Busch Vacuum Solutions U.S. has acquired the VESCO Division (VESCO-McLaughlin, Inc.) from McLaughlin Furnace Group. The VESCO Division, located in East Windsor, CT, is an industrial service company specializing in heat treating and metallurgy industries and was purchased by McLaughlin Furnace Group in 2017.
Turgay Ozan President of Busch LLC Source: LinkedIn
McLaughlin Furnace Group, the seller of the VESCO Division, continues to serve clients in the aerospace & defense, automotive, energy & environment, metalworking & fabrication, and semiconductor fabrication industries focusing on atmosphere heat treating equipment and best-of-class customer service.
“With this acquisition, we are excited to be able to offer our customers an even more comprehensive range of vacuum services in the heat treat and metallurgy industries,” said Turgay Ozan, president of Busch LLC.
VESCO will be rebranded and will expand its current business operations under the brand name of VESCO – A Company of the Busch Group, while continuing uninterrupted service.
Find heat treating products and services when you search on Heat Treat Buyers Guide.com
Let’s discover new tricks and old tips on how to best serve air and atmosphere furnace systems. In this series, Heat Treat Today compiles top tips from experts around the industry for optimal furnace maintenance, inspection, combustion, data recording, testing, and more. Part 1, today's tips, examines seals and leak points.
This Technical Tuesday article is compiled from tips in Heat Treat Today's February Air & Atmosphere Furnace Systems print edition. If you have any tips of your own about air and atmosphere furnaces, our editors would be interested in sharing them online at www.heattreattoday.com. Email Bethany Leone at bethany@heattreattoday.com with your own ideas!
1. Tip-Up Furnace Perimeter Insulation Maintenance Is Key to Efficiency & Quality
Contact us with your Reader Feedback!
Due to their construction, the insulation at the perimeter of a tip-up furnace is subject to more abuse than typical furnace insulation. Whether from the repeated stress of cycling the case open and closed — or from high temperature operation — fiber modules will eventually begin to shrink/compact. Be watchful for high case temperatures (or worse: case discoloration and paint damage) as a signal that insulation issues are present in that area.
Heat-damaged case wall Source: Premier Furnace Specialists
An air/atmosphere tight seal is critical for maintaining heating efficiency and process quality. Inspect the seal material around the furnace perimeter often and replace sections that are worn. Common perimeter seals are sand seals, fiberglass tadpole tapes, and insulating fiber blankets. These sealing materials are easy to keep on hand to ensure a quality seal is never delayed by lengthy lead times or supply chain issues.
Seals are everywhere on any furnace. Do you know where all the seals and leak points are? Rope gaskets is an obvious example; high temperature gaskets need to be flat, smooth, and unbroken. Another clear example is in the world of vacuum furnaces: O-rings need to be clean and protected from abrasion. Almost every item of your furnace is sealed in some manner. It is best to replace seals as part of a preventative maintenance program. While your nose can detect ammonia, vacuum leaks require special helium leak detectors and a lot of training. Your furnace manufacturer’s service technician can assist in identifying problem areas and developing a maintenance routine to keep your furnace running. And a simple electronic manometer is great to have handy for running leak-down tests using positive pressures. Auto supply stores sell inexpensive halogen detectors, and some people use smoke bombs to detect leaks.
Heat Treat Today is partnering with two international publications: heat processing, a Vulkan-Verlag GmbH publication that serves mostly the European and Asian heat treat markets, and Furnaces International, a Quartz Business Media publication that primarily serves the English-speaking globe. Through these partnerships, we are sharing the latest news, tech tips, and cutting-edge articles that will serve our audience — manufacturers with in-house heat treat.
In this installment, we look at updates on industry events around the globe, such as mills, mint, and the Middle East.
Mathevon Group and Bodycote Partner for Oil & Gas Industry Solution
Mud rotors for surface coating Source: Bodycote
“Bodycote has entered into a partnership with Mathevon Group to develop the market in the [Middle East] and, in particular, Saudi Arabia. The agreement brings together Bodycote’s expertise in thermal spray coatings for the oil & gas industry and Mathevon’s knowledge of the production of internal components of gate valves for oil & gas. Mathevon is a world-class provider of safety parts in stainless steel and superalloys, which are subject to severe service applications and has a long history of servicing oil & gas OEM supply chains.”
Shiu Wing Steel to produce recycled steel Source: Furnaces International
“Shiu Wing Steel, Hong Kong’s first and only steel-rolling mill, plans to produce recycled steel to meet growing demand created by China’s green ambitions in Hong Kong and other cities in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) development zone, according to a report by South China Morning Post. The 65-year-old steelmaker plans to build an electric-arc furnace at its plant in Tuen Mun to produce 700kt (kilotons) of recycled steel a year by 2025 and expand its presence in the GBA, Dario Pong, Shiu Wing’s executive director, said in an interview.”
European Mint Chooses Vacuum Furnace To Harden Dies for Coins
Vector furnaces to harden the dies Source: SECO/WARWICK
“This is the eighth mint to choose SECO/WARWICK solutions. The Vector furnaces will be used to harden the dies necessary for the production of coins for both circulation and collector series. Vector vacuum furnaces with 15 Bar high-pressure gas quenching perfectly match the mint’s operating characteristics. Vector enables fast heat treatment while the working space is optimal for the production of dies, coins, medals and orders.”
