From Mr. Josh Hale of International Search Partners we have this fascinating summary about what commercial heat treaters in the USA get paid “Salary Guide for Commercial Heat Treating”. This is part of a three part series with the next one covering typical salaries for heat treatment industry suppliers. Josh can be reached at [email protected],  International Search Partners | (ispards.com)

Salary Guide for Commercial Heat-Treating

Although job descriptions can vary quite a bit between companies and salaries are subject to regional cost of living adjustments, what follows is a snapshot representation of the current market-value for most job functions in a commercial heat treat.

An important note: the below information focuses primarily on salary data and does not account for non-cash incentives such as vacation, flexible work schedules, incentive bonuses, profit sharing, etc. Overall compensation has increased rapidly across the board since the last iteration of this guide and many companies have gotten creative in looking outside base wages to entice and retain employees.

General Manager: GM, Plant Manager, Director of Operations… there are some nebulous titles at the top of the typical heat treat hierarchy, but for these purposes, consider at GM as the plant “owner.” He acts as the face of the company and rather than getting overly concerned with day-to-day tactical operations, he focused on dealing with key customers, high-level strategy/planning and ultimately has full P&L responsibility to turn a profit.

Salaries for an experienced GM are in the $125-175k range but can sometimes exceed $200k+ per year for larger, multi-site operations. Almost all GMs are incentivized with performance bonuses, and some are offered a path to ownership or equity.

Plant Manager: PMs usually report to a GM, and like their superior, they can go by many names such as Operations Manager, Production Manager, etc. Here a Plant Manager is considered the person responsible for day-to-day operations of a plant and overseeing all hourly employees and production.

PM salaries are hard to pinpoint because they can vary widely based on size of company, organizational structure and how much hands-on work is necessary for the role. Confounding things further, some companies will also have a plant “supervisor” level just a step below the manager. Those caveats aside, a base salary in the $90-120k range is a fair estimate, with supervisors at about a 10-20% discount from there and both most often with a bonus or additional incentive program.

Plant Metallurgist: Metallurgists will sometimes also act as the Quality Manager and/or Lab Manager, but here assume that the Plant Metallurgist’s main responsibility is over the various processes within the plant. As with most of the positions discussed here, there is a wide variance based on the employee’s qualifications, skills, and experience. A recently degreed process engineer acting as a plant metallurgist will obviously earn less than a seasoned metallurgist who oversees his company’s lab and testing.

Overall, good metallurgy skills are in high demand and wages have increased significantly over the past 2-3 years. An experienced, non-manager, plant metallurgist will earn a salary in the realm of $80-110k.

Quality: As mentioned, sometimes a Metallurgist will fill this role, but often it is a non-degreed person with hands-on experience who has risen through the ranks. It is common for there to be manager of the quality department who will supervise a staff of quality technicians or engineers. Together, they will ensure quality over all heat treat processes, oversee audits, and usually have responsibility over the lab and testing.

Salaries for experienced Quality Managers are between $75–$100k but can easily creep into the low-mid $100ks for someone with niche expertise such as NADCAP or ISO. Quality technicians or quality engineers will have a wide range based on experience and education and can be anywhere from $25ish/hr up to $60-75k per year or more.

Maintenance: Maintenance is one of the most important functions for any heat treat facility. Without a good preventative maintenance plan and good repair capability when furnaces do go down, a commercial heat treater is out of business. Most of the time, Maintenance Supervisors are non-degreed professionals who have worked their way up from an hourly position on the floor. Maintenance Mechanics might be former field service engineers or operators who have transitioned. Over the past few years, there has been a huge uptick in demand for qualified maintenance professionals and salaries have risen as a result – so much so that they are sometimes the highest comped employees in a company earning even more than their bosses.

Hands-on maintenance mechanics are earning high $20s to mid-high $30s/hr plus overtime and can earn more with strong electrical or controls experience. Supervisors and managers are at a $100k minimum and can be up to the mid-$100ks with bonuses.

