Heat Treat Today’s contributing experts series on emerging technologies examines how modern automation and manufacturing tools are reshaping heat treat operations. In this Emerging Technologies installment, Alex Marcy, CEO of Corso Systems, discusses why programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and human machine interfaces (HMIs) must be current, sercure, and performing as designed before heat treaters add layers like analytics, data collection, or advanced integration. Marcy outlines what that readiness looks like, from updated firmware and cybersecurity alignment to reliable long-term operation, and explains how the benefits include reduced downtime risk, greater repeatability, and better data quality.
This informative piece was first released in Heat Treat Today’sSeptember 2026 People of Heat Treat print edition.
Editor’s Note: Alex Marcy’s contributing columns to this series will cover his ten steps of progressive heat treat automation adoption. This column is just step one but yields fully actualized benefits even if you stop here. Look out for his future installments.
Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) and Human Machine Interfaces (HMIs) are the foundation of every automation system. PLCs run your equipment using logic to perform repeatable operations and HMIs give your staff control over and display the status of your equipment and production lines. Outdated, unsupported, or misconfigured PLCs and HMIs limit visibility, increase risk, and create roadblocks for future growth.
Ensuring these core systems are up to date is critical before adding technology layers like analytics, data collection, or advanced control and integration.
The first step towards a fully integrated manufacturing process focuses on validating that your control systems are current, secure, and performing as designed. This includes:
Ensuring up-to-date and functional process control logic for automated equipment
Updating firmware and software to supported versions
Aligning your system with current cybersecurity best practices
Verifying proper configuration and operation of your equipment, PLCs, and HMIs
Ensuring reliability and maintainability for long-term, repeatable operation of your system
Benefits of using PLCs and HMIs for heat treat operations include:
Reduced risk of downtime or system failure
Increased repeatability across production runs
Improved data quality and visibility
Taking the time to address PLC and HMI readiness now prevents costly delays later. If you are using relay logic or manual controls to operate your equipment, upgrading to a PLC and HMI is a great first step. Outdated PLC equipment puts you at risk of downtime if the hardware fails and should be considered for replacement every 10 years.
Using PLCs and HMIs to run your equipment sets you up for larger benefits gained from using manufacturing technology across your business.
About the Author
Alex Marcy CEO Corso Systems
Alex Marcy is the CEO of Corso Systems, helping heat treat companies improve operations since 2011.
Industrial gas costs involve far more than the gas itself. In this Technical Tuesday installment, Dave Wolff, an independent expert focusing on industrial atmospheres for heat treat applications, draws on an interview with Josh Weinmann, president of DeLille Oxygen Co., to explore how delivery logistics, storage, tank sizing, supply contracts, and supplier selection can affect both costs and supply reliability.
This informative piece was first released inHeat Treat Today’sOctober 2026 Ferrous & Nonferrous Heat Treatments/Mill Processing print edition.
DeLille Oxygen is a regional multilocation industrial gas manufacturer and distributor serving Ohio and adjoining areas with industrial and specialty gases. The company recently celebrated its 100th year in operation, an enviable record of success. Josh Weinmann has worn many hats at DeLille, from cylinder filler and bulk driver to operations management and now is president of the organization. We discussed the importance and cost implications of gases logistics in serving industrial gases clients.
The Real Cost of Gas Delivery
Josh Weinmann President DeLille Oxygen Co.
Because industrial gases are gaseous products, shipped either as highly compressed gases or as liquefied cryogenic liquids, they are hazardous materials requiring special handling. For that reason, when a client plans to purchase bulk industrial gases from a supplier, that arrangement includes delivery of those gases to the client. While some gases may be manufactured at the client’s location (so-called on-site gas production), in most cases, the gas is manufactured at large process plants far from the client and shipped by truck to the client. The embedded shipping costs are a large fraction of the pricing that clients pay for delivered industrial gases.
Industrial gas transportation requires special trailers, drivers with specialized training and licenses, and very precise procedures. The cryogenic trailer itself may cost several hundred thousand dollars. Backhauls are uncommon, so the trailers are returned empty to the plants, further increasing costs. In Josh’s experience, delivery costs are often higher than the “spigot” price of the gas at the plant before delivery. But the gases must be delivered to be used, so clients pay for both product and delivery.
