We move to France today where we see that the second largest commercial heat treater in the country, Thermi-Lyon Groupe is adding an Ipsen 1200 kg capacity vacuum furnace to one of their locations. The Sales Manager for Thermi-Lyon, Mr. Bernard Salvi had this to say to “The Monty Heat Treat News“; “Despite the Covid pandemic and the ongoing chip shortage business is not bad, as a matter of fact it is pretty good. Here at Thermi-Lyon we work with a number of different industries and while some of them are slower than normal, others continue to grow. Because of this we added a new vacuum furnace to our Thermi-Picardie location (Paris area).”
Thermi-Lyon has 8 facilities in Europe with almost 200 employees. Further details can be found at https://www.groupe-thermi-lyon
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
View our recent magazines and podcasts by clicking the following link. https://themonty.com/magazine/
Recently the firm decided it was time to upgrade and enlarge their facilities and the final product is quite impressive as can be seen in these pictures. This represents an investment of over $1 million USD and the space now includes a new lab, floor shop assembly and inspection space, a new 12-15 person conference room, and two new offices. Our first thought when looking at these pictures is that it would be a shame to install any oil quenching furnaces into such a clean, bright environment.
Rather reminds us of a shop in Germany by the name of Werz that “The Monty Heat Treat News” team visited a little while back in that it also was immaculately clean.
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
View our recent magazines and podcasts by clicking the following link. https://themonty.com/magazine/
The February 2022 Issue of “The Monty Heat Treat News” magazine is now available on line at https://fliphtml5.com/gvbzt/egby This 81 page digital publication is guaranteed to have the latest, most up to date news and trends in the global heat treatment industry. As always we appreciate your thoughts and comments. Sincerely, Gord, Jordan, Dale, Anne & Charlene
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
View our recent magazines and podcasts by clicking the following link. https://themonty.com/magazine/
Aalberts Surface Technologies, one of the largest commercial heat treaters in Europe and North America recently invested in additional equipment for their Dzierżoniów, Poland plant. “The Monty Heat Treat News” had the privilege of visiting this facility a few years back at which point we met with the plant manager, a top notch fellow by the name of Bart Olejnik. Bart is quoted in this press release and now has the very impressive title of Managing Director, Aalberts Surface Technologies. In this photo we see Bart along with Gord Montgomery of “The Monty”.
Included is a third hardening furnace, tempering furnace, and an endothermic atmosphere generator as well as loading and unloading devices along with the auxiliary infrastructure. “This contract covers a main AFT type atmosphere furnace, intended for carburizing, hardening, nitrocarburizing and annealing processes,” explained Piotr Skarbiński, Vice-President, Business Segment Atmosphere Furnaces, SECO/WARWICK Group. “The furnace is perfect for manufacturing processes for various transmission components, enabling the use of both conventional load arrangements with modular accessories (mesh, grids or “cross-bars”) as well as hardening baskets”
Aalberts Surface Technologies is a global company with more than 80 years of experience, operating in more than 70 countries. The Dzierżoniów plant was established in 2014 and is one of the most modern commercial hardening plants in the region. They are a supplier primarily for the automotive industry, but also for the wide machinery industry.
“We have decided to cooperate with SECO/WARWICK because they provide us with the tailor-made solutions which always respond to our needs 100%. We share the passion and huge, constant drive for excellence which is inscribed inthe DNA of Aalberts Surface Technologies. Cooperation with such an experienced company also brings professional consulting that helps us to optimally expand the Dzierżoniów hardening plant. The new line will significantly increase our capacity and will allow us to expand our business to other Eastern European countries,” said Bartłomiej Olejnik, Managing Director, Aalberts Surface Technologies Heat Sp. z o.o.
“We have been cooperating with the SECO/WARWICK Group for many years. They are our technology partner and with them, their solutions and support, together we can shape the heat treatment industry. What is important for this cooperation is the dialog, flexible approach, constant search for solutions for improvement, and the vast experience of our partner – combined, these allow us to implement our business and technological development with peace of mind,” Bartłomiej Olejnik added.”
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
View our recent magazines and podcasts by clicking the following link. https://themonty.com/magazine/
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
View our recent magazines and podcasts by clicking the following link. https://themonty.com/magazine/
Furnace builder Ipsen of Rockford, Illinois recently created a brand new position, that of Chief Service Officer (CSO), an executive-level addition to the manufacturer’s U.S. Leadership Team. The man chosen for that position is Mr. John Dykstra, and we are pleased to be speaking with him today. John, before I ask you about your background, our readers and I would very much like to know, what is a Chief Service Officer (CSO) and why did Ipsen decide on adding this position?
