Since 1961 “Precision Metal Forming Company” in Williamsport, PA has been offering custom flow formed metal parts and components for a variety of industry. The company has always believed in doing most operations in house and this includes heat treatment. When the company decided to add capacity to their heat treating their first thought was a used vacuum furnace but ultimately they decided on a brand new vacuum furnaces from “Solar Manufacturing”. The furnace can be seen in these photos as it is arriving and being installed.
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Based in Michigan, USA “MNP Corporation” is one of North America’s largest fastener manufacturers and as such has very substantial in-house heat-treating capacity mainly at their MNP Heat Treat division in Redford, Michigan. According to this press release the company has just been acquired by another fastener manufacturer by the name of “Fontana Gruppo”. It will come as no surprise to anybody that MNP’s heat treating capacity consists mainly of high volume “Can-Eng” mesh belt furnace lines.
“We are excited to announce that MNP Corporation has been acquired by Fontana Gruppo (“Fontana”), a family-owned business, a key milestone in their global expansion strategy. This acquisition unites two of North America’s largest and most respected, family-owned fastener manufacturers, creating new and unprecedented opportunities for our employees, customers, and suppliers.
Just a few months ago, Fontana also acquired Right Tight Fasteners, a major player in the Indian market, further strengthening their global presence. These strategic acquisitions will bring together some of the best talent in the fastener industry, all committed to delivering the highest standards of quality and service.
For over 55 years, MNP has been proudly owned by the Berman family, and as we move forward as part of Fontana, we remain committed to the same core values of excellence, innovation, and customer focus that have defined us for decades. While this is an exciting new chapter, our drive for growth and success will continue—only now, with expanded resources, a broader reach, and even greater potential for all involved.
We look forward to this next phase and are eager to continue our legacy of delivering top quality products and services to our customers, while exploring new opportunities on a larger scale.
Founded in 1952 in Italy, Fontana Gruppo (www.gruppofontana.it) is a global leader in high quality fasteners. It has branches in 32 locations and 26 production plants across Europe, the Americas, and India. With over 6,000 employees, the group generates €1.3 billion in revenue. With three research centers worldwide and over 200 patents, Fontana strongly emphasizes R&D and the development of high-quality products for all types of applications.”
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May 15 of this year we had the news item below about how a North American commercial heat treater was “Adding Pit Carburizing Capacity”. Well that capacity is now in production as you can see in this video.
“MAY 15, 2025; Heat Treater Adding Much Needed Pit Carburizing Capacity; When US commercial heat treater “Metlab” in PA closed their doors in 2024 it left a real void in the commercial heat treat industry when it comes to “Carburizing of Very Large Gears”. To date that void has not yet been entirely filled (although Nitrex recently added a mammoth pit nitriding furnace to one of their US locations). Now it would appear that a commercial heat treater in Houston, Texas, “Worldwide Heat Treat”is stepping up to help fill the void. As we speak “Worldwide” is in the process of installing an atmosphere pit furnace with working dimensions of 100″ in diameter X 144″ depth. We will be adding further details as they become available.”
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In “blockbuster” news from the Mexican heat treat market we have learned that one of the largest commercial heat treaters on the country “Grupo ETSA Especialidades Termicas” very recently acquired a firm by the name of “Termproces” in Puebla, Mexico. “Termproces” is a commercial heat treater dedicated to vacuum heat treating, their equipment includes ALD vacuum furnaces with 10 bar quenching capacity. Lots more to this story with many pictures later today.
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In the US Midwest Mr. Seth Montgomery has worked in sales positions for firms such as commercial heat treater Thermal Process Holdings and FPM-he has now changed direction slightly while remaining in the heat treatment industry. Seth recently became an outside sales representative for foundry Castalloy in Waukesha, WI. Castalloy is one of a few foundries in North America which provides wear-resistant components and high-performance alloy castings many of which go to the heat treatment industry. A slight change of direction yes but still remaining in the heat treatment industry which is always good.
“In 2010, the SECO/WARWICK Group made a strategic decision to expand its operations in Asia by establishing the SECO/WARWICK company in China. Today, 15 years later, it is one of the key assets in the SECO/WARWICK Group. The Chinese company is now a leader in providing advanced technologies for the automotive and aerospace industries in Asia. During their tenure, the Asian branch has delivered over 200 devices in the metal heat treatment and metallurgy segment to partners around the world.
Since its inception, SECO/WARWICK China has significantly developed its operations – the plant area has doubled to 10,000 m², and the number of employees has increased from 29 to nearly 100. The Chinese company has already delivered 206 innovative solutions, including 133 CAB lines, 55 vacuum systems, and 18 solutions from other segments.
Currently, the Asian branch of the Group provides solutions to customers around the world. The largest recipients of technologies, apart from the local market, includes Mexico (6%), India (4%), and Morocco (2%), as well as Poland, Spain, France, and Brazil.
“This is a particularly pleasing anniversary for me, as I had the honor of managing the Chinese company almost from the beginning. When I became its managing director in 2011, my goal was to create internal structures and a sales force that would operate with excellence in the Asian market. It was crucial to build a team and hire the right people who knew the business culture of this region. Today, in China, we have a factory with an assembly process, and the ability to work in many technologies. We have also conducted extensive training aimed at delivering unified SECO/WARWICK products regardless of the region of the world they are produced in,” – said Sławomir Woźniak, CEO of the SECO/WARWICK Group.