Different suppliers handle shipping costs differently. Some suppliers provide a single price for their gases, including delivery. In that case, the client may be asked to pay say 90 cents per 100 scf for their nitrogen, including delivery costs, assuming normal delivery arrangements.
Other suppliers, like DeLille, quote gas prices at the spigot (source location), plus a delivery charge. They might quote 45 cents per 100 scf at the spigot, plus a fixed freight charge per delivery, for example. The two line items, gas plus delivery, will appear separately on each invoice, providing an additional degree of transparency. This approach is clearer about the cost structure and provides the client with visibility over costs and incentive to reduce the number of delivery events by maximizing the amount delivered at each delivery event.
Understanding Your Industrial Gas Contract
Industrial gas contracts detail the financial, legal, and procedural requirements of the supplier and the client. Most bulk supply contracts span 3 to 7 years. These contracts include provisions for cost recovery by the suppliers as their costs change over time. Typically, contracts include cost recovery on electricity and/or natural gas for production of the gas product and cost recovery for changes in cost of diesel fuels and labor for delivery. There also may be factors built in for changes in overall costs such as inflation recovery. All modern contracts will also include provisions for uncommon/impactful events, such as those experienced during Covid when supply and delivery mechanisms were dramatically challenged.
Most industrial gas contracts are negotiated with a certain amount of monthly use in mind. It is important to be realistic and relatively transparent when negotiating quantities because the final contract will specify the range of product deliveries that the supplier is committed to supply and the client is required to buy. While the client may wish to get a cheaper price by specifying a larger amount of monthly use to get a cheaper price, if the client regularly uses less gas than committed to, the supplier may adjust the pricing accordingly. Possibly even more important, the contract will specify a certain increment of additional product that the supplier commits to making available to a client above and beyond their expected monthly use. You don’t want to be in the position of begging for additional gas supply to meet your needs if your business is highly successful. Commitments between clients and suppliers for industrial gases apply in both directions.
Telemonitoring and Delivery Schedule
In the past, industrial gas clients would have an employee who was responsible for monitoring the tank levels of their industrial gases and calling their supplier(s) to schedule deliveries when levels got low. That operational model has been largely abandoned, and most clients and suppliers today use telemonitoring to monitor tank levels for each cryogenic and compressed gas product in use. For cryogenic liquid tanks, telemonitoring generally monitors liquid level or uses a load cell to measure tank filled weight; for gaseous products such as compressed hydrogen, telemonitoring measures and reports on tank pressure, which corresponds to inventory. The suppliers continuously monitor tank levels and can schedule deliveries to achieve continuous supply at the lowest cost of deliveries. In theory, telemonitoring should eliminate the risk of runouts. Because telemonitoring data provides real-time data and powerful analytics regarding client gas use, DeLille makes that data available to their clients through a client portal. It is worthwhile for clients to request access to their data from tank telemonitoring.
Image Credit: DeLille Oxygen Co.
Industrial gas providers work 24×7 to produce and deliver industrial gases. DeLille, like many industrial gas providers, prefers to deliver to clients at night, when client operations are at low ebb, and traffic delays affecting expensive delivery assets are less likely. The standard contract assumes that the supplier will be able to deliver around the clock. Clients that require restricted deliveries, either fewer than 24 hours/day or only certain days of the week, will most likely be required to pay additional costs for delivery. Clients should make every attempt to provide unrestricted delivery to keep their costs down.
Making Every Delivery Count
Because liquid and gas bulk trailers are filled to capacity before they start the day, they may end the day with some residual gas that has not been delivered to clients. It is to the supplier’s benefit to deliver that remaining cargo to one of their clients before returning to refill, because it does not make sense to pay to transport the gas back and then haul it out again. As such, suppliers sometimes dump the remaining product, often just a few thousand cubic feet of gas, at a client willing to accept it.
Clients should be aware of two things regarding these unscheduled deliveries. First, every delivery requires a certain amount of gas to be wasted to depressurize tanks, fill pipes, and cool down hoses. The wasted product amount is the same regardless of small delivery or large one. The client pays for that vented product. For a large delivery, the wasted product is a small percentage, but for a small delivery of residual product, the wasted amount can be a meaningful percent of the total amount of gas to be paid for. It is fair to come to an agreement with your supplier about some equitable way for the supplier to drop off residual product without the client paying extra for gas that is wasted on a small delivery.