What is the CSO Position? The CSO position is an executive-level position inside of Ipsen that is designed to strategically lead the teams inside of Ipsen Customer Service. As the CSO, I am looking at how we can expand our capabilities through strategic personnel additions and implementation of new technology solutions. These include remote support capabilities, a new online customer portal and enhanced data sharing from service visits. My goal is for Ipsen Customer Service to deliver world-class capabilities for precise and timely repairs, supported by an industry–leading parts organization, to ensure that we exceed our customers’ expectations during each and every interaction.
I have to say, I did read the press release that Ipsen issued when you were first hired and hung on to every word. You have had an interesting career, which I would like to know more about, in particular how you became part of the Ipsen team.
First and foremost, I am the type of guy that enjoys changing oil and doing repair work on my vehicles and other things around my house; it is just who I am. Over a decade ago, I was fortunate enough to wind up working in the warranty group at a defense contractor in Wisconsin. Ever since entering the aftermarket world as a service administrator, I have been fortunate enough to be entrusted with increasing levels of responsibility that gave me the ability to lead all facets of OEM aftermarket groups.
I was actually leading an aftermarket group in Washington State in the food sorting industry when I became aware of the opportunity at Ipsen. As I learned more about the position, the people inside of the organization, and the vision for the Ipsen Customer Service Team, I knew it was a challenge that I wanted to take on. This is truly a great company with many people that live and breathe vacuum furnaces, and I am excited to be here and to continue to add value to our already great offering.
Your interests, I have to say, very much caught my attention. As an avid outdoorsman and world traveller, you and I have an enormous amount in common. Do you see travel as being a large part of your new job as CSO?
Early on in my career, I became highly aware of how important it was to make customers the driving force behind anything a company does. In my mind, I call it a customer centric philosophy. In reality, it means I will be frequently visiting our customers, learning more about what they would like to see, and then developing a strategy that supports their long-term ambitions.
On a day-to-day basis what fills your time?
Presently, I have been spending a good amount of time talking with many of the team members inside of Ipsen to learn more about how Ipsen operates. Also, just before the holidays, I was able to fly out and meet with some of our customers and Ipsen personnel in the Northeast region, which was a truly informative experience. Now I am developing a strategy that will focus on evolving an already successful organization into an even better and more capable organization.
Now that you have had three months in the heat treatment industry, what is your first impression? Let me elaborate a bit – your background shows you have had a great deal of experience with aftermarket teams – Is this industry any different from others in which you have been involved?
In a short answer, no. My career has largely had me working with tactical or emergency vehicles or large commercial power generators. If those go down, they must be fixed immediately. Similarly, the requirements of Ipsen’s customers require us to get their furnaces fixed so they can continue to produce the products essential to their company.
My opinion is that one should look at aftermarket from the perspective of people, processes and products. An effective aftermarket team needs the best people, with streamlined processes, who quickly deliver superior products. Regardless of the industry you are in, if you get those three things correct, the organization should be set up for success in the long run.
With all the supply chain issues these days it must be an enormous challenge for Ipsen to keep parts in stock – how are you coping with this issue? Have prices and deliveries increased substantially?
We do maintain a robust inventory of parts to support our customers; however, depending on what is ordered, we have been witnessing extended lead times to get parts into stock. Subsequently, this has caused us to increase inventory on some hard to get parts to help ensure they are on the shelves when needed.
Additionally, we have a strong supply base, and we are able to buy in volume to help keep any price increases to a minimum. Of course, it would always be prudent for customers to ensure they are stocking common wear components at their facilities. We have had great success supporting customers in this aspect by developing and selling critical spare parts kits.
As if supply chain issues weren’t enough of a problem these days, labor shortages are also a real challenge. Since Ipsen maintains a substantial service department, I am assuming that this also requires your constant attention. My question is – are labor shortages something that keep you awake at night?
First and foremost, our service team is truly an amazing bunch of individuals who work diligently to ensure our customers’ needs are met. The level of tenure, expertise and commitment that our team members have at Ipsen is truly impressive.
It would be naive for me to say that a labor shortage does not worry me. However, we are being proactive about hiring and look forward to 2022 as a year our team continues to grow. If any technician reading this is considering a career change, I ask you to call me. 15 minutes is all I ask for. We are hiring!
