TEMPERING NEWS

A leader in the “Tool & Dies” sector — voestalpine High Performance Metals Polska -- placed an order for a retort tempering furnace with vacuum purging. The furnace will be used for tempering tool steel after the gas quenching process.

While this is the first opportunity for the company and SECO/WARWICK to cooperate after the global-pandemic-caused crisis, the contract is the result of long-term cooperation between the supplier and voestalpine High Performance Metals Polska Sp. z o.o. (formerly Bohler Uddeholm Polska). A retort tempering furnace with vacuum purging will complete the production line installed in Łomianki near Warsaw. The facility is currently operating the equipment delivered previously from the supplier, including a hardening furnace and a tempering furnace. Another furnace will significantly increase the capacity of the hardening plant.

“Voestalpine High Performance Metals Polska is a partner whom we’ve known for many years," said Maciej Korecki, VP of the Vacuum Business Segment, SECO/WARWICK Group. "We know their needs, we are able to provide advice and most importantly, customize the equipment to their specific needs. Our relationship is not just superficial — we learn from each other, and thus we know the challenges they face in their day-to-day production."

Vacuum furnaces are perfect for hardening and tempering. They are characterized by the high-quality of processed parts, much lower number of hardening deformations and the absence of batch oxidation which directly translates into significant money savings.

“Our main goal was to increase the capacity. Our machinery park has already included a SECO/WARWICK tempering furnace, which has proved itself perfectly," summarized Cezary Żurada, president of the Management Board of voestalpine High Performance Metals Polska. He continued, "It is worth noting that despite being less demanding, the tempering process usually takes more time than the hardening process. Therefore, in order to be able to make full use of the hardening furnace, for tooling steel we needed two tempering furnaces. Now we will be able to make production more dynamic and conquer new markets."