(Editors Note; Metallizing Service Company, MSC’s primary customer is Pratt & Whitney. In 2025 MSC had sales of approximately $19 million USD)
“NEW YORK, April 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Behrman Capital (“Behrman”), a private equity investment firm based in New York, today announced that it has acquired the assets of Metallizing Service Company Holdings, (“MSC” or the “Company”), a leading provider of highly engineered thermal spray coatings and finishing services for military, commercial aerospace, and industrial gas turbine applications. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Grant G. Behrman, Managing Partner of Behrman Capital, said, “MSC is a highly attractive business with deep process know-how, a market-leading reputation for quality, and serves a critical role in the aerospace and defense supply chain. The Company’s technical capabilities, long-standing customer relationships, and qualification-driven positions create a durable foundation for growth. We look forward to partnering with the management team to support MSC’s next phase of evolution, including through continued investment in existing capabilities, capacity, and strategic expansion into adjacent surface technologies and finishing services organically and through M&A.”
Mr. Chappel commented, “This is an exciting milestone for Metallizing Service Company. Behrman Capital’s experience building highly technical aerospace and defense companies makes them an excellent partner to assist the Company and our experienced team with capturing significant growth opportunities on the horizon.” Mr. Cavanagh added, “Together, we plan to build on MSC’s reputation for quality and responsiveness, broaden our capabilities, and continue delivering mission-critical solutions to better serve customers across our core end markets, while preserving a workplace that values and supports our employees.”
About Behrman Capital; Based in New York City, Behrman Capital was founded in 1991 by Grant G. and Darryl G. Behrman. The firm invests in management buyouts, leveraged buildups and recapitalizations of established growth businesses. The company’s investments are focused in three industries: Defense and Aerospace, Healthcare, and Specialty Industrials. The firm has raised $4.3 billion since inception and is currently investing out of its seventh fund. For more information, please visit www.behrmancap.com.
About Metallizing Service Company; Founded in 1940 and headquartered in West Hartford, Connecticut, Metallizing Service Company is an OEM-qualified provider of highly engineered coating solutions for aerospace, defense, and industrial applications. Using advanced processes such as plasma spray and HVOF, the Company helps customers meet critical component performance requirements, including thermal protection, wear resistance, and sealing. MSC serves commercial aerospace, military, industrial gas turbine, and business aviation end markets. For more information, please visit www.mscplasma.com.”
To this story about aerospace company “Pratt & Whitney” making a major investment in their Rzeszów, Poland location-an investment which includes more in-house heat treating capacity we can add this background.
“KATOWICE, Poland, April 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Pratt & Whitney, an RTX (NYSE: RTX) business, is investing $100 million in its facility in Rzeszów to expand production capacity, add advanced capabilities and meet growing global demand for its commercial and military engines, including the Pratt & Whitney GTF™, F135, and F100 engines.
At its Rzeszów site, Pratt & Whitney will construct a new facility that will house specialized capabilities for processing isothermally forged parts, including heat treatment, sonic machining and inspection operations. This expansion follows and supports the recently announced $200 million investment in a seventh isothermal forging press at Pratt & Whitney’s Columbus Forge facility in Georgia, U.S. These capital projects, expected to be fully operational by 2028, will enable a 30% increase in output of critical engine parts, such as rotating compressor and turbine disks.
“This investment reflects our continued commitment to increase production capacity for our customers and deliver more, faster,” said Piotr Owsicki, general manager of Pratt & Whitney in Rzeszów. “Expanding our presence in Poland allows us to build the strategic capabilities needed to produce key technologies for advanced commercial and military aircraft engines across both current and future platforms.”
Poland represents RTX’s largest investment and employee base outside the United States, with more than 9,400 employees across its Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney and Raytheon businesses in country. Pratt & Whitney’s sites in Poland provide advanced manufacturing and technology development capabilities for commercial and military engines, turboprops and auxiliary power units. This includes the manufacture of critical engine components such as the GTF fan drive gear system and F100 static structures and critical F135 parts.”