Because the supplier did not plan the route to fill your tank, it seems clear that the client should not pay full delivery charges for product delivered for supplier convenience. Regardless of whether your agreement splits out delivery cost or bundles it into the product price, clients should ensure they pay a full delivery fee only for product associated with a trip made specifically to meet your needs.
It is worth understanding how quantities delivered are computed for compressed and cryogenic gas deliveries. Previously, trucks with cryogenic gases would weigh before and after each delivery at a commercial truck scale, charging the client for the weight difference associated with that delivery. Now, most cryogenic trailers are equipped with calibrated volume meters, similar to the meter in a gasoline pump, that measures the exact amount of liquid cryogenic fluids dispensed. For gaseous deliveries like compressed bulk hydrogen, the delivery ticket will show the starting pressure of the receiving tank or tubes, the ending pressure, and the temperatures at the beginning and end of the delivery. The exact amount of gas dispensed can thus be determined for billing purposes.
Storage Tanks: Renting, Maintaining, and Sizing
Gas storage tanks and tubes are normally rented from your industrial gas supplier. That system works well for both supplier and client, but it does create limitations in flexibility. For example, no other supplier will deliver into a different supplier’s tank, unless written permission from the tank owner (not the renter) is received. If your supplier runs into delivery problems, you need to seek temporary written permission to have another supplier deliver.
Tank owners are responsible for having tanks inspected according to schedules established by OSHA and referring to codes from ASME and NFPA. Required inspections include insulation, piping, regulators, and safety relief valves. Industrial gas suppliers have staff to perform these inspections while clients may find it difficult or expensive to have these required inspections done. It is rarely attractive for clients to buy their own cryogenic and compressed gas storage equipment.
Cryogenic liquefied gas storage tanks are like giant thermos bottles and use a vacuum insulation system to keep the precious cryogenic liquefied gas from evaporating. The normal loss rate for a cryogenic tank evaporation rate during periods of non-use is under 1% of the tank volume per day of non-use. Over time, the vacuum may gradually leak down, creating a loss of insulation and the possible loss of gas to evaporation. Tank renters should be aware that tank evaporation rate may increase over time and should alert their supplier if they feel that evaporation has increased. It is the supplier’s job to maintain proper insulation.
Image Credit: DeLille Oxygen Co.
Most suppliers want to deliver to their clients once per month, unless the client’s usage rate is high enough to require more frequent delivery. It is important for both the client and the supplier for deliveries to be efficiently managed or there will be extra costs incurred which will eventually impact the client. Once-per-month delivery means sizing the volume of cryogenic liquid or gaseous storage to hold enough volume to enable the client to be delivered once per month without risk of runout. Because bigger tanks have a higher rental rate than smaller tanks, tank sizing can sometimes provoke a lively discussion between client looking to minimize rental rates and suppliers looking for additional storage. Experience has shown that sizing storage representing about 1.5 to 2 months use is generally the most efficient size.
While too small a tank forces extra deliveries and increases likelihood of runouts, too large a cryogenic tank can also be problematic because cryogenic evaporation rate increases with tank wall surface area; therefore, a larger tank will lose more gas during periods of non-use. One possible exception to the tank-sizing conventions may be for argon, which is subject to frequent swings in supply availability. It may be wise to moderately oversize argon storage to ensure continuous supply and eliminate risk of runouts. The extra tank capacity makes it possible to run through temporary supply shortfalls. Argon users who are willing to step up slightly in tank size may wish to try to negotiate a slightly lower gas price by improving their attractiveness as delivery locations (because the larger tank can improve delivery efficiency).
Choosing the Right Gas Supplier
When choosing a gas supplier, logistics are a huge component of the delivered gas cost to the client, even though logistics are only indirectly visible to the average industrial gas user. Just as Amazon stocks warehouses close to clients with many common items to achieve unprecedented short client delivery times, local gas distributors and industrial gas companies may have local depots where they have inventory of gases ready to be loaded and delivered to nearby clients. Talk to several potential suppliers about your use of gases to find a supplier that can meet your needs. If you use more than one bulk gas (say nitrogen plus hydrogen, for example), consider having just one supplier to vastly simplify dealing with your supplier. Be aware that the standard language of most bulk industrial gas contracts claims that the gas supplier has a right of first refusal to supply all the bulk industrial gases used at the location served (not just the gas listed on the accompanying rider document).
