From commercial heat treater “Wallwork Group” in the UK we have this press release about how the firm recently added robotics to a vacuum braze line at the firm’s Cambridge UK facility.
This press release prompted the team at the “Monty Heat Treat News”to contemplate robotics in the commercial heat treatment industry-the bottom line is of course that there is very little in the way of robotics and automation in the industry largely for two reasons; First is that many commercial shops are largely “job” shops meaning small volumes. Second, few manufacturers offer their heat treaters long-term contracts which makes it difficult to justify large investments in automation.
There are exceptions to these rules though and over the next few days we will give you examples of a few captive and commercial heat treaters have found it advantageous to invest in robotics.
“In a £100 thousand investment, Wallwork Group has introduced a UR Cobot to their vacuum braze line in Cambridge. This will make high-volume braze components a commercially viable option for many manufacturers.
“Cost-effective, high-volume vacuum braze components have been out of reach until now. Largely due to the amount of assembly and labour time required. This investment brings the advantages of vacuum brazing to components that were previously uneconomic to process. It also means we can develop the quality of customer products,” said group director, Simeon Collins.
Chris Osborne and Odhran Mcbride of Wallwork oversaw the installation. “The medium-sized cobot is capable of manipulating a 12.5kg payload, with a 1300mm reach. It will work alongside our skilled braze operators and has the ability to learn as it goes along via a continuous improvement process. Customers will enjoy higher quality levels not seen before. Accuracy, consistency and repeatability are assured,” explained Chris.
The use of robotics also makes 24-hour braze application a reality, increasing service availability. Success with the UR Cobot is likely to spark further investment in the technology. “We are looking forward to vacuum brazing the first batch of customer components with the cobot. This is scheduled for the beginning of October,” added Odhran.
Preparing components for vacuum brazing requires great skill and attention to detail. The cobot is able to replicate this manual process. It creates complex components by joining simpler parts made from similar or dis-similar materials. A braze metal with a lower melt-point flows by capillary action into the space between the parts. The filler metal or alloy is heated to a temperature above 750ºC. This forms an exceptionally strong, sealed and leak-proof joint.
The cobot process is clean and flux-free. It produces high strength components with excellent dimensional stability. These are free of voids or inclusions, resistant to shock and vibration and able to withstand high pressures.”
Want to know more about “Wallwork Group” ? You can find a summary of the company from when “Gord Montgomery” of “The Monty” last “Visited in 2022”.
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A reader sent us a fascinating video of a Spanish company by the name of Iraeta Forgings manufacturing and heat treating the world’s largest forging rings-here is the background;
In 2019 and 2022, IRAEA successfully produced four seamless forged rings, each with a diameter of 16 meters. Now they have turned the entire manufacturing process into a short video-from billet heating, to forming, final assemble and delivery. “This behind the scenes footage gives you a close look at how we tackle large scale manufacturing with precision technology, innovating processes and solid teamwork.”
(Editors Note. The heat treat part of the process starts at the 4:20 mark and continues to 6:15. It would appear that the furnace in question is an electrically heated pit furnace with heating elements both in the center of the ring and on the circumference, quenching is in a pit quench tank with what appears to be a water/polymer combination).
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A recent case study by the “World’s Largest Commercial Heat Treater Bodycote”touts the advantages of LPC (Low Pressure Carburizing), in this particular case in an automotive driveline application. Read on for all the details;
“In 2023, Bodycote began work on a major new multi-year contract to provide efficient processing of automotive parts destined for hybrid vehicles, using low pressure carburising (one of our Specialist Technologies). The win marked another key milestone in the Group’s efforts to transition customers into adopting newer, lower-carbon heat treatment processes.
Bodycote won the contract with a key supplier to a leading global automaker and is providing heat treatment services for a number of parts in the vehicles’ driveline system.
Instead of quoting for services using traditional processing methods, as the customer had requested, Bodycote proposed low pressure carburising (LPC) for the customers’ parts. The LPC process enables a significant reduction in the amount of energy required to achieve the same metallurgical properties for a product. It cuts processing time by around 20% and the amount of energy required by 50%. Process gas – needed to achieve carburisation – is also reduced by 99% in LPC technology.
As the LPC process uses electricity, as opposed to gas, it also enables a continuous reduction in products’ carbon footprints as the grid becomes increasingly decarbonised over time. Through the application of our specialist knowledge and expertise, Bodycote successfully transitioned the customer to a process that will enable them to achieve significant emissions avoidance and provide low carbon revenue growth at high margins for Bodycote at the same time.
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Earlier this year we had an unfortunate news item about German heat treat supplier “Avion Europa” entering “Bankruptcy Proceedings”.
