Recently we posted some photos of a very substantial vacuum furnace in the initial stages of construction at Ipsen in Rockford, IL, USA. Well perhaps substantial is an understatement, it is in fact a very large unit by anybody’standards. Since we mentioned this unit construction has progressed and the end user a North American captive heat treater is gearing up to receive the furnace-it is worth noting that this will not be the largest Ipsen vacuum furnace that the customer now has. To give you an idea about the size we will say that it will require 8-10 dedicated trucks to transport the furnace. Look for further updates on this system.
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Just over a year ago the world’s largest commercial heat treater announced a brand new, state of the art facility in Syracuse, NY, USA (the original announcement is below). “The Monty Heat Treat News” has had the opportunity to see this plant and we can attest to the fact that it is by any standards a first class facility. What this means is that the Bodycote, Rochester, NY facility which is 90 miles away has been consolidated into the Syracuse location and is now closed. Always a shame to see such a long standing operation close however it makes absolute sense.
“FEBRUARY 2, 2021; Bodycote announces further expansion in North America; Bodycote, the world’s largest provider of heat treatments and specialist thermal processing services, is pleased to announce the opening of a new facility in Syracuse, New York, USA. The new Syracuse facility is the second new facility to be opened in North America in as many months, following on from the announcement of the opening of the new Elgin, Illinois facility in December 2020.
The Syracuse facility, encompassing 60,000 square feet of operating space, is now operational and offers a wide range of heat treatment processes. These include vacuum heat treating, atmospheric carburizing, low-pressure carburizing, carbonitriding, ferritic nitro carburizing, nitriding and aluminum heat treating. It is envisaged that the site will secure all major OEM approvals as well as Nadcap accreditation which it is already well on the way to achieving.
Stephen Harris, Bodycote Group Chief Executive, commented, “We are very pleased to announce the opening of another new facility in the USA, this time in Syracuse, New York. This investment demonstrates Bodycote’s continuing commitment to align resources to serve our customers across North America.”
This investment is part of Bodycote’s further expansion in the USA. Bodycote is committed to offering world-class heat treating services and is investing in improvements as part of an ongoing strategy to provide the best possiblecapabilities combined with superior quality. Bodycote’s geographic network is constantly evolving with growth targeted at serving both our customers current and future needs.”
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“A global supplier of auto components recently ordered a new 2 bar vacuum furnace from SECO/WARWICK-this same company recently ordered 6 new tempering furnace from SECO for its machine tool manufacturing facility.
The international buyer’s automotive division placed an order for a single chamber high pressure quench horizontal vacuum furnace to increase its annealing production of fuel injector components. The new heat treating furnace will complement an existing SECO/VACUUM furnace in operation at that location since 2002. Because the new furnace is a nearly identical model, they share standard components and will reduce the necessary inventory of spare parts.
SECO/VACUUM’s Managing Director, Peter Zawistowski, said: “Once again, we have been rewarded for a good track record of performance and service support by this international automotive and machine tool components manufacturer. This furnace brings to 7 the number of vacuum heat treating systems we will have delivered to them in the past 3 years. It proves the familiar adage, ‘If we take care of you, you will take care of us.’ It is also very gratifying to know that their 20-year old furnace is still performing well with our support.”
The new furnace will have a chamber size of 36” x 36” x 48” deep and a load capacity of 3,300 lb. It is designed for a temperature uniformity of +/-10°F to meet the qualifications of CQI-9 and AMS2750F. The furnace will be equipped with SECO/WARWICK’s state-of-the-art control system, which includes a PLC and SECO/VACUUM SCADA systems. A battery-operated electric loader will also be provided to allow safe and convenient loading/unloading operations.”
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Yesterday we reported that furnace builder ECM was having a very busy year, today we present some more examples. Each of these systems is on the floor in Grenoble, France and they include 2 Flex systems, one for LPC going to China and a Nitrocarburizing furnace marked for the USA, 2 Nano systems which will also be shipped to the US and a batch Nitrider going to Europe.
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“Advanced Heat Treat Corp. (AHT), a recognized leader in heat treat services and metallurgical solutions, announced that it has renewed its Nadcap® accreditation in heat treating (ion and gas nitriding) and passed its Aerospace Quality System (AC7004) audit. The company has also added additional AMS specifications to its scope: AMS 2759/6 and AMS 2759/12. AMS 2759/6 specifies the procedures and requirements for gas nitriding low-alloy steels such as Nitralloy 135M, Nitralloy EZ, Nitralloy N, 4140, 4340 and H11 steels.
AMS 2759/12 specifies the requirements for producing a continuous white layer by means of a gaseous process using automated controls to maintain the nitriding and carburizing potentials on carbon steels, low alloy steels, tool steels, and cast iron. With these additions, AHT can now accommodate the following AMS specifications: 2757 (Gas Nitrocarburizing), 2759/6 (Gas Nitriding), 2759/8 (Ion Nitriding), 2759/10 (Gas Nitriding), and 2759/12 (Gas Nitrocarburizing).
President Mikel Woods commented, “We have held Nadcap® accreditation for ion nitriding since 2013, and with each audit/renewal we’ve had something new to celebrate. In 2020, we added gas nitriding; and now, we are excited to add AMS 2759/6 and AMS 2759/12 to our growing list of scopes and accreditations.” The Nadcap® Heat Treating accreditation (Merit Status) is held at AHT’s MidPort Blvd. location in Waterloo, Iowa. The heat treater also has locations in Cullman, Alabama; Monroe, Michigan; and another location on Burton Ave. in Waterloo, Iowa.”
