The link below will take you to the December 2021 issue of “The Monty Heat Treat News“-for 25 years the largest heat treatment industry news source in the world. Read about the most recent news and trends in the global heat treatment industry-we guarantee you will know more about the industry after reading this issue than before-promise.
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“Oregon City, Oregon: In October of 2021, Isostatic Pressing Services (IPS) received NADCAP certification for Hot Isostatic Pressing, opening the doors for additional opportunities in the aerospace industry. Earning NADCAP accreditation was a team effort between IPS and Farah Ally, a consulting agent at Taproot Strategies. With this accreditation, IPS joins their sister companies, Isostatic Toll Services (ITS) in Olive Branch, Mississippi, and ITS Bilbao in Bilbao, Spain. All facilities are also certified to AS9100D and ISO90001 and remain compliant with ISO45001, ISO13485, and lean manufacturing practices.
“We are excited about the opportunities the accreditation brings the company, and we hope to follow the success of our sister companies,” says Brittany Persaud, Vice President at IPS. “This creates opportunities for future customers to experience our efficient turnaround times, dedicated customer service, and competitive pricing. In addition, our partnership with AIP offers less downtime, in-house maintenance, and the ability to get new systems online in half the time compared to our competitors.” American Isostatic Presses (AIP) is a leading manufacturer of isostatic pressing systems worldwide, supplying all the units for IPS and ITS locations.
About IPS: IPS has offered isostatic pressing services for the last eight years with a focus on serving medical implant, 3D, automotive, and metal injection molding industries. Now, with NADCAP accreditation, this will also include the aerospace industry. IPS has processed parts for major medical implant manufacturers, such as Smith & Nephew, DJO Global, Wright Medical Group, to name a few. Due to the increasing demand from the aerospace and 3D additive manufacturing industries, IPS has plans to bring a new system online in 2022.”
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“With immediate effect two German companies PEER Energy GmbH and Schwing Technologies GmbH are cooperating. The signing of the long-term cooperation agreement took place at the end of October 2021. The aim of the agreement is the further technical development and marketing of fluidized bed technology for the heat treatment of metal components. The partnership between the two companies focuses on combining innovative quenching processes with fluidized bed technology. It includes, in particular, research results and developments of heat transfer rates. The application focus is on faster and more uniform heating and cooling processes for metal parts with the aim of conserving resources and further reducing unit costs.
“We are pleased to cooperate with Schwing Technologies. Together with the proven technology leader for fluidized bed heat treatment and with our latest approaches, we want to open up opportunities in new heat treatment markets,” emphasizes Ralf Giebmanns, Managing Director of PEER Energy. “With our new generation of heat treatment processes, industrial transformation can be further advanced in these applications as well.”
Andreas Guderjahn, heat treatment expert at Schwing Technologies, is also pleased about the partnership. For him, one thing is certain: “We will make use of the extensive knowledge and vast experience of the PEER Energy team for the analysis and design of heat treatment lines and jointly develop innovative processes.” By means of heat treatment, the mechanical properties of conventionally or additively manufactured components are adapted to their static or dynamic application requirements. In this context, the proven and established fluidized bed technology is known for its superior temperature uniformity, robustness and flexibility. It scores particularly well when it comes to high throughput with consistently high quality.”
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Ralf Giebmanns (PEER Energy) and Andreas Guderjahn (Schwing Technologies)
Dowa, who supplied the furnaces is a Japanese furnace builder (the largest in Japan we will add) and they make absolutely top notch equipment, but in spite of the fact that they have literally hundreds of installed furnaces in North America they remain relatively unknown to North Americans for the simple fact that they are largely found in Japanese auto parts supplier facilities. As an example the Honda facilities in the US almost exclusively use Dowa equipment but as the furnaces are single sourced to Dowa few outsiders are aware of them.
Dowa furnace design also generally differs from what North American furnaces builders supply in that in most cases they have a single row pusher design, quite unlike the standard for North Americans which is an “in/out” batch IQ design. So while the equipment is relatively new, an advanced design and appears to be in good shape we would not expect there to be a great deal of interest at auction.
Rather interesting that one of the larger install bases in North America for furnaces belongs to a company that most North American heat treaters are not familiar with.
On a final note we can say that Dowa is one of the largest commercial heat treaters in the world and the photo below shows one of their completely automated facilities in Japan as “The Monty Heat Treat News” saw it a few years ago.
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Recently we had an article about how the global debate over climate change and greenhouse gas emissions was generating interest amongst heat treaters about whether they should be heating with electricity or natural gas (our original article is below).
Mr. Bill Jones, Owner of Solar Atmospheres in Souderton, PA, USA (quite possibly the largest vacuum commercial heat treater in North America Vacuum Heat Treating and Brazing Services | Solar Atmospheres ) offered these thoughts.
