A specialized manufacturer on the US West Coast very recently signed purchase orders for a substantial upgrade to their existing in-house heat treat department. “McLaughlin Furnace Group” of Avilla, Indiana will be providing two “Tru-Carb” gas fired batch IQ furnaces with working dimensions of 36″ X 48″ X 36″, associated tempers, washer, charge car and “TRU-MIX™” Endothermic Generator. Ryan McLaughlin of McLaughlin Furnace Group had this to say;
Delivery is expected late this year. This photo shows a “Tru Carb” installation at a Bodycote (the world’s largest commercial heat treater) in Syracuse, NY, USA.
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
View our recent magazines and podcasts by clicking the following link. https://themonty.com/magazine/
McKenna brings more than 25 years of leadership and innovation experience in the metals thermal processing industry. He most recently served as President & CEO of Ipsen USA, a global provider of vacuum furnace technology to the thermal processing sector. In that role, he led all corporate operations, overseeing a team of more than 250 employees at Ipsen’s U.S. based Vacuum Center of Excellence, while driving commercial success across international markets.
Prior to Ipsen, McKenna was most recently Co-Founder, Board Member, and Vice President of Nevada Heat Treating / California Brazing. There, he helped transform the business from a traditional commercial heat treating operation into a world-class Nadcap-accredited provider of turnkey manufacturing solutions serving major aerospace OEMs.
“I’m honored to join Bluewater Thermal Solutions at such a dynamic time for the industry,” said McKenna. “With a strong operational footprint, a dedicated team, and a reputation for technical excellence, Bluewater is well positioned for growth. I’m eager to work alongside our employees, customers, and partners to build on the company’s momentum and drive our capabilities forward.”
Brandon Bethea, Co-Founder and Partner at Aterian, expressed strong confidence in the new leadership: “Patrick has excelled in every role he’s taken on. His deep industry expertise and sharp eye for commercial growth make him the ideal leader to guide Bluewater into its next phase. We’re thrilled to welcome him to the team.”
About Bluewater Thermal Solutions. Headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina, Bluewater Thermal Solutions is one of North America’s largest providers of heat treating and brazing services. The company operates ten strategically located facilities across the U.S., offering a wide range of thermal processing capabilities, including annealing, carburizing, carbonitriding, hardening, nitriding, nitrocarburizing, vacuum heat treating, boronizing, and more. For more information, please visit www.bluewaterthermal.com
About Aterian Investment Partners. Aterian Investment Partners is a private equity firm that invests in industry-leading, middle market businesses. In collaboration with management, Aterian holistically supports organizations with a focus on strategic positioning, people, processes, equipment, technology, and product innovation. With offices in New York and Florida, Aterian has raised cumulative equity commitments of more than $2 billion since its founding in 2009. For more information, please visit http://www.aterianpartners.com
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
View our recent magazines and podcasts by clicking the following link. https://themonty.com/magazine/
Recently “The Monty Heat Treat News” had an article entitled; “Why Are So Many North American Commercial Heat Treaters Closing”. in this article we mentioned the many and varied reasons why so many were closing, one reason was retirement by the owners.
As it turns out recently, we have run across 4 commercial operations in North America which are for sale, interestingly enough in at least 3 situations retirement is a factor in the decision to sell which ties into our previous article.
Included in this list is a commercial heat treater by the name of MMS Thermal Processing in Davenport, Iowa, USA founded in 2006. Surprisingly enough for a commercial heat treater the main focus of this company is vacuum carburizing, and it is our belief that MMS has one of only two multi cell vacuum carburizing systems produced by Surface Combustion in the early 2000’s. It would appear that this family owned business is for sale mainly because of a lack of knowledge and interest in the heat treat industry by the owners. Having said that the equipment appears to be relatively new and in good condition.
In the case of the other 3 shops for sale, retirement is the #1 reason for looking at a sale of the business. In each case the firms are profitable, well run and well established, the reality in each case though is that either there are no family members to take over the business or that the next generation does not have an interest in taking over ownership.
In an industry with over 500 different commercial heat treaters in the US it is no surprise that at least 4 are for sale, the surprise would be if there aren’t others-and there are. An obvious example of this is firms with venture capital ownership, with all due respect to venture capital firms the focus quite often is a profitable sale of the business.
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
View our recent magazines and podcasts by clicking the following link. https://themonty.com/magazine/
The new facility will be lead by Mr. Damian Szarapanowski, who until recently was with heat treat industry supplier “Avion Europa GmbH & Co. KG” of Germany, a company which “entered bankruptcy a few short months ago.
“I am very proud to announce that as of July 1st 2025, SSi Europe Sp. z o. o is open for business in Swiebodzin, Poland said Matt Cross.”