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Furnace manufacturer, ECM (headquartered in Grenoble, France), is reporting very strong sales for 2022, and we have the proof right here! These photos show just some of the equipment which is now on the floor. As you can see, this represents a real cross-section of the diverse furnace equipment the company offers. In addition, the equipment is destined for virtually every part of the globe: a LPC Batch IQ going to Ireland, a “Pitless” oil quench unit for a European aerospace company, a 3 cell Nano system scheduled for Taiwan, and external automation anticipated for the US. This is just some of the equipment under construction – in Part II of this story, we will divulge another 5 systems in various stages of construction.
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The L&L XLE3648 has an effective work zone of 34” wide by 34” high by 44” deep. It includes an electric vertical door, an alloy hearth and a complete control system. The furnace‘s primary function is to heat–treat various tool steels that are used for saw blades, including high–speed tool steels.
The L&L FB336 has an effective work zone of 36” wide by 36” high by 72” deep. The fiber–lined furnace will be used to temper and stress–relieve steel castings. It includes a pneumatic vertical door, 24-inch-high convection alloy fan, a complete control system, castable piers, and a cast–alloy load platform for forklift loading.
Considering current events and the global economy in general, L&L has enjoyed a steady stream of business inquiries, with a higher than average of quote–to–order ratio, which means that buyers are eager to buy and the key is for equipment manufacturers to be able to meet customer needs.
L&L notes bustling demand in general heat–treating along with an increasing pulse coming back into the aerospace industry. Additive manufacturing and CMC production continue to demonstrate consitent growth and make significant advancements in technology.
The company certainly has seen its share of delays due to suppliers postponing deliveries, in some cases. L&L plans to keep its model GS1714, GS2026 and dual–chamber heat–treating and quench tanks in stock for quick delivery. We are beginning to see a bit of understanding as well, indicating that customers are more aware of unavoidable equipment delays due to existing supply chain issues.
In uncertain times, this type of business is encouraging but not without its hurdles, such as inflation, alloy pricing and various supply chain issues that are a constant problem. Being able to source and substitute on the fly is key along with particular attention being paid to scheduling. L&L sends out biweekly updates to our customers so they can track their equipment progress from production through to completion.
The company’s diversity is always helpful in an unstable economy. Its strong presence in the heat–treating field, aerospace industry, high tech ceramic space, and medical and automotive sectors allows L&L to provide products to many businesses in the thermal application market.
All L&L furnaces can be configured with various options and be specifically tailored to meet your thermal needs. The company also offers furnaces equipped with pyrometry packages to meet ASM2750F.
Furnace options include a variety of control and recorder configurations. A three-day, all-inclusive startup service is provided with each system within the continental US and Canada. International startup and training service is available by factory quote.
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Since 1999 “The Monty” has been publishing annually a list of the largest commercial heat treaters in North America based upon annual sales, our 2021 list can be found at https://themonty.com/articles/50-largest-north-american-commercial-heat-treats-2021-2/ This year readers will see we became much more ambitious and expanded the list to the 50 largest. In our 14th spot we have Dowa Thermotech Mexico.
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. It is difficult to say exactly what their sales are, however based upon what we know about their capabilities it is quite possible that the company deserves a higher ranking than what we are suggesting today.
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Since 1999 “The Monty” has been publishing annually a list of the largest commercial heat treaters in North America based upon annual sales-our 2021 list can be found at 50 Largest North American Commercial Heat Treats 2021 | The Monty It is now the time to update our list to reflect on changes that have occurred over the past year. While we expect some changes in our rankings we don’t expect to see anything monumental and this is entirely due to COVID and all its myriad of side effects including supply chain issues.
While COVID is now pretty much in our rear view mirror over the past two years it drastically slowed down in person meetings which made it difficult for any sort of acquisitions. To the best of our knowledge we can only think of one substantial acquisition and that was Thermal Process Holdings acquiring Rockford Heat Treaters in February of this year, an acquisition which might change their ranking as the 11th largest in North America.
What had far more of an effect on rankings was the industries which each company was most focused on. As an example 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. Those firms involved in the auto industry saw turbulent times indeed with peaks and valleys never seen before.
So coming soon we will have our list of the 50 largest North American Commercial Heat Treaters in 2022.
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“NSK Bearings in Kielce, Poland has just taken delivery of a second roller hearth furnace from SECO/WARWICK, a furnace intended for spheroidizing rings for the bearing industry. The first line featuring a SECO/WARWICK roller-type unit has been operating in the factory for seven years now. This type of equipment has its technological roots in the US.
The entire automated line as delivered consists of a loading table with the drive, loading elevators with side handling, heating chambers and controlled cooling chambers, cooling tunnels, unloading elevators and tables as well as a control cabinet featuring a complete automated visualization system that provides comprehensive control over the course of the production process. Such a line will fully guarantee perfect repeatability of the workpieces. The repeatability and the high quality are also important factors for the production of items as sensitive as bearings. “We know that bearing production requires a huge amount of precision. The required metallographic structure can be achieved in the production process only with a strict and repeatable regime of a many-hour thermal process. That is why our production line intended for this purpose is based on full automation of all processes. This enables the elimination of all errors resulting from the human factor.”
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