“The use of electric power for heating v/s natural gas for a “cleaner” environment is an old saw.
So, where does most electric power come from today for major industry. Of course electric power generation is from the locale utility company. Now electric power generation is primary from coal or natural gas firing sources. The result is the furnace does not discharge unwanted contaminating gasses, the power company does
this for you, and thus they contaminate the atmosphere. A young MBA graduate may not grasp this simple truth until a P/L statement picks up the added utility costs for electric power.
I am from the world of electric furnace heating. For many applications cleaner furnace conditions producing cleaner product and labor saving fully justify electric heating, particularly the vacuum furnace. William R. Jones, Owner, Solar Atmospheres Inc., Souderton, Pa.
Greenhouse Gas Emission Targets to Decide How Furnaces Are Heated? November 2021 Posting
To date greenhouse gas emissions have not been an issue with North American heat treaters meaning they are not something which heat treaters have had to consider, however with current global sentiment about global climate change it would appear that this is something which heat treaters might be forced to take into account.
Recently we have had 3 captive heat treaters ask “The Monty Heat Treat News” for costing on converting their natural gas fired batch IQ furnaces to electric heat. While the idea of switching from relatively inexpensive natural gas to the more expensive option of electricity appears to be ludicrous to us, in each case the answer was the same-management at each company had dictated that all avenues to reduce greenhouse gas emissions must at least be considered-(incidentally at least 2 furnace builders confided to us that they feel electric heating will become the norm rather than the exception in the coming years for exactly this reason). We will qualify our statement saying gas is cheaper than electricity by adding that in North American most atmosphere furnaces are heated with natural gas because of cost, however regions such as the US Northwest, Tennessee and Quebec, Canada are the reverse because in these regions electricity is the cheaper option.
Another option which has been suggested to us several times over the past few months is heating with hydrogen, a much cleaner gas than natural gas. While we are not aware of any heat treating furnaces in North America being heated with hydrogen it would appear that the technology is advancing as can be seen in the article below. Whether you agree with concerns over emissions or disagree is probably a mute point, it would certainly appear that this consideration will be popping up more and more often and will influence future debates over how furnaces are heated.
“(This entire article can be found at https://emcombustion.es/en/em-develops-the-prototype-of-a-hydrogen-burner/)E&M Combustión, a Spanish engineering company dedicated to the development of new Combustion Technologies, develops the prototype of a specific Hydrogen Burner to operate with this fuel, which has been introduced to the industrial sector in the framework of the Expobiomasa 2021 fair, held from 21 to 23 of September. The project involves the development of more efficient and less polluting technologies than those currently operating in industry and in the field of power generation. The objective of this prototype hydrogen burner is aimed at making sustainable the thermal power installations and boiler rooms or buildings sustainable, allowing their decarbonization and the reduction of emissions.
As one of the main protagonists of the energy transition, burners that use hydrogen represent an evolution of traditional combustion systems and allow us to achieve superior energy efficiency with a combustion that eliminates all C02 emissions into the atmosphere. When used together with other fuels, such as natural gas (mixed or multi-fuel burners), it considerably reduces the emission of these greenhouse gases.
District heating and industry decarbonization.
Thus, the recently presented prototype hydrogen burner is designed to work only with hydrogen or to operate with a mixture of hydrogen and natural gas for use in district heating installations, for heating buildings and large areas. This last alternative of a mixture of hydrogen and gas is tested by E&M Combustion and is very viable. It consists of a mixture of hydrogen, with 15% -20% natural gas, with which the enriched mixture increases the calorific value and achieves a more stable and efficient combustion. This mixture also makes it possible to improve flame detection, a great challenge with the exclusive use of hydrogen as fuel, due to its characteristics of invisibility to the human eye.
In the hydrogen sector, Spanish engineering company E&M Combustión contributes its technology and experience in the field of industrial combustion and in hydrogen combustion systems, specifically, to which it provides advice, design, manufacture and commissioning of Hydrogen Burners and Hydrogen Combustion Systems in power generation plants and industrial processes, especially in the chemical and petrochemical areas.
The use of hydrogen in industry provides new tools to eliminate CO2, which is largely responsible for climate change. For Iñigo Béjar, CEO of the company “this milestone is a great opportunity for the planet as a whole, and for the improvement of production processes, although it requires the accompaniment of a technological partner and specialized attention to combustion challenges that this new fuel brings with it “.
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Watlow Electric Manufacturing Company, who will celebrate its centennial in 2022, has ordered – from SECO/VACUUM, a high-vacuum Vector® furnace and auxiliaries for its facility in Mexico.