Sales Engineer: Two types of compensation plans are prevalent for sales. One type of plan is salary only, commensurate with experience. The other is salary plus commission or bonus. Most heat treats implement the latter as it aligns incentives for the company and employee and allows for the motivated sales professional to earn his worth and be rewarded for results.

Commission structures come in all shapes and sizes and be set-up in an infinite number of ways but suffice to say that base salaries for heat treat sales start in the $80-100k range.

Furnace Operators: Hourly Furnace Operators are always in demand, and while they sometimes don’t require much experience and are trained in-house, there are situations where these workers are not only running equipment, but also providing quality control checks and resolving minor maintenance issues.

Wages for furnace operators have increased quite a bit in the past few years and are now around $17-20/hour + OT to start and can get up above $25/hr for someone with extensive experience and additional skills around maintenance, quality or shipping/receiving.

This salary information has been culled together based on data International Search Partners has collected from over 20 years of providing recruiting solutions exclusively to the heat treat industry. There are many variables to consider, and it is becoming quite common for companies to have hybrid roles that are not specifically addressed here. That said, this guide provides a solid, accurate baseline of information and is meant to be used a reference for employers and employees alike. For specific salary questions, or to inquire about more about recruiting and placement solutions, please contact Josh Hale at [email protected] or call 619-828-1040.

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In Bochum, Germany we find commercial heat treater Härterei Reese, one of the larger commercial heat treaters in Europe. “The Monty Heat Treat News” team has been privileged to visit this location twice over the years and what we saw was a very impressive facility with one of the largest pit carburizing furnaces we have ever seen; working dimensions of 5000 mm X 5000 mm (approximately 16’ X 16’) with a capacity of 50 tons. The press release below tells us how a potentially very serious fire was prevented.

“Safety devices prevented worse damage in a fire in an oil tank with a capacity of 230,000 liters at the Reese hardening shop in the industrial area of Bochum-Riemke on Thursday. According to the fire department, an employee had reported the fire at around 10:10 a.m. at the hardening shop, which specializes in the heat treatment of workpieces. A carbon dioxide extinguishing device and the mechanical closure of the oil basin had already been triggered. When the firefighters arrived with the fire engines of the city center fire station, the Werne fire station and a special vehicle of the volunteer fire department, the employees of the company were already outside.”

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We understand that commercial heat treater “Industrial Heat Treating” in Beamsville Ontario, Canada has advised customers that they will be closing the doors. While not a large commercial heat treat the company has been offering mesh belt austempering and brazing services for 40 years, most of the time under the guidance of General Manager Mr. Steve Prokopetz. This marks the third commercial heat treater in Ontario, Canada to close their doors in the past few years (two within the last month) all while two others have drastically reduced capacity either permanently or temporarily (although there will be a brand new shop opening later this year in Ontario).  Interestingly enough this marks almost the end of commercially available austempering services in Canada. Advanced Heat Treat Solutions in Mississauga suffered an explosion over a month ago which has resulted in their austemper line still being shut down, this leaves only Commercial Spring with austempering services and they are more of a captive heat treater than a commercial shop.

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Global fastener manufacturer Solvera Gawel Technology S.A., of Poland Orders New Carbonitriding and Hardening line from SECO/WARWICK.

“The new line will be intended mostly for carbonitriding and hardening processes (under endothermic atmosphere enriched with methane and ammonia) and for washing and tempering of high-quality screws and other hardware manufactured near Rzeszów, Poland. The Electrical Belt Conveyor Unit (ATE) under the contract will already be the second, twin, process line in the Solvera Gawel Technology S.A (SGT) plant. The first, virtually identical one, has been delivered by SECO/WARWICK in 2017. Dynamic growth of the company and the pursuit of expansion on the Western markets made SGT to opt for expanding their machinery park.

