Furnace manufacturer SECO/WARWICK has several new but discontinued vacuum furnaces available under their “Black Friday” event. Details can be found on our used equipment pages by clicking on the SECO banner ads on the right hand side of the page https://themonty.com/used-equi
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“Solar Manufacturing recently shipped a 10-bar gas quenching vacuum furnace to a captive heat treater in New England. The Model HFL-3836–10IQ-VC features high pressure gas quenching and vacuum carburizing. The furnace has a graphite insulated hot zone with a work area measuring 24” wide x 24” high x 36” deep and a load weight capacity up to 2,000 pounds. It also has a maximum operating temperature of 2400°F, temperature uniformity of ±10°F, and is AMS2750F compliant. The furnace is equipped with the state-of-the-art SolarVac® Polaris Control System with Carburizing Software.”
“The research and development done with our sister company, Solar Atmospheres, on the alloy selection, carburizing, and recipe process development, was instrumental to the sale of the furnace,” states Jason Davidson, Solar’s Northeast Regional Sales Manager. “Our customer ultimately decided on Solar Manufacturing due to our dynamic relationship with Solar Atmospheres, which provided an invaluable resource for the end user.”
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Yesterday we had a press release about how fineblanking specialist Feintool was bringing at least some of their heat treating requirements in house. As it turns out the company is quite justifiably proud of what they have accomplished, so proud that they put together a U Tube Video about it. The 3 minute clip shows in great detail their spanking new heat treat department from initial installation right through to full production. Trust us when we say it is well worth the short watch.
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Just a few short weeks ago we had an interview with Mr. Mrinal Nandi, an experienced metallurgist with gear manufacturer and captive heat treater Hofmann Engineering in Perth, Australia https://themonty.com/project/m
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Based in Switzerland, Feintool International has facilities around the world doing fineblanking, an example of this would be clutch plates in automotive applications. Over the years the company has outsourced their heat treating requirements to commercial heat treaters however this has been slowly changing in the past few years. In 2018 the company added gas and plasma nitriding capabilities to their forming plant in Ohrdruf, Germany-this photo shows part of the heat treating department.
Just last week the company announce that their facility in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA has now brought their heat treating requirements in house as you can see in the press release below. The company gives a number of reasons for this move including reduced costs, more control over quality and reduced lead times. Our experience at “The Monty” tells us the number one reason to bring heat treating in house is a reduced lead time, followed by complete control over the entire process with cost savings being dead last.
“Fineblanked automotive parts, such as clutch plates, are often subjected to tremendous wear and stress. You don’t have to look further than the iconic yellow school busses to see this in action. From the frigid cold temperatures in Fairbanks, Alaska to the scorching desert heat in Reno, Nevada, millions of children rely on the dependable and essential transportation of school busses to get them safely to and from school.
School bus powertrains, with the constant stop-and-go operation, must perform reliably in extreme conditions. Fineblanked components with the controlled surface, flatness, perpendicular cutting surfaces and a clean finish throughout the entire material thickness bring the precision and reliability to the hard-working transmissions.
The physical properties of fineblanked automotive parts must be optimized for their particular application. Heat treating, also called ‘heat flattening’ or ‘heat setting,’ plays a vital role in achieving the desired flatness and surface hardness of fineblanked components.
Now, Feintool U.S. has brought this specialized operation in-house and incorporated it into its vertically integrated manufacturing process. ‘At Feintool, we pride ourselves on having a cradle-to-grave approach,’ said Lars Reich, EVP, Sales & Marketing, Feintool U.S. ‘From design, to our fineblanking manufacturing process, and now our heat treating capabilities, controlling these operations ourselves ensures we deliver the highest quality parts at the best value.’
One way Feintool maintains its competitive edge is by continuously refining its manufacturing processes to be as efficient and cost-effective as possible. With a precise process such as heat treating, fine-tuning specific variables, such as time and temperature, can have a drastic impact on the final product. ‘The unique aspect about Feintool’s heat treating operation is that we can control every part of the process, including the temperature, ramp-up, soak time, cool-down, and the gas we use,’ said Dan Todaro, Director of Manufacturing for Feintool Cincinnati. ‘We can also use the most advanced technology and the latest techniques to create the best product possible and stay ahead of our competitors.’
‘By integrating the process, we can deliver the highest quality at the most competitive cost,’ added Reich. ‘And since we no longer have to send the parts to a third-party for heat treating, there is no risk of damaging components during shipping, ensuring we can meet our customers’ demanding production timelines.’ In addition to manufacturing a flatter, more durable, higher-quality product, owning the heat treating process also enables Feintool to control its inventory levels better, reduce lead times, and allows for the flexibility to react to customer order changes to support just-in-time delivery.”
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Who are the 25 Most Influential People in the North American Heat Treating Industry? Who are the individuals who decide which technologies will succeed and which will fail? Who are the people who decide which brand of furnaces to buy? On a semi annual basis “The Monty Heat Treat News” has for over 20 years published a list of the individuals who are in a position to change the course of the captive and commercial heat treating markets 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-our list from 2019 can be found at https://themonty.com/project/2
The individuals on this list are not chosen by us but by fellow heat treaters through your votes. 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. Submit your vote today to Jordan Montgomery [email protected] and the final list will be presented early January of 2021. All votes are anonymous and we will provide regular updates on some of the suggestions up until the end of the year. And by the way the Most Influential Individual in the North American Heat Treating Industry on our last list? Mr. Stephen Harris, CEO of Bodycote, the world’s largest commercial heat treater.