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Back in 2020 it was announced that Bucyrus Precision Tech in Bucyrus, Ohio, USA would close their doors due to declining sales. The auto parts supplier owned by a Japanese firm found that a business case for the facility could no longer be made and the entire operation including the fairly modern heat treat department would close in 2021. That decision did come to pass and the entire facility, including the heat treat department is now being liquidated. More on this next week.
“BUCYRUS – Bucyrus Precision Tech Inc. on Tuesday announced it will close its plant in mid-2021, eliminating more than 100 jobs. The facility manufactures automatic transmission and rear differential shafts for the automotive industry and its closing is a result of declining sales in North America, the company said in a news release Tuesday.
The plant in the Crossroads Industrial Park employs approximately 105 people, in addition to several temporary employees. “The decision to close the BPT plant in Bucyrus was a difficult one and comes about after several years of drastically declining sales as a result of automotive technology changes,” David P. Garner, BPT’s vice president, said in the release.
“Unfortunately, our many attempts to secure new sales to allow for the continuation of operations were unsuccessful. We are extremely grateful to our associates, the Bucyrus community and the State of Ohio for their significant contributions and support to BPT over the past 25 years.” Gary Frankhouse, executive and economic development director for the Crawford Partnership, said his organization has been working with the company for 18 to 24 months.
“When decisions are made by industries — and I’m speaking to the automotive industry — they seem to be good. You know, fuel efficiency, lighter-weight cars, EV cars. Well, there’s also for every action, there’s an opposite and equal reaction, right?” Frankhouse said. “And unfortunately, the product that BPT makes, they had to shift their business model, which they’ve been able to do. However, the economics of that don’t play out the same as the traditional transmission shaft they had always made.” As part of the efforts, a representative from JobsOhio visited Japan to speak with officials at BPT’s parent company in Hamamatsu.
The product that Honda had been getting from BPT for its lightweight cars has changed, Frankhouse explained. “We were trying to figure out ways to retool to be able to provide new product and find new customers, because that’s really what is needed, is to be able to break into more of that heavy commercial automotive industry,” he said. “Unfortunately, those new customers haven’t been identified. You saw the result of that today.
“Right now, our focus needs to be on the employees, the people in Bucyrus. How do we help them and make up for that loss? Because it’s going to be an impact.” BPT was incorporated in August 1995 and started mass production in July 1997. The plant in Bucyrus is BPT’s only facility. Bucyrus Mayor Jeff Reser said he learned of the closing Tuesday, calling it “sad news.” He pointed out that BPT was one of the first employers to open in the Crossroads Industrial Park, and has a long history in Bucyrus.
“It’s a sad day,” Reser said. “We thank them for what they did for the community; they did a lot. … We just wish them the best of luck.” Bucyrus Precision Tech intends to continue production uninterrupted until the plant closes in mid-2021 and anticipates retaining substantially all of its associates until that time, the release stated. “BPT is committed to working closely with our associates during this difficult time and will be providing support, including retention benefits, to associates during the wind down of operations over the next several months,” Garner said.
“I think the facility and people that are in it are tremendous assets in our county, and in this area,” Frankhouse said. “That facility can be a tremendous resource to someone. I’m trying to be as optimistic as I can, but I’m being a realist, too: There’s bad news today. But we’re going to do everything in our power to help those associates and the management team out there land on their feet.”
“The good new is the local economy is really solid,” Reser said. “Hopefully, those people… will be able to step into jobs. I think just about everybody in Bucyrus is hiring right now and looking for people. That’s the good news. We hate to see them close, but fortunately those people will be needed in other positions in the community, so they shouldn’t have to move.”
Frankhouse said he met with Garner on Tuesday morning to discuss the possibility of finding a company that might be interested in acquiring BPT. The company has a great process, a modern facility built in the late ’90s, a good location and a good work force, he pointed out. “I am optimistic,” Frankhouse said. “You know, sometimes things work for good when you don’t even realize it, and you definitely wouldn’t realize it right now. This is not good news. But I think we’ve got to turn it into good news. That’s my objective right now.”
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This week’s action packed, super exciting version of “The Heat Treat Podcast” features our favorite host, Mr. Carlos Torres speaking with Kathy Kayryen of Applied Process in the USA. Kathy is an individual we have not had the priveledge of meeting, but based upon this conversation she is certainly a person we would very much like to meet based upon her impressive heat treat experience. Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
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Caption; Dale Montgomery (Editor in Chief at “The Monty Heat Treat News) Visits Ramada Heat Treat Portugal
Caption; Gord Montgomery, (The Monty Heat Treat News), Paulo Canhola, (Ramada)
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 45th spot we have Winston Heat Treating.
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.
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