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 43rd spot we have Contour Hardening, Indianapolis, Indiana.​

Contour Hardening, Indianapolis, Indiana. Contour was established in 1986 with the goal of providing a cost-effective solution to difficult heat treatment applications-specifically induction hardening systems. However the company is also known as a substantial commercial heat treater. Contour is located in Indianapolis, Indiana with a second location in Sialo, Mexico. While primarily known for their Induction hardening expertise Contour also offers gas nitriding and Nitrocarburizing.

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Earlier this year “The Monty Heat Treat News” had an exclusive article about a multi-million dollar order for new furnaces, quite possibly the largest new furnace order in North America in 2021. As a follow up to that article we have received this press release from one of the suppliers, SECO/WARWICK explaining what their involvement in the project is-to which we would have to say congratulations on a very impressive order.

We can add that the customer is a Canadian based supplier of extrusion dies with locations around the world and that the total furnace order involved more than one supplier due to different technologies. We can also add that at least in the case of the Canadian division it has been operating fluidized bed furnaces for as long as we can remember-which goes back quite some time now.

A principal maker of tooling for the aluminum extrusion industry with operations in North and South America has pulled the trigger on a massive overhaul to its heat treating operations in three locations, replacing much of its legacy equipment with modern day technology. The customer has committed a multi-million dollar purchase to modernize heat treating operations in its Canada, USA and Mexico plants.

The order consists of four (4) Vector® single chamber gas quench vacuum furnaces, six (6) tempering furnaces, and one (1) ZeroFlow® pit-type gas nitriding furnace. The Mexico plant will benefit from brand new heat treating capacity, while the USA and Canada plants will be augmented with new vacuum heat treating technology, in one case replacing its legacy fluidized bed operations with 21st century technology.  Each site will also receive various upgrades to their water cooling and gas distribution systems with a full turnkey system installation to wrap things up.

“This is a big deal for the customer. They’ll benefit from a complete modernization of their heat treatment capabilities across all of North America, with clean, efficient vacuum heat treatment technologies. It’s a bigger deal for vacuum heat treating as a whole. It proves we’ve made great strides in the industry to convert legacy atmosphere users into vacuum technology believers. And it’s the biggest deal that we at SECO/VACUUM have made with a single customer since we began our division in 2017. We are delighted to partner with this customer in a 21st century operational upgrade to their heat treatment capabilities across multiple plants. I am also very proud of our SECO/VISORY solutions team, who worked hand-in-hand with the customer to solve their process challenges collaboratively.” Said Peter Zawistowski, Managing Director of SECO/VACUUM.

The customer recognized that reliance on older gas-fired atmosphere combustion technology could not continue to move its mission forward. With more advanced vacuum heat treat technologies than any other manufacturer in the world, SECO/VACUUM was able to offer a total, comprehensive solution comprising multiple furnaces in multiple configurations to meet their needs for a clean, efficient future.

Tool and die manufacturers around the world are recognizing the unequivocal value of upgrading their operations with vacuum heat treatment technologies, and SECO/VACUUM makes it possible to source all-vacuum technologies from a single integrated supplier.In addition to basic environmental improvements – both in the plant and to the planet as a whole – tooling makers are recognizing the advantages of vacuum furnace technologies in increased productivity, more consistent tooling quality and performance, and savings to their bottom line.

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From Mr. Francesco Pieropan of Italian furnace builder MEAPFORNI S.R.L., we have this press release about a new furnace order for the company. We are looking forward to providing more details when the line is installed and commissioned.

“Meapforni is in the assembly phase of a mesh belt furnace line for  fasteners which will be delivered next year. The fully automatic line has a capacity of 1000 kg/hour, pre and post washing, a high heat gas carburizing furnace and an electric temper.”

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Back in March of this year medical supplier SITES Medical in Colombia City, Indiana, USA announced that they had ordered two new vacuum furnaces from furnace supplier Ipsen (the original press release can be found below). As you can see in this photo the second furnace is now arriving. It is rather interesting that Applied Thermal Technologies of Warsaw, IN the commercial heat treater who was working with SITES for their heat treating requirements actively got involved with helping the firm set up their heat treat department-this it not an everyday occurrence and very much to the credit of the company.

