Starting January 21/2021 auction company “The Branford Group” was charged with auctioning off surplus equipment located at the GE Aviation facility in Delaware, USA. Included in the auction were 4 heat treat related items with the main one an almost new Ipsen/VFS vacuum furnace-these are the details; “2018 Ipsen/VFS Model HEQ-6672-2 Vacuum Furnace, AKD Control, 66″ x 72″ Chamber, Tutthill/Kinney 25-Hp Vacuum Pump System, Parts Loading Cart, S/N VF2697”.
The auction went ahead as planned and all of the equipment was indeed sold and as expected at top notch prices. The Ipsen/VFS sold for $185,000 USD. You read it first on “The Monty”.
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
Commercial heat treater Metallurgical Services in Dayton, Ohio has a new owner, Wilse Inc., an Indiana-based holding company. Metallurgical Services is part of Miller Consolidated Industries (MCI), which provides commercial heat treating, black oxide processing, metallurgical testing and steel tooling for the automotive, aviation, government and defense sectors and the new owners bought MCI in its entirety. “The Monty” team has visited this facility and our impression was a long established, slightly larger than average commercial heat treat.
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
“Solar Atmospheres Greenville, SC facility is pleased to announce it has been awarded GE Aviation approval. With this approval, now all Solar Atmospheres facilities are an option for our customers with GE Aviation requirements for vacuum heat treating and brazing services.
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
For 20 years “The Monty” has published on a biennial basis a list of the “25 Most Influential People in the North American Heat Treating industry”. The basic criteria to make the list is that the individuals named are in positions to influence the heat treating industry in North America either in terms of presenting new technologies, influencing purchasing decisions, deciding what type of heat treating to do or effecting current heat treatment practices. Examples could include pioneers in new forms of heat treatment, the fellow at a major captive heat treater who decides which furnaces to buy, CEO’s of major furnace builders, large commercial heat treaters or consultants who advise on what equipment should be used. In addition, to make the list individuals must currently be active in the industry.
Over the course of the past few weeks we received literally hundreds of votes covering approximately 80 individuals, at the end of the day we elected to change our list to the “30 Most Influential People in The North American Heat Treating Industry 2021” because of the excellent suggestions. We found it interesting the diversity of the list; 3 influencers at captive heat treats are included, 2 consultants, several commercial heat treaters are mentioned and a number of engineers. At this point we are going to single out two individuals for a special mention, Shlok Sundaresh, Engineering Manager – TS USA and Aymeric Goldsteinas of furnace builder Ipsen. Both received many, many glowing recommendations from customers and colleagues alike literally from around the world.
So here are the “30 Most Influential People in The North American Heat Treating Industry 2021”, starting with the most influential for the second time running, Mr. Stephen Harris, CEO of the largest commercial heat treater in the world Bodycote.
40 Most Influential People in The North American Heat Treating Industry 2021
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
This makes for a rather interesting press release. We can add that what this facility really specializes in is FNC processing of brake components in large tip up furnaces.
“Paulo Expands Monterrey Division to Support Automotive Industry; Paulo’s newest division in Monterrey, Mexico began full processing operations in 2018. The location was chosen to provide services to one of Mexico’s most prominent manufacturing hubs, and the need for precision heat treatment in the area is continuing to grow. The facility was opened with 50,000 square feet of processing space, and Paulo has just announced plans to double it in size to meet strong demand from the automotive industry for the heat treatment of brake components in passenger cars and trucks.
This full-scale expansion comes in addition to the recent launch of Vacuum Heat Treating and Brazing capabilities, to support tool and die, automotive, and aerospace customers. Aldo Rodriguez, General Director, added, “It is very encouraging to see this strong growth in 2021 and beyond, only 2 years after we started operations in Mexico. The outlook of the business is very positive and we are ready to take on this challenge with such a brilliant and professional team.” Construction on the new expansion has begun, and the new furnaces will begin production in the third quarter of 2021. For more information on how to partner with Paulo, please contact us.”