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We see that Ramiro Canales is back as a Field Service Engineer for Canadian furnace manufacturer Can-Eng Furnaces of Niagara Falls, Ontario. Ramiro worked with the company from 2015 to 2019 before taking a short break from the industry. We don’t know Ramiro personally but he certainly has an impressive resume having helped on commissioning Can Eng mesh belt lines at Acument Global Technologies in Mexico and Brazil, a roller hearth furnace line at parts maker Linamar in North Carolina, a mesh belt line for fasteners at IBS (Gruppo Fontana) in Italy and a host of others. Incidentally rumor has it that Can-Eng recently landed an order for a 6,000 pound per hour mesh belt line from a North American customer but at this point this is a rumor.
“Wirco, Incorporated is pleased to announce the appointment of Jordan Jensen to the position of Executive Sales Manager. Mr. Jensen will be based out of the Wirco Corporate office in Avilla, Indiana and will be responsible for the development of new markets and opportunities for Wirco’s Casting and Fabrication divisions as well as leading Wirco’s digital marketing efforts.” Mr. Jensen has been with Wirco since early this year and was just appointed to Executive Sales Manger a few weeks ago. Previous to Wirco he worked with alloy foundry Steeltech in Michigan.
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Ramiro Canales
Jordan Jensen
Bodycote, the world’s largest commercial heat treater issued a trading update November 26, 2020 covering the 4 month period from July 1 to October 31. Our feeling at “The Monty Heat Treat News” is that there is no better summary of the heat treating industry than a Bodycote financial report by dint of the fact that Bodycote does heat treating for virtually every single type of product which requires heat treating and does it on a global basis. Below you will find a condensed version with the full report available at Trading Update – Bodycote Plc We searched through our photo archives to find an interesting “Bodycote” photo to go with this report and came up with this one taken at the “Bodycote” facility in Hudiksvall, Sweden.
COVID-19 has severely impacted the global economy and Bodycote’s business with it. We have responded to this challenge and, through this response, we have ensured that a stronger Bodycote will emerge as the global economy recovers. Overall, profitability has held up relatively well in light of the significant drop in revenues. We have continued to prioritise the health and safety of our employees and other stakeholders. We are taking all necessary actions to maintain a safe working environment for our employees, who have responded magnificently to this year’s challenges.
Group revenue for the period was £193.6m, 20% lower than last year (18% lower at constant currency). This represents a recovery from the 28% decline in constant currency revenues in the second quarter when the COVID-19 related downturn was at its peak. Group revenue for the 10 months to 31 October 2020 was £500.3m, 18% down on last year (17% lower at constant currency).
All percentage movements in the following review of the Group’s markets compare to the same period from July to October 2019, at constant currency, unless otherwise stated.
Our two divisions experienced differing fortunes during the period, with revenues in the ADE business declining 33% (excluding the £10.3m revenue contribution from the Ellison acquisition), while revenues in the AGI division were down 15%.
As anticipated, civil aerospace revenue declined the most, with like-for-like revenues down 50%. This reflects the impact throughout the period of the downturn in civil aerospace that has affected our business from May onwards. The impact is across all our geographies, but is most acute in Western Europe, where the weighting in our wide-bodied business is greater.
Energy revenue declined 18% as a result of weakness in our onshore US oil & gas business, which is dependent on the fortunes of the Permian Basin. Lower oil prices have reduced activity in this area among our customers.
Car and light truck revenue declined 11%, which represents a very significant bounce back from the more than 50% decline in the second quarter. The recovery was strongest in North America, where inventory levels were also lowest following the production shutdowns seen in the second quarter.
General industrial revenue was 13% lower, with most categories continuing to experience weakness and the negative impact of destocking continuing to weigh on performance.
Emerging markets, dominated by automotive and general industrial revenues, returned to growth, increasing 2%, with a 20% increase in our revenues in China more than offsetting continued weakness across Eastern Europe.
Specialist Technologies’ revenues, with their relative bias towards the harder hit ADE business, declined 21% in the period, excluding the contribution from Ellison. Each of the Specialist Technologies in the AGI business registered revenue growth in the period and, as expected, Specialist Technologies continued to outperform the background market.
Management Actions; The restructuring announced in the first half was mainly focused on our AGI business, which was most immediately impacted by the COVID-19 related downturn. As this restructuring programme continues to be implemented, Bodycote’s headcount has reduced to 4,813 FTEs at 31 October. This compares with proforma FTEs of 5,764 at the beginning of the year. Once the restructuring announced in the first half has been fully completed, headcount will be reduced by a further 100 FTEs. Our expectation is that the civil aerospace market will remain near the current low levels for at least the next 18 months. This provides us with the opportunity to consolidate our ADE footprint into fewer, larger facilities. The exercise to do this requires significant study, since we expect the civil aerospace market to recover strongly in due course and we want to be in the best position possible to take full advantage as this happens. There will, therefore, be a further restructuring programme, similar to the programme already announced in the first half, but which will be more focused on our ADE business. We will provide further details with our full year results in March.
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”Can-Eng Furnaces International Ltd. has received orders to deliver a number of different furnace types to multiple customers in the United States and Canada for the heating and heat treatment of aluminum and steel closed-die forgings. The furnace configurations either being built in the company shops or in the early stages of commissioning include rotary hearth, chain conveyor, roller hearth, mesh belt and cast-link belt. These furnaces will be delivered to Georgia, North Carolina and Ontario. They will be used in the production of powertrain, suspension and steering/linkage components for the automotive sector. The demand for new furnace equipment is being driven by lightweighting initiatives and a shortage of in-house heat-treatment capacity. All contracts will be in production by the first quarter of 2021.”
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Happy Thanksgiving, be thankful, be safe, and if you’re able, give back.
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