Maciej Korecki Vice President of Business of the Vacuum Furnace Segment SECO/WARWICK
An industrial automation manufacturer has ordered a heat treatment system to establish a captive hardening plant within their machine park. The line of two vacuum furnaces, an atmosphere furnace, and a washer will harden and carburize parts, specifically gears, pinions, and shafts.
SECO/WARWICK, a manufacturer with North American locations, will produce the furnaces to harden and vacuum carburize the elements used in motor reducer production. These parts figure in the automation applications production process for industries such as automotive, aviation, food and printing.
“In these times of constant problems with maintaining the supply chain, having captive heat treatment within a machine park provides our partners with a huge competitive advantage and independence," says Maciej Korecki, vice president of the Vacuum Furnaces Segmentat SECO/WARWICK Group. "Within a relatively small area, we can create a heat treatment system that will meet the Partner’s needs."
Find heat treating products and services when you search on Heat Treat Buyers Guide.com
Los termopares: elementos indispensables para lograr un acertado tratamiento térmico, pero ¿cómo elegir el más indicado para su necesidad particular? ¿Qué exigen las normas actuales? A continuación una explicación, por Víctor Zacarías, director general de Global Thermal Solutions México, que le ayudará a saber escoger el termopar adecuado.
Palabras clave: Termopar, Tratamiento térmico, Pirometría, Medición y Control de Temperatura, AMS2750, CQI-9
Read the Spanish translation of this article in the version below, or see both the Spanish and the English translation of the piece where it was originally published: Heat Treat Today's February's Air & Atmosphere Furnace Systems print edition.
Si quisieras aportar otros datos interesantes relacionados con los termopares, nuestros editores te invitan a compartirlos para ser publicados en línea en www.heattreattoday.com. Puedes hacerlos llegar a Bethany Leone al correo bethany@heattreattoday.com
Víctor Zacarías Director General Global Thermal Solutions México
La norma aeroespacial SAE AMS2750 y las evaluaciones automotrices de AIAG CQI-9, CQI-11, CQI-12, y CQI-29 son los estándares universalmente aceptados para el control de temperatura en operaciones de procesamiento térmico. Entre muchas cosas, describen los requisitos para el uso y control de los termopares empleados en hornos y estufas de proceso. En este artículo te comparto los requisitos de estas normativas para que puedas tomar una decisión correcta al elegir un termopar y de esta manera contar con una medición repetible que te asegure un proceso confiable.
1. Aplicación
Contact us with your reader feedback!
Para la selección apropiada de un termopar para la medición, control y/o registro de la temperatura debes considerar en primer lugar el tipo de proceso previsto. En la elección del termopar adecuado, toma en cuenta algunos factores que pudieran alterar su desempeño como:
El rango de temperatura en el que estará en uso
El tipo de atmósfera al que estará expuesto
Posible interferencia eléctrica
La precisión requerida por la especificación aplicable, etc.
En función de lo anterior, las normativas refieren una clasificación específica para los termopares en función de su fabricación y su aplicación final:
a) Termopares base y termopares nobles
b) Termopares desechables y no desechables
2. Tipos de termopar y su aislamiento
2.1 Termopar base o termopar noble
Un termopar base está fabricado de aleaciones básicas como hierro, cromo, níquel, cobre, etc., y constituyen los tipos más comunes en la industria por su versatilidad y costo: los termopares tipo K, E, J, N, y T. Un buen proveedor de sensores te recomendará un termopar de este tipo en función de la aplicación, el rango de temperatura y tu presupuesto (ver Tabla 1).
Tabla 1: Rango de temperatura y uso de los termopares más comunes Source: GTS México
Por otro lado, un termopar noble está fabricado a partir de metales como platino y rodio: termopares tipo R, S y B. Éstos termopares son más estables a altas temperaturas y mantienen su precisión por mayor tiempo; sin embargo, tienen un costo elevado debido a que se fabrican a partir de metales preciosos. Debido a esta naturaleza, los termopares nobles son la elección preferida para aplicaciones de tratamiento térmico al vacío y procesos de alta temperatura.
2.2 Termopares desechables o no desechables
El segundo criterio de las normativas lo constituye el material con el que se protegen los elementos del termopar.
Los termopares desechables son aquellos cuyos elementos están revestidos por materiales como fibra de vidrio, tejido cerámico o recubrimiento polimérico y generalmente se suministran en forma de carrete o bobina. Esta presentación permite al usuario cortar el cable a la medida y fabricar el termopar al unir los dos alambres de un extremo por torsión o soldadura, lo que los hace ideales por ejemplo para aplicaciones de un solo uso como una prueba TUS o termopares de carga (ver Figura 1).
Figura 1: TUS usando termopar desechable tipo K aislado en fibra cerámica Source: Trucal, Inc.
