It is with great regret that we mention the passing of Robert Kowalski, founder of Kowalski Heat Treat Company in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
His passing was the coming home of an odyssey that lasted 83 years, spanned multiple continents, several states, hundreds of adventures big and small, and always centered on one thing: His family.
Born on May 11, 1938 in Cleveland, Ohio, to Frank and Camille Kowalski, Robert Kowalski was what you would call a “strong man” in a classic way. A large and imposing person in his prime, and gregarious always, his strength wasn’t purely physical – though that was true — but in his sense of purpose. His resolve. He had star quality. Heads turned when he entered a room not because of a booming voice or countenance, but in the subtle understanding that when everyone there was sized up, he’d emerge the leader. The captain of the ship. He knew it. He embraced it his whole life. Those who knew him knew it too.
A devout Roman Catholic, he’d bow his head every Sunday without fail at the aisle side of a pew filled end-to-end with his children, most observing his solemnity with sideways glances while they fidgeted.
Robert Kowalski was fond of boasting, frequently, passionately, unashamedly. But never about himself. Always about his wife and children. His pride was unbridled, both in his large family, and in the gifts of each of his daughters and sons. Friends who knew him noted the way he’d pick each child out for praise. He boasted of his daughter who helped run the family business, then with her husband began her own. He boasted of his son who took over the family business and expanded it into a small empire. He boasted of his daughters who became nurses and physical and occupational therapists, a son who went to medical school, a son who started many business ventures, a son who was a pharmacist and devoted much of his adult life caring for his aging parents. He boasted that more than 50 of his children and grandchildren earned college degrees, something he did himself at night and on weekends.
From his marriage to Carole M. Stack in February 1958, Robert Kowalski might have gone on to be a Navy officer. He was already among the most elite of sailors, piloting submarines. The U.S. Navy wanted him to lead, and offered him a spot in Officer Candidate School. He knew this would mean rarely seeing his wife, and declined. The lesson of this decision resonates with his sons and daughters to this day.
What he chose instead took courage. With an already large and growing family, a dream, and little more, he and his wife Carole leased a small building in what is now Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood, purchased industrial equipment from an aging cash register company, moved it in rental trucks, and single-handedly began a steel treating business that has survived nearly five decades. Drivers along Detroit Avenue toward downtown Cleveland have seen the Kowalski Heat Treating sign above the building all these many years. To start the business he bought supplies from a hardware store owned by his uncle. Family.
Robert Kowalski was fiercely patriotic and never owned anything but an American car. Those he bought later in life were always from his nephew’s auto dealership in Ohio. His brother’s son. Family. And yet Robert and Carole welcomed summer guests from North Korea, Switzerland and England to live with their young family in Ohio. They adopted a daughter from Korea, a daughter of Filipina descent, two African American sons. Family travel was often North and South of the U.S. borders.
Robert Kowalski was at heart a teacher. In completing two additions to the family house in Westlake, Ohio to accommodate a growing family, he taught his sons and daughters everything about building a house. From pouring concrete to plumbing, wiring, structural and fine woodwork — he taught it all. He and Carole filled that house with books. Bags of books, from the local library.
He is survived by his wife Carole, 83, and by all of their children: Elizabeth, Cathy, Robert, Stephen, Lauren, Nancy, Daniel, Ellen, Matthew, Kerstin, Alexander, Timothy, Peter, Margret, Andrew, Susan and Dominic. He also is survived by 57 grandchildren and 24 great grandchildren.
Throughout his life, Robert Kowalski’s sense of wonder was equal parts insatiable and contagious. From skin diving for abalone in Hawaii, to caving in West Virginia when he was young; to a family trip throughout the West in a van he and his children modified for the purpose decades before anyone heard of the “van life,” when he was approaching early middle age; to fishing in far North Canada and Alaska, to taxi rides in Manhattan at frightening speeds in late-middle age; to returning to the West with his wife in older age, he relished excitement of new experiences and this never ceased. He recorded all of this through a love of photography, methodically documenting hundreds of thousands of photos of trips he took to wild places with his wife and family. He was meticulously cataloguing hundreds of photos for yet a new project in November of this year when he was hospitalized for heart failure.
On December 24, 2021 Robert S. Kowalski returned from the hospital to his home of 26 years in Marco Island, Florida, greeted by a room filled with his sons, daughters and their spouses and own children. On the lawn outside, dozens of white ibis gathered, as they do this time of year. In the waterway alongside the house, open-ocean fish surfaced. Fifty six minutes after midnight, as Christmas Day arrived, he drew his last breath, and gently moved on.
An extraordinary life.
Funeral Mass Tues. Jan 4 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Raphael Church, 525 Dover Center Rd. Interment St. Joseph Cemetery. FRIENDS RECEIVED AT THE BERRY-McGREEVEY FUNERAL HOME, 26691 DETROIT RD. FROM 4-8 P.M. MONDAY.”
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Well that is a wrap for “The Monty Heat Treat News” for 2021. We wish everybody a Happy New Year and a great 2022. Gord, Dale, Jordan, Anne & Charlene.
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What makes this most interesting in our eyes is that the pictures below which were taken just 3 months ago show exactly the furnaces that “Dougie Lampkin” road over in his famous video. Look closely and you will see in our photo and in the video one of the vacuum furnaces which is identified as “V2”.
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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 41st spot we have Metal Finishing Company, Wichita, Kansas.
Making our list of the “Largest Commercial Heat Treaters in North America” for the first 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.