(Editors Note; the announcement below from “Skuld LLC” of Piqua, Ohio could potentially revolutionize heat treat castings as the company is researching how this technology can be applied to heat treat alloys such as HU, HK, etc.).
See an example of a part we’ve regularly cast in 6061. Regarding things that may be of interest for the average heat treater, first the development of cast alloys that are wrought will likely require new heat treat recipes since the base material is not the same starting microstructure. Second, since we have developed the ability to lost foam cast steel, we are doing a lot of work in casting steels including getting into casting heat treat equipment alloys like HU, HK, etc. The AMEC process can also be used to make these without tooling such as for spares.
“Skuld Advances Material Conversion Research Under DARPA’s Rubble to Rockets (R2R) Program
Piqua, OH – 2026 – Skuld LLC announces it is leading a project in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Rubble to Rockets (R2R) program, which seeks methods to convert scrap metal into usable components through advanced manufacturing approaches. Skuld contributes research in alloy characterization, casting evaluations, and AI-supported design methodologies.
Research Focus Areas The work within the R2R program includes:
· AI-assisted spark-testing for alloy identification and composition measurement.
· AI prediction microstructure and mechanical material behavior prediction led by WPI and MatMicronia.
· Ability to produce a wide range of aluminum and steel alloys from scrap including in thin walled geometries and pressure vessels.
Recent research results demonstrated the elimination of cracking in complex geometries and the ability to achieve typical wrought strength from material that had only been cast and heat treated. A patent application has been filed related to aspects of this work for the ability to cast typical wrought grades such as 6061 and 7075.
Additive Manufacturing Evaporative Casting (AMEC) Skuld’s Additive Manufacturing Evaporative Casting (AMEC) process uses additive patterns for rapid investment casting without tooling. The research explores opportunities to support production of components when conventional supply chains are limited.
Field-Deployable Manufacturing Concepts As part of its R2R contributions, Skuld is developing small, portable casting systems intended to enable on-demand part production in constrained environments. These early prototypes aim to support greater flexibility in defense and emergency operations.
Program Collaboration The R2R program includes contributions from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Foundry Casting Systems, MatMicronia LLC, and other research partners working across materials science, AI/machine learning, and advanced manufacturing.
“Through the R2R effort, we are evaluating casting approaches, alloy behavior, and the use of AI tools that expand options for producing components in challenging environments,” said Sarah Jordan, CEO of Skuld LLC.
About Skuld LLC; Skuld LLC is an advanced materials and manufacturing technology company focused on 3d printing and casting processes. The company operates a full-scale facility in Piqua, Ohio, equipped for melting, mold production, machining, and metallurgical analysis. Its leadership team includes CEO Sarah Jordan and CTO Mark DeBruin.
Skuld’s work includes the development of its Additive Manufacturing Evaporative Casting (AMEC) process, an indirect additive manufacturing approach that uses printed patterns to create molds for near-net-shape castings. AMEC is being evaluated for its potential to reduce tooling requirements, support rapid iteration, and expand casting options across multiple alloy systems.
Media Contact Sarah Jordan, CEO [email protected] 330-423-7339″
“The Monty Heat Treat News” is now in a position to provide an update on this exciting project. The attached photo shows the new facility, albeit empty.
While the exact composition of the new equipment is still unknown (except for hints below), “The Monty” has been led to believe that it will include three new UBQ batch IQ furnace lines. This would certainly not be unusual for a “Bodycote” facility and if their usual model holds true, we would assume the facility would also include vacuum nitriding units. We will though stress that this is a guess on our part.
APRIL 5th 2026: “Bodycote, the world’s leading provider of heat treatment and specialist thermal processing services, today announced plans to open a new facility in Apodaca, in the Monterrey metropolitan area, expanding its capacity to support customers across Mexico and the southern United States.
The expansion will help customers reduce logistics complexity, strengthen supply-chain resilience, and support localization and near-shoring strategies, while maintaining access to Bodycote’s global technical expertise and consistent quality standards.
