1) Today we are very pleased to be speaking with a “heat treat industry expert” Mr. Jay Jefsen, now General Manager of vacuum furnace builder “Furnacare”. Jay lets start at the very beginning as they say-could you please provide our readers with a summary about your long career in the heat treat industry, a career which I believe stemmed from your father’s time in the industry.
“My career in the heat treat industry really did start with my father. I grew up around the industry and got my first opportunity at just 16 years old, working in a commercial heat treating plant. At that age, I certainly wasn’t thinking, “This is what I want to do for the next 30 years!” But apparently the heat treat industry had other plans for me.
I spent much of my career on the heat treating side of the business, which gave me firsthand experience with the challenges our customers deal with every day: keeping equipment running, meeting production schedules, maintaining quality, controlling costs, and dealing with all of the unexpected problems that seem to show up at the worst possible time.
Over the years, I eventually found myself on the other side of the business, working in the industrial capital equipment sector and specifically with vacuum furnace technology. And I have to admit, I like this side better! We still have plenty of problems to solve, but now I get to help our customers solve theirs instead of being the guy standing next to a furnace at 2:00 in the morning wondering why it isn’t running.
Most recently, I was promoted to General Manager of Furnacare, where I’m responsible for guiding our North American business. It’s been quite a journey from a 16-year-old kid working in a heat treat plant to helping lead a company that supplies and supports the equipment heat treaters depend on every day.
I think those years on the customer side have given me a perspective that is extremely valuable today. I understand the pressure our customers are under because I’ve been there. And after more than 30 years in this industry, I’ve also learned one other thing: there is always another problem to solve!”
- First, a small update since we started putting this interview together: I was recently promoted to General Manager of Furnacare, so I now have responsibility for guiding our North American business.
And you’re right, the TAV name is much better known in the industry than Furnacare. I actually have a funny story about that. When I originally interviewed for the job, I thought I was interviewing to work for TAV. Somewhere along the way I discovered I was actually going to work for a company called Furnacare. At that point, I just rolled with it! Fortunately, it all worked out pretty well.
The easiest way to explain it is that Furnacare is the North American business within the TAV family of companies. TAV has several companies focused on different areas of vacuum furnace technology, manufacturing, service, and support. Furnacare gives us the local presence here in North America to support our customers throughout the life of their equipment.
TAV itself was founded in Italy in 1984 and has grown into a globally recognized manufacturer of vacuum furnace systems. Today, TAV equipment is operating in more than 45 countries, with more than 900 furnaces built worldwide.
The product range is quite broad. We manufacture horizontal and vertical vacuum furnaces for applications including heat treatment, brazing, sintering, additive manufacturing, and low-pressure carburizing, serving industries such as aerospace, automotive, energy, medical, commercial heat treating, and general industrial markets.
One of the things that attracted me to TAV is that we aren’t limited to selling a standard furnace out of a catalog. There is a tremendous amount of engineering knowledge within the group, and we can develop equipment around the customer’s process and application.
On the Furnacare side, our job is to make sure the relationship doesn’t end when the furnace shows up. We provide the North American sales presence along with installation, commissioning, technical service, preventative maintenance, spare parts, upgrades, and long-term support.
So, if I’m explaining it simply: TAV builds some pretty impressive vacuum furnaces in Italy, and Furnacare makes sure our North American customers are taken care of before, during, and long after the sale. And thankfully, I eventually figured out which company I actually worked for!
- Well, I guess it’s time to let the cat out of the bag!
We are in the process of rebranding Furnacare as TAV USA. It’s something I’m extremely excited about and, quite frankly, I think it makes a lot of sense.
As we discussed earlier, Furnacare has always been part of the TAV family and serves as our North American operation. As TAV continues to grow its presence in North America, we believe having one clear and consistent identity in the marketplace is important. The TAV name is well established in the vacuum furnace industry globally, so transitioning to TAV USA allows us to build on that recognition while making it very clear who we are and what we represent.
It also means I can finally stop explaining that Furnacare does not, in fact, “care for furniture.” You would be surprised how often I get that question!
But joking aside, this is more than simply changing the name on the building or putting a new logo on our shirts. We are making a significant investment in the North American market. We are growing our team, expanding our service capabilities, increasing our spare parts and aftermarket support, and establishing a much stronger local presence for our customers.
The goal is for TAV USA to provide our North American customers with the best of both worlds: the engineering, technology, and manufacturing capabilities of TAV in Italy combined with a strong local organization here in the United States that can respond quickly and support our customers throughout the entire life of their equipment.
So yes, the Furnacare name will become less prominent, but for a very good reason. TAV USA is the next chapter for us in North America, and I’m incredibly excited about where we’re headed.
