Three generations of “Montgomerys” at “The Monty Heat Treat News” have been seeing images such as this one and it never gets tiring. What you are looking at is a fairly new “Ipsen” XXL Model, Sealed Quench (Batch IQ for our North American readers) furnace line in Europe that we viewed just the other day. 
 
We are going to have a full write up about the installation within the next few weeks but we had to leave you with this “teaser” as it is such a cool picture. 
 
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As a “prelude” to attending HK24, Germany’s largest heat treatment exhibition of 2024 in Cologne, Germany Gord Montgomery of “The Monty Heat Treat News” took the opportunity to visit a number of heat treaters in Switzerland, two of which we have already commented on  “Manufacturer Successfully Combines Captive & Commercial Heat Treating”and Niggli AG.
 
We now talk about the largest commercial heat treater in Switzerland, “Haerterei Gerster AG” in Egerkingen, Switzerland which we had the privilege of visiting last week. The company was founded in 1950 and to this day it remains a family owned business which always brings joy to our hearts.
 
Currently it has approximately 110 employees in a 25,000 square meter facility which offers most commercially available heat-treating processes-12 in total to be exact. In terms of equipment this includes an automated Ipsen Sealed quench line, Vacuum Hardening furnaces, Vacuum Nitriding systems, Induction hardening, Laser Heat treating, Flame Hardening, Annealing furnaces and several other styles of furnaces.
 
In total the company can boast of processing over 100,000 pounds per year, 100 heat treat systems, 150 orders per day, one of  the largest induction hardening systems in Europe capable of handling parts up to 4 meters in length,  a state of the art laser hardening system and some of the most advanced heat treat systems in the world.
 
What will make all commercial heat treaters envious is the fact that “Gerster’s” customer base covers a myriad of industries. medical, aerospace, energy, automotive and “general” heat treating with no one customer monopolizing a large percentage of their capacity.
 
All in all, it is a very impressive achievement for any commercial heat treater and the “Gerster” family should be very proud of what they have achieved over the past 74 years.​
Joern Rohde, (Rohde Furnaces), Patrick Margraf (Gerster), Michael Wesslein (Gerster)

Solar Atmospheres of Michigan Inc. is pleased to announce the appointment of Charles (Charlie) Caldwell as the Quality Manager for its new facility in Chesterfield. With over a decade of experience in the commercial heat treating industry, Charlie brings a wealth of expertise in quality control, regulatory compliance, and operational excellence to our growing team.

A 2011 graduate of Walsh College, Charlie has built a distinguished career in heat treating, with particular specialization in pyrometry. He has managed all aspects of pyrometry processes in strict accordance with AMS 2750 standards and has been instrumental in developing procedures to ensure compliance with industry-critical standards such as Nadcap and AS9100. His extensive experience spans plant operations, quality control, scheduling, and maintenance, driving continuous improvement and high-performance outcomes.

Bob Hill, President of Solar Atmospheres of Michigan, Inc., shared his enthusiasm for this key addition: “We are thrilled to welcome Charlie Caldwell and his family to the Solar Atmospheres team. His extensive background in heat treating, particularly in pyrometry and quality management, will be invaluable to the continued growth and success of our Chesterfield facility.”

With Charlie’s expertise, Solar Atmospheres of Michigan is poised to maintain the highest quality standards while driving operational excellence at its Chesterfield site.

For more information about the Solar Atmospheres Michigan facility contact Chris Molencupp at (586) 264-8100 ext. 1620, or [email protected], and visit us at www.solaratm.com.

The most read heat treatment news items from “The Monty Heat Treat News” for the week starting September 30th according to our readers are these;
 
“Charlie Hushek & Ceramic Diffusion Technologies”; Charlie Hushek is a 5th generation heat treater at family-owned commercial heat treater Phoenix Heat Treating in Phoenix, Arizona, USA-so why the heck did he just announce that he is now co-founder of Ceramic Diffusion Technologies? We believe the answer can be found in the description below and how this process can lead to improved results in furnace alloy. I am sure we will be hearing more about this technology in the future.
 
“Ceramic Diffusion Technologies are the creators of the Ceramic Diffusion® process. Our Ceramic Diffusion® process features our proprietary blend of ceramic elements known as CD-30G. Using this blend of elements, we embed ceramic into the base alloy. It is a groundbreaking heat-treating process for the most rugged applications. Ceramic Diffusion is poised to redefine materials engineering and manufacturing. The Ceramic Diffusion® process yields high surface hardness, its ability to process portions of parts without masking, and its exceptional environmental friendliness. Furthermore, we discuss its versatility across materials, expanded design parameters, supply chain consolidation, and its suitability for wear-prone parts, making it a transformative solution for numerous industries.”
 