En contraste un termopar no desechable normalmente está protegido con aislamiento cerámico o mineral y revestido en su exterior por una carcasa metálica (los elementos no están expuestos en esta configuración), lo que le proporciona un mayor tiempo de vida útil y por eso se prefieren para emplearse como termopares de control o registro (ver Figura 2).
Figura 2: Termopares no desechables tipo N y K de aislamiento mineral Source: GTS México
Cualquiera que sea la aplicación, cuando se requiere realizar interconexiones de cableado para la instalación del sensor, dichas conexiones se deben realizar usando conectores y terminales estándar como las que se muestran en la Figura 3, ya que tanto AMS2750 como CQI- 9 prohíben el empalme del cableado.
Figura 3: Conectores estándar tipo K Source: GTS México
3. Calibración
De acuerdo con la normatividad, todos los termopares usados en operaciones de procesamiento térmico deben haber sido calibrados antes de usarse por primera vez. Para ello, el usuario del termopar debe asegurarse de contar con calibraciones trazables al laboratorio nacional como lo es el NIST en Estados Unidos o su equivalente en México (CENAM).
Las normas de pirometría defi nen los rangos aceptables de error para los termopares en función de su aplicación fi nal: 1) termopares patrón, 2) termopares de prueba (SAT y TUS), 3) termopares de control y registro y 4) termopares de carga. La Tabla 2 describe los máximos errores permitidos a elegir dependiendo del uso del sensor.
Tabla 2: Precisión requerida para sensores de temperatura según AMS2750 y CQI-9 Source: GTS México
Una vez instalado el termopar, el responsable de la operación de tratamiento térmico tiene que deberá documentar la fecha en la que éste entra en servicio, ya que la norma establece un tiempo de vida útil de un sensor en función de la aplicación del mismo.
Al recibir el reporte/certifi cado del termopar, el usuario debe revisar el contenido del documento, pues las normas también definen de manera específi ca la información mínima que debe aparecer en un informe de calibración, que incluye pero no se limita a:
1. Lecturas de prueba
2. Lecturas observadas
3. Factores de corrección
4. Fuente de los datos
5. Acreditación del laboratorio
6. Método de calibración empleado
El certifi cado de calibración puede amparar termopares individuales o un grupo de termopares fabricados a partir del mismo lote (carrete).
Es muy importante observar que tanto AMS2750 como CQI-9 requieren que todas las calibraciones sean realizadas por organismos acreditados en la norma ISO/IEC 17025, por lo que siempre recomiendo que revises el certifi cado de acreditación antes de seleccionar a tu proveedor.
4. En Resumen
Si alguna vez has comprado el termopar equivocado, se lo molesto que puede resultar. Por lo tanto aquí te comparto un resumen para seleccionar el sensor adecuado para su aplicación en 5 sencillos pasos:
1. Define el tipo de termopar: base ( K, T, J, E , N, y M) o noble (S, R, y B)
2. Define el tipo de aislamiento que requieres: fibra textil, polímero, cerámico, metálico, etc.
3. Especifi ca el rango exacto de temperatura en el que operará el sensor
4. Especifi ca el uso del sensor: termopar patrón (estándar), termopar para SAT/TUS, termopar de control / carga
5. Solicita el certifi cado de calibración conforme a la normativa aplicable (AMS2750 o CQI-9)
Referencias
ASTM International. ASTM E230, Standard Specification for Temperature-Electromotive Force (emf) Tables for Standardized Thermocouples, Rev. 2017.
Automotive Industry Action Group. CQI-9 Special Process: Heat Treat System Assessment, 4th Edition. June 2020
International Organization for Standardization. ISO/IEC 17025, General Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories, 3rd Edition. 2017.
Nadcap AC7102/8 Audit Criteria for Pyrometry, Rev. A, 2021
Sobre el autor: Víctor Zacarías es ingeniero metalúrgico egresado de la Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro con estudios en Gerencia Estratégica por parte del Tec de Monterrey. Con más de 15 años de experiencia en la gestión de tratamientos térmicos, actualmente es director general de Global Thermal Solutions México. Víctor ha realizado numerosos cursos, talleres y evaluaciones en México, Estados Unidos, Brasil, Argentina y Costa Rica y ha participado en el Grupo de Trabajo de Tratamiento Térmico de AIAG (CQI-9) y en el Comité de Ingeniería de Materiales Aeroespaciales de SAE.
Thermocouples: You can’t accurately heat treat without them. But how can you choose the best one for your needs? What do current regulations require? Read this helpful explanation, by Víctor Zacarías, managing director of Global Thermal Solutions Mexico, to find out how to choose the right thermocouple.
Keywords: Thermocouple, Heat Treatment, Pyrometry, Temperature Measurement and Control, AMS2750, CQI-9
Read the English version of the article below, or find the Spanish translation when you click the flag above right!
This Technical Tuesday article, first published in English and Spanish translations, is found in Heat Treat Today's February's Air & Atmosphere Furnace Systems print edition.
If you have any facts of your own about thermocouples, our editors would be interested in sharing them online at www.heattreattoday.com. Email Bethany Leone at bethany@heattreattoday.com with your own trivia!
