“Stange” was formed in 1976 as a supplier of control systems for the heat treatment industry. Mr. Peter Jaspert, Managing Director of the company, joined in 1978 and under his management the firm has never looked back. Currently it has almost 50 employees in a brand new 1500 square meter facility in central Germany. In addition to this location the company also has facilities in China and India.
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Peter Jaspert, Managing Director, John Neitzel, Production, Jakob Zeitz, Head of Production
The HK24 heat treatment exhibition in Cologne, Germany was concluded last week and is now in our rearview mirror. As always, the exhibition gave us a great deal of insight into the heat treatment market in Germany and there is no other way to say it, except to say the market is not good.
Manufacturing woes in Germany are well publicized these days with the main culprits being high energy prices and confusion in the auto industry due largely due to questions of electric vehicles (EV) vs; internal combustion engines (ICE). These twin issues have lead most commercial heat treaters to see a 25% to 30% decline in sales, a decline largely matched by captive heat treaters.
In industry news we learned that David Howard, long time Sales Manager for Swiss furnace builder Codere very recently left the company and that George Cluse, an individual long associated with heat treating in Germany is changing direction.
The exhibition itself was well organized and very professionally done but it was certainly clear that attendance was lower than last year. This in turn lead to a dramatic decline in “hospitality” events such as “group dinners” as exhibitors looked at ways of cutting costs. As an interesting addendum to this event we can say that the exhibition next year will return to its original locale in Wiesbaden, Germany although next year it will take the form of a “tabletop” show with approximately 25-30 suppliers in attendance.
These photos tell the tale of the exhibition;
Nitrex; Far Right Foreground, Jean-Francois Cloutier, CEO and on his right Mark Hemsath
Vacuum Furnace Supplier TAV; Jan Massholder, Gord Montgomery (“The Monty”)
Avion; Industry Supplier Avion’s booth featured furnace builder “CIEFFE”, controls Company “SSi Europe” and software company “MIVIA”
Rohde Furnaces; Furnace builder Rohde is always known as a very family oriented company; Gord Montgomery, Natasha, Konstantine and Joern Rohde
No Heat Treat exhibition in the world would be complete without global furnace builder SECO/WARWICK
Plasma Nitriding Supplier EltroPuls; Marc Straemke & Kirsten Baston
Philippe Lebigot Sales Manager BMI. BMI is part of a furnace group which includes IVA and Schmetz
For years now “The Monty Heat Treat News” has been coming across cleaning systems from a German company by the name of “HEMO”. Forget about standard Dunk/Spray washers and cheap conveyor type cleaning systems-these guys make some really, really impressive systems. Granted they are not cheap but they are the best.
We ran across the CEO of the company, Mr. Andreas, Fritz just last week at the HK24 heat treat exhibition in Germany and he is pretty pleased because just in time for the FNA show in Ohio next week HEMO USA Inc., has been incorporated.
The company has already acquired a location in the US and will shortly be installing “demo” systems. You can now see why Andreas has such a big smile on his face in this picture.
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It is with sincere regret that we mention the passing of an individual we have known for years, Mr. William Potts;
Will spent 40 years as a millwright and sales manager for Vac Aero international and had just began to enjoy his retirement. He was looking forward to travelling and enjoying time together with Lisa.
Having recently moved to Vineland, he was enjoying golfing on a regular basis and his afternoon martinis.
Will loved his family and enjoyed spending time together. He was very proud of the accomplishments of Lindsay, Brendan, Brad and Lauren . He loved spending precious time with Lincoln and Annie.
When the children were younger Will loved watching Brendan play hockey and supporting Lindsay in her many activities. He was always proud of them.
Mourning his loss are his sister Liz (Art) brother in law Todd (Anne), brother in law Cam, as well as their families, extended family and friends.
Will was adored by his mother-in-law Rose and recently deceased father-in-law Lewis. He was a favorite uncle Willie to many.
The family would like to thank the St Catharine’s Hospital for the wonderful care that he received.