And personally, I’m looking forward to introducing myself as the General Manager of TAV USA. It requires a lot less explaining!
- Nice try, Gord! You almost got me.
There is definitely some very exciting news coming regarding our continued investment and expansion in North America. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to keep a few of the details to myself just a little longer.
What I can say is that everything we’ve talked about with the transition to TAV USA is about much more than a name change. We have some ambitious plans for this market, and we are investing in the people, resources, and infrastructure needed to support the continued growth of TAV in North America.
A major focus for us is continuing to strengthen our service and aftermarket capabilities and putting our team in an even better position to support customers quickly and locally.There is another significant piece of that strategy coming, but I think I’ll save that announcement for early 2027. Maybe that gives us a good excuse for another interview in February, Gord!
For now, I’ll just say this: TAV USA is growing, we’re investing in North America, and we’re just getting started.
- I wouldn’t necessarily say that North America is suddenly receiving more emphasis. The U.S. market has always been an important part of TAV’s growth strategy. Quite simply, it’s one of the largest and most attractive heat treatment markets in the world, so it’s a pretty good place to play!
What has changed is how we are approaching it.
TAV has tremendous engineering and technical capabilities in Italy, and we have been successfully supplying equipment into North America for many years. But succeeding long term in the U.S. requires more than great equipment. You need a strong local presence, local service and support, an understanding of how American customers do business and, sometimes, you just need to speak a little better “Italish” — that unique combination of Italian and English we’ve all become very fluent in!
That’s really where TAV USA comes into the picture. We’re building the bridge between an extremely talented engineering and manufacturing organization in Italy and the expectations of customers here in North America.
We are adding people, strengthening service and aftermarket support, and putting more resources closer to our customers. At the same time, we are working very closely with our colleagues in Italy so that we operate as one team rather than two organizations separated by an ocean.
So the desire to grow in North America isn’t new. What’s different today is that we’re putting the structure, people, and resources in place to really capitalize on the opportunity.
And after several years with TAV, I’m happy to report that my Italish is getting pretty good!
- The rumors are true, Gord. Apparently we’ve decided that being busy wasn’t enough!
There is a tremendous amount happening within TAV in Italy right now. We are currently completing a major expansion of our manufacturing operations with a new production building that will increase our overall production throughput by more than 50%. That is a significant investment and really speaks to both where the business is today and where we believe it is going.
I’ve joked that we should name it the Marco Baretti and Jay Jefsen Building, because Marco and I have promised ownership a whole lot of future business to help fill it. I’m just hoping that joke ages well! Sorry, Marco, if you’re reading this.
The growth we are seeing isn’t limited to one market or one industry. Demand for vacuum furnace technology continues to be strong across aerospace, defense, energy, additive manufacturing, commercial heat treating, and other advanced manufacturing sectors. As that demand has grown, we recognized that our manufacturing capacity needed to grow with it.
But capacity is only part of the strategy. TAV has also been investing in ways to strengthen the overall organization and gain greater control over critical parts of our supply chain. That includes strategic acquisitions and investments within the broader TAV group.
For our customers, that is really the important part of the story. The goal isn’t simply to become bigger. It is to increase capacity, improve control over quality and lead times, strengthen our technical capabilities, and become an even more vertically integrated organization.
From my perspective here in the U.S., the timing couldn’t be better. We are building a stronger TAV USA organization at the same time our colleagues in Italy are significantly expanding the manufacturing capabilities behind us.
So yes, Gord, there is quite a bit going on. We have a new identity coming in the U.S., some additional North American news I’m apparently not allowed to tell you yet, a major manufacturing expansion in Italy, and continued investment throughout the TAV group.
Now Marco and I just need to deliver on everything we promised!
- Absolutely. Technology and R&D are a very important part of TAV’s continued investment and growth.
Now, Gord, I’ve been in sales long enough to recognize when someone is trying to get me to announce our future product-development plans in an interview. And I’ve recently been promoted to General Manager, so I’m going to give you my best career-politician answer here: we are always evaluating opportunities to improve our technology, controls, automation, and overall furnace performance. How was that?
In all seriousness, though, innovation is a major part of what TAV does. Vacuum furnace technology continues to evolve, and our customers are asking for more from their equipment than ever before. Better process control, more data, improved connectivity, increased automation, energy efficiency, predictive maintenance, and easier interaction between the operator and the furnace are all becoming increasingly important.
Controls are certainly part of that conversation, but our R&D efforts go well beyond the HMI or PLC. We are continually looking at the entire furnace system: process technology, mechanical design, thermal performance, vacuum systems, controls, software, efficiency, reliability, and maintainability.