Industrial gases are a true commodity meaning nobody’s nitrogen is any “better” than any other supplier. As such, feel free to negotiate hard to achieve your economic and supply assurance goals when negotiating a contract. DeLille suggests that local distributors may be able to offer unique security of supply to clients while eliminating the need for clients to seek permission from their supplier for alternative supply during a supply shortfall or interruption of supply. Distributors may be able to pivot to an alternative supplier without the need for their clients to be involved.
It may not be obvious what industrial gas suppliers serve a particular area, so potential gas users can use a general-purpose search engine to find one, or consult with the member headquarters of one of the two major industry organizations: GAWDA (Gases and Welding Distributors Association) or IWDC (Independent Welding Distributors Cooperative). For highest satisfaction, choose a supplier that has a significant commitment to serving your geographic area and the gases you plan to use.
The delivery vehicles used for industrial gases can be as large as a tractor trailer, and they are transporting a dangerous cargo. As such, there is tremendous focus by suppliers on the safety of clients’ delivery environment. If a client cannot or will not provide a safe environment for a gas delivery, many suppliers will not deliver to the site or will have to use specialized equipment that will cost extra. Of particular interest to suppliers is the ability to pull through a client’s site because backing up bulk trailers is the most risky part of a delivery. If backing up can be avoided, the attractiveness of the supply contract will increase.
Negotiating a Contract that Works for Both Sides
When negotiating an industrial gas supply contract, most clients make operations the primary participant in the discussions, with procurement and legal as advisory. It seems wise to narrow the field of potential suppliers with the active participation of operations, and then use procurement and legal to avoid liability and issues with terms and conditions. The number of industrial gas suppliers is finite, and your process requires industrial gases, so be realistic about negotiations. Your objective should be to achieve a contract which serves the needs of both parties.
About The Author:
David (Dave) Wolff Industrial Gas Professional Wolff Engineering
David Wolff has over 45 years of project engineering, industrial gas generation and application engineering, marketing and sales experience. Dave holds a degree in engineering science from Dartmouth College. Currently, he consults in the areas of industrial gas and chemical new product development and commercial introduction, as well as market development and selling practices.
A U.S.-based critical materials manufacturer has begun receiving additional vacuum sintering and magnet production equipment that is expected to increase annual rare earth magnet capacity from approximately 1,000 to 10,000 metric tons. The expansion will support production of high-performance sintered magnets for defense, automotive, aerospace, and other applications.
Evolution Metals & Technologies Corp. (EM&T), headquartered in Miami, Florida, has received the first 13 of 57 containers of ULVAC equipment at its Pohang, South Korea, facility. The remaining containers are scheduled to arrive by the end of October.
The equipment includes 13 ULVAC sintered magnet production systems. According to an earlier announcement detailing the purchase, ULVAC’s magnet production system include vacuum sintering furnaces, strip casting systems, hydrogen decrepitation units, and jet milling equipment.
Frank Moon, Chief Executive Office, and Christopher Clower, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Office, EM&T, with 13 of 57 ULVAC containers arriving at EM&T’s Pohang expansion facility | Image Credit: Evolution Metals & Technologies Corp.ULVAC equipment containers: 13 of 57 containers arrived at EM&T’s Pohang facility to begin installation | Image Credit: Evolution Metals & Technologies Corp.
Once the additional equipment is installed and commissioned, EM&T expects its annual rare earth magnet production capacity to reach approximately 10,000 metric tons, including 6,000 metric tons of high-performance sintered magnets.
EM&T currently has seven high-performance neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) sintered magnet grades qualified with Tier-1 OEMs and has secured non-China neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) feedstock. The company said that expansion is intended to increase production capacity as U.S. defense sourcing requirements for rare earth magnets change.
Beginning January 1, 2027, DFARS 252.225-7052 will restrict the use of certain rare earth magnets containing materials mined, refined, separated, melted, or produced in China, Russia, North Korea, or Iran in qualifying U.S. defense applications.
EM&T plans to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the expanded Pohang operation on December 17, including magnet production demonstrations and production-line tours.
Press release is available in its original form here. Main image: ULVAC equipment containers being loaded onto trucks at the Pohang port for delivery and installation at EM&T’s Pohang facility. Image Credit: Evolution Metals & Technologies Corp.