“ATE process line is our proprietary and proved design which we have been refining for years to create, in my opinion, one of the most robust devices of this kind on the market. It enables maintaining the assumed process parameters of the heat and chemical treatment in a stable manner while ensuring the high reliability of the equipment. An electric mesh belt furnace (PTE) is particularly well suited for continuous operation in the production lines. Since the furnace can be used in a multitude of processes, it is well recognized by global hardware manufacturers. It is also used in the production of parts wherever the precise serial production is necessary, including for example the automotive industry” – said Piotr Skarbiński, Vice-President, Business Segment Aluminum Process and CAB, SECO/WARWICK. “I am very glad about the very dynamic growth of Solvera Gawel Technology and that the company again selected SECO/WARWICK. This is a huge token of trust for us as well as a proof that our equipment, work and services meet the expectations of our partner” – P. Skarbiński added.

The ATE process line which will be delivered in 2022 to the Solvera Gawel Technology S.A. plant will be adapted for operating with endothermic atmosphere supplied from an external endothermic generator. It will consist of a loading module equipped with a weighing system, main furnace (enabling carburizing and carbonitriding process), oil bath (for hardening the workpieces), vibration and reloading tables. After the hardening process, the workpieces are transferred to a drum washer where they are washed, rinsed and finally dried. Hardware so prepared is transferred to a high tempering furnace, and then to the passivation bath. The line is completed with an arrangement of control cabinets with the SECO/SCADA master system.”

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OAKVILLE, ONTARIO / BURLOAK TECHNOLOGIES:  Burloak Technologies recently received and commissioned two (2) DELTA H® furnace systems for use in both R&D as well as full-scale additive manufacturing production of aluminum products. Burloak reported that parts initially being processed in the two furnace systems included items for the Canadian Space Agency and revolutionary communications satellites.
 
The two furnace systems include a single-chamber (SCAHT®), fully-automated, horizontal quench, solution heat treating furnace capable of operating from ambient to 1200°F followed by rapid quenching in less than seven (7) seconds – a requirement for processing critical-application aluminum parts. This SCAHT® furnace is also capable of slow quenching geometrically complex AM parts. The systems provide precise duplication of heat treat cycles. Included is a comprehensive data acquisition system in full compliance with AMS2750F – Instrumentation Types A, B, or C and can produce irrefutable, scientifically defensible batch records.  As safety is paramount, the fully enclosed quench system met all the strict Canadian safety standards as well as all electrical and design safety requirements of CSA/UL/CUL and NFPA. 
 
Burloak also commissioned a dual chamber (DCAHT®) aluminum aging oven system. Both chambers are identical and can operate from ambient to 600°F with precision control and uniformity. A unique feature is “Rapid Cooling” whereby overall cycle time for parts is minimized.   
 
All chambers are 24 inches wide, 18 inches high, and 48 inches deep.  All qualified as Class 2 and proved capable of Class 1 uniformity.  In both the SCAHT® and the DCAHT® operators never have to handle dangerous hot parts. With the quenching system on the SCAHT® as well as Rapid Cooling on the DCAHT, all heat-treating cycles are fully automated from “cold to cold” with operators only attending to load or unload part trays.      
 
“DELTA H builds straightforward, easy to use heat treatment ovens that are exceeding our internal and customer quality requirements. Training personnel from operations, maintenance and quality is an easy and painless process. The transparency of the systems will be pleasing to customer, AS9100 and Nadcap auditors.” Peter Adams, Burloak Technologies Chief Innovation Officer and Co-Founder
 
“The systems provided to Burloak represent a new chapter in our dedication to the aviation and aerospace industries as well as additive manufacturing in general.  It is very humbling to be among the technology providers to such an innovative and pioneering company as BURLOAK TECHNOLOGIES.” Ellen Conway Merrill, DELTA H Vice President
 
About BURLOAK TECHNOLOGIES
Burloak Technologies, a Division of Samuel is Canada’s leading supplier of highly engineered additive manufactured components for demanding applications. 
 