One of the owners of “Avion”, albeit in a small minority position was Mr. Sebastian Köchling.
It would appear that “Sebastion” in now the Managing Director of heat treat industry supplier “AtmoVac GmbH” also in Germany. Our understanding was that “AtmoVac GmbH” was either part of “Avion” or at least associated with them-either way it appears that “AtmoVac GmbH” will live on.
“MAY 6/2025 POSTING; European Heat Treat Industry Supplier Enters Bankruptcy
Heat treating around the globe can generally be described as “blah” these days in terms of sales with most captive and commercial heat treaters describing business as being mediocre. However in Europe heat treat business conditions can be described as “bad” with most heat treaters down 20-30% in 2025. This in turn is hurting suppliers to the industry and in one particular case has lead to bankruptcy.
AVION Europa GmbH & Co. KG, in Hagen, Germany has been a supplier to the European heat treat industry since 1994 and up until just a year ago the firm was doing quite well “Avion Europe a Growing Force in the German Heat Treat Market”. However business conditions changed quite quickly in the past year and May 6th the firm was declared insolvent.
“Hagen, May 6, 2025 – The Local Court of Hagen has ordered provisional insolvency administration as part of the insolvency proceedings over the assets of AVION Europa GmbH & Co. KG, with its registered office at Profilstraße 6-8, 58093 Hagen, ordered provisional insolvency administration. The measure was issued on May 6, 2025 at 1:05 p.m. under file number 109 IN 61/25.
The company, which is entered in the commercial register of the local court of Hagen under HRA 3499, is legally represented by its general partner, Heat Alliance GmbH, Warmbüchenstraße 15, 30159 Hanover, which in turn is entered in the commercial register of the local court of Hanover under HRB 210638. Heat Alliance GmbH is represented by its managing directors Mr. Sebastian Köchling and Mr. Roland Caminades.
Andreas Grund, Grabenstraße 28, 58095 Hagen, has been appointed as provisional insolvency administrator. He is now responsible for controlling the debtor’s business activities during the preliminary phase of the proceedings.
Pursuant to section 21 (2) no. 2 2. alt. InsO, it was ordered that disposals of the assets of AVION Europa GmbH & Co. KG are only effective with the consent of the provisional insolvency administrator. This means that any financial or legal action by the company is subject to the prior approval of the administrator.
In addition, third-party debtors were prohibited from making payments to the company unless they are made with the consent of the provisional administrator. The latter is expressly authorized to collect bank balances and other claims of the debtor and to dispose of incoming funds (Section 23 (1) sentence 3 InsO).
To further stabilize the financial situation, all enforcement measures against the debtor were also prohibited, unless they relate to immovable assets. Measures already initiated are suspended for the time being (section 21 (2) no. 3 InsO).
With the order for provisional insolvency administration, a decisive phase now begins in which it will be examined whether the company can be restructured or whether regular insolvency proceedings must be opened. AVION Europa GmbH & Co. KG, whose activities are presumably in the industrial or technological sector, now finds itself under insolvency law control – a step that is associated with tension and uncertainty for creditors, business partners and employees.”
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Bodycote Polska Sp. z o.o., a part of the global Bodycote Group – the world’s leading provider of heat treatment services – has purchased a CaseMaster Evolution vacuum furnace from SECO/WARWICK. This investment is another step in the development of the Bodycote branch in Siechnice to increase the efficiency and technological capabilities of the plant.
Vacuum carburizing in commercial hardening plants
The new device is a dual-chamber vacuum furnace (CMe-D) equipped with an oil quenching system and an advanced FineCarb vacuum carburizing system. Thanks to this technology, the Bodycote plant in Siechnice will expand its range of services, including heat treatment processes such as vacuum carburizing – processes that were previously beyond their technological reach.
“CaseMaster Evolution (CMe) furnaces are well-suited for many processes, which is why they are perfect for places like commercial hardening shops. These multi-chamber furnaces combine heat treatment in a vacuum with traditional oil quenching in dual- or triple-chamber configurations, enabling high efficiency, and delivering clean, oxide-free (IGO) parts.
The features of the design on order includes an oil quenching system ensuring fast and uniform cooling of the charge, as well as the FineCarb vacuum carburizing system, which allows for precise control of process results.
“The dual-chamber CaseMaster Evolution (CMe-D) furnace is another step in expanding our LPC technology capabilities. We have several years of experience in vacuum carburizing, and we see that our customers are currently more interested in this process. This was the correct choice to meet the requirements for implementing sustainable development strategies and reducing CO₂ emissions. The new furnace will allow us to conduct cleaner carburizing processes without an endothermic atmosphere. We believe that we will improve the efficiency of our processes with this furnace, which will positively affect the economic aspect. This fits into our strategy as Bodycote constantly strives for innovation and operational excellence, developing its global and local competencies. Investing in modern vacuum equipment from SECO/WARWICK strengthens our company’s position as a trusted partner for the industry, offering the highest quality heat treatment services,” – said Dariusz Podgórski, Vice President of Bodycote Polska Sp. z o.o.
