Heat Treatment of Auto Transmissions-Tremec, Queretaro, Mexico

During a recent tour of some of the largest captive heat treats in Mexico, Gord and Jordan Montgomery of “The Monty Heat Treat News” had the opportunity to visit “Tremec” a global supplier of automotive transmissions;
 
About Tremec; “Welcome to TREMEC, a leading manufacturer of torque transfer solutions. From high performance vehicles to rugged-duty agricultural, vocational and line haul vehicles, TREMEC is a well-respected brand for world-class transmission assemblies and components. TREMEC torque transfer solutions include manual rear-wheel drive transmissions, dual clutch transmissions, hybrid & EV transmissions, gears, shafts, clutches, shift controllers, synchronizers, and mechatronic systems with integrated clutch systems and control software
 
TREMEC’s products solve key challenges faced by the powertrain industry, including mandates for increased fuel efficiency, reduced emissions, lower weight, and compact size. Its technology addresses the industry’s stringent requirements for reliability, cost, and quality – while providing fun-to-drive characteristics. Founded in 1964, TREMEC serves its global client base with over 1,450 employees and operations in North America and Europe. TREMEC is a wholly-owned business unit of Grupo KUO, S.A.B. de C.V., a diversified manufacturer of automotive, chemical and food products. Grupo KUO markets its products to over 70 countries and is headquartered in Mexico City, Mexico.” https://www.tremec.com/menu/about-us/
 
During our visit we had the chance to speak with Mr. Hector Simental, Plant Manager at the Queretaro location and his team who shared with us some very interesting information about their heat treatment department and its’ challenges. The in house heat treatment department is a combination of continuous furnaces (7 in total) and batch IQ units (4), volumes determine which parts will be run in the continuous and batch furnaces. The firm has always felt strongly that heat treating is a “core competency and will remain in house-in the words of Hector “this allows us to control our own destiny”.
 
As is the case in many areas, CO2 emissions are a constant concern and in this case Tremec is being mandated by the Mexican government to reduce emissions which has lead to many discussions about gas heating vs; electric and induction heat treating as opposed to atmosphere heat treating-we would imagine that these issues will not be resolved for some time. Along the same lines the debate about electric vehicles compared to internal combustion vehicles has played havoc with production predictions, just as it has around the world. (incidentally the furnaces are gas heated). 
 
This is a world class facility and the heat treat department is absolutely immaculate as you can see in one of these pictures. Hector can be seen in the center of the photo taken outside the facility. We thank the entire “Tremec” team for their time and their top notch hospitality. 

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