SSi Europe will carry stock within the EU Customs Union and will be capable of calibrating and servicing SSi instrumentation, gas analyzers and flowmeters from day one, thus eliminating customs barriers for our European customers.”
More Details to Come
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
View our recent magazines and podcasts by clicking the following link. https://themonty.com/magazine/
Due to the US July 4th holiday, the offices of “WG Montgomery Ltd.” (The Monty) will be closed for the day. Regular business hours will resume Monday July 7th.
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty
View our recent magazines and podcasts by clicking the following link. https://themonty.com/magazine/
For years now “The Monty Heat Treat News” has worked on an occasional basis with a very interesting commercial heat treat in Northern Ontario, Canada by the name of “Northern Heat Treat”. The firm was recently “profiled” in a publication by the name of “Canadian Fabricating & Welding”-we found the article interesting enough that we are reprinting it;
“Northern Heat Treat has a rich history rooted in multiple generations. The company’s origins trace back to Erie, Pa., when George Sidun launched a company called Quality Heat Treat in 1960. “My great-grandfather developed a passion for metallurgy and heat treating as a young man, and he started this company as a way to push the boundaries of innovation,” said Danny Sidun, production manager, Northern Heat Treat, Capreol, Ont. Sidun’s grandfather and great-grandfather worked together focusing on high-volume mesh belts, hot forging, work for the railroad sector, and other industrial sectors in the U.S. This early foundation helped the company grow to where it is today.
“Innovation was a core focus from the start,” said Sidun. “We have always committed to continuous advancements in heat-treating techniques.” In 1986, the company relocated to Canada with a new name, Northern Heat Treat. It focused on the heat treatment of exploration drill rods used in diamond drilling.
Pioneering Innovation in Heat Treatment
At the time, drill rods were traditionally plated or hard chromed, but the company pioneered an induction and through-hardening process, which eventually became the industry standard. “Today, almost every drill rod that’s produced uses the heat-treating process we invented, which is kind of amazing for me, as we can see our impact on such a big market,” said Sidun. “It was a lot of R&D work because it had never been attempted before. It took the company around 10 to 15 years to continuously innovate the process.”
“It’s been a game-changer, not only for us but for the industry as a whole,” said Sidun. “And we still do drill rods at very high volumes for some great Canadian manufacturers. Our biggest advantage is our experience, which has been handed down through four generations. I’ve had some of the most experienced teachers to lead me through my career thus far.” Sidun noted that one challenge the shop has encountered is a scarcity of heat treating knowledge. Northern Heat Treat has been successful because of its long-standing experience along with its commitment to innovation and product improvements.
“Our core heat-treating processes are tried, tested, and continually improved,” said Sidun. “That’s given us a huge advantage in this industry.” When it comes to the practicality of heat-treating processes, some customers are not always aware of all options available to them. A part is often designed with a specific heat-treating process in mind, but that process may be hard to find or very expensive.
“We find there is a gap between feasibility and affordability, and we’ve done extensive research to ensure we can offer recommendations to our customer,” said Sidun. For example, an agriculture customer required the heat treatment of pins by the thousands. Northern Heat Treat initially wanted to apply a case to them by induction hardening but instead designed a carbonitriding process that is faster and yields a better-quality product than induction hardening.
“The carbonitriding will put a case around the entire pin, and we were able to do it much cheaper than induction hardening, which is a big point too,” said Sidun. “That was a challenge we worked through, but with some attention to detail on the geometry of the pins and how they would react to the furnace. It was a very good process for this project.”
Strategic Growth and Infrastructure Investment
Today, the company has expanded beyond mining into industries like agriculture, forestry, automotive, and oil and gas to provide stability against market fluctuations. In 2018, Northern Heat Treat moved into a new facility situated on a CN rail line, allowing for greater capacity and expansion opportunities.
With a focus on high-volume production, the shop has added four automated drill rod cells with robotic handling and can process 20 pieces every nine minutes using these systems.
“We were previously renting a facility in Coniston, Ont., but we decided that it was important for our expansion to purchase our own property,” said Sidun. “We have 9 acres of land available to us along with access to 12 CN rail tracks that come right into the building. It was a big move, but it allows us ample opportunity for growth.” The main building is currently being used for the shop’s drill rod segment. It includes three stress-relieving furnaces, including one of the largest in the region that reaches temperatures up to 2,000 degrees F and accommodates parts up to 22 ft. long. The company also does all annealing and normalizing in this building.
