We recently visited commercial heat treater Wittman Harterei in Germany for the purpose of seeing their just completed expansion and new equipment additions. We did a full write up about the company at that time but we missed this photo. In it we can see the brand new portion of the facility which houses their nitriding department.
Remember how we mentioned a week ago how Mike Arnold a heat treat engineer working with one of the largest commercial heat treaters in Michigan had parted ways with the company? As it turns out he now has a really cool new position, that of Heat Treat Process Coach at Ford Motor Company in Michigan. We have no idea what this title means but it does sound like it could be a really fun job. Mike by the way has been heavily involved in vacuum carburizing of automotive transmission components and as we all know Ford maintains one of the largest vacuum carburizing installations in North America in Lima, Ohio which has numerous ECM furnaces. The fit is obvious. Commercial heat treater Metlab in PA, USA has a new Quality Manager, Daniel Lewis as we can see in this press release. And Metlab’s claim to fame? The company runs some of the largest pit carburizing furnaces in North America.
“Metlab continues to build a successful business by providing quality heat treating and surface finishing services for its customers. To continue this legacy, Metlab has recently hired Daniel Lewis as the Quality Manager for the company. Mr. Lewis oversees a wide range of processes and procedures, including production planning and material management. The focus of his position is to be continually reviewing and updating the company’s quality procedures. “Quality is embedded in all of Metlab’s procedures and policies.” Lewis states. “Continual monitoring and improvement ensure efficient processes and consistently meeting our customer’s specifications. The work performed by the Quality Department is a critical element in the value of our services, but the most important thing is that we work with production management to ensure work consistently moves out the door.” Mr. Lewis is very familiar with all the heat-treating processes with a recent BA of in Materials Science & Engineering from Drexel, and on-the-job experience as a Metallurgical Engineer and Plant Metallurgist. To leverage the entire range of his expertise, Mr. Lewis is also involved with metallurgical consulting to help with customer investigations by providing solutions and establishing preventative measures and processes.”
We see that Chicago Powdered Metal Products Co., a powdered metal manufacturer of auto components recently closed their Schiller Park, Illinois, USA plant. We knew little about this operation other than the fact that their heat treat was pretty typical for a powdered metal/sintering operation, a bunch of mesh belt sintering furnaces and some tired Endothermic generators. The picture below shows one of the furnaces.
Furnace builder Nakal of Russia tells us they have just started up a brand new roller hearth furnace in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. This is a Continuous roller hearth furnace, model SRO-3.60.3/11 designed for normalizing of pipes up to 18’ long. Working dimensions of the furnace are 6000 mm long X 300 mm wide X 300 mm high with 3 zones of control and an operating temperature of 1100C. Nakal completed the installation, startup and commissioning of the furnace in October 2019 and the system is now in operation. Nakal is far and away the largest new furnace builder in Russia.
We happened to see that Mr. Stephen Harris is celebrating his 11th year as CEO of commercial heat treater Bodycote. After this length of time we feel we can give him the ultimate compliment and say that he is a real heat treater. Come December 1, 2019 we are looking forward to publishing an interview with Stephen. By the way we have interviewed quite a number of prominent heat treaters over the years, the complete list can be found at https://themonty.com/
ALD Thermal Treatment (the vacuum carburizing people) are pretty pleased with this General Motors award as they should be; “GM Supplier Quality Excellence Award for the 5th time 22. November 2019 Mr. Muhammed Odeh, the General Motors (GM) supplier quality engineer, visited our ALD Thermal Treatment Inc. (Port Huron, MI, USA) plant to officially present the GM Supplier Quality Excellence Award for 2018. This is our 5th consecutive year for this prestigious award since 2014. ALD Thermal Treatment Inc. was once again recognized as a Supplier of the Year for providing Heat Treatment Services.”