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
Perhaps due to COVID “Podcasts” (pre recorded messages using voice and video) have become a very common way of communicating-we have to assume that it has a lot has to do with the fact that it is so difficult to see people in person. An example of one can be found by clicking the link below. In this case Carlos Torres discusses CQI-9 and NADCAP with Jim Oakes of SSi.
https://themonty.com/heat-treat-podcast-episode-001-carlos-torres-and-jim-jimmy-oakes/
We are now pleased to announce that podcasts discussing the heat treating industry will be a regular feature on “The Monty”. In conjunction with Carlos Torres we have set ourselves the very ambitious plan of one Podcast per week for the entire year of 2021, each speaking with a different, knowledgeable and in most cases well known individual from within the industry. As an example one of first guests will be the most successful North American commercial heat treater of all time-Mr. John Hubbard.
Other guests will include captive heat treaters, technical experts and leaders of both industry suppliers and commercial heat treaters. Yes it is an ambitious goal but we are confident that we will be able to meet our goal of over 40 podcasts for the year.
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
Coming off a year where they shipped more than 50 new vacuum furnaces, Ipsen’s Vacuum Technology Excellence Center continues the momentum by being awarded two new furnace orders in just the first week of the New Year. One of the orders is for a well-recognized and innovative power tool manufacturer based in the United States. The Ipsen TurboTreater® they ordered is part of a plan to increase production capacity and is the ninth Ipsen vacuum furnace in that location.
Ipsen was also selected by a medical implant manufacturer looking to expand production capacity. This customer opted for Ipsen’s MetalMaster® external quench vacuum furnace. The MetalMaster® will be designed with an all-metal hot zone for long, high temperature cycles. The furnace’s multi-staged pumping system is capable of providing low residual oxygen levels for processing titanium components. Both companies cite trust and loyalty in the Ipsen brand, from which they continue to order their spare parts, services and retrofits, in addition to the new equipment.
ABOUT IPSEN. Ipsen is the global leader in heat treatment solutions with more than 10,000 operating systems in 70 countries. Through its Global Centers of Excellence in Vacuum and Atmosphere Equipment, Ipsen continues to deliver innovations in technology 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.
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
Our top news item for Thursday, January 20/2021 is two pronged and looks into the heat treatment industry in Mexico. First up we see that Salvador Alvarado Murillo, formerly Operations Manager for SSi Mexico (controls) was just promoted to General Manager. Salvador is one of the hardest working people we have met in the industry and after almost 10 years in the heat treatment industry in Mexico, all of them with SSi it is a promotion well deserved. His promotion gives us a good excuse to do what we at “The Monty” really enjoy doing which is looking at captive (in house) heat treating departments. Manufacturers are always extremely reluctant to share any information about their manufacturing process and this includes heat treating which is why we at “The Monty” are very proud of the fact that we have been allowed to profile so many captive heat treats.
In 2020 Salvador arranged a visit to a large automotive components facility in Pedro Escobedo, Mexico by the name of TREMEC, this is our summary of the heat treating department along with exclusive photos. In the first photo Salvador can be seen on the right along with head of the heat treat department.
“In House Heat Treating-TREMEC, Mexico; Founded in 1964 TREMEC is a manufacturer of transmissions and transmission components for a number of industries including automotive, heavy truck, agriculture and defense. Based in Mexico the firm has locations in the US, Mexico and Belgium with 3 of the facilities boasting in house heat treating capacity. Last week we at “The Monty” had the chance to visit the Pedro Escobedo location near Queretaro, Mexico, a facility which produces transmissions for heavy trucks. The heat treat department consists of a few batch IQ furnaces alongside two single row pusher lines. While none of the equipment is brand new it is very clean, certainly cleaner than most heat treats and it does have state of the art controls along with one of the coolest control rooms we have seen. By the way this facility is dwarfed by their larger sister company, TREMEC in Queretaro which produces automotive transmissions. Their heat treat department is similar in the types of furnaces but much larger in size. Enough of our talking-lets get to the good part which are the pictures.”
