Commercial heat-treating giant Bodycote is pretty pleased to launch their new Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) facility in Greenville, SC, USA. “The Monty Heat Treat News” has been fortunate enough to visit this facility several times over the years including in 2023 and it has been fascinating to watch how it has changed.
Originally this facility was part of the “Carolina Commercial” heat treat group before being acquired by Bodycote a number of years ago. What was at one time a fairly average commercial heat-treating plant with batch IQ and continuous furnaces has evolved into a clean, upgraded and expanded plant with 2 HIP systems and several vacuum furnaces in addition to some of the older furnaces. All in all, a fully equipped Additive Manufacturing plant of which the company can be proud.
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From furnace builder SECO/WARWICK we have this report about how their various divisions in North America are doing these days. According to this report from the company they are doing pretty darn well-thanks for asking.
“SECO/WARWICK USA., the Group’s North American Thermal, CAB, and Aluminum processing equipment & service division and original anchor in Meadville, Pennsylvania. In the two years since, the company expand local manufacturing capabilities and alliances to pivot faster and more efficiently to the needs of the North American market. This includes adding in-house assembly space currently under contract, as well as forging ties with local and regional contract manufacturers in order to diversify their supply chain and offer greater choice to customers.
In April of 2024 SECO/WARWICK USA opened a sales office in Monterey, Mexico. The Mexico office will also have its own aftermarket segment, taking on aftermarket support for customers throughout Latin-America.
“We’ve always had furnaces and heat treat Partners to support, from Mexico down to Chile. That demand has grown to the point that it is time to open a base of operations dedicated to that market,” – says Sławomir Woźniak, SECO/WARWICK Group’s CEO.
SECO/VACUUM, also in Meadville, recognizing that vacuum processes were growing to dominate the heat-treating industry, it made sense to offer those customers more specialized support for the unique demands of vacuum processing.
To meet those demands, and to take advantage of local redevelopment efforts in Meadville, SECO/VACUUM moved into a recently refurbished space, joined shortly thereafter by SECO/WARWICK USA, in a revived Meadville factory space where they both have more room to expand and more convenient opportunity for collaboration between the two business units.
Supported by investment from SECO/WARWICK Group, SECO/VACUUM is in the process of upfitting their new larger space to house their newly reshored manufacturing capacity for select products, beginning with their signature single-chamber vacuum furnace, the Vector, as well as more space for new and aftermarket control panel assembly, and more warehouse space housing their extensive stock of spare parts.
Beyond growing their manufacturing footprint, SECO/VACUUM has also been increasing their staff. New sales manager Eric Gisonno brings extensive experience in thermal processing at both the production level and at the cutting-edge research level. Marc DeBruyne, hired last year, manages process development customer support by performing proof-of-concept trial runs of potential partners’ product samples before they commission a new furnace.
All the planning, investment, and staffing has paid off, garnering an impressive list of new orders, exceeding 60% of their annual sales forecast in just the first quarter alone!
Retech, the Group’s business unit for vacuum melting equipment, has also experienced impressive growth. The company celebrated their 60th anniversary just last summer. Now located in Buffalo, NY under the guidance of Managing Director Earl Good, they have already outgrown their Northland facility and have opened a second Buffalo location, with the last of the major renovations to be completed early this summer with the installation of the largest of their bridge cranes, with a 20 ton capacity and a 45 foot hook clearance.
Funding this expansion in part is a $10 Million investment, made possible due to a subsidized stimulus loan from an award to the parent company, SECO/WARWICK Group, out of the Foreign Expansion Fund 2 FIZ AN managed by PFR TFI, which offers Poland-based companies co-financing of their foreign investment projects through financial instruments tailored to the scale of the project and the capabilities and needs of the Polish investor.
As with the Meadville divisions, the support from SECO/WARWICK Group shows demonstrable returns in the form of record high sales and revenue performance across the Retech product portfolio, along with recent R&D achievements that favorably position Retech to meet growing industry demand for advanced metals for years to come.
The most prominent of these achievements, new advancements in Plasma Gas Atomizing from Retech’s Director of Powder Metals and Product Development, Aamir Abid, PhD, are already enabling the development and production of exciting new materials not possible under previously existing technology, and greatly reducing the cost of high-volume production for high-demand products like titanium powder.
Beyond the SECO/WARWICK Group and the metallurgy community, the wider business community has taken notice as well. Retech collected the Manufacturing Award for Operational Excellence in Western New York. The award recognizes businesses that support the economic health and vitality of the western New York regional community.
In recognition of his team, Earl said “It is really quite amazing that we won such an award, as we have only been doing manufacturing in Buffalo for approximately three years. Major credit to the awesome team at Retech who have worked hard to make this happen. It takes everyone working together to accomplish good things.”