Cremation will take place. Friends will be received at DODSWORTH & BROWN FUNERAL HOME, 2241 New St. (at Drury Lane) Burlington on Friday October 18, from 10am until time of Memorial Service in the funeral home chapel at 11am. Reception to follow in the upstairs Southall Lounge.
In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations to the St. Catharine’s Hospital.” https://www.arbormemorial.ca/en/dbburlington/obituaries/william-potts/130610.html
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Our good friends at ATP (Aerospace Testing & Pyrometry) who offer instrument calibration and testing of thermal processing equipment have just opened a new USA location in Seattle, Washington. To this press release we will add that Mr. Andrew Bassett, President of the company is on the left in this picture.
“Welcome to the Pacific Northwest ATP! Our long-awaited office in Seattle, WA is finally a reality. Thrilled to establish a permanent presence and deliver world-class service to clients in this region, just as we’ve done nationwide. Excited to now have a footprint in all four corners of the United States, making us truly coast-to-coast. Here’s a peek at our team – John Hollman, Regional Manager, and Edwin Rosales, Pacific Northwest Manager, enjoying a moment with Starbucks Coffee in hand.”
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Florida based SBS Corp. is known around the world for their air cooled quenched oil coolers. From George Smith, President of the company we have this report about two substantial orders the company just shipped and how the company weathered the recent hurricane.
I can confirm, SBS shipped its largest stackable cooler to a U.S. military contractor in Scranton, PA. We also completed delivery to another Canadian MC with a 4th cooler to Ingersoll, ONT.
We have a very large amount of damage down here and we will be aiding the local community in the recovery rather than attending FNA this year. Our booth will be empty. Our community is more important.”
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Commercial heat treater “Haerterei Technik” in Ludenscheid, Germany operates a top-notch shop catering to a variety of industries, one of which just happens to be heat treating of components for Formula 1 race cars.
A division of Swiss Steel Group the firm has two locations, this one and a second one just down the road in Stuttgart which between them have a total of 70 employees. The facility we visited has a total of 13 vacuum furnaces, all with 10 bar quenching, two plasma nitriding systems, a number of units for case hardening along with systems for vacuum nitriding along with some water quenching units.
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Caption Part of the Haerterei Technik Team, Marcel Buckert, Managing Director on the Left
Gord Montgomery, Macel Buckert, Managing Director, Haerterei Technik
A recent example would be in California, USA where we understand the “Bodycote” facility in Westminster will be closing October 27th of this year. It is quite some time since “The Monty” visited this plant but we can say that back in 2016 this location made a large investment in aluminum solution treatment capacity.
“Bodycote is the world’s largest and most respected provider of heat treatment and thermal processing services that are a vital link in the manufacturing supply chain, and value-adding and proprietary specialist technologies which offer unique solutions for a variety of applications.”
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Gord Montgomery of “The Monty Heat Treat News” had the absolute pleasure of visiting one of the finest examples of an “in house” heat treat department that we have ever seen-SFS in Heerbrugg, Switzerland. Lets start off with this summary of SFS;
The heat treatment department stands out for three reasons, size, cleanliness and the “state of the art” equipment, let’s start out with size. The department consists of this equipment;
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2 Batch IQ lines with a total of 5 hardening furnaces
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5 Mesh Belt Furnace lines with oil quenching with a capacity up to 1,000 kg/h
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3 Mesh Belt Lines for annealing operations
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9 Aluminum Aging Furnace
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5 Vacuum Furnaces
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1 Pit Furnace
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1 LPC (Low Pressure Carburizing) line
We mentioned “state of the art” equipment-there is not a single furnace in the heat treat department older than 15 years, with the bulk of the equipment being purchased within the last 5 years. Cleanliness? We leave it to these photos to tell the story.
This by the way is just one of a number of SFS facilities around the world who has an in house heat treat department-our understanding is that the facility in China has a heat treatment department similar in size to this location, in addition there is a much smaller version in Medina, Ohio, USA.
Speaking of the US if this facility were to be transported to the US it would rank as one of the “Largest Single Location Captive Heat Treaters in North America”.