About DELTA H TECHNOLOGIES
DELTA H manufactures heat treating equipment designed for serving the uncompromising standards of the aerospace, defense, medical, and automotive industries with guaranteed compliance to the strict and demanding requirements of AMS2750F, Nadcap accreditation, MedAccred, and CQI-9 standards.

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In this week’s edition of “The Heat Treat Podcast” the conversation is with James and Andrew Orr of “Penna-Flame” industries in Zelienople, PA, USA. The discussion focuses on Flame Hardening as well as automation in the heat treat industry. “The Monty Heat Treat News” is very familiar with this family owned business and we have a very high opinion of the Orr family. The Podcast can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvL-UNpn42w and our previous comments about the company dating back to 2017 can be found below.
 

“Flame Hardening Ain’t What it Used To Be; October 26th 2017 we posted these comments and are we ever glad we did as it opened our eyes a whole new world of Flame Hardening; “Flame Hardening-The End of the Line? Flame Hardening is a form of heat treating which involves heat being applied to a part by using oxy-acetylene or another gas. It is heated to the upper critical temperature before the steel is quenched with water. It is a surface hardening process used on medium carbon mild or alloy steels such as 1045, 4140 and 4340 such as crane wheels, cable sheaves and rollers. This is an older technology and very basic with little control over the end result. We mention it today because over the past few years we have seen a number of companies both captive and commercial heat treaters discontinue the process with the most recent one that we have run across being Thermex Metal Treating. There is nothing inherently wrong with the process but it is gradually being relegated to the fringes of the heat treating world along with technologies such as shaker hearth furnaces and Fluidized beds. October 24.”

As a result of these comments we were approached by a very friendly and knowledgeable fellow by the name of Andrew Orr of PENNA FLAME in Zelienople, PA who offered to show us how the technology has changed over the years. It turns out that Andrew’s grandfather Garrett Orr founded a commercial heat treat facility back in 1968 that guess what? Specializes in Flame Hardening, not only specializes by the way as they are probably the largest single flame hardening facility in North America with roughly 30 employees. As a result of this meeting we at “The Monty” visited PENNA FLAME this past week and it turned out to be a fascinating experience. What the company has done is to take an older technology, flame hardening and then combine it with robotic loading/unloading, computer controls and the latest in temperature monitoring and control with the end result that they have ended up with a process completely repeatable with very tight quality control all at a very competitive price (it is worth mentioning that the company themselves build and design the equipment on their own). They have been so successful over the years that earlier this year they a dded a substantial addition to their building with a number of new flame hardening systems. PENNA FLAME does business all over North America with parts coming from as far away as California and are able to heat treat parts up to 80,000 pounds and 80” in diameter. If you ever find yourself in the Pittsburgh area the Orr’s are a very friendly family and they would be more than happy to show you what they have to offer.”

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What do heat treaters get paid? International Search Partners (ISP) has for many years have been recruiting in the heat treat industry and if anybody can tell us what those involved in the industry get paid it is ISP. ISP has provided these details to “The Monty Heat Treat News” in the-past examples of which can be found at https://themonty.com/articles-interviews/ The world is a changing place and along with it salaries have changed. Over the course of the next few weeks we will be offering you salary guides for commercial heat treaters, OEM’s (furnace builders as an example) and a comparative ranking of all positions. Our first installment will be coming next week, in the meantime we offer you this salary range for commercial heat treaters which was published a couple of years ago. The entire article can be found at https://themonty.com/project/commercial-heat-treating-salary-guide/ 

“Although job descriptions can vary quite a bit between companies and salaries are subject to regional adjustments, this should give a fairly accurate representation of the current market-value for most commercial heat treating positions. An important note: compensation packages in the heat treat industry have advanced rapidly over the past few years. As the labor market has tightened, companies have had to increase wages to attract the resources necessary to run a successful operation. In many cases, the employer is offering non-cash incentives as well, such as more vacation time, the ability to work from home and profit sharing or bonus programs.