With a focus on high-volume production, the shop has added four automated drill rod cells with robotic handling and can process 20 pieces every nine minutes using these systems. “We are geared for high volume,” said Sidun. “Currently, we are steady at two shifts. We have room to expand into a third shift if we need to.” The second building is focused on heat treating with furnaces and includes six temper furnaces, all of which work off of one fairly large-batch IQ. The shop can do varying processes from oil quenching and tempering to carbonitriding. It also invested and expanded into coatings with a new paint shop and shot blaster on one end of the building.
Diversification for Market Stability
All of these investments have allowed the company to expand beyond mining into industries like agriculture, forestry, automotive, and oil and gas to stabilize against market fluctuations. “With the market volatility, our goal is to diversify into as many industries as we can handle and where we are confident in our processes,” said Sidun. “We are spread amongst a range of industries, which is good for us as a heat treater because most industries are so up and down.”
For example, the automotive sector has been especially tumultuous in recent years and has caused many heat treaters to go out of business. Sidun said that this is either due to a lack of proper succession planning or a lack of work opportunities, both of which have been top of mind for the shop. This has led to a shuffling of the heat treating sector and opened some doors for Northern Heat Treat.
With a team of 17 skilled employees, including a new generation of passionate heat treaters, the shop continues to refine and expand its services. “We’re going to continue to diversify into other industries because we have vast experience to apply to new areas of growth,” said Sidun. “We are looking to implement a high-volume furnace department to better serve different industries. I’m excited to see what the future holds for us. But it’s important for us to continue to be dedicated to our exploration rod processes, which is where we got our start. We see a pretty bright future here, especially with our facility now and the team we have now.”
Today, Northern Heat Treat remains committed to innovation, automation, and industry diversification.”
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
View our recent magazines and podcasts by clicking the following link. https://themonty.com/magazine/
-
2 “ATLAS” Green furnaces. These sealed quench (batch IQ for our North American readers) typically have working dimensions of 36″ X 48″ X 36″ but larger and smaller sizes are available.
-
1 Temper furnace
-
“EndoSave” Endogas generator
-
A fully automated loading/unloading system Uniloader-L pt.The furnaces are being provided by furnace builder “Ipsen“ and were built in the firm’s facility in Kleve, Germany. The photo below shows a typical “ATLAS” furnace in operation at an “Aalberts Surface Treatment” facility in Remscheid, Germany as “The Monty” saw it in October of 2024.
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
View our recent magazines and podcasts by clicking the following link. https://themonty.com/magazine/
The link below will take you to the July 2025 issue of “The Monty Heat Treat News” for over 30 years the largest source of heat treatment industry news in the world. A few of the stories we are covering include these;
| ▪ | Why are so Many North American Commercial Heat Treaters Closing? |
| ▪ | Furnacare (TAV Vacuum Furnace) Appoints New Sales Manager |
| ▪ | Acquisition in the Mexican Heat Treat Industry |
| ▪ | More North American Pit Carburizing Capacity Added |
| ▪ | Ipsen USA CEO Patrick McKenna Steps Down; Group CEO Geoffrey Somary to Assume Role *European Heat Treat Industry Supplier Enters Bankruptcy |
As always “The Monty” continues to add to our surplus, quality heat treat listings with these recent additions;
| ▪ | Item # VF 466 Vacuum Furnace 52″ X 40″ X 102″ 5 Bar Quenching-Like New! |
| ▪ | Item # T430 Surface Combustion 36 X 72 X 36 Tempers-Like New! |
| ▪ | Item # G 221 Surface Combustion “3 Bottle” 9,000 CFH Endothermic Generator |
| ▪ | Item # T433 Temper Furnace 36″ X 54″ X 30″-Gas Fired |
| ▪ | Item # L 163 Struers Tegramin-25 Semi-Auto 10″ Polisher |
| ▪ | Item # L162 Struers Axitom-5 Automatic 14” Saw |
The entire team at “The Monty” looks forward to your thoughts and comments. Sincerely, Gord, Jordan & Dale Montgomery
Click Here To Read The July Issue Of The Monty Heat Treat News Magazine
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
View our recent magazines and podcasts by clicking the following link. https://themonty.com/magazine/
National Heat Treat in Houston, Texas, USA is a smaller commercial heat treater which has been in business since 2013. It offers carburizing, gas nitriding and a few other processes-as recently as 2024 the company was for sale, however it doesn’t appear to be on the market at this point in time. Just last week the company hired a new general manager, a very experienced heat treater by the name of Leo Martinez. Everybody in the commercial heat treat industry in Texas knows Leo Martinez, his career spans many years and at least two different companies. In our humble opinion this is a very good move by National.
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
View our recent magazines and podcasts by clicking the following link. https://themonty.com/magazine/
Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.
View our recent magazines and podcasts by clicking the following link. https://themonty.com/magazine/