With regret, we mention the passing of a “giant” in the European heat treatment community, Mr. Jan Elwart. Jan Elwart’s entire working life was dedicated to the heat treat industry; for many of those years, he presided over the Bodycote facilities in Europe and eventually Brazil as well. Jan got his start in heat treatment, designing multi-chamber Plasma Nitriding equipment and his passion for Plasma Nitriding stayed with him until he retired with nearly 50 years in the industry. Such was his knowledge of commercial heat treatment facilities that he was known to boast that “he could smell whether a plant was making money or not”.

We met Jan for the first time in the late 1990s, when Bodycote was acquiring an Ion Nitriding shop in Munich, Germany by the name of “Nitrion”. The photo below was taken during the acquisition and in it you can see from the left; Gord Montgomery, John Hubbard and Jan Elwart of Bodycote.

Jan leaves behind a powerful legacy, his son, Florian, who has also spent his life in the industry and currently works for furnace supplier ELTROPULS. Jan’s presence and experience will be missed. Our condolences to Jan’s family.