Víctor Zacarías Managing director Global Thermal Solutions México
The SAE AMS2750 aerospace standard and the AIAG CQI-9, CQI-11, CQI-12, and CQI-29 automotive assessments are the universally accepted standards for temperature control in thermal processing operations. Among many things, they describe the requirements for the use and control of thermocouples used in process ovens and furnaces. In this article you will find the requirements of these regulations so that you can make a correct decision when choosing a thermocouple, and thus have a repeatable measurement that ensures a reliable process.
1. Application
Contact us with your Reader Feedback!
For the appropriate selection of a thermocouple for the control and/or recording of temperature, you must first take into account the type of process. In choosing the right thermocouple, consider some factors that could alter its performance, such as:
The temperature range at which it will be in use
The type of atmosphere to which it will be exposed
Possible electrical interference
The accuracy required by the applicable specification, etc.
Based on the above, existing regulations refer to a specific classification for thermocouples based on their manufacture and final application. These classifications are:
a) Base thermocouples and noble thermocouples
b) Expendable and non-expendable thermocouples
2. Types of Thermocouples and Their Insulation
2.1 Base Thermocouple or Noble Thermocouple
A base thermocouple is made of basic alloys such as iron, chrome, nickel, copper, etc., and they are the most common types in the industry due to their versatility and cost. Base thermocouples are types K, E, J, N, and T. A good supplier of sensors will recommend a thermocouple based on the application, the temperature range, and your budget (see Table 1).
Table 1: Temperature range and application of most common thermocouples Source: GTS México
On the other hand, a noble thermocouple is made from metals such as platinum and rhodium: types R, S, and B thermocouples. These thermocouples are more stable at high temperatures and maintain their accuracy for a longer time. However, they have the highest cost since they are made from precious metals. Due to this nature, noble thermocouples are the preferred choice for vacuum heat treatment applications and high temperature processes.
2.2 Expendable or Non-expendable Thermocouples
The second criteria from the regulations are the material which protects the elements of the thermocouple.
Expendable thermocouples are those whose elements are covered by materials such as fiberglass, ceramic fabric, or polymeric coating and are generally provided in the form of a spool. This form allows the user to cut the cable to size and manufacture the thermocouple by joining the two wires by twisting or welding, making them ideal for single use applications such as a TUS test or charging thermocouples, for example (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: TUS using type K expendable thermocouple insulated in ceramic fiber Source: Trucal, Inc.
In contrast, a nonexpendable thermocouple is normally protected with ceramic or mineral insulation and covered on the outside by a metallic sheath (the elements are not exposed in this configuration), which gives it a longer useful life. Therefore, it is preferred for use as a control or recording thermocouple (see Figure 2).
Figure 2: Non-expendable type N and K mineral insulated thermocouples Source: GTS México
Whatever the application, when wiring interconnections are required for sensor installation, these connections must be made using standard connectors and terminals such as those shown in Figure 3, as both AMS2750 and CQI-9 prohibit the wiring splice.
Figure 3: Standard type K connectors Source: GTS México
3. Calibration
According to regulations, all thermocouples used in the heat treatment operation must have been calibrated before being used for the first time. The user of the thermocouple must ensure that they have calibrations traceable to a national laboratory such as the NIST in the United States or its equivalent in Mexico (CENAM).
Pyrometry standards defi ne the acceptable error ranges for thermocouples depending on their final application. These categories for final application include: standard thermocouples, test thermocouples (SAT and TUS), control and recording thermocouples, and load thermocouples (see Table 2). Table 2 describes the maximum errors allowed to be selected depending on the use of the sensor.
Table 2: Accuracy required for temperature sensors according to AMS2750 and CQI-9 Source: GTS México
Once the thermocouple is installed, the person responsible for the heat treatment operation must document the date on which it comes into service, since the regulations establish the life of a sensor based on its application.
When receiving the report/certificate of the thermocouple, the user must review the content of the document, since the standards specifically define the minimum information that shall appear in a calibration report, which includes but is not limited to:
1. Test readings
2. Actual readings
3. Correction factors
4. Data source
5. Laboratory accreditation
6. Calibration method used
The calibration certificate can cover individual thermocouples or a group of thermocouples manufactured from the same lot (spool).
It is very important to note that both AMS2750 and CQI-9 require all calibrations to be conducted by ISO/IEC 17025 accredited organizations, so ensure that you review the accreditation certificate before selecting your supplier.
4. In Summary
If you’ve ever bought the wrong thermocouple, you know how annoying it can be. Therefore, here is a quick guide to select the right sensor for your application in five easy steps:
1. Define the type of thermocouple: base (K, T, J, E, N, and M) or noble (S, R, and B)
2. Define the type of insulation you require: textile fiber, polymer, ceramic, metallic, etc.
3. Specify the exact temperature range in which the sensor will operate
4. Specify the use of the sensor: standard thermocouple, SAT/TUS thermocouple, control/load thermocouple
5. Request the calibration certificate in accordance with the applicable regulations (AMS2750 or CQI-9)
References
ASTM International. ASTM E230, Standard Specification for Temperature-Electromotive Force (emf) Tables for Standardized Thermocouples, Rev. 2017.