Heat Treat Todaypublishes twelve print magazines a year and included in each is a letter from the editor. This letter is from the September 2026 People of Heat Treatprint edition. In today’s letter,Bethany Leone, former managing editor at Heat Treat Today, shares her insights on why the choices we make at work and in life should be informed and deliberate rather than driven by the appeal of the “less traveled” path, and how a high-pressure moment pulled her out of autopilot and back to purposeful, committed decision-making. As she closes out her time with the magazine to focus on her family, Bethany also reflects on this next chapter and offers her thanks to the colleagues and industry members who shaped her years at Heat Treat Today.
Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” does not mean what you think it means. The most common interpretation is that the poet is praising bold individuals who choose “the path less traveled” for the very reason that it is the path less traveled. But when Frost wrote the poem, he had a specific friend in mind who often regretted the path taken on their long walks together. His habit prompted Frost to draft this poem gently poking fun at his friend’s ungrounded, arbitrary sense of resolve in pursuing a “less traveled” path.
The decisions we make in our work and life should be directed by informed decision-making, not the allure of a particular choice. Adopting breakthrough technology for the sake of novelty or the stubborn “we’ve always done it this way, that’s what sets us apart,” both offload our own ingenuity (from the French word for engineer, ingénieur, i.e., a thoughtful creator) to the visions of others — less traveled or not.
Unfortunately, I found myself in my work recently falling into my tried and true “systems.” Specifically, my tried-and-true norms of caretaking editorial relationships and processes to ensure timely content is produced seamlessly. I was on autopilot and feeling good about the product.
I hadn’t realized it yet, but I was in a funk. My processes had allowed me to disengage my brain, and work felt directionless. Perhaps you’ve been here: follow the calendar, follow the to-do list, feel accomplished… but incomplete.
Then, within the span of two weeks, that all shifted. While closing out one of my last products before leaving Heat Treat Today, a situation demanded all of me. All of my editorial knowledge, all of my process management, and even pulled on my patience down to the last reserves, I hate to admit. Frustrated yet stubbornly keen on addressing this well despite everything, I leaned on the amazing team we have here and moved through it. We were able to deliver a great product.
It was only after this high-pressure situation passed that I realized a renewed joy in my work. The directionless tension I had not realized before had given way to clarity, focus, and eagerness to serve each challenge — hopefully not as intense — with excellence. I was reminded that attention to detail through mundane decisions and the commitment to each decision was where we live our lives, even if difficult moments test the core of who we are.
Standing fully behind every ordinary choice is as important as the weighty ones because it is that: purposeful, reasoned, committed, yours. Not your company’s complacency, not AI’s creation, and certainly not the whim of a “less traveled” frontier.
This message is similar to recent ones I’ve given in the past year, so I’ll pause here to share a little bit about what’s happening next for me — I don’t know.
I write this Editor’s Page in my last week at Heat Treat Today. This magazine will now go into production while I shift focus to be present for my family. While my life will change significantly by turning from the workforce in this way, what day-to-day will look like is a bit unclear. There are no systems in place for what I’ll do, and I doubt that I can bring my understanding of material hardness to my private life. But I am certain of this decision and look forward to taking on the new challenges and experiencing the joys that this road will bring.
My personal thanks to Doug Glenn for creating a people-first, Christ-focused business and publication.
My deep thanks to all who have come before me (Laura Miller and Karen Gantzer), as well as those who come after (Rick Green).
My high regard and gratitude for the team both past and present whom I had the opportunity to learn from and serve.
And especially thanks to all the thoughtful, truly genuine people in this industry who have assisted me all because they decided to care about this industry.
Bethany Leone Former Managing Editor Heat Treat Today Contact: Bethany Leone at bethany@heattreattoday.com
Three processing lines for annealing, pickling, decarburizing, flattening, and coating are advancing toward installation at a grain-oriented electrical steel production facility. The lines will support production of electrical steel used in power transformers and electrical transmission networks, helping meet growing demand for energy-efficient transformer technologies.
Tenova, a metals industry technology supplier, is providing the processing lines for JSW JFE Electrical Steel Pvt. Ltd. in India under a contract awarded in 2025. JSW Group also has a North American manufacturing presence through JSW Steel USA, which operates steelmaking facilities in Mingo Junction, Ohio, and Baytown, Texas.
