Advanced Heat Treat Corp. (AHT), a recognized leader in heat treat services and metallurgical solutions, announced building expansions at their Monroe, Michigan and Waterloo, Iowa locations. The extra space will enable AHT to add more equipment and services. The Michigan AHT location is expanding their pit. The new space will allow for two additional nitriding units which are larger in size.
AHT Burton, referred to by the street name as there are two locations in Waterloo, Iowa, is adding additional square footage onto their building. The expansion will allow for additional equipment and services to be added. The expansion is expected to be complete mid-summer. While the expansions are the first for the Michigan and Burton facilities since 2006 and 2007, respectively, AHT recently doubled the shop floor at their corporate headquarters located in Waterloo, Iowa this past February.
AHT President Mike Woods commented, “We’re very excited about the growth AHT has seen over the past few years. Because of this, we felt it was necessary to expand our facilities and invest in additional equipment to better serve our customers and capture more of the market.” Last month, AHT also added two new induction units at the Burton Ave location, providing even better turnaround times and expanding capacity for large parts.
AHT has four locations: two in Waterloo, Iowa; one in Monroe, Michigan; and a fourth in Cullman, Alabama. Between the four locations, they offer over 20 surface treatments including gas and ion nitriding, induction hardening, carburizing, carbonitriding and more. Woods added, “This past year has been exciting. We thank everyone involved and look forward to another great year.” For more information about Advanced Heat Treat Corp. or its services, please visit www.ahtcorp.com or call 319-232-5221.
About Advanced Heat Treat Corp.
Established in 1981, Advanced Heat Treat Corp. (AHT) is a recognized leader in providing heat treat services and superior metallurgical solutions to companies across the globe, with locations in Alabama, Iowa and Michigan. Their UltraGlow® family of processes includes plasma ion nitriding, ferritic nitrocarburizing (FNC), gas nitriding, UltraOx®, through hardening, carburizing, carbonitriding, induction hardening and many more.
SECO/WARWICK has just unveiled two new products, which are to solve every day heat treat problems
Various industries are currently experiencing unprecedented changes. Emerging technologies open new doors, but on the other hand, pose a challenge. SECO/WARWICK, often referred to as an “innovator”, “champion”, “trendsetter” or “one of the top 5 providers of equipment and services for metal heat treatment” has just unveiled two new products that answer to these challenges and solve every day heat treat problems:
- UCM® 4D Quench®
- the Super IQ®.
These two new product technologies will revolutionize heat treatment – one solution reduces the costs of carburizing and the other is the alternative to press hardening.
SuperIQ® for super clean parts and zero added costs
The Super IQ® (integral or sealed quench furnace) offers all of the benefits of low pressure carburizing and vacuum hardening with none of the added costs. The system combines clean processing with the exceptional performance of oil quenching in the industry’s most innovative integral quench furnace design in decades. With a Super IQ, users get super clean parts while still getting the benefit of a simple atmosphere oil quench.
The Super IQ furnace is a hybrid system combining the attributes of a conventional and vacuum furnace in one, primarily designed for carburizing processes at elevated temperatures and hardening. The furnace features a traditional vestibule with automatic loading and an oil quench a vacuum-tight heating chamber. The furnace is designed so that it can be seamlessly integrated into an existing line of conventional gas carburizing furnaces without interfering with the material transport system.
SuperIQ® major advantages:
- Higher process temperatures (>925° C = 1700 F°) reduces cycle time, increasing productivity by enabling higher throughput,
- System flexibility – operates on an on/off mode,
- Easy system integration with traditional gas carburizing furnaces,
- Eliminates the need for an endothermic generator; a cost savings of US$120,000 + utilities + maintenance,
- Eliminates the requirement for a flame curtain (no fire in the furnace) – improving operator safety,
- Lower post-process gas emissions,
- Fully automated operation with minimal operator intervention.
Forget about hardening in a press and all its disadvantages – meet its modern and attractive alternative
The second product, the UCM® 4D Quench® is a vacuum heat treatment system for individual quenching in nitrogen of single-piece of mechanical transmission components such as gears, shafts, rings, sleeves, etc. made from regular and special case and through hardening steels. It notably increases precision and repeatability of heat treatment results and reduces production costs. It provides vacuum heating following by powerful and uniform nitrogen quenching resulting in distortion control & reduction with high repeatability of final results. The system is fully automated and easily integrated with in-line production.
