Timken Bearings is auctioning off a great deal of equipment at two North Carolina, USA facilities later this month-the auction includes a number of heat treat furnaces-if it didn’t include heat treat furnaces the auction mention would not grace the pages of “The Monty Heat Treat News”. As you can see below “The Monty” made predictions about what would sell and what wouldn’t, we are now updating our prediction. All of this equipment as it turns out is electrically heated which generally is of no interest to most captive and commercial heat treaters in North America. Based upon on site visits of the equipment we predict that the vast bulk of the furnaces in this auction will end up going to “scrappers”. As always we will keep you updated.

JULY 30/2025 POSTING; “Bearing Company Auctioning HT Furnaces-“The Monty Predictions” Later on this month bearing manufacturer “Timken” will be holding an auction for surplus equipment located at a location in North Carolina, USA-an auction which will include a number of surplus heat treatment furnaces and ancillary equipment. A look at the equipment list reveals a real “hodge podge” of equipment from a number of different manufacturers, some reputable some not so much.”

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Last week we mentioned the very surprising and upsetting passing of Mr. Darius Szczekocki, a very well-known figure in the North American heat treat industry-below is his obituary. 

 

“Darius Szczekocki Obituary; With heavy hearts and deep love, we announce the passing of our beloved husband and father,Darius  Andrew Szczekocki , age 61, husband of Jill Szczekocki; loving father of Derek Szczekocki and Dillon Szczekocki; dear son of Stanley Szczekocki and the late Irene Szczekocki fond brother of Jack (Stacey) Szczekocki,  fond son in law of Jim and Judy Borgardt, brother in law of Kim (Dale) Hupp, Brian (Heather) Borgardt, and his nieces and nephews, Brooke Szczekocki, Meghan Hupp, Christopher Hupp, Blake Borgardt, and Braydon Borgardt. 

 

Darius was a wonderful father and husband. He worked his entire life to leave a great legacy for his children. He was the hardest and most tenacious worker and dedicated person. He enjoyed time at our lake house fishing, boating, snowmobiling, hunting, golfing, and the great outdoors. He was surrounded by wonderful friends and family that adored him. 

 

He was very present with both of his son’s sports, including baseball, football, track and field and cross country and he was always there at his sons’ sporting events, even though he had such a busy work life. His employees, customers, contractors, and business associates are so very loyal and respect Darius tremendously. They will miss him greatly. Darius provided opportunities for many of the employees he hired over the years, by taking chances on them, believing in them, and mentoring them. He passed on a lot of knowledge to others through he years. He was the heart and soul of Hestia Heat Treat. His employees were family to him and his legacy will live on! He was one of the best in his field.  A celebration of life will be planned for Darius at a later date to be determined.”

 

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“Stack Metallurgical Group” based in Portland, Oregon, USA is a company that firmly believes in the value of publicity-the company has been making tremendous investments in new heat treatment equipment in 2025 and every single investment has provided a new press release.

 

Today’s press release provided by Kimberly Chaussee, General Manager at the firm announces the official commissioning of a new “Tru-Cryotherm” unit provided by “McLaughlin Furnace Group.” Find out how Stack Metallurgical Group compares in size to other North American commercial heat treaters here; “52 Largest North American Commercial Heat Treaters”

 

“This week, we officially commissioned our new TRU-CRYOTHERM made by McLaughlin Furnace Group – a true game-changer for our production team. Key Specs: Load Size: 36” W x 48” L x 36” H, Capacity: 4,000 lbs., Temperature Range: -100°F to -300°F ±10°F, and 300°F to 1200°F ±10°F

 

What sets this equipment apart is the ability to move baskets of parts directly from our vacuum furnaces into the cryogenic freeze, then straight into tempering — all within the same unit. This integration streamlines our process, increases throughput, and enhances our capacity to deliver even greater value to our customers.

 

Special thanks to Dave Ederer, Owner of Stack Metallurgical Group, and Brad Kaufman, Plant Manager of Stack Portland, for supporting this project, and to Jeff McLaughlin, Owner of McLaughlin Furnace Group, for commissioning this powerful new asset onsite.”

 

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Solar Manufacturing is hiring for two critical positions—Senior Mechanical Engineer and Field Service Technician—for the design and support of high-performance vacuum furnaces used across the aerospace, defense, and commercial heat-treating industries.

Now Hiring: Senior Mechanical Engineer

Solar Manufacturing is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer to support the engineering design and production of advanced vacuum furnace systems for demanding thermal processing applications.  This is an excellent opportunity for a strategic, hands-on engineer to make a meaningful impact in a highly technical and collaborative environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead mechanical engineer for vacuum furnaces and subsystems (hot zones, chambers, cooling systems, vacuum pumping systems, etc.)
• Perform engineering calculations and ensure compliance with industry codes and standards (ASME, NFPA, AMS)
• Check engineering drawings, BOMs, and technical documentation
• Support purchasing by providing technical specifications, researching materials and components, and assisting in supplier qualification.
• Develop, recommend, and implement engineering procedures to ensure smooth operation of the engineering function within the company.
• Provide technical support to internal teams and customers 

