Increased Defense Spending to Boost New Furnace Sales
February 18th, 2026 “The Monty” published a press release from furnace builder “SECO/WARWICK” which spoke about the firm receiving an order for a new vacuum furnace from a European supplier in the defense industry; “Increased Defense Spending Leading to New Heat Treat Investments“.
With many countries around the world dramatically ramping up their defense spending it is a given that defense suppliers are seeing increase heat treat requirements which is going to prove to be a “boom” to furnace manufacturing firms and commercial heat treaters.
In our article last week we mentioned 2 North American examples of this increased demand who added heat treating capacity in the past year;
“Munitions Supplier to Open New Plant/Heat Treat; Earlier this year “The Monty Heat Treat News” had the exclusive news item below about a North American munitions supplier making a very substantial investment in their heat treat department to keep up with demand. IMT Group based in Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada is planning on a ribbon cutting ceremony next month for the new multi-million dollar facility. As mentioned earlier part of the group’s investment includes several Surface Combustion Allcase batch IQ furnaces. The investment also includes a large capacity (50 Ton) carbottom furnace for annealing of the shells, start up is happening as we speak. The investment is being financed by hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts from the US Defense Department to manufacturer shell casings such as the one in this photo.
“FEBRUARY 5th 2024; Munitions Supplier Adds Heat Treating Capacity. It is well known that the war in the Ukraine has put enormous pressure on increasing production of munitions, and at the top of the list this would include 105 and 155 mm artillery shells. This “war pressure demand” was bound to increase production in western countries of munitions which would include added heat treat capacity and we now have an example of this.
IMT (https://imtcorporation.com/) is located in Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada and for years now the company has produced a rather odd combination of products-truck axles and artillery shells, the mix depends upon market demand for each product. We have now heard that the munitions side of the business has gained the upper hand in the form of a very substantial order for artillery shells which is directly related to the ongoing war in Ukraine. (more about IMT Defense https://imtdefence.com/)
How does this change their heat treating requirements? For many years IMT has had a very modest heat treat department in the form of 2 very old Surface Combustion “Super 30” Allcase batch IQ lines. We now believe that the heat treat department will be vastly expanded with several new Surface batch IQ furnaces on the way with the expectation that installation of the units will start shortly.
It brings joy to the hearts of everybody at “The Monty Heat Treat News” to see a Canadian company actually adding heat treat capacity rather than the never ending story of Canadian firms closing down their manufacturing facilities.”
Our second example features “Watervliet Arsenal” in Watervliet, New York which provides cannon tubes, over the past couple of years this facility added a new heat treating furnace and Endothermic Generator to be able to keep up with ramped up production;
WASHINGTON — Over the past three months, the US Army’s Watervliet Arsenal has been forging more cannon tubes at a rate not seen in 40 years, according to Maj. Gen. Michael Lalor, the commander of the Tank-automotive and Armaments Command. And while there is still room to grow inside the arsenal, he said, secondary sources could offer the service with a glidepath to quickly scaling production.
As part of the service’s organic industry base, Watervliet Arsenal in Albany, NY, is the sole producer of cannon tubes inside the US weapons like M1 Abrams tanks, the M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzer, and the M777 lightweight howitzer. That meant there was a sudden production influx in 2022 when Washington began rushing howitzers to Ukraine to fend off Russian troops.
PHOTO HERE
“Use of that [M777] howitzer and the volume it’s been used definitely confirmed the accuracy, the precision of that system, and also its endurance that it could fire: Those tubes had longer life than originally expected,” Lalor told reporters on Wednesday after an Association of the US Army event.
“In terms of production, because you’re firing at that rate … it drives a requirement for additional canon tubes at a rate we haven’t seen in generations,” he added. While steering clear of specific numbers, Lalor estimated that Watervliet has likely tripled production over the past three years.
To accommodate increased production, the service revamped its manufacturing processes and modernized the facility. Although the two-star general said he believes the facility still has capacity to grow, lessons from the war in Ukraine have showcased industrial base vulnerabilities and the need to have multiple production sources to avoid a single point of failure that could leave the service without a cannon producer.
“I think we can produce more,” he added. “I also think it suggests that, you know, inside the army and industrial base, we’re definitely looking at it that secondary sources are going to be helpful too in a future conflict that we may have to fight.”
The service has begun examining its options for bringing on secondary sources, and Lalor said it has now identified “multiple” sources that, if given the technical data to produce the tubes, could have production lines up and running within 12 to 18 months.
“That’s if you’re moving fast, because it’s a unique capability,” Lalor said. “But, like anything else in exigence, believe you can produce at a scale and rate faster.”
These are only two recently examples of increased defense spending and its effect on the heat treatment industry-we have no doubt but that there will be many more and “The Monty Heat Treat News” will be here to tell you about them.