and case hardening. The line has an automated loading system, a complete datalogging system, oil quenching with an in line tempering furnace. With the addition of this line, the company now has over 200,000 pounds per day of continuous heat-treating capacity.
About J&M Plating; Since J&M Plating’s beginning in 1986 as a zinc electroplater, the cornerstone of our business philosophy has been that our customers are our business partners. That philosophy still holds true today as a full-service provider offering heat-treating, dip-spin coating, zinc/zinc-nickel electroplating, sorting and patch. In all of our business operations, our employees are constantly looking for ways to improve our business relationships and to truly become active partners in our goal of attaining a greater competitive advantage for each and every one of our customers and ourselves.
“Solar Atmospheres of Western PA marked a major milestone with an inspiring 25th anniversary event that brought together employees, customers, partners, and community members.
Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate this milestone and to all who have been part of the journey. Here’s to the next 25 years!”
Furnace builder “ROHDE Schutzgasöfen GmbH” of Hanau, Germany has delivered a “Bell-Type Furnace system for heat treatment under hydrogen to a customer in Switzerland. It is expected that the system will be commissioned in the very near future.
A key technical feature of the system is the integrated rapid gas cooling unit. It enables efficient and controlled cooling of the load after the heat treatment process. This helps reduce cycle times, precisely adjust material properties and significantly increase the overall productivity of the system.
Special attention was paid to achieving maximum energy efficiency. The high-quality thermal insulation and optimized furnace design ensure that process heat remains exactly where it is needed: inside the working chamber. The thermal image shows the furnace after 4.5 hours of operation at 1,150 °C. The low external surface temperatures at the measuring points — approximately 26–30 °C — clearly demonstrate the excellent insulation performance and efficient use of energy.
We are pleased to contribute with this system to powerful, efficient and future-oriented heat treatment technology.
Technical highlights:
• HO 100/150 bell-type furnace system
– Operation under hydrogen atmosphere
– Rated temperature: 1,150 °C
– Integrated rapid gas cooling unit
– High temperature uniformity and process reliability
– Energy-efficient insulation with very low external surface temperatures
– Designed for reproducible industrial heat treatment processes
“For more than six decades, the Pritchard family has been closely connected to the story of VAC AERO.
In 1959, following the cancellation of Canada’s iconic Avro Arrow program, 𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 turned a moment of uncertainty into opportunity. Drawing on his experience at Orenda Engines, he helped establish what would become VAC AERO International — laying the foundation for a company that would grow into a global leader in solving the toughest material and coating challenges on the most mission-critical components in aerospace and defence. From designing and manufacturing vacuum furnaces to thermal spray and diffused coatings Ross put Vac Aero at the forefront of materials engineering.
Years later, his son 𝐉𝐞𝐟𝐟 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 carried that legacy forward, serving as President from 1998 to 2011 and guiding the company through growth, innovation, and expansion into international markets. From Canada to Poland and India, Jeff charted a course to bring customer delight through engineering execution.
More recently, the third generation of the family joined the journey. 𝐑𝐲𝐚𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝, Ross’s grandson and Jeff’s son. He first came to VAC AERO as an engineering co-op student while studying at the University of Waterloo. He later returned as a Project Engineer, where he quickly became known for his leadership, versatility, and willingness to take on any challenge.
As Michael Miasek, CEO, shared “It has been a pleasure working with Ross, Jeff, and Ryan over the year; each playing a unique role, but together, telling a powerful story of perseverance, hard work, and legacy.”
As Dave Farmery, President & COO, shared: “Today is bittersweet as Ryan is leaving Vac Aero and ending the Pritchard generational story. Ryan has chosen to pursue a career in public service as a first responder. His passion to get things done will be greatly missed but his willingness to serve the community makes us very proud . “
Brent Rosart, Director of Engineering, Quality & Pyrometry, added: “Ryan has always been well-rounded, not afraid of any task thrown at him, and he completes the mission. His leadership on the shop floor earned the trust of both management and the operations team.”
Ryan, thank you for your contributions to VAC AERO and for continuing a proud family connection to the company.
We wish you every success in this exciting new journey.”
“A European aircraft engine manufacturer has purchased a VIM furnace from the vacuum metallurgy segment of SECO/WARWICK. The system ordered is a two chamber 50 kg VIM induction furnace designed for equiaxed (EQ) casting. The furnace features a non standard design in which the mold heater, together with the mold, moves horizontally on a specially designed rail mounted trolley after casting, allowing the mold to exit the chamber.
