Earlier this year commercial heat treater “Nitrex” announced they would be installing what they believe to be the “Largest Nitriding Furnace in North America”-a beast with working dimensions of approximately 14′ diameter and 11′ deep with a weight capacity of 80,000 pounds (incidentally “The Monty” would concur on this being the largest in North America-we are not aware of any with larger working dimensions). The furnace was designed with deep case nitriding of large gears in mind.
Our understanding is that this project went very smoothly (especially keeping in mind that this was an industry first) and that the furnace entered production later summer of this year which means the project was completed in a remarkable 6 months.
We are especially pleased today to be able to offer you this “Heat Treat Podcast” featuring “Mr. Radek Houdek”, of global high temperature alloy supplier “Cronite Group”. Our host, “Mr. Carlos Torres” asks a number of “probing” questions about “special alloys” in the industry, fixturing for heat treat furnace and “Cronite’s” place in the industry.
Cherry Valley, ILLINOIS (October 14, 2025) – Ipsen USA is proud to introduce Rodney Strasser as the new Regional Service Manager in the Southeast Region. Operating out of Atlanta, Georgia, Strasser will be responsible for coordinating and leading a team of Ipsen service technicians that serve Ipsen customers in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida.
Strasser joins Ipsen after 25 years working with major manufacturers developing and operating extensive service networks. A graduate of Georgia Tech, with an MBA from Georgia State University, Strasser has applied his industrial management education toward building service networks for global companies across multiple industries.
“Accepting the position at Ipsen appealed to me because I have the opportunity to make an immediate impact,” Strasser explained. “I’ve been working with capital equipment throughout my service career. Some of the experiences in my previous roles can potentially make significant and lasting improvements to the Ipsen service model.”
In his first weeks at Ipsen, Strasser has focused on connecting with internal department leads who work closely with the company’s customer service network across North America. “By supporting our efforts in the field, they provide us with the tools we need to maintain high standards in customer satisfaction with our regular customers. New tools and a fresh approach can also help us improve relationships with former customers, regaining their confidence in Ipsen service,” Strasser said.
“My goal is to grow our service revenue by expanding service agreements with more Ipsen customers, and delivering service excellence that will have a positive impact on Ipsen’s market share in the industrial furnace service business,” Strasser explained. “Right now, I’m focused on absorbing the training resources Ipsen has made available, and building relationships with the employees that I can rely upon to assist my team of Field Service Engineers and Ipsen’s customers to achieve success.”
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March 12th of this year “Gord & Dale Montgomery” of “The Monty Heat Treat News” visited an Italian commercial heat treater by the name of “Proterm Group”, the second largest commercial heat treater in Italy-their story is below.
We repeat this story as the company has just grown again through the acquisition of a competitor in Italy, a company by the name of “3T Trattamenti Termici Torino S.r.l.”.
Our original story about “Proterm” is immediately below followed by the announcement about the “3T Trattamenti Termici Torino S.r.l.”., acquisition further down.
Founded in 1973 the company over the years has grown to a total of 8 plants in Italy, with 330 employees and annual revenues of approximately 40 million euros (43 million USD$). Originally a family-owned business the firm was acquired by a private equity group just a few years ago, although one of the family members., Mr. Valerio Accorsi, remains as the President of the company.
Our March 12 visit was to the Proterm Castello D’Argile facility which features two roller hearth furnaces provided by furnace builder “CIEFFE” a few years back. Each furnace is capable of annealing, iso thermal annealing, normalizing and hardening with oil quenching,, a basket load of 1,000Kg gross (2,200 pounds) is produced every 9 minutes.
The vast bulk of the product consists of forgings for “heavy industry” and in addition to the heat treating shotblasting is also a core part of the firm’s business. The furnaces operate 24 hours/day, 7 days a week.
Our hosts for this tour were Mr. Valerio Accorsi and Mr. Claudio Spinelli of Proterm and Mr. Angelo Scipione, Head of Sales & PM for “CIEFFE”
“OCTOBER 9th/ 2025; Proterm Group, a leading player in the heat treatment of metals in Italy (for both raw and processed parts), controlled by Metrika Fund, has acquired the entire share capital of 3T Trattamenti Termici Torino S.r.l., a company specialized in heat treatments for ferrous materials and aluminum. Founded in 1970, 3T Trattamenti Termici Torino has expertise in carburizing and nitriding, through a patented process.