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
“In stark contrast to a generally cautious economy upset by a global pandemic, farsighted OEMs have their horizons set well into the future as they develop plans for ground breaking transportation technologies. One example is the purchase by a major aerospace contractor of SECO/VACUUM’s single-piece flow continuous vacuum furnace, UCM® 4D Quench®, to become an integral part of a demonstration plant dedicated to completely automated gear manufacturing. The pilot plant will prove that the company will meet the high quality, high volume demands of their national and international defense customers in the years to come.
SECO/WARWICK’s groundbreaking UCM® 4D Quench® is a revolutionary, vacuum heat treatment system that provides continuous single-piece workflow for case hardening of gears and rings by low-pressure carburizing and high-pressure gas quenching in 4 dimensions including rotation. Contrary to the traditional, batch mode of heat treatment, every single part goes through the system the same way in terms of position, timing and process parameters. With a part exiting the system at a rate as short as 30 seconds each, customers can experience throughput as high as 1 million perfectly uniform parts per year. Such technologies are also part of the fabric of today’s industry-leading discussions: A presentation by SVT’s Tom Hart and noted heat treat authority, Dan Herring, during SECO/WARWICK’s E-Seminar in June, addressed the future of continuous vacuum furnace technologies as enabling these disruptive industry applications. A transcript of this discussion appears in the January 2021 issue of Industrial Heating magazine.
In April, SECO/VACUUM sold a single chamber vacuum furnace for an aerospace application involving the heat treatment of exotic electrical steels. While SECO/WARWICK Group has been supplying Vector furnaces to this international aerospace manufacturer in Europe and Asia for many years, this was the first furnace intended for a plant located in the US. Vector is used in multiple applications within the aerospace sector, including many of the most critical processes, such as heat treating turbine blades and landing gear. Delivered AMS2750 specification ready, Vector is also in wide use in the aerospace aftermarket to maintain fleets of aircraft.
Defense made headlines as well in 2020 with other Vector orders, the company’s most popular product, a highly versatile vacuum furnace that can perform a wide variety of heat treatment processes. In fact, 2020 started with orders for 4 Vector vacuum furnaces in the first two months of the year. Defense contractors appreciate Vector’s flexibility, as in the case of a custom furnace designed to accomplish any heat treatment process equally well as any of the company’s other specialty furnaces in the plant, providing added capacity while also serving as redundant back-up in the event another critical furnace is unavailable.
In addition to aerospace and defense applications, Vector was a valued asset at aluminium extrusion dies manufacturing plants, including Youngstown Tool & Die, who purchased two Vectors in 2020, one from SVT’s VIP quick-ship program and one for a later delivery. Noted SVT’s Managing Director, Piotr Zawistowski, “I believe SECO/VACUUM has been awarded much of this business because we proved time and again that we can pivot quickly to meet customized solutions on deadline while also delivering the most reliable technologies on the market. Of course, our professional support team is another reason. A growing staff of sales engineers and aftermarket specialists means our customers are never stranded for support.”
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
Our understanding is that commercial heat treater Nitrion Do Brasil, with two location in Brazil is making a major investment in expanding their vacuum nitriding department. 6 months ago the company invested in a new KGO system out of Germany, two more are being installed as we speak and rumor has it that one more is on the way and will arrive later this year. Rumor goes on to say that Don Longenette, a well known individual in the worldwide heat treating industry is doing the install as we speak. With this additional equipment Nitrion would become (or is currently) far and away the larger commercial nitriding company in South America.
It is an interesting history behind the company. Nitrion was founded in Munich, Germany many years ago as both a manufacturer of Ion Nitriding systems and a commercial heat treater. In 2004 with the help of “The Monty” the Munich location was sold to Bodycote and remains a part of the Bodycote organization to this day. However the facility in Brazil remains a completely separate entity. The last picture below shows the Nitrion facility in Munich back in 2004 and if you look closely in the background you will see Mr. John Hubbard who was the CEO of Bodycote at the time.
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