Koyo Bearings in Orangeburg, SC, USA to close. This press release tells us pretty well everything we need to know about the upcoming closure of Koyo Bearings in Orangeburg, SC. The only thing it doesn’t tell us is what heat treating is done at this plant-that’s why we have “The Monty”. The captive heat treat department at this facility consists of 6 Koyo furnaces (3 mesh belt, and 3 batch) and 4 quench presses; “The Koyo Bearings manufacturing facility in Orangeburg will end manufacturing operations by March of 2021. The company’s parent corporation, JTEKT North America (JNA), made the announcement Wednesday. “After careful consideration, our Koyo Bearings facility in Orangeburg, SC will cease manufacturing operations by March 2021. The facility’s current distribution center operations will continue,” JTEKT officials said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon. “Production will ramp down based on customer demands, and we are committed to open and advanced communication to our 362 team members at the Orangeburg facility.”
Shanghai Heat Treatment. According to this press release Shanghai Heat Treatment in China is entering into a partnership with an Italian manufacturer of quenchants. “Shanghai Heat Treatment Co., LTD. and Italy’s Thurckon Heat Treatment Technology Co., Ltd., witnessed by the Chinese and Italian governments officially signed a strategic cooperation agreement, looking forward to creating a better future for both sides.” This press release caught our attention as we are very familiar with the company and it’s owner Mr. Kent Zuo. When China liberalized their restrictions on private ownership a number of years back Kent saw an opportunity and took what was a government owned commercial heat treat and turned it into one of the largest commercial heat treaters in the country. Obviously he is continuing to grow the company and this includes partnerships with foreign companies. One of the photos below shows Kent back in 2010 when we visited his facility.
And to round things out commercial heat treater Härdservice in Kolbäck, Sweden just installed a brand new Ipsen Turbo2Treater M with 12 bar quenching. This is the second vacuum furnace the company has installed at this location and this particular unit just entered production 2 weeks ago.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with MTI (Metal Treating Institute) it is the largest organizations of commercial heat treaters in North America. Doug Peters of Peters Heat Treating in Meadville, PA has these very touching comments about the passing of Lance Miller, who was Executive Director of MTI for 31 years. “Today one of the Heat Treating industry greats passed. Mr. Lance Miller was the Executive Director of the Metal Treating Institute for 31 years. He epitomized the Institute’s human spirit. In his eyes it always belonged to the Members. When it is all said and done, the amount of money in the Treasury won’t mean a thing. Lance’s legacy of belonging, kindness, and dignity will live within the Metal Treating Institute forever.”
In Kleve, Germany furnace manufacturer Ipsen is preparing to ship this very impressive 2 row pusher furnace. We have few details to add except to say that it is for a captive heat treater in Europe. This is what the furnace looked like when we visited this facility just a few weeks back.
Bodycote, the world’s largest commercial heat treater issued a trading update for the 4 month period from July 1 to October 31, 2019. As always it makes for interesting reading as it gives us a real insight into which areas, both geographic and sector wise are doing well and which are not doing as well. All the details can be found at https://www.bodycote.com/ By the way you can look forward to an interview with Mr. Stephen Harris, the CEO of Bodycote December 1, 2019 on this page.
Summary and Outlook; Bodycote’s performance in the period reflected a continuation of the trends of the first half, with civil aerospace revenues growing strongly; and the automotive and general industrial market sectors remaining soft. Cost control initiatives remain a priority, with a particular focus on the areas of our operations where we are seeing revenue weakness. Consequently, margins and underlying cash generation remain strong. Overall, Bodycote’s Board is confident that the Group’s full year result will be in line with current market expectations.
Trading Update; Market conditions during the period have remained as they were at the half-year. Group revenue for the period was £244.7m, 1% higher than last year (1% decline at constant currency). Growth in both Specialist Technologies and Emerging Markets improved. Specialist Technologies’ revenue grew 6% during the period (5% at constant currency) while Emerging Markets’ revenue grew 14% (12% at constant currency). Group revenue for the 10 months to 31 October 2019 was flat, with the period result representing a marginally improving trend on the first-half growth rate.
All percentage movements in the following review of the Group’s markets compare to the same period from July to October 2018, at constant currency, unless otherwise stated.
Civil aerospace revenue grew ahead of the background market. Total civil aerospace revenue grew 14%, with North America again registering particularly good growth, benefiting from an increase in both content and volume of LEAP engines.