One advantage TAV has is that we are an engineering-driven company. We have some incredibly talented people in Italy who genuinely enjoy solving difficult technical problems. Sometimes maybe a little too much. An American might look at something and say, “That works.” An Italian engineer will look at the same thing and say, “Yes, but we can make it better.” Then three meetings, seventeen drawings, and several cups of espresso later, we have a new solution!
So the short answer is yes, technology investment and R&D are absolutely part of the larger investment strategy at TAV.
As for exactly what we’re working on next… how about we save something for the next interview?
- What I will say is that 2026 has been a very strong year for TAV, and we are extremely pleased with where the business is today and, more importantly, where it is headed.
Personally, I’ve never been very comfortable bragging about success. I prefer to let the work, our customers, and ultimately the results speak for themselves. I think many of the things we’ve already discussed tell the story pretty well. We’re increasing our production capacity in Italy by more than 50%, investing in our supply chain, expanding our organization in North America, and transitioning to TAV USA.
Companies generally don’t make those kinds of investments unless they have confidence in both their current business and the opportunities ahead.
What excites me most about our order book isn’t simply the amount of business. It’s the diversity of the customers and markets we are working with and the number of long-term relationships we continue to develop. We are seeing opportunities across aerospace, defense, energy, commercial heat treating, and advanced manufacturing, and we continue to see a very healthy appetite for investment in vacuum heat treatment technology.
We are also seeing existing customers come back to us for additional equipment. To me, that is one of the best measures of success. Selling someone their first furnace is great. When they come back and buy another one, you know you did something right.
So yes, the order book is strong and 2026 has been very good to TAV. Beyond that, I think I’ll stick with my philosophy and let our growth speak for itself.
Besides, I’ve already given Marco enough to worry about in this interview!
- There are several projects from 2026 that I would love to talk about, Gord. Unfortunately, there are also several customers who would probably prefer that I don’t!
But there is one project I can tease a little. Internally, and very affectionately, we’ve started calling it “The Beast.”
I can’t share the customer or get into many of the technical details yet, but this is a very large vacuum furnace system and certainly one of the more impressive pieces of equipment we have produced. The size and scale have required our engineering and manufacturing teams to push well beyond what would be considered a typical furnace project.
To give you some perspective without giving too much away, we are currently working through the logistics of eventually getting The Beast from Italy to its final destination in the United States. Let’s just say there is a legitimate possibility we may have to shut down part of an interstate system when it makes the final leg of its journey. So if you find yourself sitting in traffic behind an enormous vacuum furnace someday, I apologize in advance!
Projects like this are also a great example of what I enjoy about TAV. We’re not afraid of applications that require us to think differently. When a customer comes to us with something outside the normal envelope, our engineering team tends to get excited rather than scared. Occasionally, those ideas turn into something so large that the sales guy starts wondering exactly how we’re going to get it down the highway!
I think “The Beast” will be a project we’ll be able to talk much more about in the future. For now, I probably need to stop there before someone in Italy takes away my interview privileges.
But yes, 2026 has given us some extremely interesting projects, and The Beast is certainly one of them.
- This isn’t hard at all, Gord. We plan to take over the world!
I’m kidding, of course… mostly.
In the short term, I think the future for both TAV and the heat treat industry is extremely exciting. We are seeing continued investment in aerospace, defense, energy, advanced manufacturing, and the reshoring of critical manufacturing capabilities. All of that creates opportunities for companies in our industry, but it also creates new expectations.
Customers want equipment that is more efficient, more connected, easier to operate, and more reliable. They want better data and process control, and they expect stronger service and support after the equipment is installed. In my opinion, the companies that can combine great technology with great customer support are going to be the ones that succeed.
For TAV, our direction is pretty clear. We intend to continue investing in our technology, our manufacturing capabilities, our people, and our presence in key markets around the world. In North America specifically, I believe you are going to see a much bigger TAV presence over the next several years. The transition to TAV USA is part of that. The investments we are making in service and aftermarket support are part of that. And, of course, there is still that little announcement I won’t let you make me reveal until 2027.
Longer term, I think the heat treat industry is going to continue becoming more technologically advanced. Automation, connectivity, data collection, energy efficiency, predictive maintenance, and process optimization will continue to change the way heat treatment equipment is designed, operated, and maintained.
But as much as the technology changes, I believe this will always remain a relationship-driven industry. I’ve been in heat treating since I was 16 years old, and one of the things I appreciate most is how small this industry can feel. Customers become friends, competitors become colleagues, and you tend to cross paths with the same good people throughout your career.
Technology will continue to change. Furnaces will get smarter. Processes will improve. Companies will grow. But ultimately, people still want to do business with people they know, trust, and believe will be there when something goes wrong.
That’s the kind of company we want TAV to be.
So yes, Gord, the official plan is still world domination. We’re just going to do it one vacuum furnace and one happy customer at a time.