The industrial furnace sold will be used to produce equiaxed turbine blade castings for aircraft engines. This is the Partner’s first order for a SECO/WARWICK melting furnace.
The SECO/WARWICK Group specializes in manufacturing metal heat treatment and metallurgical furnaces tailored to the specific needs of its business partners. Instead of offering only standard solutions, the Group develops technologies tailored to specific production processes, quality requirements, and industry characteristics. As a result, the systems delivered high efficiency, advanced technology and flexibility, helping customers optimize processes and build a competitive advantage.
The “Tailor-made” solutions in industry is not a passing trend, but an important direction in the development of modern manufacturing. For years, SECO/WARWICK has been moving away from the “one product fits all” approach toward a model of “flexible production for many different needs.” The SECO/WARWICK Group combines customization with automation, data, and an efficient supply chain to gain a strong competitive edge. The same approach was applied to this project.”
“The system design was adapted to the customer’s specific needs and capabilities. The furnace has a non‑standard design in which the mold elevator was replaced with a special trolley that moves horizontally on rails. Thanks to this solution, the furnace fits perfectly into the available space without any impact on its performance,” said Earl Good, Managing Director of RETECH, a company within the SECO/WARWICK Group, and Vice President of the Vacuum Metallurgy Segment at SECO/WARWICK Group.”
“ADAMSVILLE, PA — Signature Vacuum Furnaces, a company that originated in a breakfast meeting between two friends and co-founders, with the first order prosecuted in one partner’s kitchen and the second partner’s basement, is now partially owned by its employees through a structure new to the US called an Employee Ownership Trust, or EOT.
“We explored a couple of avenues with some folks that were interested in buying the company,” said Greg Kimble, one of two co-founders. “But ultimately, we wanted to continue our legacy and keep our team employed here. We’ve developed a real family-like environment here over the years, and we care about our people and their wellbeing.”
“Employee-owned businesses have a much greater capability to retain their existing culture than those that sell externally,” Kevin McPhillips, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Center of Employee Ownership (PaCEO) said. “Signature’s owners understand the value of that.”
Greg Kimble and co-founder Tim Horning first met in 1978, and it didn’t take long for them to agree that, should the opportunity arise, they would love to work together. A couple decades later, their dream came to fruition. Signature Vacuum Systems was incorporated in June of 2002, and they took their first order in November of the same year.
Now, Signature has 15 employees and the furnaces they’ve manufactured are installed internationally as far away as Japan.
“We chose the EOT structure for a couple different reasons,” Heather Bell, Operations Manager at Signature said. “We liked the ease of structure of an EOT, as well as being able to modify aspects as necessary down the road. We’re also a smaller company, and the cost of an EOT was much more feasible for our size and revenue.”
An Employee Ownership Trust, or EOT, is a form of employee ownership that is new to the United States, but common in the United Kingdom. Under an EOT structure, the owner creates a trust that will hold some or all of the business; the purposes of the trust are often to benefit the community and employees, and preserve legacy. The company then makes a contribution of cash to the trust, which in turn buys shares from the current owner. In the majority of transactions, the owner offers seller financing.
Signature now joins the roughly 40 other companies nationally that have Employee Ownership Trusts.
To make the transition, Signature worked with Common Trust, an organization that assists owners exploring and transitioning to EOTs.
“Working with Common Trust was essential to the transition process,” Bell said. “We wouldn’t have been able to do this without the help from them and from Jeff Parnell.”
“Study after study confirms that employee-owned companies typically outperform their non-employee-owned peers, and with Signature’s dedicated employee base, I’m excited to see how this translates,” Jeff Parnell, Founder and CEO of JHP Advisors said.
The Strategic Early Warning Network (SEWN) also played an important part in enabling the transaction.
“Signature Vacuum’s decision to embrace employee ownership is perfectly aligned with our mission,” Michael Perfetti, Western Regional Director for SEWN noted.
“I’m greatly looking forward to higher engagement from all of our employees,” Bell said. “They have so much to offer and valuable suggestions to give, but they didn’t always have an avenue in the past to make them heard as easily.”
“I would suggest it to other business owners,” Kimble concluded. “I think it’s a great option to have.”
“It’s well worth it,” Bell agreed. “We feel that we’ve paved the way for the future of both the company and our employees.”