Automotive Industry Action Group. CQI-9 Special Process: Heat Treat System Assessment, 4th Edition. June 2020.
International Organization for Standardization. ISO/IEC 17025, General Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories, 3rd Edition. 2017.
Nadcap AC7102/8 Audit Criteria for Pyrometry, Rev. A, 2021
About the Author: Víctor Zacarías is a metallurgical engineer from the University of Queretaro with studies in Strategic Management from Tec de Monterrey. With over 15 years of experience in Heat Treatment Management, he is currently the managing director of Global Thermal Solutions México. He has conducted numerous courses, workshops, and assessments in México, the United States, Brazil, Argentina, and Costa Rica. He has been a member of the AIAG Heat Treat Work Group (CQI-9 committee) and the SAE Aerospace Materials Engineering Committee.
A tooling manufacturer is expanding with an electrically heated, steam atmosphere pit furnace for steam treating parts. The steam treating process creates a uniform blue-black finish on the surface of parts, which improves wear and corrosion resistance.
Lindberg/MPH, a manufacturer based in Michigan, shipped the steam treating furnace which has a maximum temperature rating of 1,250°F and work chamber dimensions of 22" diameter x 36" depth. The pit furnace is insulated with vacuum formed ceramic fiber modules that allow for rapid heat up rates and fast control response. A circulation fan distributes heat evenly throughout the chamber which ensures rapid and uniform heat transfer throughout the product load.
“This steam atmosphere pit furnace has the sufficient capacity to process a workload of 1,200 lbs," comments Kelley Shreve, application engineering manager at Lindberg/MPH. "This furnace was also designed with a custom powered lid for ease of loading."
Find heat treating products and services when you search on Heat Treat Buyers Guide.com
Welcome to Heat TreatToday's This Week in Heat TreatSocial Media. You know and we know: there is too much content available on the web, and it’s next to impossible to sift through all of the articles and posts that flood our inboxes and notifications on a daily basis. So, Heat TreatToday is here to bring you a hot take of the latest compelling, inspiring, and entertaining heat treat chatter from the world of social media.
Today, check out some posts on everything from a new design to an interactive periodic table to ways to shore up your heat treat knowledge. Don't forget to thank an engineer for Engineer Appreciation Week!
Check out a winner from the Metal Powder Industries Federation 2022 PM Design Excellence Awards Competition. This device is used in laparoscopic surgeries! In order to make the curved jaw piece needed for the instrument, the powder metallurgy metal injection molding process was used. Take a look at this piece from all angles with the video below.
2. Continuing Education
Each of these posts brings an educational aspect for you in your heat treat knowledge base. Something new or something to refresh those brain cells, take some learning moments with these posts.
7 Components To Think About with an Industrial Oven Purchase
DFARS Compliance, Free eBook
Preventing Refractory Anchoring System Failures
Advancing 3D Printed Metals with HIP
Interactive Periodic Table 2.0
3. "Molten" Videos
Too hot to handle? We think not. Check out some of these action shots.
4. The Reading (and Podcast) Corner
Time to take your afternoon coffee and read or listen to a few technical pieces from around the industry, or put on an episode of Heat TreatRadio to enjoy as you commute home!
Here's a recent edition from expert Mike Mouilleseaux on underrated heat treat processes.
With a nod to engineering week, this article delves into categorizing things. "Art or Engineering" explores how to think about products, maybe stretching to think differently about labels applied to things.
5. Engineer Appreciation Week
Spreading the love this week for the engineers among us. Thanks for everything that you do!
6. Updating the Office Space!
This office model might be something you want to incorporate? Looks like some great spots to go over the heat treat paperwork and take the calls.
At the front of some major developments in heat treat technologies is Slawomir Wozniak, CEO of SECO/WARWICK. Join him and Heat TreatRadiohost and Heat Treat Today publisher, Doug Glenn, as he talks about the latest trends in heat treat, especially the new technologies his company is pursuing and the effect of the War in Ukraine. Read a recent press release with information about the group here.
Below, you can watch the video, listen to the podcast by clicking on the audio play button, or read an edited transcript.
The following transcript has been edited for your reading enjoyment.
Doug Glenn: The last time we spoke in an interview was in 2019. We were in Germany at Thermprocess, and you were just getting into the CEO position. We’re coming up on 4 years. How has it been? For you personally and for the company?
Sławomir Woźniak CEO SECO/WARWICK Source: secowarwick.com
Slawomir Wozniak: A good question. Yes, it was a very nice time.
Contact us with your Reader Feedback
I was not expecting so many challenges, especially since I took over in 2019, in June. We started to work on a new strategy for the company, for the group, and then Covid came. That changed everything. We had to implement a lot of changes to the company and cope with the challenges. It was a good time, absolutely. Many positive things happened to the company, and we grew up with the business.
We reorganized our companies successfully, especially in China and in the U.S. I have had a great, supportive team ever since I started with the company for more than twenty years. I know all the people very well, and they cooperate and support me every day. It was a very good time for me, and I’m looking forward to another couple of years running the business.
Doug Glenn: Compared to 2020, will this year be a normal year?