It’s a modern and attractive alternative to hardening in a press, eliminating all its disadvantages. UCM® 4D Quench® is dedicated to these who wants to significantly increase production quality and economy of mechanical transmission components comparing to batches or continuous heat treatment systems as well as to eliminate presses and its disadvantages.
SECO/WARWICK is a technology leader in innovative heat treatment furnaces. Expertise includes end-to-end solutions in vacuum heat treatment, atmosphere, and aluminum thermal processing, controlled atmosphere brazing of aluminum heat exchangers and vacuum metallurgy. The company provides standard or customized state-of-the-art heat processing equipment and technologies to leading companies in the following industries: automotive, aerospace, electronics, tooling, medical, recycling, energy including nuclear, wind, oil, gas, and solar and production of steel, titanium, and aluminum.
Bill Jones, CEO of Solar Manufacturing and Solar Atmospheres offers these comments on nitriding in response to a news item we had yesterday about nitriding; “With respect to the Nitrex Company Memoriam on the distinguish career of Dr. Tymowski, I would like to offer a minor correction. Nitriding of steel actually was introduced in Germany in the 1920’s and accepted in Europe, but only later in North America, per Google history. Rather than as stated by Nitrex “an undeveloped heat treating process in the 1980’s”, not to take away from the work of Dr. Tymowski, which I believe he would agree if available, as he was an honorable gentleman. There have been any number of nitride grade alloys developed with the hope of displacement of the classic carburizing surface harden grades of low alloy, medium carbon steels, and plain carbon steel. But the higher cost of the nitride alloy has retarded their acceptance, except for many special applications. We labor on as the metallurgy and process is further developed. William R. Jones, FASM”
“Nitrex Metal is mourning the loss of two distinguished members of the heat-treating community, Professor Jan Tacikowski of the Institute of Precision Mechanics, Poland and Dr. George Tymowski, former Vice President of R&D at Nitrex Metal. “We are deeply saddened by the passing of our friends and colleagues Drs. Tacikowski and Tymowski,” said Michel Korwin, Founder of Nitrex Metal and Executive Vice President of Business Development. “Dr. Tacikowski was a distinguished professor and prolific author, and his ground-breaking work in the field of nitriding was a turning point in the development of “controlled” nitriding and the catalyst for the birth of Nitrex Metal and Nitreg® brand of technologies. Prof. Tacikowski devoted his over 60-year career at the Institute of Precision Mechanics in Poland to various scientific issues related to heat and thermochemical treatment technologies.”
In the 1980s, nitriding was a relatively undeveloped heat treat process not only in Canada but worldwide. When Nitrex Metal was founded in 1984, early efforts focused on R&D, designing automated control systems and developing the process control technology. “Dr. Tymowski was a founding partner and investor of Nitrex Metal, and also joined the Nitrex management team as Vice-President of Research and Development,” said Michel Korwin. “He was a guiding voice and made enduring contributions to the development and application of Nitreg® technology. His dedication and the impact of his work have left a legacy that influenced the growth of Nitrex Metal and the increasing adoption of Nitreg® for improving the wear and corrosion resistance of metal parts. Following his retirement in 2004, he served as a close advisor. His integrity and sincerity earned him the respect and admiration of all who knew him. We deeply appreciate the contributions of these men. Our thoughts and prayers are with their family and friends.” More information about Dr. Tymowski’s life and career can be found in his obituary. http://ottawacitizen.
Commercial heat treater Exactatherm celebrated their 40th anniversary this past Friday and indeed the company has a lot to celebrate. Founded by Dr. Peter Lidster the company has grown and prospered over the years and is now run by the second generation of Lidsters. Our guess would be that one of the main drivers of this success is their early achievement of Nadcap which makes them part of a relatively small group of commercial heat treats in the world that can boast this qualification. The firm has recently made several large investments which includes a second SECO/WARWICK vacuum oil quench system. In attendance at the celebration was none other than Harry Hall, founder of Aberfoyle Metal Treating and Gunner Poschmann one of the most established heat treat reps in Canada. We include these photos of the event which includes Jordan Montgomery of “The Monty” obviously enjoying himself.