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or 8+ years of relevant engineering experience
• Strong background of heat transfer processes (radiation, conduction and convention), incompressible and compressible fluid flow calculations, and thermal systems (vacuum furnace experience is highly preferred). 
• Proficient in Autodesk Inventor, AutoCAD, Autodesk Vault, and ERP systems (Acumatica preferred)

Now Hiring: Field Service Technician

Support Advanced Technology in the Field
Join Solar Manufacturing’s field service team and play a critical role in commissioning, troubleshooting, and supporting cutting-edge vacuum furnace systems across the U.S. and internationally.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide in-house testing and inspection of vacuum furnace systems prior to shipment 
• Travel to customer facilities across the U.S. and internationally to perform commissioning, troubleshooting, and repair of vacuum furnaces
• Provide hands-on technical training to customer personnel during installation and ongoing remote and on-site support to ensure long-term system performance
• Conduct service tasks such as vacuum leak detection (helium mass spectrometer), upgrades, temperature uniformity surveys, and preventative maintenance to keep customer equipment running at peak efficiency

Qualifications

• Minimum 4 years of hands-on experience in industrial equipment service, field repair, or machinery installation, with a strong mechanical and electrical background
• Proven ability to interpret and troubleshoot from electrical schematics and mechanical blueprints
• Working knowledge of PLC-based control systems, preferably Allen-Bradley platforms using RSLogix 500/5000 or Studio 5000 software
• Demonstrated proficiency in diagnosing and resolving complex system issues related to power distribution, sensors, instrumentation, and control wiring
• Strong analytical and technical communication skills, with the ability to document findings and coordinate with engineering teams
• Willingness and ability to travel domestically and internationally approximately 50%

Interested? To apply or learn more, please contact our Human Resources department at 267-384-5040 or email [email protected] .

Furnace Controls Company “SSi” based in Cincinatti, Ohio, USA has entered into a sales agreement through their “SSi Europe” division in the UK to work with “AVT GmbH” in Germany to sell their products in Germany and the Netherlands. “AVT GmbH” was founded in 2019 by “Marc Angenendt” (an ex president of furnace builder Ipsen in Kleve, Germany) and Frank Schaefer- “AVT” offers a variety of products to the German heat treat market-in 2024 the partners sold the company to vacuum pump builder “Busch”. 

 

This agreement was formed after the previous SSi partner in Germany, “Avion Europa” very unfortunately “Entered Bankruptcy Protection” earlier this year. 

 

“We are delighted to announce a new partnership between SSI Europe and AVT GmbH (Atmosphären- und Vakuum-Technik GmbH), a standout presence in the German heat treatment industry.

 

Effective immediately, AVT GmbH will represent and offer our full range of industrial heat treatment furnace control products, systems, and services across Germany and the Netherlands. Led by Marc Angenendt and Frank Schaefer, with their deep industry expertise and strong local presence, AVT is well-positioned to support customers with SSI’s world-class range of oxygen probes, gas analyzers, electronic flow-meters and SuperGen zero waste endo generator control systems. We look forward to a successful collaboration and to further improving our customer support in the European Union.”

 

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It is with true shock that we are reporting the very unexpected passing of Mr. “Darius Szczekocki”, owner of “Hestia Heat Treat” in Racine, Wisconsin, USA. “Darius” was a long time heat treater having worked with commercial heat treat firms such as “Bodycote” and “Bluewater Thermal” before buying “Racine Heat Treating” in 2017 and subsequently renaming it “Hestia Heat Treat”. While we at “The Monty” didn’t know Darius very well we do know that he was a tireless worker who did an incredible job turning “Hestia” into a modern, efficient and well-run heat treat. We will provide more details as they become available.

Recently the North American commercial heat treat industry has seen a wave of consolidations/closings-a recent example features “Atmosphere Group Inc” in Michigan, USA “USA Commercial Heat Treater Consolidates Operations”.

Last week we had a news item entitled; “Michigan, USA Heat Treater Reports Excellent Sales”, at that point in time we promised to provide our readers with more details about the firm;

The initial goal for DMT was to perform the heat treating operations for TMD’s products, but it didn’t take long for word-of-mouth to spread that there was a new heat treating operation in business and other local customers began to send their parts to be heat treated by DMT. Pleased with the levels of service that they received from this new operation, word spread further, and a new commercial heat treating shop was born.”

Ms. Adrien Darby

Our hosts for the tour were Ms. Adrien Darby, Director of Quality, Mr. Max Darby, Lead Operator, Mr. Dave Bates, Sales Manager and Mr. Ron Childs, Process Manager-each of whom has years of experience in the commercial heat treating industry.

Adrien Darby, Dave Bates, Max Darby

Possibly these substantial investments are the main factor in the firm’s success but most likely without an aggressive sales effort by the entire team the investments would not have generated the sales levels that the company has achieved.

Although very few details are currently available it would appear that Bodycote, the world’s largest commercial heat treater will be opening a brand new facility in Fairfield, Ohio, USA. What we know so far is that this facility will fall under the Aerospace & Defense division, it will be offering brazing and the official opening will be later on in 2025. We will keep you updated as more details become available.