Slawomir Wozniak: It looks like it. We still feel, however, the impact of the war in Ukraine and the supply chain deterioration caused by both COVID and the war in Europe. We also reorganized the way we do things in the company.
But you’re right, the business is good today. Although we see some recession on the horizon, this year is extremely good. It’s extremely good in the U.S. but also in Asia and Europe. Pretty much all the markets are growing.
New products were implemented on the market in the last couple of years, so we see a good future.
Doug Glenn: Tell us a little about the 60th anniversary coming up.
Slawomir Wozniak: There is an anniversary coming for RETECH. The company was established in 1963, so next year (2023) we would like to celebrate the 60th anniversary in Buffalo, NY. This is something which energizes the U.S. market.
We would also like to highlight our footprint on the U.S. market because we have three companies. We have RETECH, SECO/VACUUM Technologies, and SECO/WARWICK Corporation. We like to see the companies working together, and we see a big interest from U.S. customers to get equipment made in America. RETECH produces vacuumatological equipment (vacuum melting equipment) in the United States. We would also like to build vacuum furnaces in the U.S. SECO/WARWICK Corporation has been in business for many years, and we would like to continue with production of atmospheric furnaces and aluminum process furnaces. We are also thinking about aluminum brazing equipment we build in U.S.
Doug Glenn: I want to talk about SECO/WARWICK group and strategies. I know you manufacture equipment, but the emphasis has always been on technology.
What can our readers be looking forward to in terms of technology?
Slawomir Wozniak: We are a typical technology, an engineering company which provides technological solutions for our customers. We not only provide equipment, but we provide complete solutions for our customers.
What we see on the market is a deep interest in what we call “green technologies.” These are all the technologies that are in line with reducing the carbon footprint. Our technologies can provide solutions for our customers, like low pressure carburizing (LPC), zero-flow nitriding, and all the other technologies which also reduce the time for the process and energy consumption. We see a big boom because the carbon footprint needs to be reported by our customers.
Interest in "Green Technologies" Source: Unsplash.com/ShubhamDhage
We have to provide a report of what the carbon footprint generated during production of our equipment was. We also must provide a report of what the equipment would produce during a process. We have some solutions which significantly reduce the emission of carbon dioxide. This is what our customers are looking for.
We see a big interest in conversion of heating systems from gas to electric. Customers can buy green electrical energy, but they cannot buy the “green gas” right?
Doug Glenn: Not unless you do hydrogen which isn’t quite ready yet.
Slawomir Wozniak: Right. All these technologies are very much in the interest of our customers. So, this is why we are forcing also, the new development of our solutions to replace all technologies like gas carburizing by low pressure carburizing. This is what we see on the horizon.
Car manufacturers are declaring that by 2035 they will not be producing any more combustion engines in cars. We have a great product for brazing of battery coolers for electrical vehicles, an aluminum brazing process. This equipment is produced in Europe and in China, and we provide the solutions for global OEMs. Also, we see booming technology. With the growth of immobility we also see a growth of our business.
Doug Glenn: Have you seen much of the growth in the green movement? Have you seen it as much in North America as you’re seeing in other regions of the world?
Slawomir Wozniak: We see some interest from the customers. It is not as big as it is in Europe. With the global supply chain, even our U.S. customers, when they produce certain components, they also need to be in line with the global strategy. The end-user is the user of the components which are heat treated in our equipment. The end-user will ask for the certification of the carbon footprint. This is why it is still not on the level as we see in Europe, but we see more and more customers/companies asking for green solutions because they need to also be in line with the trend.
Doug Glenn: It seems the North American market tends to be a little slow on the uptake on these green things.
What light can you shed on the plans for SECO group in North America over the next five/ten years?
Slawomir Wozniak: This is the right time because we are working on the strategy now for the entire group, particularly for the U.S. market. We have three companies in the U.S., and we would like to build more equipment. This is in line with the interest of our customers.
[blocktext align="left"]There is a trend of reshoring and moving business back to North America, particularly to the U.S., but also to Mexico, to better serve the market and provide quicker solutions. We would like to build more equipment in the U.S. A lot of businesses are moving their production from southeast Asia (particularly from China) back to the U.S.[/blocktext]
We can provide the solutions to help our customers to run the day-to-day productions in a cost-effective way with these green technologies, but also with technologies which can reduce the cost of the production, the cost of heat treatment processes, and metallurgical processes. This is why we would like to build more equipment here.
RETECH, our company which provides metallurgical vacuumatology solutions, is very busy with the new locations. We have a lot of projects which are fully made in the U.S. We are now analyzing how to cope with the challenge of the U.S. market to build vacuum furnaces in the U.S.
Today, we only import vacuum furnaces from Poland. In Europe, in general, the lead time of some components is growing. Energy and labor costs are also growing, so we’d like to build vacuum furnaces also in the U.S. to better serve our customers. This would be the main focus for the next few years — to reinforce our operation processes here in the U.S. and also to organize how to serve the U.S. market by local manufacturing.
Doug Glenn: I think it would be helpful to delineate the three companies that you’re talking about, the North American companies.