Energy revenue declined 2%, as growth in subsea was more than offset by weakness in North American onshore revenue. Industrial Gas Turbines (IGT) revenue registered modest growth against the comparable period for the first time in two years, although it is too early to assume that this resumption in growth will continue.
Car and light truck revenue declined 6%. Western Europe continued to be the main area of weakness, with revenue dropping 14%. We have now passed the anniversary of the introduction of the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) regulations in Europe. However, poor visibility on the future direction of the market leads us to continue to prepare ourselves for all eventualities.
General industrial revenue was 6% lower, with capital expenditure related revenues continuing to be soft as macroeconomic uncertainty remains heightened.
On a divisional basis, ADE revenues were up 6% to £103.4m at actual rates (up 3% at constant currency, and also up 3% for the 10 months to 31 October 2019), while AGI revenues were down 3% to £141.4m (down 4% at constant currency, and for the 10 months to 31 October 2019, down 5%).
Just yesterday there was an auction at Ashland Precision Tooling LLC, in Ohio, a company which described itself as a “Forge Tooling & Bearing Component Manufacturer”. The equipment being auctioned off included all the usual blah, blah, blah stuff but also some heat treating equipment most notably a Plateg Plasma nitrider/coater with working dimensions of 24” X 28”, built in 1997, an electric Surface Combustion 36 X 48 batch IQ furnace and a Surface endo generator. While we still don’t know what the Surface equipment sold for we do understand that the Plateg unit sold for $50,000 USD which caught our attention. Plateg is based in Germany and while they make good systems they are seldom heard of in North America due to their very limited north American marketing and restricted technical support.
It is with great regret that we mention the passing of Mr. Bernie Parry truly a legend in the North American heat treatment industry. Originally from Wales Bernie’s entire working life was spent working with the best known furnace manufacturers in North America and consequently many, many captive and commercial heat treaters around the world worked with Bernie at one time or another. I believe all who knew him would agree that he was always precise, impeccably well dressed and extremely knowledgeable about heat treating-in all my time spent with Bernie I believe only once did a customer ask him a question for which he did not have an answer. He will be missed both personally and professionally by all in the industry. We will have more details about Bernie’s life later this week. Gord Montgomery
“It is with great sadness that I must announce the passing of Bernie Parry. Bernie was a long-time colleague and friend to many of us. He started working at Atmosphere Furnace Company (AFC) in 1996 and had previously worked at a number of other heat treat equipment manufacturers, including Holcroft, starting in the industry in 1968. Bernie retired almost six years ago but had stayed connected at AFC-Holcroft and periodically helped out with special projects. Throughout his long career he was well known throughout the heat treat industry as one of the most knowledgeable people with all aspects of heat treatment equipment. He was a long term mentor to me and many others throughout the years. We pass on our prayers and heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. We will keep everyone aware of any future plans to honor Bernie’s life. Like many of you, I will miss my dear friend. Bill Disler, CEO, AFC-Holcroft.
Sue and Bernie Parry
Bernie with his son, Stephen and his grandson Evan
“Västerås, Sweden, November 19, 2019 – Accurate Brazing, a full-service provider of specialized heat treating solutions, added Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) to its thermal processing capabilities earlier this year. “Based on overwhelming feedback from the marketplace, we are pleased to be moving forward with our second Hot Isostatic Press from Quintus Technologies,” says Steven Francis, president of Accurate Brazing. Both presses are of the model QIH 122 M URC®. They are equipped with the Quintus proprietary uniform rapid cooling (URC) feature, which combines HIP and heat treatment in a single process. This process is called High Pressure Heat Treatment (HPHT), and it streamlines the steps involved in material densification and heat treatment. This innovative approach also enables all processed components to cool uniformly, resulting in minimal thermal distortion and non-uniform grain growth. “The Quintus technology allows us to shorten lead times, improve product metallurgy, and eliminate some additional outside operations, which is very attractive to our customers,” says Mr. Francis. Accurate Brazing serves the aerospace and power generation industries, as well as other sectors that demand high quality and short lead times. Many of Accurate Brazing’s customers utilize additive manufacturing (AM). “The versatility of the Quintus units makes them well suited for our service business model,” says Mr. Francis.