Yesterday we had the opportunity to a very interesting captive heat treater in Tiffin, Ohio, USA. Webster Industries is a 140 year old manufacturer of custom chains and as such has a very substantial captive heat treat department consisting of batch and continuous furnaces. With almost 400 employees and 450,000 square feet under roof it is quite an impressive operation. While we will have more about this company and their heat treating capabilities in the future for now we will share this photo. In it you see from the left; Mark Kuenzli, Operations Manager, Craig Agerter, Production Supervisor and Gord Montgomery.
While we think of furnace manufacturer Ipsen in North America as vacuum people, this note from a senior member of the Ipsen USA Team would suggest that the atmosphere side of things is growing for the company. “Gord, During a recent visit to our facility in Rockford, Illinois, your son Jordan observed that we were building multiple atmosphere furnaces. He commented the he didn’t realize Ipsen still built atmosphere equipment. Although the North American market knows us best for our vacuum furnace technology, in the past 3 years Ipsen has booked more than $20 million in non-vacuum furnaces (i.e., endothermic, nitrogen, and air atmosphere) in North America. These strong sales figures are the direct result of a strategic initiative Ipsen USA embarked upon 5 years ago, the cornerstone of which is our ATLAS batch atmosphere furnace global product line. This year we are “doubling down” on that momentum, so expect to hear more about Ipsen atmosphere related market developments soon.”
We mentioned yesterday how Dave Strand was retiring from TPS and Wisconsin Oven. We were a little ahead of the curve-here is the official press release; “In 1986, Dave Strand was hired by Wisconsin Oven Corporation as a shop worker. In 2019, he retires as President & CEO of Thermal Product Solutions, LLC, the parent company of Wisconsin Oven. Dave Strand has dedicated 33 years to the continued growth of Wisconsin Oven Corporation. His presence at Wisconsin Oven will be greatly missed by the employees, customers, and community partners. Dave will be remembered at Wisconsin Oven for his steadfast leadership and encouragement of employees. When he took over the position of President and CEO in 2005, he wanted to develop a culture that embraced his employees and motivated them to play like champions every day. Dave created Wisconsin Oven’s Work of Champions program and mission statement to inspire and reward employees for going above and beyond. This championship culture still holds true at Wisconsin Oven today.
During his time at Wisconsin Oven, Dave was dedicated to giving back to East Troy and the surrounding communities. As honorary chairman of the United Way of Walworth County, Dave encouraged businesses to give back during the 2017 holiday giving campaign which resulted in over $15,000 donated. He was also focused on developing the next generation of talent and promoting careers in manufacturing through an annual scholarship to an East Troy High School graduate going into skilled trades or engineering and the creation of the Wisconsin Oven Universal Training Center (WOC-U) in 2018. The employees of Wisconsin Oven held a retirement party for Dave on June 7th to celebrate his career and contributions to the company. The event was well attended and provided one last Champion chant for the employees to participate in led by Dave.”
Last week we mentioned we visited one of the prettiest, most well organized commercial heat treats in North America-it is none other than family owned Winston Heat Treating in Dayton, Ohio, USA. The whole location both inside and out is immaculate-we were envious of the amazing landscaping. Winston was one of the very first heat treaters in North America to achieve NADCAP way back in the 1990’s and the company has never rested on their laurels as they are currently in the midst of upgrading their lab to the absolute latest and greatest that money can buy-one of the photos below shows the Winston team in the middle of the partly constructed lab. The other photos give you a taste of what an impressive heat treat this is.
John Reger, CEO, David Reger, President, Gregg Temple, Michael Henderson
While we are speaking about family owned commercial heat treats we should mention one of the largest, Braddock Metallurgical who is the dominant player in the US Southeast; “Braddock Metallurgical in Bridgewater, NJ received a Nadcap accreditation for demonstrating their ongoing commitment to quality by satisfying customer requirements and stringent industry specifications. Nadcap has also determined that Braddock Metallurgical has gone beyond the industry requirements and has earned the special recognition of Merit. Earning Merit demonstrates the trust that the aerospace industry has in Braddock Metallurgical, based on the past performance in the Nadcap audit. This accreditation reinforces the commitment that Braddock Metallurgical has to providing our customers with the highest quality products and services that are more reliable and that meet their technical specifications. The achievement of earning Nadcap with Merit is a significant accomplishment and a testament to the hard work and dedication of our employees.” While we are talking about the US Southeast we should also mention that the Bodycote (commercial heat treating) facility in Athens, Alabama is making some good sized investments in the form or more IQ capacity, again showing that the US Southeast is a good place to be.