The new site will complement Bodycote’s existing operations in Mexico, which include locations in Silao, San Luis Potosí and Guaymas, strengthening the company’s regional network and providing customers with greater flexibility and choice
Scheduled to open in 2026, the facility will increase local processing capacity and improve regional support as manufacturing activity in Mexico continues to grow. It will serve customers in the automotive, general industrial, and medical sectors, supporting both new programs and existing operations.
Operations will use modern, high-efficiency technologies and standardized operating practices to deliver consistent process quality, improved operating efficiency, and optimized energy performance.
The site will offer a range of precision heat treatment capabilities, including case hardening and nitriding technologies such as carburizing, carbonitriding, and nitrocarburising processes. These treatments enhance surface hardness, wear resistance, and fatigue performance while maintaining core strength in critical automotive and industrial components.
Bodycote is engaging with customers early to support future capacity planning and qualification activities, with site tours planned for Q2 2026. The facility is expected to begin operations in 2026, with capacity ramping in phases as customer demand grows. Further announcements will follow as the project progresses toward operational readiness.”
Mexico Heat Treat Market Through the Eyes of an Expert
Heat Treater Has Great 2025-Starts Expansion
“Dana” Apodaca, Mexico Opens Their Doors to “The Monty”
“Amsted” Automotive Shows a Clean, Efficient “In-House” Heat Treat Dek
- While not widely known, it is owned by “Tri-State Metal Inc.”, of East Chicago, IL, a commercial heat treater.
- Second, the company recently designed and built their own endothermic generator utilizing “SSi” controls and the resulting unit is so successful that the company is planning on offering this system to the entire heat treat market.
What we saw at this location was a medium sized commercial heat treater, very clean and well organized. The facility is largely dedicated to fasteners although we did see a number of high precision gears being processed.
The balance of the equipment included mesh belt lines and a number of batch IQ furnaces.
The General Manager of this facility is an individual by the name of “Emmanuel Ponce” and he has to be one of the happiest heat treaters we have ever met. If you ever happen to be in the Monterrey, Mexico area and want to talk heat treating give Emmanuel a call-we guarantee he will be happy to talk to you.
We reached deep into our “Heat Treat Podcast” archives and pulled out this “oldie but goodie”. In this episode our charming host, “Mr. Carlos Torres” speaks with industry legend, “Mr. Bob Fincken” of controls company “SSi” for a discussion about where furnace controls are going and where they have come from.
April 29th there will be an auction in San Antonio, Texas featuring some older vacuum furnaces, coating systems, machining centers and metal working equipment. The equipment is located at the “Meyer, MT, Texas” location, the site of a large fire August of 2025; “Massive fire near San Antonio Airport prompts second alarm response”
According to the auction notes, all of the equipment has been professionally cleaned since the fire.
While the furnaces are older models, vacuum furnaces generally sell at auction.
It is not clear whether this location is still in operation or not but it certainly appears that all of the equipment at this location is up for sale and this facility is no longer mentioned on the “Meyer” website.
About Meyer; “Meyer is a privately held, high-tech manufacturing company supplying a variety of precision components to the aerospace and gas turbine engine industries. The company began as Meyer Tool & Die in 1951, and has evolved over the years into an industry leader in turbine technologies, vertically integrated and offering all post casting processes as the trusted manufacturing partner. Meyer currently has over 1,400 electrical discharge machining (EDM) machines (wire, ram, and fast hole drilling). Meyer not only specializes in EDM, but also waterjet machining, conventional machining, abrasive grinding, laser machining and welding, EB welding, coating, airflow testing and other processes required to be the trusted manufacturing partner for airfoils and other hot section turbine components.”
According to this press release two of the larger European furnace controls companies will be working together more closely in the future. This press release is quite vague and provides few if any details beyond the fact that “Stange” and “Demig” feel it necessary to work together more closely in the future. “The Monty” will provide more details as they become available.
“Stange Elektronik and Demig, two experts in the regulation and control of thermal processes, are joining forces.
The most important thing in advance: Nothing will change for you for the time being.
– All products remain available as usual
– Service and maintenance, installations and repairs continue to run reliably
– Same contact persons, same telephone numbers, same quality
So why the cooperation? Because we are convinced that the challenges of the future can be better mastered together.