Slawomir Wozniak: RETECH. We moved from California to Buffalo, NY, roughly three years ago. We have a nice facility. We are quite busy there with production and assembly of vacuumatological equipment.
Doug Glenn: Which is, basically, vacuum melting equipment.
Slawomir Wozniak: Right. Things like plasma equipment, electron beam equipment. We would like to even look for more space because we have so many projects. We still have our office in California, because we still have some good employees who contribute to the performance of the company. We would like to maintain this office in California.
With SECO/VACUUM Technologies, LLC, we would like to start building equipment for the North American market. We have a new setup, a new office, and a new facility with some floorspace where we can assemble the furnaces. We would like to start from assembly and eventually, double up the processes and completely build the equipment here in the U.S.
SECO/WARWICK Corporation — we just hired a new managing director in June of this year, Marcus Lord. His main focus is to grow our business in the U.S. particularly for our aluminum process equipment and also for thermal equipment.
Our goal is to build equipment in the U.S., maybe not in-house fabrication, but use our subcontractors, and then to do the assembly in the facility. We are also looking forward to set up a facility in the U.S.
Doug Glenn: RETECH has moved manufacturing to Buffalo, NY. SECO/VACUUM Technologies is still located in Meadville, Pennsylvania, but not in the previous building. They do have some manufacturing capabilities, although there is not really any manufacturing going on there except for spare parts, I assume.
Slawomir Wozniak: Spare parts and retrofits.
Doug Glenn: The last company was SECO/WARWICK Corporation, which is big in aluminum and general line thermal equipment.
Slawomir Wozniak: We would like to continue with this business and build equipment in the U.S.
Sławomir Woźniak and Doug Glenn Source: Heat TreatToday
Doug Glenn: That gives us a sense of the direction over the next five years or so.
Poland (your headquarters’ location) has been in the news quite a bit because of the war between Russia and Ukraine. How has that impacted your company and maybe individuals in your company. Has it impacted your ability to manufacture in Poland?
Slawomir Wozniak: It was a big shock for everyone at the end of February of 2022 when the invasion of Russia happened to Ukraine. For our company, the main heat was linked with the supply chain of some materials, especially commodities like steel, which were supplied for many, many years from either Ukraine or Russia.
Then, the prices of energy, like gas and electricity, also increased significantly. We also had some businesses in Russia; we have a SECO/WARWICK company in Russia to provide services and sales, but we stopped, pretty much, all activities there. We have just completed all the contracts, and we are not promoting our equipment there. We are not providing any quotes to Russian customers; we stopped our activities there.
It was not a big impact on our business because the volume of the business in Russia was not so big.
However, since the war started, we have realized that a lot of customers linked Poland with Ukraine as a country which is very close and, anytime, can be in the conflict.
So, many customers were worried about the situation, and they started to ask us, “Is our project safe? Can you still deliver our project?” So, we had to guarantee and confirm, “Okay, everything is fine. We can run the projects.”
There was a time, especially in the second quarter, when the delivery time of some materials were extended because of the situation. It has improved, and today we do not see much impact on it. Obviously, from the job market perspective, it was also significant, in part, because many migrants moved from Ukraine to Poland.
Doug Glenn: I think Poland was the number one country to receive immigrants.
Slawomir Wozniak: Exactly. We organized a lot of support, as a company and as individuals, with private activity to support the Ukrainian immigrants.
From our side, we have seen some shock and some impact on our from the other side. A lot of companies also started to think differently. For them, it was the first shock three years ago that impacted the global supply chain — many, many materials and then goods. This war was a second wave of impact on the businesses. We see that some companies decided to move their businesses to change their supply chain and, I can say, we even benefited from that because we see some growing business because of the situation.
In the end, I would not say the war is a good thing, obviously, but it is also positive thing for businesses.
We also have some solutions for the defense industry. We see growing interest — not only in Europe, but globally — in investment in capital equipment for increasing the production of some defense equipment.
Doug Glenn: Over your first four years in office, as the CEO, you’ve had to deal with the pandemic and you’ve had the war breaking out. I know there are some other issues, such as labor shortages and supply chain issues.
What is keeping you up at night worrying? As you’re looking forward, what are the things you’re concerned about?
Slawomir Wozniak: One, you just mentioned, about the labor market. We know that the demographic factors are very, very bad for many, many countries, including China. Today, it’s okay, but if you look long-term, the demographic doesn’t look good. We are focusing, now, on how to replace the human factor by automation, how to simplify the processes, how to implement the solutions which don’t require a lot of labor. So, automation is one thing and simplification of some processes, standardization of some solutions. We’ve focused on vacuum equipment especially. How can we reduce the manpower required to build the furnaces?
The second area is definitely the geopolitical situation, especially the tensions on the line between the U.S. and China. We have a lot of businesses in China, today. We also export from China, and to other countries. This is something which we have to look very carefully at how to recoup and handle if there were escalation from sanctions or limitations on the business and possibly to export our equipment.