In the UK one of the largest commercial heat treaters in the country, Hauck is doing some bragging; “As a top 10 supplier to Precision Technologies Group UK (PTG), Hauck Telford was nominated for their continued outstanding quality and service in the supply of heat treated components. Hauck Telford have promised to work continually with PTG to minimise costs, deliver on quality and service and further deliver on product improvements. The team at Hauck Heat Treatment Telford strive to deliver the same high standard for all customers, and this award is proof of what we can achieve.”
If we are speaking about Hauck we should mention this note about their facility in Poland which we visited a few years back now; We are very proud to announce that after an audit by Bureau Vertitas, our plant Kalisz in Poland was awarded the EN 9100:2018 certification which is technically equivalent to the AS 9100D. The certificate was issued on April 30, 2019 and will expire April 29, 2022 if not renewed. This certificate shows again the focus that the local management puts on sustainable quality. It is a valuable addition to the ISO 9001 certificate we have in Dzierżoniów and Kalisz and also the IATF 16949, the ISO 14001 and the ISO 50001 certificates we hold in Dzierżoniów.”
Lets move to Canada now and look at a company by the name of Exactatherm. This is another commercial heat treater which achieved Nadcap a number of years ago and has never looked back. The company had an anniversary party last Friday and Jordan Montgomery of “The Monty” was in attendance. We will have a few photos from the event for you this week but we can say at this point that the company has been investing big time recently and this includes a brand new SECO/WARWICK vacuum oil quench furnace. In the “What’s Upcoming File” we have this. Next week we will have be visiting a number of heat treaters in Germany and the Netherlands and will give you details about each, this will precede our coverage of the Thermprocess exhibition in Dusseldorf, Germany-we will give you our impressions. Interviews we have for you in abundance starting with the most influential individual in the worldwide heat treating industry-Mr. Stephen Harris, CEO of commercial heat treating giant Bodycote which will happen July 1. In August we interview the new CEO of SECO/WARWICK followed by our very good friend Steve Thompson of controls company SSI in September and another top notch fellow by the name of Thomas Doppler, CEO of furnace company Aichelin, in Austria in October.
AND possibly most importantly in the upcoming news section we should have some very good news and gossip about the European heat treating market after the Dusseldorf show, a market which we understand has slowed down a little recently.
We mentioned yesterday how Dave Strand was retiring from TPS and Wisconsin Oven. We were a little ahead of the curve-here is the official press release; “In 1986, Dave Strand was hired by Wisconsin Oven Corporation as a shop worker. In 2019, he retires as President & CEO of Thermal Product Solutions, LLC, the parent company of Wisconsin Oven. Dave Strand has dedicated 33 years to the continued growth of Wisconsin Oven Corporation. His presence at Wisconsin Oven will be greatly missed by the employees, customers, and community partners. Dave will be remembered at Wisconsin Oven for his steadfast leadership and encouragement of employees. When he took over the position of President and CEO in 2005, he wanted to develop a culture that embraced his employees and motivated them to play like champions every day. Dave created Wisconsin Oven’s Work of Champions program and mission statement to inspire and reward employees for going above and beyond. This championship culture still holds true at Wisconsin Oven today.
During his time at Wisconsin Oven, Dave was dedicated to giving back to East Troy and the surrounding communities. As honorary chairman of the United Way of Walworth County, Dave encouraged businesses to give back during the 2017 holiday giving campaign which resulted in over $15,000 donated. He was also focused on developing the next generation of talent and promoting careers in manufacturing through an annual scholarship to an East Troy High School graduate going into skilled trades or engineering and the creation of the Wisconsin Oven Universal Training Center (WOC-U) in 2018. The employees of Wisconsin Oven held a retirement party for Dave on June 7th to celebrate his career and contributions to the company. The event was well attended and provided one last Champion chant for the employees to participate in led by Dave.”
After 33 years in the industry Mr. Dave Strand, President & CEO at Thermal Product Solutions and Wisconsin Oven Corporation has retired. All heat treaters in North America will have run across some of their products since they include brands such as Lindberg/MPH, Baker Furnace, Blue M, Gruenburg, Tenny and Wisconsin Oven. His experience will be missed.