The project includes annealing and pickling (APLTM), flattening and coating (FCLTM), and decarburizing and coating (DCLTM) lines. Together, the lines are designed to produce grain-oriented electrical steel with magnetic properties and reduced ore losses intended to improve the efficiency and reliability of power distribution systems.
The project follows Tenova’s ongoing work on two decarburizing coating lines at JSW JFE’s Nashik plant.
Engineering and project teams from JSW JFE and Tenova recently met in Bellary, India, for a detailed engineering workshop to review technical interfaces, align engineering activities, and confirm execution plans as the project moves forward.
Press release is available in its original form here.
A large high-vacuum furnace has been ordered for the heat treatment of titanium alloys used in aerospace applications. Designed for loads approaching 10,000 pounds, the system will provide a carbon-free processing environment and controlled thermal conditions for large aerospace components.
Aichelin ST Vacuum GmbH, a joint venture of the Aichelin Group and Sistem Teknik, will supply the furnace to an international aerospace company. The system will feature a usable work zone measuring 1,500 x 5,000 x 1,500 mm (59 x 197 x 59 inches) and accommodate loads up to 4,500 kg (9.921 lb).
The furnace will operate at temperatures up to 2282°F (1250°C) and achieve vacuum levels in the 10⁻⁶ mbar range. A molybdenum and stainless steel insulation and heating system will provide the carbon-free environment required for processing titanium alloys. The system will also provide quenching pressures up to 1.49 bar and is designed to meet AMS2750 requirements.
Aichelin ST Vacuum develops and manufactures vacuum heat treatment systems for applications including aerospace, energy, automotive, medical, and commercial heat treating. The broader Aichelin Group also has a North American vacuum heat treatment presence through U.S.-based GM Enterprises, which develops and manufactures vacuum furnace and coating systems with a particular focus on aerospace, medical, additive manufacturing, and industrial applications.
The Group’s North American operations also include AFC-Holcroft in Wixom, Michigan, which is responsible for industrial furnace systems and thermal processing solutions in the Americas.
Press release is available in its original form here.
A U.S.-based bearing manufacturer is expanding its in-house heat treating capacity with a new vacuum furnace for hardening and low pressure carburizing (LPC). The investment will support larger bearing components and growing production needs for aerospace and other demanding industrial applications.
The manufacturer has ordered a Vector single-chamber vacuum furnace from SECO/WARWICK. The system will have a 36 x 36 x 48 inch (900 x 900 x 1200 mm) working zone and will be equipped with LPC and 15-bar high-pressure gas quenching. It is the first SECO/WARWICK system at this particular facility, although other facilities within the manufacturer’s group have previously invested in the supplier’s vacuum technology.
The furnace will be used for hardening and carburizing a range of bearing components, including larger loads. Its cylindrical heating chamber provides temperature uniformity of ±9°F (±5°C), while convection heating is designed to improve heat transfer at lower operating temperatures. Directional cooling and isothermal quenching provide additional control over load cooling during the heat treatment cycle.
The LPC system allows steel surface hardening to be integrated into the heat treatment cycle. The furnace also incorporates high vacuum, a graphite hot zone, and rapid gas cooling to support process cleanliness and repeatability.
The investment addresses an increasing number of hardening and carburizing processes being performed in-house. According to the supplier, vacuum gas quenching and LPC are used in bearing production for aerospace as well as energy, transportation, heavy industry, and OEM applications.
Press release is available in its original form here.
Amaero Inc., a Tennessee-based producer of refractory and titanium alloy metal powders and near-net-shape components using powder metallurgy-hot isostatic pressing (PM-HIP), plans to invest up to approximately $10 million in capital equipment over the next 12 months using proceeds from its U.S. initial public offering.
The company announced pricing of 4,705,883 common shares at $4.25 per share, representing approximately $20 million in gross proceeds before underwriting discounts, commissions, and other offering expenses. Remaining net proceeds are intended for general corporate purposes, including working capital, operating expenses, and research and development.
Amaero also produces spherical metal powders for additive and advanced manufacturing and uses PM-HIP to manufacture large near-net-shape components. In its October 14 announcement, the company said the offering was expected to close October 16, subject to customary closing conditions, with shares expected to begin trading October 15 on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol AMRO.
Press release is available in its original form here.