Sławomir Woźniak concludes “Together, our three US divisions accounted for 37% of the SECO/WARWICK Group’s global sales last year. If they can perform like this while under renovation, I can’t wait to see what they can do once all the upfitting is complete. It is a compelling indicator of the value of investing in our people, giving them the tools and facilities that support their success, and by extension supporting the success of our partners in thermal processing.”
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Barnes Group based in Bristol, CT, USA is a global industrial technology and aerospace manufacturer and service provider whose facilities around the world quite often include in house heat treatment departments. It would appear from this note that Barnes is in the process of adding a state of the art heat treatment facility at their Strömsholmen, Sweden location.
“At Barnes Strömsholmen, we produce and market gas springs and gas hydraulic systems for press tools, balancing springs for robot arms and vehicle suspension for heavy off-road vehicles. The products and systems are designed for optimal performance in industrial equipment, automation, medicine, white goods, plumbing, automotive, aviation and defense. We are part of the Motion Control Solutions business area within Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE:B). More information is available at onebarnes.com“
The new installation will consist of several nitriding units provided by global furnace builder Ipsen with the entire process being highly automated. Acceptance is expected shortly; “The construction of our new state-of-the-art surface treatment equipment is proceeding according to plan. The pictures show two of the furnace cells with the rail-controlled automation in front. This investment will further increase our production efficiency and quality. We are looking forward to the first round of testing that is fast approaching and are excited to see how the system performs in real life, said a spokesman at the Strömsholmen facility. “
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“In today’s automotive industry, where innovation and sustainability drive the future of the supply chain, a leading Chinese gear manufacturer stands at the forefront. Recently, this customer expanded its operations by integrating a fourth Nitrex nitriding furnace into its automated gear production. This strategic move positions the manufacturer to meet the industry’s growing demands while upholding its commitment to gear excellence.
The Chinese gear producer serves local automotive OEMs and is also an important global exporter. The latest turnkey system not only meets current market demand but also provides capacity for future growth. From transmission gears to transfer case gears, synchronizers, and engine-gear rings, the focus is on leveraging advanced technology to streamline operations and continuously improve gear quality, durability, and reliability.
At the heart of the new system lies Nitreg® nitriding technology, which enhances the metallurgical properties of gears, ensuring structural integrity, dimensional stability, and long-term performance. Featuring an NXHL-910512 system, this front-loading batch model supports high-volume, fully automated production. This setup allows for a high degree of precision and production efficiency, optimizing resource sustainability by minimizing waste and maximizing output.
Tao Liu, Sales Manager at Nitrex China, explained the strategic significance of this investment: “This expansion goes beyond capacity enhancement; it elevates the manufacturer’s in-house capabilities and tightens production controls. It allows the company to focus resources on driving innovation and sustainability across domestic and international vehicle markets, including the growing new energy vehicle (NEV) sector.”
“This latest installation underscores our customer’s dedication to producing high-quality, high-performance gears while prioritizing environmental responsibility. This commitment aligns with Nitrex’s mission of empowering manufacturers to achieve operational excellence and meet the evolving demands of the automotive industry,” remarked Nikola Dzepina.
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For our many German readers this makes for interesting reading. The Industrieverband Härtetechnik (IHT) is a very well respected organization serving the German heat treatment industry. According to this press release Mr. Uwe Schmelzing will be appointed as the new chairman at IHT’s annual general meeting this September. Uwe has had a very distinguished career in the heat treat industry having worked with commercial heat treater Härterei Hauck (now Aalberts). “The Monty” worked with Uwe many years ago and we have always had a high opinion of the man. We dug through our archived photos and came up with this one from October of 2023 taken at the HT23 exhibition. Uwe is on the right and Jordan Montgomery is on his right.
“We are proud to announce that the board of the IHT elected our technical director Uwe Schmelzing as new chairman at this year’s annual general meeting in Dresden. On September 1st, 2024, Uwe Schmelzing will succeed Peter Keller, who is going into well-deserved retirement.
We congratulate Uwe on his election; he is already the third chairman from the ranks of Aalberts. After the chairmen Karl-Heinz Horz (founding chairman) and Rolf S. Wamhser, at that time still under the old company name Härterei Hauck, Uwe Schmelzing will endeavour to successfully continue the tradition from the Aalberts companies.
The Industrieverband Härtetechnik (IHT) is integrated into the general representation of interests of the German industry and uses the advantages of an intelligent division of labour within the network. The partners of this network are the BDI (Bundesverband der deutschen Industrie e.V.) and the WSM (Wirtschaftsverband Stahl- und Metallverarbeitung e.V.).”