Applied Thermal is one of the largest commercial heat treaters in North America, find out where they are ranked by “The Monty Heat Treat News” https://themonty.com/project/50-largest-north-american-commercial-heat-treats-2021-2/

“Cherry Valley, ILLINOIS (March 11, 2021) – Ipsen was awarded an order from SITES Medical for two TurboTreater® model H3636 2 bar vacuum furnaces. SITES Medical is an orthopedic technology development company that invents and de-risks new technologies and collaborates with OEMs to bring them to market and drive mutual growth.

Although SITES has enjoyed an excellent relationship with its current thermal processing partner, the new furnaces will accommodate increased volume resulting from growth in business. Each TurboTreater has a work zone size of 24” wide x 24” high x 36” deep with an all metal hot zone. The furnaces will be used for orthopedic implant processing such as stress relieving Ti and CoCr components, as well as diffusion bonding of Ti and CoCr implants.

”After reviewing the options available for thermal processing solutions, we elected to purchase the Ipsen TurboTreater® vacuum furnaces due to their high quality and reliability as well as Ipsen’s reputation for service,” said Greg Stalcup, President/CEO of SITES Medical. He added, “We look forward to working with Ipsen to bring these units online.”

Ipsen proudly partners with heat treaters in the medical industry that produce life-saving equipment including, ventilators, surgical instruments and implants, as well as cryogenic cold storage and transportation equipment for oxygen and vaccines. Ipsen has hundreds of vacuum furnaces installed at highly respected medical companies across the globe.

Ipsen’s TurboTreater® is known for producing bright, clean parts with excellent temperature uniformity and patented gas quenching system for improved hardening qualities and shorter cycle times. Learn more about Ipsen’s TurboTreater® at https://www.ipsenusa.com/turbotreater.

ABOUT IPSEN.  Ipsen is the global leader in heat treatment solutions with more than 10,000 operating systems in 70 countries. Through its Global Excellence Centers in Vacuum and Atmosphere Technology, Ipsen continues to deliver innovations that advance thermal processing while helping customers achieve their goals. Focused on performance and quality, Ipsen supports commercial heat treaters and customers in many industries including aerospace, automotive, energy and medical. With locations in North America, Europe and Asia, and the largest service team in the industry, Ipsen is committed to providing 360° support for customers worldwide.

ABOUT SITES MEDICAL. Ortho Technology Invented Here. SITES Medical develops meaningful orthopedic innovations so our OEM partners can deliver improved clinical outcomes and greater value to all stakeholders. Our inventions emanate from our deep industry knowledge and a problem-solving mindset, and they come in the form of new product technologies and advanced manufacturing processes. Examples include OsteoSync Ti, OsteoSync Rx and High Velocity, Single-Piece Flow manufacturing. Our technologies and our integrity have made us a trusted partner since 2008. Additional information about the company can be found at www.sitesmedical.com.

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“Gasbarre Thermal Processing Systems is pleased to announce the commissioning of a 24” wide, 3 zone mesh belt annealing furnace to a Midwest manufacturer of brass components. The brass annealing furnace is designed with a maximum operating temperature of 1650℉ with a capacity of 800 lbs/hr, and utilizes a blend of nitrogen and hydrogen atmospheres.  The system incorporates an Allen-Bradley PLC and HMI with automated atmosphere and water temperature control and datalogging.  The integrated dewpoint meter ensures precise process control for consistent and reliable part quality.  Gasbarre was selected as the equipment manufacturer based on their expertise in material processing and responsiveness to service the end user.  The new furnace purchase was justified based on improved energy efficiency, reduced atmosphere consumption, and superior part quality against an older, existing furnace. 

With locations in Livonia, MI, Cranston, RI, and St. Marys, PA, Gasbarre Thermal Processing Systems has been designing, manufacturing, and servicing a full line of industrial thermal processing equipment for nearly 50 years. Gasbarre’s equipment is designed for your process by experienced engineers and metallurgists that understand your requirements.

For more information on how Gasbarre can manufacture custom-engineered heat-treating equipment solutions for your specific thermal processing requirements, please contact Eric Buchanan at 734.656.2000 or via email at [email protected]. You can also visit our website at www.gasbarre.com and find us on LinkedIn (Gasbarre Products Inc.), Twitter (@gasproinc), and Facebook (Gasbarre Products Inc.).”

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Aalberts Surface Technologies headquartered in the Netherlands is one of the largest commercial heat treaters in the world with very substantial holdings in both Europe and North America. Very recently their facility in Dunningen, Germany appointed a new Plant Manager by the name of Mr. Thorsten Kappel.