The transaction further consolidates Proterm Group’s leadership in the Italian heat treatment market, enabling extended geographic coverage on a national scale.”
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“GREENVILLE, SC — Bluewater Thermal Solutions, the largest supplier of boronized products and services to operators in the Bakken and Permian shale fields, announced today that it has shipped its first production order of Hard-Corr™ tubing to a Texas-based energy producer. 12,000 feet of Hard-Corr™ tubing will be installed during well operation“s commencing this month in West Texas.
The Hard-Corr™ product is 2-7/8-inch diameter, 32-foot long, Grade L80 1% chromium steel production tubing treated with Bluewater’s proprietary Hard-Corr surface technology. This new process imparts enhanced corrosion, wear, and erosion resistance to both the inner and outer surfaces of the tubing, making it ideal for annular and annulus production wells.
“Hard-Corr represents an exciting advancement in our mission to provide durable, cost-effective tubing solutions for the energy industry,” said Craig Zimmerman, Technical Director for Bluewater Thermal Solutions. “Our customers have relied on boronized tubing for years to combat corrosion and wear inside wells. Hard-Corr builds on that success offering enhanced protection compared to untreated tubing, plus added benefits and flexibility, at a lower overall cost.”
While boronized tubing remains the established premium standard for inner-surface protection, Hard-Corr™ is engineered as a complementary, lower-cost alternative that maintains the mechanical integrity and strength of L80-grade steel. This allows operators to deploy it as a full-string solution from bottom to top while also gaining additional protection for the exterior surfaces.
Bluewater Thermal Solutions continues to lead innovation in surface engineering technologies for the oil and gas industry, with a focus on improving reliability, extending equipment life, reducing workovers, and reducing total cost of operation for producers in the most demanding shale environments.
About Bluewater Thermal Solutions Bluewater Thermal Solutions is a leading provider of heat treating, surface enhancement, and metallurgical engineering services for the energy, automotive, aerospace and industrial sectors. With multiple locations across North America, Bluewater delivers innovative solutions that enhance performance and reliability of critical metal components. The company is the largest supplier of boronized products and services to oil and gas producers in the Bakken and Permian shale plays.
Media Contact: Patrick McKenna Chief Executive Officer & Board Member Bluewater Thermal Solutions [email protected]” www.bluewaterthermal.com”
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“OCTOBER 13/2025, Rohde Schutzgasoefen GmbH (Hanau); Strengthening global partnerships: Jörn and Natasha Rohde visit customers in China
As part of an international business trip, Jörn Rohde and Natasha Rohde visited several customers in China in the region of Shanghai, Taicang, Changshu, Beijing and Tianjin, to reinforce relationships and explore future collaboration.
Among the highlights of the trip was a visit to Kern Liebers in Taicang, where strategic discussions took place around ongoing projects and shared goals. The Rohdes also held talks regarding the partnership with Shanghai Advanced Metallurgy Corporation focusing on long-term cooperation.
“Our visit was a valuable opportunity to connect directly with our partners, exchange ideas, and strengthen the foundation for future success,” said Jörn Rohde.
The trip reflects the company’s commitment to international engagement and its dedication to building strong, trust-based relationships across borders.”
From left to right: Jiankun Liang, Kern Liebers , Joe Zhou, Kern Liebers, Tidus Jing, Kern Liebers, Jenna Yang, Kern Liebers, Vincent and Konstantin Rohde, Natasha and Jörn Rohde, Shen Li, SAMT
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As part of the news item above about “Aichelin/Nitrex”“The Monty” has learned that “Mark Hemsath”, President/CEO, Nitrex Furnace and UPC-Marathon has parted ways with the company. In retrospect this is absolutely no surprise as his position no longer exists due to the acquisition.