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The link below will take you to the July 2024 digital edition of “The Monty Heat Treat News” for over 30 years the world’s largest source of heat treat industry news. Some stories we in this edition include these;
“The Monty” speaks with the voice of “The Heat Treat Podcast”., Mr. Carlos Torres of furnace builder MATTSA himself
We regret to mention the passing of Mr. Norm Sousa of commercial heat treater “The Sousa Corp.”
Vacuum furnace builder reports record sales
USA Chain manufacturer continues to expand heat treat department
Carburizing of Large Gears-Fascinating photos of 40,000 pound gears being heat treated
“The Heat Treat Podcast” talks Boronizing with Mr. Craig Zimmerman of Bluewater Thermal
In addition to 90 pages of heat treat industry news and trends make sure to talk to “The Monty” about your surplus heat treating equipment-we have one of the largest listings of top quality surplus furnaces in the industry.
As always “The Monty Heat Treat News” looks forward to your thoughts and comments. Sincerely, Gord, Jordan, Dale, Anne and Charlene.
“Lindberg/MPH, a leading manufacturer of heat-treat furnaces, is pleased to announce the shipment of a rod overbend box furnace with an automated load transfer table to the aerospace industry. This furnace will heat-treat parts under an inert atmosphere. This heat-treating furnace has a maximum temperature rating of 2,000°F and a load capacity of 6,000 lbs. It features an impressive workspace of 36” W x 96” D x 36” H and is designed for a nitrogen atmosphere. A nitrogen gas flow meter controls the atmospheric conditions.
The box furnace includes an automated load transfer table. Under the table, five (5) fans with a variable-frequency drive provide accelerated cooling. The load table utilizes a pusher/puller mechanism to move parts trays in and out of the furnace. The furnace’s radiant heating system uses heavy-gauge alloy rod over-bend heating elements mounted along the side walls and the floor. Two (2) Watlow F4T controllers control and record the furnace temperature, which allows for seven (7) zones of heating. The box furnace also meets Class 3 temperature uniformity of ±15°F at 1,000°F – 1,800°F.”
“This furnace is designed to heat treat up to 6,000 lbs under a nitrogen atmosphere. The automated load table is customized to accelerate cooling when the part trays are unloaded.”
– Ken Constant, Heat Treating Product Manager
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Questions? We get Questions. For instance, on a regular basis the team at “The Monty Heat Treat News” gets asked what is the size of the captive and commercial heat treat market in North America and Europe? Who is the largest in-house heat treaters in North America? Who are the largest commercial heat treaters in North America or the world? And what is the largest single location commercial heat treater in the world?
We have answered most of these questions over the years but one that recently came up again was “what is the largest single location commercial heat treater in the world”? Well, we published the answer late in 2023 but it is worth mentioning again-read on.
SHU (Schwaebische Haertechnik Ulm GmbH & Co KG) is located in the southern German city of Ulm. For background information we will refer to SHU’s website for this summary; “As Germany’s largest contract hardening plant, SHU offers an extensive portfolio that includes all relevant technologies at a location with around 600 employees. We have the experience to use state of the art machine technology to create ideal solutions that will prove themselves in practice. We are pleased with the extremely diverse composition of our customer base, which allows us to efficiently use cross-divisional experience and synergies. Whether for the automotive sector, construction machinery, rolling and ball bearings, mechanical engineering, fasteners or any other industry: We develop the best solution for every sector.” SHU Swabian Hardening Technology Ulm | Website (shu-ulm.de)
SHU was founded in 1979 as a one man heat treat by a very remarkable individual by the name of Hugo Burgmaier who to this day remains the President of the company-Mr. Burgmaier continues to be involved in the company on a daily basis (on a personal note Gord and Jordan Montgomery of “The Monty Heat Treat News” very much appreciated the time he spent with us during our visit). Since the founding in 1979 the company has continued to grow in the original location and now has 4 buildings with a total covered area of 65,000 square meters (roughly 700,000 square feet) and over 600 employees. The processes the company offers are many and varied and represent most heat treatment technologies that are commercially available; carburizing, nitriding, vacuum hardening, austempering, vacuum carburizing, induction hardening-we doubt there is a technology the company does not offer.
In total SHU has over 100 furnaces, operates 7 days a week, 365 days of the year, processes on average 400 tons of work per DAY and runs 35 company owned tractor trailers to various locations around Europe-generally within a 600 KM radius. While the company is involved in many different industries it’s main focus has traditionally been and remains the automotive and truck industries.
Since 1969 and through 3 generations of Montgomery’s “The Monty Heat Treat News” has researched and explored the captive and commercial heat treatment industry around the world. During that time we have had the opportunity to see commercial heat treaters on 6 continents and it is our belief that SHU is the largest single location commercial heat treater in the world. Certainly there is nothing in North America, South America, Africa, Australia or Europe that is larger. Our experience in Asia (and in particular China) tells us that while there are some very substantial commercial heat treaters there, none that we have seen or heard about surpass the size of SHU.