The new QIH 122 M URC® will join the first Quintus press and the rest of the state-of-the-art equipment operating in Accurate Brazing’s newest facility in Greenville, S.C., USA. The company’s AS9100 quality management system and Nadcap accreditation attest to its ability to meet the stringent needs of its customers. Quintus will install and commission the new press. Accurate Brazing has also joined the Quintus® Care program, which ensures flawless press operation and optimized functionality at a fixed annual cost. Quintus Care also provides access to in-depth technical expertise to support successful customer applications. Both Quintus presses are configured as Quintus Modularized Solutions, which reduces infrastructure investment and saves space and energy. Both presses offer a work zone of 26.0 inches (660 mm) in diameter and 68.9 inches (1,750 mm) in height. They operate at a maximum temperature of 2,552°F (1,400°C) and a maximum pressure of 30,000 psi (2,070 bar). “The need for Hot Isostatic Pressing is steadily increasing, and we’re pleased to help Accurate Brazing meet this demand,” says Jan Söderström, CEO of Quintus Technologies. “Quintus Technologies has led the industry in advanced Hot Isostatic Pressing technology for over 60 years, so Accurate Brazing and its customers can rest assured that they are using the best equipment available.”
About Quintus Technologies; Quintus Technologies is the global leader in high pressure technology. The company designs, manufactures, installs, and supports high pressure systems for sheet metal forming and densification of advanced materials. Quintus has delivered over 1,900 systems to customers within industries such as aerospace, automotive, energy, and medical implants. The company is headquartered in Västerås, Sweden, with a presence in 45 countries worldwide. For more information, go to www.quintustechnologies.com
About Accurate Brazing; Headquartered in Goffstown, N.H, Accurate Brazing and Vacuum Heat Treatment has been creatively solving challenges in complex and detailed heat treating and brazing applications since 1989. It has a long history of serving the needs of aircraft, ground turbine and power generation markets, along with other industries that demand high quality and often operate with aggressive lead times. The company’s original New Hampshire operations have grown to include three additional East Coast locations: two facilities in South Carolina and one in Connecticut. Accurate Brazing is a subsidiary of Aalberts N.V., one of the largest thermal processing companies in the world. Committed to adaptation and innovation with a clear focus on customers, Aalberts employs approximately 16,500 people at more than 150 locations in 50 countries across the globe. Read more about Accurate Brazing: www.accuratebrazing.com”
“Gasbarre Thermal Processing Systems recently manufactured and commissioned a High Temperature Car Bottom Furnace for a Southern US Manufacturer of Excavating Equipment. The furnace has a work zone of 84 inches wide by 144 inches long by 48 inches high with a 16,000 lbs. load capacity. The operating temperature is 1000°F (538°C) to 2282°F (1250°C), and will be used for stress relieving, normalizing, and other high temperature processes. The furnace was purchased to replace an existing furnace, which gave the customer improved operating efficiency and higher temperature processing capabilities. The heating system features low emissions gas-fired burners with a custom designed control scheme to meet the customers strict NOx and CO requirements. The furnace meets AMS 2750 temperature uniformity requirements across a wide temperature operating range, and was custom designed to fit into the customer’s existing space in their facility.
Located in Plymouth, MI, Gasbarre Thermal Processing Systems has been designing, manufacturing, and servicing a full line of industrial thermal processing equipment for over 40 years. Gasbarre’s product offering includes both batch and continuous heat processing equipment and specializes in Temper, Tip Up, Mesh Belt, Nitriding, Box, Car Bottom, Pit, and Vacuum Furnaces as well as a full line of replacement parts and auxiliary equipment which consists of atmosphere generators, washers, quench tanks, and charge cars. Gasbarre continues to service and support J. L. Becker brand equipment and custom designs and manufactures thermal processing equipment to meet customer’s specific needs.
For more information on how Gasbarre can manufacture custom-engineered heat treating equipment solutions for your specific thermal processing requirements, please contact Patrick Weymer at (815) 721-6467 or via email at [email protected]. You can also visit our website at www.gasbarre.com and find us on LinkedIn (Gasbarre Products Inc.), Twitter (@gasproinc), and Facebook (Gasbarre Products Inc.).”