Heat Treat Today publishes twelve print magazines annually and included in each is a letter from the publisher, Doug Glenn. This letter from the September 2026 People of Heat Treat print edition announces the departure of longtime editor Bethany Leone and introduces Rick Green, the former managing editor of a Meadville, Pennsylvania newspaper, as her replacement.
In the short 10-year history of Heat Treat Today, we’ve had the good fortune of having only three editors — the longest-serving being Bethany Leone who left our employ on August 14 to pursue what I consider to be the higher calling of motherhood and home-based activities. For those of you who had the great privilege and pleasure of working with Bethany, you can appreciate what a loss this was for Heat Treat Today’s team.
Bethany started working for us in March 2020, essentially right in the middle of COVID. It wasn’t difficult finding Bethany. She was living in my attic — literally. Sounds odd, but it is true. She was my son’s college roommate’s girlfriend who was looking for temporary housing while working in the archives department of Grove City College from where she recently graduated. My wife and I agreed to put her up. Bethany spent 18 months in the attic and was affectionately dubbed “the attic cat” by my wife.
Bethany vacated our attic after marrying Luke, my son’s college roommate. But Bethany stayed on with Heat Treat Today and has been one of the best editors with whom I’ve had the privilege and pleasure to work. She is characterized by joy, optimism, a can-do attitude, ability to pivot, energy, and creativity. I personally really enjoyed Bethany’s creativity. She and I connected on that front; we’re both idea people.
HTT’s outgoing editorHTT’s incoming editor
At the release of this magazine in mid-September 2026, it will have been only a month since Bethany left Heat Treat Today and it is safe to say that all of us miss her smiling face and joyful presence around our digitally connected office.
While we’re sad (yet happy) about losing Bethany, we’re excited about Bethany’s replacement who was not as easy to find. He was not living in my attic! He was, however, the long-time managing editor of the newspaper in the town where I was born, Meadville, Pennsylvania. We’re pleased to introduce you to Mr. Rick Green.
Rick has been a western Pennsylvania guy for pretty much his entire life and therefore understands metals in a very basic way. He covered various metals-related stories during his newspaper career and will be a quick study to get up to speed on the intricacies of thermal processing. Those of you who have already had the pleasure of interacting with Rick will find him to be a thorough and thoughtful guy who brings decades of editing experience and a sensitivity to both authors and readers. He’s quickly adapted to the rigors of the monthly magazine publishing schedule, which are different yet similar to the daily schedule of newspaper publishing.
Under Rick’s leadership, our 3+ person editorial team will continue cranking out content that is helping people be happier by keeping them well informed so that they can make better decisions. That is our goal, and we’re confident that the new editorial team will continue the great legacy established by Bethany.
If you have editorial ideas — technical articles, case studies, topics of interest — that you would like to discuss with Rick, please feel free to email Rick at rick@heattreattoday.com. I’m sure he’ll be glad to hear from you.
In the meantime, we wish Bethany Leone a prosperous, healthy, and Christ-filled future with her family, which we expect will be growing in the future and she had better send pictures if/when that happens!
Doug Glenn Publisher Heat TreatToday For more information: Contact Doug at doug@heattreattoday.com
Taber Extrusions has opened an $85 million expansion at its Russellville, Arkansas, facility, centered on a new 10,000-ton aluminum extrusion press. The expansion adds in-line solution heat treatment, aging, and quenching capabilities to support production of large aluminum profiles for aerospace, defense, and heavy industrial applications.
Image Credit: Taber Extrusions
The new 16-inch front-load direct extrusion press went online in June 2026. The press has a 16-inch (406 mm) container and can produce profiles up to 23.6 inches (600 mm) wide, including large, single-piece aluminum profiles intended to reduce the need for complex multi-part assemblies in mission-critical applications.
Downstream of the press, equipment from Cometal Engineering incorporates advanced profile quenching, cooling and handling systems. The line also incorporates in-line solution heat treatment and aging designed to support the demanding requirements of high-performance aluminum alloys. The new line can process both hard and soft aluminum alloys.
Taber marked the expansion with a grand opening in September, attended by Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, company executives, state officials, and local leaders. Guests also toured the new expansion during the event.
The expansion is expected to create 70 jobs in Russellville. Taber first announced the project at the Farnborough International Airshow in July 2024 and broke ground on the facility expansion in April 2025.
Press release is available in its original form here.