[blockquote author="" style="1"]This is why we would like to focus more, in coming years, on the Indian market. We would like to set up production capacity in India to produce more equipment. Then, particularly how we can serve the Indian market which is growing. We see a lot of potential in India, but also later to use our capacity there to export some equipment to serve other markets. This is our focus for the next few years.[/blockquote]
I think the geopolitical situation is the thing which is out of our control, for everybody. Even the job market, as I said, we can cope some. How? We can attract our employees, and we can attract potential employees to join our company. With the geopolitical situation, we can do nothing.
Doug Glenn: We’re at the mercy of the leaders, which is always a scary thing.
You’ve talked a lot about green technologies. Is it safe for us to say that SECO is still in the business of the more conventional gas-fired type equipment around the globe? Or are you moving away from that?
Slawomir Wozniak: We do less and less gas-fired equipment. Gas-fired equipment was, in general, an atmospheric type of equipment. We changed the strategy for this product line. We have just narrowed our portfolio to a few types of equipment only. For some solutions, obviously, we still offer gas-fired heating systems, but we see more and more interest in using electrical heating systems. There are some developmental projects to use the combination of hydrogen and natural gas. This is the direction which we see from supplies of heating systems partners, and our customers are looking to get solutions which we call “the green solutions.”
I would say that, in the long term, we will not provide combustion systems in the equipment, but, currently, we still have them in our portfolio. I don’t really see that this will maintain for a long time, especially, as I said, since we changed our strategy for general products and for thermal product line. We do not use many of the solutions for combustion processes.
Doug Glenn: Here in the U.S., you are going to transition many non-vacuum lines from gas to electric?
Slawomir Wozniak: Yes. But, for some solutions, you cannot. We must have combustion and we obviously offer melting equipment and also some processing products. But we are very flexible and we can offer various solutions for our customers. We always try to adjust our proposal to the customer specifications and customer expectations.
Doug Glenn: It is probably safe to say that, within the next 5–10 years, you’re still going to be doing some combustion-related stuff, especially in North America. It’s going to be demanded. As most of the rest of the world knows, we’ve got relatively cheap energy.
Slawomir Wozniak: Less definitely than Europe, especially with the current situation with the supply of natural gas.
Alan Gladish (r), Praxis Communications, Inc., and Katarzyna Sawka(c), Vice President Marketing at SECO/WARWICK, were present at the interview with Doug Glenn(l). Source: SECO/WARWICK
Doug Glenn: Alright, last question: You’re obviously enjoying your work. You enjoy your team. The company is doing well. What excites you, personally, about the next 2, 3, 4 years at SECO/WARWICK?
Slawomir Wozniak: As I said, I have a great team which supports me every day in all of the challenges that we are facing, like every company. I love my job. I’ve bonded with the company. I grew up with the company. I would like to see the company develop and grow with new technologies, with market requests and new solutions.
We have great R&D teams — one in U.S., one in Poland — and we work on new solutions. I see that we can change a lot of industries with our solutions. This keeps me really energized every day, to discuss new technologies, new solutions, and how we can impact the development of various industries like aerospace, the energy sector, and the automotive industry. I’m proud to see some cars with our components.
Doug Glenn: It keeps you energized!
It’s good to enjoy your work, and it’s good to have passion for the future. I think that trickles down to your organization; you certainly have.
About the expert: Slawomir Wozniak started his professional career at SECO/WARWICK in 1994 initially as a service engineer and then as a deputy manager of CAB. Later he was posted to SECO/WARWICK Retech in China before an appointment of managing director at SECO/WARWICK Allied in India and chief operating officer of SECO/WARWICK Group. Later he was appointed managing director (Asia) and member of the management board at SECO/WARWICK SA. In 2018 he became vice president of the SECO/WARWICK SA Management Board, chief operating officer of the SECO/WARWICK Group, and he is the current president of the SECO/WARWICK Group.
A heat treat furnace was recently shipped and installed at commercial heat treat facility in Eastern PA. The equipment will expand the company's vacuum heat treat and gas quench capabilities.
Solar Manufacturing recently delivered a Mentor® vacuum furnace. The furnace has stainless steel chamber, a work zone of 12” x 12” x 18” deep, and a maximum operating temperature of 2400°F with a workload capacity of 250 pounds. The furnace includes a VHS 6” diffusion pump for vacuum performance in the 10-6 Torr range, a 7.5HP fan motor for internal gas quenching up to 15PSIG (2-bar), and the SolarVac® fully automated and programmable controls package with a Eurotherm digital recorder.
Find heat treating products and services when you search on Heat Treat Buyers Guide.com
Find heat treating products and services when you search on Heat Treat Buyers Guide.com
Heat Treat 
At the front of some major developments in heat treat technologies is Slawomir Wozniak, CEO of SECO/WARWICK. Join him and 
We would also like to highlight our footprint on the U.S. market because we have three companies. We have RETECH, SECO/VACUUM Technologies, and SECO/WARWICK Corporation. We like to see the companies working together, and we see a big interest from U.S. customers to get equipment made in America. RETECH produces vacuumatological equipment (vacuum melting equipment) in the United States. We would also like to build vacuum furnaces in the U.S. SECO/WARWICK Corporation has been in business for many years, and we would like to continue with production of atmospheric furnaces and aluminum process furnaces. We are also thinking about aluminum brazing equipment we build in U.S.