Very recently “The Monty Heat Treat News” had the opportunity to interview Mark-read about his remarkable career in the heat treat industry here; “Mark Hemsath “Nitrex”-The Interview””
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The recent acquisition of furnace builder and controls company Nitrex by Austrian furnace builder “Aichelin” has been one of the top news stories in the heat treatment industry in 2025 “AICHELIN Group Completes Acquisition of NITREX Divisions”.
A big question for the industry is; “how will this acquisition be structured and what will it look like going forward?“-according to this press release from Aichelin the discussion is ongoing as we speak.
In this picture we see all of the top individuals from the “Aichelin Group” most of which we at “The Monty” recognize-this includes; “Tracy Dougherty” CEO AFC-Holcroft of Wixom, Michigan “Christian Grosspointner“, CEO of Aichelin Group, “Wolfgang Brosche“, Aichelin, Austria, “Phillip Krenn“, Head of Sales, Aichelin, “Matthias Wolf“, Noxmat Division and “Marco Karnthaler“, Marketing, Aichelin Group. to name a few. What we don’t see is a Nitrex Rep, so we’re not sure who this individual was (as mentioned below).
We look forward to hearing more about the path forward.
“𝗔𝗜𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗡 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗷𝗶𝗻𝗴 – 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵, 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲; Once a year, the management of the AICHELIN Group from all regions comes together – this year in Beijing (China). The participation of a leading NITREX representative, following the successful acquisition, was especially appreciated.
The focus was on the 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗜𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟯𝟬 and the 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗫 – an important milestone in strengthening our global presence and shaping our shared future. Other key topics included valuable personal exchanges between the regions and discussions on current economic developments and their impact on business development.”
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For over 13 years “Mr. Bill Morie” was with the maintenance team at commercial heat treater “Braddock Metallurgical”in the US Southeast ending up as Maintenance Manager at the Daytona Beach, Florida location (Braddock Metallurgical is ranked as one of the “52 Largest North American Commercial Heat Treaters” by “The Monty”).
Things always seem to change and Bill recently joined the team at “Heat Treating Services Unlimited”(HTSU) in Simpsonville, SC, USA as “Team Project Leader”. “HTSU” has 5 locations around the US and offers a variety of services including Temperature Uniformity Surveys, Instrument Calibrations, Combustion Tuning and Refractory Installation & Repairs.
And speaking of “HTSU” it appears that the company had outgrown their current buildings in Simpsonville, SC with the result that a new and substantially larger building is under construction. These renderings show what the new building will look like when completed.
“Mr. Kyle Favors”, Owner and President of “HTSU” had these comments; “We have been very fortunate to have seen sustained growth over the past number of years but the end result is that we have been running out of storage space for our products and office space for our growing team. The new building has been designed to align perfectly with our current and medium-term needs. To say I am excited would be an understatement”.
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We at “The Monty Heat Treat” have always maintained that our favorite heat treat exhibition outside of the USA is the annual “HK” show held October of every year in Cologne, Germany (before Cologne it was held in Wiesbaden, Germany).
For a variety of reasons, the show this year which took place from September 30th to October 2nd, moved back to Wiesbaden and took the form of a series of lectures with a few “tabletop” exhibitors. In spite of the much smaller format attendees deemed the show a success with slightly over 300 registered participants. The reduced attendance and the less formal exhibit hall meant smaller and less international but allowed for a more casual atmosphere.
We have these two photos of the show, both courtesy of Mr. Harald Roth of German furnace builder “KGO”. In the first photo we have from left to right: Harald Roth (KGO), Nedelijko Vucemilovic (KGO) and David Xu (FH casting).
In the second picture we have a number of members of the KGO Team including; “Harald Roth, Georg Cluse, Nedeljko Vucemilovic, Stella Vucemilovic and Max Merschen”. George is a KGO representative based near Kleve, Germany, Stella Vucemilovic is the daughter of the company owner Nedeljko Vucemilovic and Max Merschen is a design engineer for the company.
Our understanding is that the show will return to Cologne in 2026 and will be much larger than this year’s show.
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(Editors Note; Find out how “Bluewater Thermal Solutions” compares in size to other North American commercial heat treaters according to “The Monty” “52 Largest North American Commercial Heat Treaters 2025″)
