According to this press release a German company by the name of BorTec will be setting up a commercial heat treat facility in Johnson City, TN. Once completed the facility will offer “boronizing”; “Boriding, or Boronizing, is a thermo-chemical surface hardening process used to improve the life and performance of metal components. The process is used to strengthen resistance to corrosion and abrasive wear, decrease coefficient of friction, and, of course, greatly increase surface hardness. What is the difference between boriding and nitriding? While boriding can increase the hardness of material up to 2600 HV, nitriding can only achieve 950 HV for certain types of steel. Nitriding is most effective on nitriding steels, whereas boriding is also used on steel grades containing nickel, nickel superalloys, and cobalt superalloys.”

Want to know more about boronizing? In a few short weeks boronizing expert Craig Zimmerman of commercial heat treater Bluewater Thermal will be speaking about the process in a new episode of “The Heat Treat Podcast”. 

“A new manufacturing facility in Johnson City will be the first U.S. location for a German-based company. State officials announced Thursday BorTec USA’s plans to invest $3.1 million and create 35 new jobs at its plant at 3618 Bristol Highway. The heat treatment plant will mainly produce wear- and corrosion-resistant pipes for the oil and gas industries.

Drew Hogan, BorTec’s Managing Director, said employees were almost finished setting up the company’s equipment. He expects to run test batches of products in the next two weeks to make sure everything is in order. “We’ve been really happy with the process,” Hogan said. Once the facility is up and running, he said the company will finish hiring its production workforce.

The BorTec Group was founded in Germany, and specializes in treating metal components to reduce wear and improve corrosion protection. It has one established facility in Calgary, Canada. In Johnson City, BorTec opened an office in East Tennessee State University’s Innovation Laboratory while searching for suitable manufacturing space. The Lab’s incubator space is designed to help companies gain a foothold in hopes of promoting their future success and investment.

In an emailed statement provided by the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development, BorTec USA CEO Ralph Hunger said Tennessee’s favorable business climate made it the best location for the company’s newest plant. “Tennessee offers a highly favorable business environment, with low tax burdens, reasonable operating costs, and an abundant skilled workforce,” he said in the statement. “The state’s excellent transportation infrastructure enables efficient distribution of BorTec’s products across the U.S. Additionally, Tennessee’s low energy prices, including some of the nation’s lowest electricity rates, translate to significant cost savings for BorTec’s energy-intensive operations.”

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