In Sulligent, Alabama, USA we see that fork lift gear manufacturer Hyster-Yale will be auctioning off a great deal of equipment and this includes their entire rather antiquated heat treat department. The reasonably large heat treat department consists mainly of older Ipsen atmosphere equipment-probably 1970’s vintage at a guess. Everything appears to be complete and is in reasonable condition however due to the size and the age we doubt it will attract too much attention. As an example the Ipsen T9 batch IQ furnace which is pictured below now has a bid of $600.00 which gives you an indication of the level of interest. While we wouldn’t swear to this our understanding is that the company has elected to outsource their heat treatment requirements to a local commercial heat treater. The auction ends tomorrow January 12th.

Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.

Furnace manufacturer Rohde Schutzgasoefen GmbH of Hanau, Germany is very pleased to be selected as a partner for the ETA factory which is forming a research group  “ETA | Energy Technologies and Applications in Production”. Attached photo is courtesy of TU Darmstadt / PTW / ETA-Fabrik / Hessen Schafft Wissen / Foto: Jan Hosan.

“We are pleased to announce, that Rohde Schutzgasoefen GmbH of Hanau, Germany has been chosen as a project partner for the ETA factory which is part of the Technical University of Darmstadt. The research group “ETA | Energy Technologies and Applications in Production” strives for the vision of making tomorrow’s industrial production energy-efficient, energy-flexible and resource-efficient, thus making a significant contribution to CO2-neutral production. This factory was founded to make production technology research tangible and to set out new goals for the environmentally friendly production of tomorrow. (sponsered by BMWi, Hessen and the technical university of Darmstadt) 

Rohde Schutzgasoefen is taking part in the project called “ETA Energy technologies and applications in production of existing plants: technology and method kit for increasing energy efficiency in the metalworking industry’s inventory sponsered by the BMWi and Hessen.” (ETA im Bestand – Technologie- und Methodenbaukasten zur Energieeffizienzsteigerung im Bestand der Metallverarbeitenden Industrie). Rohde will contribute to energy efficient heat treatment in exisiting plants by using exisiting measures and by developing new measures to increase energy efficiency. The focus will be on the following;

We look forward to sharing the newly gained knowledge with our customers and helping them to become more efficient in their energy usage. Contact; Natasha Rohde, [email protected] http://www.rohdetherm.de”

Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.

“AVS, Inc., Ayer MA, USA a leading manufacturer of custom vacuum and pressure furnaces, is pleased to announce the successful transfer of ownership from Steven Levesque to Jacob (Jake) Krashan. 

Since 1984, Steven Levesque had committed his life’s work to the design, development, and construction of quality vacuum and pressure furnaces.  In 2005, he was honored to become its CEO, President, and owner.  Steven now confidently leaves AVS in the capable hands of Mr. Krashan, a long-term employee, who was promoted to COO in 2015 and who, on November 20, 2020, became its new CEO, President, and owner.

“While AVS has been my passion and received my full attention during my time here, it was time to retire.” Mr. Levesque states. “Jake has consistently shown the drive, capabilities, and decision-making skills required to bring the company into the future.  I have complete confidence he will continue promoting the company as a major world leader of thermal processing equipment.”

Mr. Levesque continues, “AVS has operated as a family of like-minded people dedicated to providing the latest custom, state-of-the-art equipment focusing on its customers’ unique requirements.  Jake has adeptly demonstrated his ability to carry this company philosophy forward into the next phase of its growth.”

Jake Krashan joined the AVS team in 1996, as an Mechanical Assembler. Throughout his employment, Jake continually advanced through the ranks from technical assembly, service and manufacturing supervisor, and the past five years as COO and Vice President.  Jake has gained extensive experience with custom furnace solutions and is pleased to take on full ownership. “I want to thank Mr. Levesque for this opportunity, and I am honored that he put his trust in me to lead the company. My goal for AVS is to push the boundaries of thermal processing and deliver the highest quality equipment to our customers worldwide,” said Mr. Krashan. “I am grateful that AVS has been a part of my family for 25 years, and am looking forward to many more to come.”

AVS has been providing custom vacuum and pressure furnaces to customers worldwide for over 50 years, having transferred ownership two times to date. Each owner has pushed AVS forward to new opportunities while keeping the company privately-owned. We are looking forward to the company’s future and carry on its legacy of continued growth and development of ground-breaking thermal processing equipment.

Our manufacturing facility in Ayer, Massachusetts, is vertically integrated with in-house capabilities that include furnace design and engineering, ASME certified welding, panel building, complete integration, and thorough testing procedures of complex furnace systems. Additionally, we offer field service, upgrades, and spare parts for any furnace, no matter the manufacturer. From concept to manufacturing, final assembly, and technical support, every AVS employee is invested in the customer’s success and dedicated to delivering complete furnace solutions.”

Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.

​Want to know how Accurate compares in size to other commercial heat treaters in North America? Also interested in learning about the company’s ties with European commercial heat treaters? Then look no further than “The Monty Heat Treat News” https://themonty.com/project/largest-north-american-commercial-heat-treats-august-2020/

“Accurate Brazing, a full-service provider of specialized heat-treating solutions, announces that it received Nadcap accreditation for its Garlington Road facility in Greenville, SC for Heat Treating. “Nadcap accreditation recognizes Accurate Brazing’s commitment to delivering the highest quality standards to our customers. I am proud of our team’s hard work and achievement through the quality audit process. Nadcap accreditation enables us to stay at the forefront of meeting the needs of aerospace manufacturers. And, through our latest investment in HIP technology at our Garlington Road facility in Greenville, we will continue to meet the needs of customers that demand high quality and quick turns with unrivaled accuracy,” says Brent Davis, President of Accurate Brazing.

Accurate Brazing received Nadcap accreditation for demonstrating their ongoing commitment to quality by satisfying customer requirements and industry specifications. “Nadcap accreditation is universally acknowledged as a significant undertaking and demonstrated achievement of supplier quality. Validating compliance to industry standards, best practices and customer requirements, Nadcap has long been incorporated by the aerospace industry into their risk mitigation activity. Congratulations are therefore due to Accurate Brazing as their hard work has resulted in achieving Nadcap accreditation for Heat Treating,” commented David Schutt, President and Chief Executive Officer at the Performance Review Institute.

Accurate Brazing, with over thirty years in the business and a subsidiary of Aalberts N.V., is a full-service, one-stop shop for Vacuum Brazing, Heat-treating, and HIP’ing and is tailored to support the Aerospace, Additive, and Power Generation markets. Accurate Brazing has facilities located in South Carolina, Connecticut, and New Hampshire.”

Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.

In our recent articles about vacuum carburizing (Low Pressure Carburizing) we pointed out that the true pioneer in the industry was furnace builder CI Hayes in the USA. CI Hayes was acquired by furnace manufacturer Gasbarre a number of years ago and the President of the company Mr. Ben Gasbarre has weighed in with these comments. He has also kindly provided these photos of a modular vacuum oil quench going to a customer as well as a continuous vacuum the company is preparing to ship out.

“Hi Gord, We noticed your posts over the last few weeks and wanted to comment on your recent acknowledgement of C. I. Hayes’ history as it relates to vacuum carburizing and vacuum oil quenching.  As you may know, Gasbarre acquired C. I. Hayes in 2003, and we continue to advance the product line for a wide range of industries and processes.  You are correct, C. I. Hayes has a long history being at the forefront of vacuum processing.  Since 1905, Hayes has led the charge in vacuum carburizing and multi-chamber vacuum furnace systems, including the first to offer the straight through continuous vacuum furnace system.  This straight through design for either pressure or oil quenching is unique to the industry, and has been a strong product for us based on its throughput capabilities, cost efficiencies, pure vacuum environment, as well as safety and maintenance advantages.  Our proven batch vacuum oil quench furnaces offer many different design intricacies that can adapt the equipment to specific processes.  We have designs for ultimate process flexibility including batch systems that offer vacuum oil quenching, pressure quenching, and atmosphere cooling in one system.  Because of Gasbarre’s broad product offering, we have the expertise, and have successfully coupled conventional atmosphere heating chambers with high pressure gas quench chambers.  Doing the reverse of joining a vacuum heating chamber with a conventional atmosphere oil quench chamber is certainly within our capabilities.  Needless to say, the C. I. Hayes product line, under the Gasbarre umbrella, is alive and well and we are continuing to advance the technology! Benjamin Gasbarre, President, Industrial Furnace Systems”

Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.

So who is Jacob (Jake) Krashan and why should we care? Jake is a long time employee of AVS Inc., a manufacturer of custom vacuum and pressure furnaces who just recently became CEO and owner of the company. Currently we have few details about Jake and how this came about, however we are expecting a formal press release in the near future. We at “The Monty” have visited the company and it made for a fascinating visit although we struggle to describe what the company does. When it started in 1967 the goal was to manufacture vacuum furnaces with resistance and induction heating systems, however over the years it has evolved and it’s products are many and varied and quite often custom systems. One example would be hot press furnaces for vacuum hot pressing, diffusion bonding, thermal forging and powder densification. Other examples include quartz melting furnaces and Sinter HIP furnaces-in short it is hard to slot the company into one particular area. We will say that what we saw during our visit was quite interesting and very sophisticated. More to come.

Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.

“The US Government recently awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to G-M Enterprises, a Nitrex company, for the supply of a turnkey vacuum system that will support the expanding heat treat operations of a military base located in the USA. This aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility performs rework of engines and related components.

The new horizontal furnace will complement existing G-M Enterprises vacuum systems in operation since 1989. G-M Enterprises will supply all key components including a horizontal front-loading vacuum furnace with a work zone of 48” wide x 48” high x 72” deep (1220 x 1220 x 1800 mm), a 4,000 lb. (1800 kg) weight capacity, and a 2 bar-quench system in addition to an all-metal hot zone construction, advanced computer control system, and hydrogen partial pressure capabilities. Operating at a temperature range of 1000°F to 2400°F (535°C – 1300°C), the furnace will heat treat aircraft engine components. Production of the new vacuum furnace is scheduled to start in July 2021.

G-M Enterprises has worked closely with many military bases across the USA and supplied furnaces for rework operations at various facilities. “Our success with the government’s military bases is about delivering cost-effective, result-oriented heat-treating solutions that support in-house capabilities, improve on the material properties of mission-critical aerospace applications, and can save on manufacturing costs,” said Michel Frison, Vice President of Nitrex & G-M Enterprises.”

Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.

Starting January 21/202 “The Branford Group” will be auctioning off equipment at the GE Aviation facility in Delaware, USA. Regular readers of “The Monty” will know that we announce upcoming auctions featuring surplus heat treating equipment and provide our opinion about how saleable the equipment is. In this case the 4 heat treat related items available (listed below) will sell guaranteed and sell for top notch prices. All of these items come from some of the best known builders in the industry and each is in excellent shape and quite new.

VACUUM FURNACES & AUTOCLAVES

Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.

We have mentioned commercial heat treater HT-MX in Chihuahua, Mexico a couple of times in the past (previous press releases are further down). Those previous press releases related to the fact that the company was one of the only ones in Mexico to offer Hot Isostatic Pressing. HT-MX is now very proud to announce that their official NADCAP certificate has an increased scope. It now includes HIPing as well as aluminium, stainless steel and carbon steel heat treat. The CEO of the company Mr. Humberto Ramos Fernández believes that they are the first certified HIP facility in all of Latin America!

“Heat Treatment in Mexico/HT-MX Profile; September 24th we had a news item entitled “Heat Treating Mexico-Globalization to Regionalization”. The item was about a commercial heat treater in Mexico who was finding business to be very good partially because US manufacturers appear to be bringing their supply chains closer to home-namely reducing their reliance on Chinese companies. The company is HT-MX and the founder and CEO of the company, Mr. Humberto Ramos Fernández is providing us with these comments. It is interesting to note that he is also looking at partners to help him expand the company.

Around 8 years ago, having identified a gap in northern Mexico´s supply chain, two local industrial companies joined forces and founded the region´s first heat treat supplier-HT-MX.  Since then, HT-MX has been working on establishing a reliable operation. That included getting its AS9100D certification and just last year becoming Mexico’s only commercial NADCAP heat treat plant for controlled atmosphere heat treatments. Additionally, HT-MX is Honeywell´s only approved heat treat in the country and are currently very close (last stages) to finishing a couple of other OEM approvals.

Additionally, HT-MX recently became Latin America’s first Hot Isostatic Pressing supplier with the acquisition of a brand new HIP press which will be added to its NADCAP scope in a couple of months. HT-MX is currently validating the HIP process while working along side the OEM it will be supplying, (this marks the first time that this process will be done outside the US for them). But HT-MX´s markets go beyond aerospace, it also serves the automotive industry as well as the Oil & Gas industry among others. HT-MX is currently  processing a large volume of manufactured parts for fracking components for the Odessa/Midland market, in addition HT-MX supplies Tier1 automotive companies as well as serving the local tooling market.

With all that is happening in the world right now with the pandemic and the current global trend away from globalization and towards regionalization,  some manufacturing industries are turning away from Asia and looking at Mexico for suppliers. This puts HT-MX in a great spot to catch some of that national growth. HT-MX has been quoting several interesting projects and is are looking for ways to secure its ability to continue to grow as a company  and add to its NADCAP heat treat and HIPing (including new locations). There are opportunities that require additional funding and HT-MX is  looking for potential joint venture partners in the US that bring value to our vision.”

Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.

What you are looking at is the largest vertical vacuum furnace ever built by Ipsen at their headquarters in Kleve, Germany. This furnace has a working height of 16.5 meters high (approximately 50’) and was installed last year at Shanghai Power Research in China. Makes for quite a picture doesn’t it?

Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.