So if anybody in the heat treat industry ever asks you who is the largest single location commercial heat treater in the world is you can confidently raise your hand and say SHU in Ulm, Germany.
Our thanks go out to the entire team at SHU for their incredible hospitality recently-sincerely “The Monty Heat Treat News”.
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Jordan Montgomery (“The Monty Heat Treat News”), Mr. Hugo Burgmaier (President & Owner of SHU), Gord Montgomery (“The Monty Heat Treat News”), Jörn Rohde, (President, ROHDE Schutzgasöfen GmbH)
Jörn Rohde, Gord Montgomery, Ömer Varol (SHU), Jordan Montgomery
The Monty Heat Treat News has worked closely with International Search Partners(a US search firm known for being the only recruiting firm in the world working exclusively in heat treating), for over 20 years.That relationship has blossomed into a regularly featured article, “Ask the Heat Treat Recruiter,” where ISP’s seasoned team answers questions about salaries, interviewing, negotiations, and a host of other topics related to recruiting and job searching for companies and/or individual employees.
Every quarter in 2024, ManagingRecruiter, Josh Haleand Sr. Recruiter, Jessica Maier, will address questions that come up regularly from industry professionals (email questions for future editions to [email protected]). Today’s question is one many hardworking professionals have asked themselves over the years…
If I’m doing my job well and making myself indispensable in my current role, why would my employer ever promote me? Don’t I need to switch companies to advance my career?
Many people find themselves in a situation as an employee where they feel like they’ve worked themselves into a corner by becoming so critical in their current role that they become “handcuffed” and not able to move up or be promoted because nobody else can do what they’re doing. This undesirable scenario can be magnified in the heat treat industry where there is a lot of institutional knowledge and a lack of new workers entering the field.
When companies choose to promote from within, there are several various factors that go into such a decision. Management will assess the internal candidate’s leadership potential, skills/abilities, motivation/engagement, as well as analyzing any affect such a move will have on others in the department re: morale and stability. Of course, this all comes after they have determined that there is a need or gap to fill, and they have the budget to afford to promote someone into a higher-level role.
Reasons to not promote someone can also be numerous and include financial constraints, internal politics/favoritism, more suitable outside candidates… and, yes, sometimes part of the equation in deciding to hold an employee back may have to do with the fear of losing them in in their current role. However, most companies will recognize that is not a good long-term strategy because promoting high performers is an effective retention strategy and helps support workforce stability while keeping key pieces of information within the organization.
For a concerned and ambitious employee afraid that they may still fall into this trap, here are some steps that they can take to ensure that they are at least considered for the next promotion:
Open Communication. Having a clear and open dialogue with management about career aspirations is the best way to remain at the forefront of promotion talks. This should be done early and often.
Document. Making note of achievements by writing it down, including details and numbers where appropriate, is a good habit for not only advancing in one’s current company, but also useful for exploring opportunities outside.
Skills Development. For a company to move someone up out of a role that they’re doing very well in, they need to see an ROI. Taking a course on leadership or other advanced training is a great way to demonstrate a desire for advancement.
Network. Building relationships with colleagues, supervisors, and other departments is a worthwhile way to stay informed of openings ensure visibility.
Time. Sometimes it just takes waiting for the right opportunity and circumstances before advancement makes sense for all parties. Going back to point #1, communication is key here so that everyone is on the same page and expectations are set.
Finally, there are situations where one is truly being held back and it makes sense that switching to a different company is the only way to spur forward career movement. If that’s the case, partnering with a third-party recruiting firm like ISP is a great way to engage one’s job search confidentially without raising suspicion with current management or detracting from active work. Just be sure to be clear and detailed with the recruiter what specific job functions and responsibilities are going to be enticing.
Josh Halehas collaborated with companies to identify, engage, and hire top performers as a professional “headhunter” where he’s focused exclusively on the heat treat industry as part of International Search Partners since acquiring the firm in 2015. He works closely with Jessica Maier to support the practice, and, together, they’ve helped dozens of companies and hundreds of candidates find the match within the industry, including roles for engineering, sales, quality, metallurgy, management, and more. For additional information email [email protected] or call 619-465-9621.
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In the European commercial heat treat market few have as much experience with such a wide variety of companies as Mr. Markus Hildebrand. Over the years Markus has worked in sales positions with some of the largest firms in Europe such as Bodycote, Oerlikon Balzers, Hauck, Härtha and now Hanomag where his title is Hardening Shop Manager.