“Furnace Builder “Aichelin Group” Adds to Management Team; With the upcoming heat treatment exhibition in Cologne, Germany Gord Montgomery of “The Monty Heat Treat News” will be spending some time seeing a number of companies involved in the heat treatment industry in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Consequently expect to see a number of news items from the European heat treat industry.
 
“The AICHELIN Group is further expanding its team in the field of industrial vacuum heat treatment and battery materials. With the appointment of Dominic Kraus as Sales Manager Europe for vacuum furnaces and Patrick Lamprecht as Business Development & Sales Manager Battery Materials, two experts will support the Group in its strategic development and international expansion.
 
In his new role, Dominic Kraus (30) will be responsible for setting up the sales of AICHELIN’s new vacuum division in Europe. The joint venture between the AICHELIN Group and Sistem Teknik, which was founded in the spring, will sell technologies for industrial vacuum heat treatment and related services in Europe. With this expansion of the product portfolio, the AICHELIN Group is meeting the growing demand for vacuum solutions. With the expertise of Dominic Kraus, sales in this area will now be systematically built up in order to establish the new vacuum division internationally. Kraus brings in-depth experience from his previous job as a sales engineer at IVA Schmetz, where he was responsible for the development of the North American market, among other things.
 
Patrick Lamprecht (42) will take over the strategic development of the business in the field of heat treatment of battery materials. In close cooperation with the Chinese joint venture partner Kilnpartner, he will support the battery industry in the European market in producing sustainable and high-performance batteries. Lamprecht has extensive international experience in the field of business development and key account management in various industries, most recently in the field of IoT technologies at Freeeway AG, which he brings to his new area of responsibility.”
 
“Heat Treatment Switzerland; While Switzerland is known as a manufacturer of precise and “state of the art” manufacturing we very much doubt than anybody has ever taken a close look at the heat treatment associated with it-until “The Monty Heat Treat News” that is.
 
Yesterday “Gord Montgomery” of “The Monty” visited the largest commercial heat treater in the  country, followed by a visit to an in house heat treater and manufacturer of fuel injection systems  who just made a very substantial investment in their heat treat technology. 
 
These two photos offer a brief introduction with detailed summaries following closely. These stories will be followed by profiles of two other Swiss heat treaters very early next week combined with a close look at heat treating in Germany.”
 
September 3rd of this year we had a news item about DUAP AG, a Swiss manufacturer of fuel injection systems investing in more Heat Treating Capacity. Based upon this story Gord Montgomery of “The Monty Heat Treat News” visited the firm in Herzogenbuchsee, Switzerland Thursday of last week-a very interesting visit as it turned out.
 
It would appear that DUAP has a number of fuel injection system options which are largely utilized in very large diesel engines-marine engines would be a perfect example. We won’t dwell upon their products except to say that it appears the company is a leader in their technology which has lead to a very successful, busy company with a full order book.
 
What was most interesting to us was that DUAP is part of a very small group of manufacturers who have successfully combined captive and commercial heat treating. The heat treat department which consists of a number of Ipsen Batch IQ furnaces, 2 vacuum furnaces and the new Rohde pit nitriding system is 70% commercial heat treating with 30% capacity for their own products. As we say it is unusual to see a manufacturer who is able to profitably serve the commercial heat treatment market but it would appear that DUAP has been able to.
 
Incidentally the new pit nitriding furnace replaces a 40 year old system and the result is a 70% reduction in ammonia usage and a 40% reduction in energy costs.
 
“SEPTEMBER 3/2024; Injection Nozzle Manufacturer adds Nitriding Furnaces; DUAP AG a supplier of fuel injection nozzles in Switzerland has just added pit nitriding capacity. The company operates both as a manufacturer and as a commercial heat treater. The 2 Rohde supplied furnaces have working dimensions of 1500mm x 2000mm with a weight capacity of 3000 kg and a second unit 700mm x 1000mm with an 800 kg capacity. Operating temperature is 750C and both will capable of Nitriding, nitrocarburizing, post-oxidation, stress-relieving and annealing using nitrogen, ammonia and propane.  In addition to the new furnaces DUAP also updated their crane and washing systems. Both furnaces entered production very recently.” 
 
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Left to Right; Stefan Staude, Production Manager DUAP, Joern Rohde, Philipp Dambach, DUAP, Gord Montgomery
With an estimated 22 or 23 commercial heat treaters in Switzerland Haerterei Niggli AG,  based in the city of Sins would rank as one of the three largest in the country. Founded in 1949 the firm has approximately 25 employees at their main facility with a further 27 at a second location in Neuhausen, Switzerland (the Neuhausen facility which goes under the name OWT was acquired in 2023).
 