The strength of SECO/WARWICK is, on one hand, globalization and a high level of know-how throughout the entire Group, and at the same time localization understood as the ability to adapt to the needs of the local market – needs that include the necessity for accurate business communication. Today, the Chinese branch can conduct commercial trials for CAB technology, and produce 20 CAB lines, 8-10 VAC vacuum furnaces, and 3-5 devices from the vacuum metallurgy segment annually.
Technologies produced by SECO/WARWICK China are used in industries such as automotive (53%), aerospace (27%), telecommunications, electronics, tools and molds, energy, rail transport, construction machinery, HVAC, and medical equipment.”
Today our handsome and charming host “Mr. Carlos Torres” of “The Heat Treat Podcast” speaks “Vacuum Furnace Technology” with “Mr. Trevor Jones”, President of “Solar Manufacturing” one of the largest North American builders of vacuum furnaces.
Previous episodes of the “Heat Treat Podcast” can be found at “https://themonty.com/magazine/“ along with back issues of “The Monty Heat Treat News” monthly magazine.
May 22, 2025 “The Monty Heat Treat News” announced that commercial heat treater “Missouri Heat Treat Had Closed Their Doors”. Missouri Heat Treat was a division of“Unitherm Furnace, LLC”, also in Wentzville, MO, USA and according to their website Unitherm was founded in 1980 and over the years had provided over 600 furnace installations around the country. While we at “The Monty” had seldom run across the company our understanding is that they provided a wide variety of furnaces including carbottoms, drop bottoms and mesh belt systems.
We have been told that “Unitherm” closed their doors at the same time as Missouri Heat Treat. We will provide more details as they become available.
“Bodycote”the world’s largest commercial heat treater has just announced revenue for the first 4 months of 2025. For a summary of the results we went to “Alliance News”. In related news “The Monty Heat Treat News” recently interviewed Mr. Jim Fairbairn, CEO of the company an interview which can be found here “Mr. Jim Fairbairn CEO, Bodycote”
“(Alliance News) – Bodycote PLC on Tuesday reported weaker revenue over the first four months of 2025, amid a “strong” comparative, and it predicted a full-year outcome in line with current market expectations.
The Macclesfield, England-based metal heating company said group revenue during the first four months of 2025 was GBP246 million, down 6% from the previous year on an organic basis. This reflected “a strong prior year comparator plus a 1% headwind from lower energy surcharges,” Bodycote said.
“Supply chain conditions have improved in civil aerospace through the first four months, with a notable acceleration in March and April. Defence revenue has also seen continued growth, led by Western Europe. Conditions remain challenging in automotive and industrial markets, though we have seen a sequential improvement in activity levels. As disclosed at our full year 2024 results, energy revenue has been impacted by the end of oil & gas project work,” it added.
The firm noted that it has “no direct exposure to cross-border tariffs” but is closely monitoring ongoing global trade discussions.
Bodycote expects full-year results in line with market guidance, citing a company-compiled consensus for GBP718 million in revenue and GBP121.5 million in headline operating profit. This would be down 5.2% from GBP757.1 million in revenue in 2024. It would represent a 5.8% headline operating profit decline from GBP129.0 million.
The company’s net debt was GBP90.2 million at April 30, up from GBP68.3 million at December 31, which Bodycote attributed to a GBP30 million buyback programme started in January.
“We are progressing at pace with our optimise, perform and grow initiatives which will enhance the quality of the business and ensure we are well positioned for the future,” the company added.
Bodycote shares rose 4.3% to 549.00 pence each on Tuesday morning in London. By Holly Munks, Alliance News reporter”
ECM USA proudly announces the upcoming retirement of William (Bill) Gornicki, effective June 2025. After an exceptional 35-year career in the heat treat industry, Bill will be stepping into a well-earned retirement. The entire ECM team extends our deepest gratitude and warmest wishes to Bill as he embarks on this exciting new chapter.
Bill joined ECM USA in 2020, bringing with him a wealth of experience and leadership in vacuum furnace technology and low-pressure carburizing (LPC). His prior roles at Diablo Furnaces, ALD Vacuum Technologies, and Ipsen underscore a career marked by innovation and commitment to excellence. Beyond his professional roles, Bill has been a dedicated contributor to the broader heat treat community. He actively served on boards and committees for AGMA (American Gear Manufacturers Association), CHTE (Center for Heat Treating Excellence at Worcester Polytechnic Institute), and ASM International.
Throughout his career, Bill played a pivotal role in advancing the adoption of LPC and vacuum technologies into modern heat treating applications. As Bill prepares for retirement, we thank him for his many contributions and wish him all the best in his future adventures.
“We appreciate that Bill spent his final 5 years of his career with us providing ECM customers an edge using the latest technology and his wide experience installing state-of-the-art heat treat and automation systems. His heritage will truly live on in these systems. It has truly been a pleasure working with him, and we wish him a long retirement,” states Dennis Beauchesne, ECM USA General Manager.
Today our handsome and charming host “Mr. Carlos Torres” of “The Heat Treat Podcast” speaks “Vacuum Furnace Technology” with “Mr. Trevor Jones”, President of “Solar Manufacturing” one of the largest North American builders of vacuum furnaces. 