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The link below will take you to the August 2025 edition of “The Monty Heat Treat News” for 30 years the globes most popular heat treatment publication. These are just a few of the stories included in this edition;
Our readers might very rightly ask; “why should “The Monty Heat Treat News”a website dedicated to the heat treatment industry care about this?”
The answer is rather interesting. “Desktop Metal” manufactured some really cool 3D printing systems which allowed users to create intricate metal components quickly and easily from powdered metal. Obviously to create what is basically a powdered metal part sintering is required which means every single system the company provided included a small sintering furnace. We know for a fact that “Desktop Metal” bought hundreds of these small sintering furnaces over the years to be incorporated into their 3D printing systems.
It is a shame to see what was at one time a leading edge technology supplier disappear and also the effect it will have on their suppliers.
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Commercial heat treater “H-O-T”(Härte- und Oberflächentechnik) is one of the largest commercial heat treaters in Europe and as such we have mentioned this company several times over the years, most recently just a few months ago when they announced that they had invested in a new “Ipsen” Sealed Quench line (Batch IQ furnaces for our North American readers) for their Witten, Germany location.
We can now provide an update to this story in that the furnaces are being installed as we speak and that they are expected to be in production within the next few weeks. These photos tell the story.
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“Advanced Heat Treat Corp.” of Waterloo, Iowa, USA has consistently made “The Monty Heat Treat News” list of the [http://52 Largest North American Commercial Heat Treaters 2025]”52 Largest North American Commercial Heat Treaters” for many years now.According to this press release the firm recently completed an expansion of their Monroe, Michigan facility.
To go with this press release we have this photo taken June of 2024 showing Mike Woods, President, “Advanced HT Corp.”, Gord Montgomery, “The Monty” and Gary Sharpe, founder of “Advanced HT Corp.” at the Waterloo, Iowa facility.
“MONROE, MI – August 1, 2025 – Advanced Heat Treat Corp. (AHT), a recognized leader in heat treat services, has completed a 6,000 sq. ft. expansion at its Monroe, Michigan facility. The climate-controlled addition will free up production space, provide an area for additional equipment and services, and includes new office space and a modern breakroom.
Groundbreaking for the project took place on November 27, 2024 and their certificate of occupancy was awarded on July 29, 2025.
“Seeing this expansion completed is incredibly rewarding—it reflects the hard work and dedication of our entire team,” said Chad Clark, Plant Manager. “The additional space allows us to streamline operations, support more equipment, and enhance service to our customers. We’re excited to begin the transition and fully integrate the new area into our daily workflow.”
The heat treater also added a new gas nitriding unit last month, increasing its capacity and enabling even better turnaround times.
AHT has four locations: one in Monroe, Michigan; two in Waterloo, Iowa; and a fourth in Cullman, Alabama. Between the four locations, they offer over 20 surface treatments including gas and ion nitriding/nitrocarburizing, UltraOx®, induction hardening, stress relieving, and more. AHT Michigan has the unique capability to nitride parts up to 31-feet in length.
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.”
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Located in Bletchley, UK, commercial heat treater Titanium Heat Treatment Services would appear to be quite a success story as you can see by this story from “The Monty” in 2021;
“OCTOBER 2021 POSTING; “Titanium Heat Treatment UK Installing Low Pressure Carburizing Furnace; In 2016 Pawel Danielewicz who had worked for commercial heat treater TTI Group (now Aalberts) for a number of years realized his dream of starting his own heat treat shop. The result was Titanium Heat Treatment Services in Buckinghamshire, UK which specializes in heat treatment of titanium, aluminum and precipitation hardened alloys for the motorsport industry. In 5 short years the company has grown and prospered with the result that the firm now has 11 furnaces and ovens installed. This vacuum carburizing system just arrived (the first VC unit for the company) and Pawel is pretty pleased with the system-apparently he has looked forward to being able to offer low pressure carburizing since the day he started the company.”
Now we learn that the company has just installed a plasma nitriding furnace provided by “Eltropuls”of Germany. The furnace will be used for nitriding of steel and Titanium alloys.
The first photo shows the installed furnace installation at “Titanium Heat Treatment Services” in the UK. The second photo shows the CEO of “Eltropuls”, Kirsten Baston and Mark Straemke, Kirsten’s brother and co owner at the “HK 24 Heat Treat Exhibition in Cologne, Germany in October of 2024.
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