Heat Treating as it Should Be-SFS Group AG

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;

“SFS is a worldwide leading supplier of application-critical precision components and assemblies, mechanical fastening systems, quality tools and procurement solutions. Positioned as a value engineering specialist, SFS creates added value for its customers with tailored solutions for mission-critical end applications. SFS Group AG operates in three segments; Engineered Components, Fastening Systems and Distribution & Logistics, which represent the company’s different business models.”

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;

2 Batch IQ lines with a total of 5 hardening furnaces
5 Mesh Belt Furnace lines with oil quenching with a capacity up to 1,000 kg/h
3 Mesh Belt Lines for annealing operations
9 Aluminum Aging Furnace
5 Vacuum Furnaces
1 Pit Furnace
1 LPC (Low Pressure Carburizing) line

In terms of total production and processes we are looking at 80 tons of steel per day being cold formed and/or machined, of which approx. 40 tons is heat treated. The total size of the heat treat department is 10’400 square meters (112,000 sq ft). Heat treatment includes Quench & Temper, case hardening, carbonitriding, annealing (Cu, Al & magnetic properties for steel parts), aging and some special processes.

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.

Our host for the tour were two very experienced, knowledgeable and very friendly individuals, Harald Meier, Project Manager Heat Treatment Aerospace and Björn Penz, Project Manager Research and Development, T-RD Materials & Heat Treatment who are seen in these photos. We thank them for their time and hospitality.

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