With new technologies enabling remote diagnostics, like Ipsen’s PdMetrics platform, how will this effect field service engineers? I certainly can’t see a time when they will become obsolete; however, do you see them having to spend less time in the field because more information is available online?
Undoubtedly, we will need to maintain a robust Field Service Engineer (FSE) staff to complete repairs and maintain furnaces in the field. That being said, I feel as time goes on you will see a shift from reactive repairs to proactive maintenance. I can also envision a time where we do have a centralized team of service engineers watching for faults, monitoring run times, and generally being more informed and able to react to customer needs faster.
Are you personally going to be spending a lot of time visiting current customers? What I am asking is whether you see yourself in a role overseeing the service department, or will you be splitting your time between management and hands on visits?
I would say I will be in the field as much as time allows me to do so. As I have alluded to, I am a hands-on kind of guy and like to be in the field learning and understanding how we can service our customers even better than we do now. However, this is also a strategic leadership role, guiding an important part of Ipsen, which does require being in the office regularly. In short, yes, I will frequently be in the field.
And now, for the hardest question of all – what are your fearless predictions for the future when it comes to service? I am sure that, like every other aspect of manufacturing, changes are in store, changes ranging from fairly insignificant to substantial. You are the expert in this field – any thoughts on what we might see in ten years?
The one thing that is certain is furnaces wear over time and will need to be serviced. It was true 100 years ago and it will be true 100 years into the future. However, I think the evolution of how and when things are serviced will evolve. I feel the internet of things will bring in much stronger predictive analytics and repair cycles, leading to more proactive maintenance work and less reactive/emergency fixes. We will see an uptick in remote services and customer support capabilities and we will see a deeper push into technology as the primary go-to for service, support and training.
We are just seeing the beginnings of what I believe are exciting technologies with hands free wearable devices for remote support. There are really neat augmented and merged reality offerings on the market, and it seems more and more predictive and remote support capabilities hit the market daily. This is where I am seeing the market go now and I am excited about the possibilities these products bring. A simple view of the future can be found in this equation: first to know + first to act = excellence. Digital tools will enable earliest possible detection while our Ipsen Customer Service team will ensure quick action.
John I appreciate your thoughts and your time today. Thank you, Gord
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
View our recent magazines and podcasts by clicking the following link. https://themonty.com/magazine/
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
View our recent magazines and podcasts by clicking the following link. https://themonty.com/magazine/
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
View our recent magazines and podcasts by clicking the following link. https://themonty.com/magazine/
In Orchard Park, New York State, USA we find an auto parts supplier by the name of McGard LLC-this is how they describe themselves; “McGard is a manufacturer of high quality security products, wheel locks and chrome plated lug nuts. Our customers include some of the finest North American, Japanese and European automotive manufacturers, as well as government agencies, the military, municipalities, and the fuel industry. Since 1966, McGard has become known for its unique product designs and comprehensive service programs in these and other areas where security and safety are top priorities. Consistent high quality that insures the greatest value for our customers is the foundation of our business, and is evident in every McGard product on the market today.”
Our experience with the company shows a very well run, clean and very modern operation. The firm has an impressive captive heat treat department which was enhanced by an ALD Modultherm, vacuum carburizing system not that long ago. The complete installation was finished in 2021 and the company responsible for the installation recently released a You Tube video of the installation which makes for interesting watching.
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
View our recent magazines and podcasts by clicking the following link. https://themonty.com/magazine/
Kody Kottke will oversee operations at MidPort location in Waterloo, Iowa. To find out how Advanced Heat Treat Corp., compares to other North American commercial heat treaters we would suggest this list compiled by “The Monty Heat Treat News”. 50 Largest North American Commercial Heat Treats 2021 | The Monty
AHT Vice President of Operations Bill Cowell commented, “Kody has been a vital part of our team for 19 years. He has a well-rounded and extensive understanding of our nitriding equipment, customers and our processes. I have great confidence in his ability to drive efforts at the MidPort facility as we continue to grow and exceed our customer expectations with UltraGlowing results.”
Cowell, who previously served as plant manager at its MidPort location, will now focus more on the overall operations across its four locations in Alabama, Michigan and Iowa. The MidPort location that Kottke will oversee offers UltraGlow® ion nitriding, gas nitriding, UltraOx®, ferritic nitrocarburizing, stress relieve and more. Learn more about Advanced Heat Treat Corp. and its employees at www.ahtcorp.com or by calling (319) 232-5221.
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
View our recent magazines and podcasts by clicking the following link. https://themonty.com/magazine/