The owner of the company Mr. Stefan Niggli, made a very astute decision when he bought OWT in that he made a clear distinction between processes-all oil quenching is at the Neuhausen location only.
 
Our visit to Sins showed a very clean, well organized facility with a large 10 bar quenching vacuum furnace, cryogenic systems, a Rohde vacuum nitring furnace, an annealing furnace with hydrogen addition and some Induction hardening capabilites.
 
As we speak the company is preparing to recieve a large, new 10 bar quenching vacuum furnace purchased new from Schmetz of Germany which will be in production before the end of the year.
 
In these photos you see Joern Rohde who provided the vacuum nitriding system, Stefan Niglli on the right and part of the Niggli team. In an interesting footnote (as a Canadian) it turns out that Stefan Niggli played professional hockey in Canada in a past life which is the highest honor you can achieve in Canada.
 
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While Switzerland is known as a manufacturer of precise and “state of the art” manufacturing we very much doubt than anybody has ever taken a close look at the heat treatment associated with it-until “The Monty Heat Treat News” that is.
 
Yesterday “Gord Montgomery” of “The Monty” visited the largest commercial heat treater in the  country, followed by a visit to an in house heat treater and manufacturer of fuel injection systems  who just made a very substantial investment in their heat treat technology. 
 
These two photos offer a brief introduction with detailed summaries following closely. These stories will be followed by profiles of two other Swiss heat treaters very early next week combined with a close look at heat treating in Germany.
 
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View our recent magazines and podcasts by clicking the following link. https://themonty.com/magazine/
For 30 years “The Monty Heat Treat News” has been publishing “The Monty” which offers the most up to date news and trends in the global heat treatment industry. By clicking on the link below you can read about these heat treatment articles from the world’s best known 
In addition to our heat treatment industry news and trends we have also added to our Used Equipment Listings a number of top quality, well priced items which include these;
This month is one of the busiest of the year for the heat treatment industry with two exhibitions in October, one in Cologne, Germany and one in Columbus, Ohio, USA. “The Monty Heat Treat News” will be in attendance at both and we look forward to seeing you. In the meantime the entire team at “The Monty” looks forward to your thoughts and comments. Sincerely, Gord, Dale, Jordan and Anne. 
 
Click Here For To Read The Full October Issue
 
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With the upcoming heat treatment exhibition in Cologne, Germany Gord Montgomery of “The Monty Heat Treat News” will be spending some time seeing a number of companies involved in the heat treatment industry in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Consequently expect to see a number of news items from the European heat treat industry.
 
“The AICHELIN Group is further expanding its team in the field of industrial vacuum heat treatment and battery materials. With the appointment of Dominic Kraus as Sales Manager Europe for vacuum furnaces and Patrick Lamprecht as Business Development & Sales Manager Battery Materials, two experts will support the Group in its strategic development and international expansion.
 
In his new role, Dominic Kraus (30) will be responsible for setting up the sales of AICHELIN’s new vacuum division in Europe. The joint venture between the AICHELIN Group and Sistem Teknik, which was founded in the spring, will sell technologies for industrial vacuum heat treatment and related services in Europe. With this expansion of the product portfolio, the AICHELIN Group is meeting the growing demand for vacuum solutions. With the expertise of Dominic Kraus, sales in this area will now be systematically built up in order to establish the new vacuum division internationally. Kraus brings in-depth experience from his previous job as a sales engineer at IVA Schmetz, where he was responsible for the development of the North American market, among other things.
 
Patrick Lamprecht (42) will take over the strategic development of the business in the field of heat treatment of battery materials. In close cooperation with the Chinese joint venture partner Kilnpartner, he will support the battery industry in the European market in producing sustainable and high-performance batteries. Lamprecht has extensive international experience in the field of business development and key account management in various industries, most recently in the field of IoT technologies at Freeeway AG, which he brings to his new area of responsibility.”
 
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As mentioned over the course of the next 10 days “The Monty Heat Treat News” will be visiting a number of firms involved in the heat treatment industry in Europe. First up is a quick look at furnace builder ROHETHERM in Hanau, Germany. In spite of a slow German economy the firm reports strong sales and what we witnessed was a very full shop.

What was most prominent was the furnace shown in this photo. It is designed for solution annealing of precious metal coils and utilizes a nitrogen/hydrogen atmosphere operating at 1,000C.  Delivery is expected this quarter to a customer located in Germany. 

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