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The system is an i-nitcold-1200 Plasma Nitriding Furnace with working dimensions of 1300 x 1200 mm and a load capacity of 1200 kg. The Serbian customer will be using the system to support their automotive customers. By following these steps, Istanbul Heat Treatment’s target is to deliver i-nit® brand Plasma Nitriding Furnaces to more customers, both in Turkey and in the global market, and to increase brand awareness and market share.
Istanbul Heat Treatment Inc. offers its 25 years of knowledge and experience in the field of Plasma Nitriding/ Nitrocarburizing with furnaces produced under the i-nit® brand. i-nit® Plasma Nitriding Furnaces operate with PLC control with easy user interface, and it has the opportunity to make standard productions depending on customer or product by means of the ready to use recipes.”
The company’s banner ad can be found on the right hand side of this page i-nit Plasma Nitriding Furnaces
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“Honda is recalling a number of 2021 Acura RDX and 2022 Honda CR-V Hybrid models in the United States over a driveshaft issue. A recall issue notice published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reveals that a component in the right of left front drive shaft may have received improper heat treatment. This could result in premature wear and if the front driveshaft fails prematurely, the engine will not provide power and the SUVs could roll away if the electronic parking brake has not been set. Involved in the recall are a total of 41 Acura RDX models produced on September 28, 2021 and 238 examples of the Honda CR-V Hybrid built between September 28, 2021 and October 1, 2021. The automaker first received word about the issue from a supplier in late September after suspect parts were assembled with insufficiently heat-treated steel balls for the front driveshaft outboard joint sub-assembly. Reproduction testing reveals that the steel balls could deform from the heat generated by the driveshaft.”
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Merry Christmas! We will resume regular news updates Monday December 28th.
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“Leading furnace servicing company Vacuum & Atmosphere Services has earned its official gas registration after two engineers achieved their qualifications. VAS, based in Middlemore Road, Smethwick, is now on the Gas Safe Register, the UK’s only official registration body for gas businesses and engineers, after Michael Day and Daniel Perry passed their training courses.
VAS can operate gas services, registered as meeting Gas Safe Register standards, after the duo reached the accredited standards. Under Gas Safe Register rules, an engineer can only be aligned to a registered business and be issued with a licence to undertake gas work on their behalf if they hold a valid and current qualification.
Daniel has progressed after joining VAS as an apprentice in 2016, while Michael has been with the company for three years. The pair achieved the necessary qualifications by completing the external courses, which required extensive off-site work and stringent examinations, all conducted over a six month period.
Andy Nisbet, Quality & Health & Safety Manager for VAS, said he was impressed by the duo’s level of commitment in completing their qualifications during the Covid-19 pandemic. Andy said: “Daniel and Michael have shown great dedication in doing their courses given the challenges we have all been working under in recent months.
“VAS is now a registered Gas Safe company, which means we can offer services around installations and repairs for clients. The business has invested in Daniel and Michael’s studies and will see the benefit as we move forward. It is great to have them both on the team.”
VAS launched in 2000 to offer services for vacuum and atmosphere furnaces, before the company progressed to offer the complete service package to the heat treatment industry, from bespoke new furnaces to spare parts.
Originally started by two engineers, the company now employs 31 staff and provides furnace services for a range of clients including Mercedes, GE Power, Moog and Collins Aerospace.
The caption for the photo below is: VAS Managing Director Mike Long, right, congratulates from left Michael Day and Daniel Perry.
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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 42nd spot we have 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).”
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While “The Monty Heat Treat News” mentioned this a few weeks back we now have the official press release from Delta H about their new Director of Sales, Ms. Rosanne Brunello.
“DELTA H TECHNOLOGIES is proud to announce the appointment of Rosanne Brunello as the company’s new Director of Sales. This announcement comes at an incredibly exciting time for the company as they conclude another record year of growth including several new job creations and prepare for an additional year of aggressive growth in 2022.
Rosanne is the latest addition to DELTA H’s growing Senior Management Team. She will manage sales operations at DELTA H and play a key role in the development of strategies to provide exceptional customer service and best-in-class products. Current products include single and multi-chamber heat treat furnaces, horizontal quench furnaces, industrial walk-in ovens, and cabinet ovens. These furnaces and ovens are designed to perform a wide variety of heat-treating applications including solution heat-treating, annealing, aging (precipitation hardening), tempering, and curing.
Ellen Conway Merrill, Vice President of DELTA H states, “Rosanne brings years of knowledge and experience not only from the industrial furnace and commercial heat treating industries but also in the aerospace industry which makes up a significant portion of our clientele. From the moment I met Rosanne a few years ago, I knew she was special. Her energy is exhilarating, and her business acumen is immediately obvious to anyone she meets. In fact, it was the synergy between us that led to us Co-Founding the group, Women in Heat Treat, in late 2019—which is continuing to develop more and more members every day. When the opportunity presented itself to offer this newly created position at DELTA H to Rosanne, I couldn’t have jumped on it any faster. She’s a perfect fit for our “family” here at DELTA H and we are very excited and honored to have her on our team.”
As for Rosanne, she feels as if she is “home”. “It’s my desire to continue and build upon the legacy already started by Richard Conway and his family. Their singular focus on pleasing the customer with fast, courteous, knowledgeable products and services is a passion for me,” commented Ms. Brunello.
Rosanne has spent most of her career in the aerospace industry. Given DELTA H’s already strong reputation in this industry and its growing presence in other emerging markets, Ms. Brunello’s skills will help the company accomplish its goal of far exceeding customer expectations.”
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