Kennametal Auction, Irwin, PA, USA

Tuesday May 19th, 2020 there was an auction of the surplus assets to the ongoing operations of Kennametal in Irwin, PA, USA. Featured in the auction were several heat treat related items including a Holcroft vacuum sinter furnace with these specifications;

“HOLCROFT Pressure Sinter Furnace, s/n na, w/ Allen Bradley 1500P PLC Control, 870 PSI, 2730 Degrees F Max Operating Temp, 1760 Lbs. Load Zone, 21″x 19″x70″ Load Zone, (3) Heating Zones, Process Gas- Hydrogen/Argon, Chromalox Microtherm CMX Temperature Control System.” With the current COVID-19 issues we were curious about what sort of response the vendor would see, keeping in mind that while Holcroft is a fine furnace builder they are not well known for vacuum furnaces which would effect the saleability. Well the bottom line was that the furnace sold at auction for $45,000 UD which is more than we would have expected. No idea who the buyer is but for an item like this it was sold to a captive heat treater-certainly not a used equipment dealer or commercial heat treater.”