We have intensively studied the wishes and needs of our customers and tailored our product developments accordingly.
This includes that we want to integrate more functions and that our products will meet the challenges posed by new legal requirements and standards.
These include the increasing demands on development and products due to the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), which will come into force at the end of 2027.
What will result from this? A new, common ecosystem for thermal processes, from controllers to controllers to process control systems.
Perfectly coordinated, it combines the strengths of both worlds and at the same time meets the new regulatory requirements.”
The MTI Educational Foundation is committed to supporting the next generation of leaders in the heat treating industry by offering scholarships that help offset the cost of education in engineering, materials science, and related technical fields. This deadline extension ensures that more qualified applicants have the opportunity to apply and pursue their academic and career goals.
“We understand that students and working professionals are balancing many priorities,” said Tom Morrison, for the Metal Treating Institute. “By extending the deadline, we are reinforcing our commitment to workforce development and making it easier for individuals to access the resources they need to succeed in our industry.”
Scholarships are available to students in college or trade schools pursuing careers aligned with the heat treating and thermal processing sectors including material sciences, engineering and industrial sectors. Awards are based on academic achievement, career aspirations, and commitment to the industry.
The MTI Educational Foundation plays a vital role in strengthening the workforce pipeline by investing in education, training, and leadership development initiatives. Each year, the Foundation awards thousands of dollars in scholarships to deserving applicants, helping to build a stronger, more skilled future workforce.
Applicants are encouraged to submit their materials prior to the new deadline of May 15, 2026.
For more information on eligibility requirements and to apply, visit www.mtieducationalfoundation.com.
“AI” has this to say about heat treating in Singapore; “There are approximately 47 manufacturers and 67 service providers related to heat treatment operating within Singapore as of early 2026”.
Aerospace firms are notorious for being very “closed lipped” about their manufacturing facilities but “The Monty” did learn a few things about vacuum furnaces in the Singapore aerospace market and we are able to provide a few details about the market along with some photos from a “GE” aerospace facility and two “Barnes Aerospace” locations.
First off many of the largest aerospace companies in the world maintains a manufacturing location in Singapore including but not limited to;
- Pratt & Whitney
- Barnes Aerospace
- Boeing
- Airbus
- General Electric (GE). One single GE facility in Singapore has just over 30 vacuum furnaces.
- Rolls Royce (a joint venture with Singapore Airlines)
- Safran
- Collins
- Conway Aerospace
- Bombardier
- Standard Aero
All of these locations are either an “OEM” location (original equipment manufacturer meaning they make aerospace components) or an Aerospace “MRO” (maintenance, repair & overhaul) facility which in many cases incorporates vacuum furnaces.
- Ipsen
- SECO/WARWICK
- Solar Manufacturing (represented by a local company, “Aeromac Thermal”)
- GM Enterprises
We are sure there are many more brands to be found in Singapore but a brief visit would appear to show that these are the “dominant” brands.
Included in this article are photos from 3 “Barnes Aerospace” locations and one “GE” facility. In the case of the “GE” facility, what can be seen is a fixtured load preparing to go into an “Ipsen” bottom load vacuum brazing furnace (which is not shown).
Another photo shows a rebuilt “Ipsen” bottom load vacuum furnace with working dimensions of 48″ diameter x 54″ high, capable of 1100C with 2 bar argon quenching and a 35″ diffusion pump.
Other photos show two older horizontal “VFS” (Vacuum Furnace Systems) furnaces at a second Barnes location.
Our host for these visits was “Rui Shan Engineering”, a furnace rebuilder with a location in Singapore and a manufacturing facility in Thailand with 16 people. “Mr. Christopher Rajendran”, Owner., is shown in one of these photos, his partner “Mr. John Muraly” was not available during our visit.
While it would be fascinating to know the exact number of vacuum furnaces provided by each manufacturer to the Singapore aerospace market, no such list exists and we doubt it ever will. So for the time being “The Monty” is happy to provide this brief summary.