“We are pleased to welcome Mr. Thorsten Kappel as our new plant manager at our Dunningen site as of 01.12.2021. Mr. Kappel is an industrial engineer and was most recently a member of the management board and technical manager of a leading global specialist in the field of bending technology. We wish Mr. Kappel a good and successful start and look forward to a customer-oriented strategic development of the site.”

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“HeatTek, manufacturer of ovens, furnaces and washers, has just announced the purchase of an additional facility in Ixonia, WI. This new building will serve primarily as a distribution center for the rapidly growing company’s components and spare parts inventory.

This expansion is on the heels of another plant acquisition in the nearby city of West Allis, which was finalized earlier this year. The West Allis plant has three bays that provide over 150,000 square feet of manufacturing space, a combined 400-ton crane capacity and a specialty stainless steel bay.

“Many of our customers serve critical industries and are seeing historically high demand. HeatTek has committed to support them,” explains Jason Plowman, President of HeatTek. “Because of our equipment’s large size, floor space is an important asset, so investing in new facilities is essential.”

HeatTek’s original location will remain home to its headquarters offices, R&D lab and over 70,000 square feet of manufacturing space. Plowman summaries, “The recent expansion has tripled our capacity and optimized our manufacturing process so we can support these crucial industries.” 

In 2000, some of the brightest minds in the oven and heat-treating industry combined hundreds of years of experience to form HeatTek. The goal was simple – provide the highest quality equipment and back it with superior customer service and on-site support. To this day, HeatTek’s “Never Settle” commitment ensures customers remain as profitable and efficient as possible.”

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This week “The Monty Heat Treat News” had the opportunity to visit a number of a captive and commercial heat treaters in New York State, USA, which provided the opportunity to see how they had weathered the turmoil of the past 18 months.

Rochester Steel Treating Works in Rochester, NY is a family owned commercial heat treat and one of the oldest in North America having been founded in 1932 http://rstwinc.com/ We would classify this firm as a slightly larger than average shop in terms of sales and a “full service” facility in that their equipment includes batch IQ furnaces, vacuum hardening and tempering furnaces, induction heat treat systems and several other technologies.

Perhaps because the company specializes in smaller volumes of work from a wide variety of industries Rochester has survived the past 18 months just fine and the company has continued to grow and prosper with a steady if not growing workforce.

This photo which was taken December 9th in RST’s vacuum department shows part of the team responsible this continuing success story, from the left: Johnny D’Aprile Vacuum Operator, Greg Schledorn Maintenance Lead, Anthony Beaman Vacuum Operator and Nick O’Neil Production Coordinator.

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Down in Conroe, Texas, USA oil field giant and captive heat treater Halliburton shut down their substantial in house heat treat department and sold off all of the equipment. The equipment includes a number of AFC-Holcroft batch IQ furnaces and associated equipment and it all ended up in the hands of a used equipment dealer who will be marketing it in the coming months. The photos below give a very basic idea about what it looks like.

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During a recent visit to the UK, “The Monty Heat Treat News” team visited a company by the name of “Neotherm”, a relatively new provider of heat treating furnace. We now have a press release from the company in which they talk about a just completed furnace installation featuring a 3 meter diameter (9′), 12 ton capacity pit carburizing furnace with associated endothermic generator.
 
“Neotherm were challenged to supply and install a pit furnace capable of carburising gears which were 3 metres in diameter and weighing 12 tons. The customer, being an Aerospace manufacturer, required all the pyrometry, temperature uniformity and data control to meet the necessary accreditations.
 
Due to the experience of running an older type of pit furnace, we were asked to look at any improvements we could make which would make the ongoing running of the furnace better. We firstly engineered the removal of the oil seal at the base of the existing furnace and fitted the heating elements vertically from the top to avoid the requirement to enter the pit for any future reason. The configuration of the elements also means that they can be changed without having to strip the furnace down, a real time saver!
 
The next part of the challenge was to improve the furnace atmosphere to achieve better control over the case depths. Facing the huge running costs of using nitrogen and methanol, Neotherm supplied a custom-built endothermic generator with the Super Systems turn down Autogen control. This will not only give better case depth control, but the running costs will also be reduced by 50%. With process trials and training beginning in January we are all looking forward to supporting this UK based manufacturer into the future.”
 
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