General Manager: Some GMs have Plant Manager responsibilities as well, but for our purposes, we’ll assume not. The GM is more the outward “face” of the company and typically does not get overly concerned with tactical day-to-day issues in the plant. Rather, the GM focuses on dealing with customers, addressing any emergency issues that arise and is ultimately responsible for managing the P&L of the plant. A good GM is worth his proverbial weight in gold. Salaries for experienced GMs start at $110k minimum and can exceed $160k+. Sometimes, GMs are also incentivized with equity and/or performance bonuses.

Plant Manager: PMs are responsible for the day-to-day operation of the plant and oversee all employees, either directly or indirectly. The PM will usually not have P&L responsibility, but will manage and oversee all other functions of the plant. PM salaries range from $90k up to $125k or more and typically also offer performance bonuses.

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We have mentioned Additive manufacturing firm Burloak in the past, mainly because of their “state of the art” heat treatment department at their facility in Canada. This press release states that the company now has a new location in California. Will it mirror the Canadian operation with a HIPPING system, vacuum furnace and drop quench system? Time will tell. We include this photo of the heat treatment department in Canada which the “The Monty Heat Treat News” team visited just a couple of months ago.

“Burloak Technologies Inc, headquartered in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, a division of Samuel, Son & Co., Limited, has established its second Additive Manufacturing centre in Camarillo, California, USA. The new 2,300 m2 facility boosts the manufacturing capacity available at the company’s 6,000 m2 AM Center of Excellence, located in Oakville.

Between the two facilities, Burloak offers Laser Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB), Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-EB), Binder Jetting (BJT) and both wire and powder Directed Energy Deposition (DED) technologies. These AM capabilities are offered alongside post-production services, including design, engineering, CNC machining, heat treatment and finishing capabilities.

Formerly operating as CalRAM, the facility, assets and equipment have been acquired from Carpenter Technology Corporation, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Burloak and Carpenter Technology have formed a further agreement to collaborate on future product design and development opportunities, with Carpenter Technology becoming the preferred metal powder supplier for certain Design for AM (DfAM) projects led by Burloak.

“DfAM expertise, combined with scalable manufacturing capacity, is often the missing link for customers seeking to embrace additive,” stated Colin Osborne, president and CEO of Samuel, Son & Co. “The establishment of our multi-site capacity, along with our expanded relationship with Carpenter Technology, further demonstrates our commitment to closing this gap. By leveraging the expertise Samuel has in large-scale manufacturing, along with Burloak’s deep additive experience, we offer customers the easiest, most direct path to develop and scale even their most complex Additive Manufacturing projects.”

Carpenter Technology is a provider of high-performance speciality alloy-based materials and process solutions for critical applications in the aerospace, transportation, defence, energy, industrial, medical and consumer electronics markets.

In addition to the expanded collaboration agreement with Carpenter Technology, Burloak has recently announced relationships with The Boeing Company, MDA Ltd., Smiths HP and the National Research Council of Canada, and is actively working with additional leaders in the space, aerospace, automotive and industrial markets.”

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For almost 20 years Arturo Arechavaleta has been with Nutec Bickley, a furnace manufacturer in Monterrey, Mexico, the last number of years as Managing Director. Things change and Arturo just took a position as Managing Director at DIRAM a company also located in the Monterrey, Nuevo León area of Mexico. Nutec Bickley is best known as a supplier of aluminum drop bottom ovens, carbottoms and stress relieving furnaces. In this picture taken by “The Monty Heat Treat News” a few years ago Arturo can be seen third from the left standing in front of a large drop bottom oven the company was about to ship.

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August 2nd and 3rd General Motors Corporation will be auctioning off a number of assets at their closed faciility in Maryland, USA. While most of the equipment is of no interest to heat treaters, two items are of a great deal of interest. Those would be Nitrex pit gas carburizing systems which appear to be in very good condition. Our prediction is that they will see quickly for top dollar. ​

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