In short it would be difficult to find an in-house heat treater anywhere in the world with a more impressive department. We leave you with this further information about the company.
“SFS is a worldwide leading supplier of application-critical precision components and assemblies, mechanical fastening systems, quality tools and procurement solutions. Positioned as value engineering specialist, SFS creates added value for its customers with tailored solutions for mission-critical end applications. SFS Group AG operates in the three segments Engineered Components, Fastening Systems and Distribution & Logistics, which represent the company’s different business models.
The history of SFS began in 1928 with a hardware store in Altstätten (Switzerland). The cornerstone was laid for the development of industrial activities in 1960 when the company set up its own screw manufacturing plant in Heerbrugg (Switzerland).
Engineered Components segment In the Engineered Components (EC) segment, SFS partners with customers to develop and manufacture customer-specific precision-molded parts, assemblies and fastening solutions. EC comprises three divisions – Automotive, Electronics and Medical & Industrial Specials – and distributes its products and services under the brands SFS, GESIPA®, UNISTEEL and Tegra Medical.
Fastening Systems segment The Fastening Systems segment, which consists of the Construction division, develops, manufactures and markets application-specific mechanical fastening systems under the SFS, HECO® and TFC brands, amongst others.
Distribution & Logistics segment In the Distribution & Logistics segment, SFS is a leading distribution partner in Europe for direct and indirect materials in the areas of quality tools, fasteners and other C-parts as well as procurement solutions for customers in industrial and construction sectors. The segment is made up of the D&L Switzerland and D&L International divisions, and distributes its products under its well-established brands SFS, Hoffmann Group, GARANT and HOLEX, as well as other leading manufacturer brands.
SFS Group; The SFS Group is a global player with 140 manufacturing sites and distribution companies in 35 countries in North America, Europe and Asia. It generated third-party sales of CHF 3,090.8 million in the 2023 financial year with a workforce of approximately 13,200 (FTEs).”
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Joern Rohde, Bjorn Penz, Project Manager Research and Development, SFS, Harald Meier, Project Manager Heat Treatment Aerospace, Gord Montgomery
Joern Rohde, Bjorn Penz, Project Manager Research and Development, SFS, Harald Meier, Project Manager Heat Treatment Aerospace, Gord Montgomery
Cincinnati Radiator, a leading American manufacturer of radiators and cooling products, has recently expanded its production capabilities at its Fairfield, Ohio facility with the addition of a new Ipsen Vacuum Aluminum Brazing (VAB) furnace. This investment enables Cincinnati Radiator to perform in-house radiator core brazing, reducing reliance on overseas suppliers and significantly improving lead times for their customers.
The decision to onshore production came after months of vendor delays for parts processed in China, which extended lead times up to four months. Prasenjit Ray, General Manager at Cincinnati Radiator, emphasized the need for greater control over production timelines. “We knew that we needed a way to make cores here. When customers had to rely on cores processed in China, it could mean a four-month lead time. If we had our own furnace, we could operate a just-in-time production,” Ray explained.
After considering several options, Cincinnati Radiator’s leadership team selected Ipsen’s VAB furnace for its proven performance and domestic support network. “We went with John Pease (Ipsen Regional Sales Representative) and Patrick McKenna (Ipsen USA President & CEO) to California to see a company operating two Ipsen VAB furnaces. Our team knew that, once we saw them in operation, we wanted to work with another company within the United States. Ipsen could offer great aftermarket support, and the delivery was worth the wait.”
The new furnace, a model AL-38x40x90, boasts a weight capacity of up to 2,000 lb and offers versatile processing capabilities. “This furnace has so many recipes for us to use. We were planning to test it out for two months, but we weren’t expecting to get production-quality within those two months,” Ray explained. “What shocked and surprised me was that the first cores that came out were perfect. We’ve produced 10 (in the first month) and it runs like a new Cadillac.”
For more information about Cincinnati Radiator, visit https://ipsenglobal.com/knowledge-center/customer-profile-cincinnati-radiator/.
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