Heat Treat Today publishes twelve print magazines a year and included in each is a letter from the editor. This letter is from the November 2025 Annual Vacuum Heat Treating print edition. In today’s letter, Bethany Leone, managing editor at Heat Treat Today, shares her insights on the value of in-person visits to captive heat treat facilities and announces a new editorial series aimed at spotlighting North America’s best in-house operations.
There is nothing like walking your shop floor. I’m talking for me, not for you. But perhaps you agree!
When I leave my neighborhood, I often pass a steel operation with atmosphere heat treat furnaces sitting snugly by the door. In the winter, the building’s windows are flung open. In the summer, workers head out of the building toward the parking lot (seemingly) every hour. And I want in.
Regrettably, I have yet to elbow my way into that fine establishment to see what’s going on, but hopefully one day I will.
This Editor’s Page is very self-interested: I want to see your heat treat operations.
At Heat Treat Today, we’re on a mission to spotlight North America’s best captive heat treat facilities — the quiet powerhouses who are making gears harder, shafts straighter, and production lines hum with thermal precision. And we’re willing to travel to do it.
Whether you’re in Ontario or Ohio, Monterrey or Michigan, we want to be on your shop floor, taking notes, asking questions, and celebrating the know-how that keeps your operation running strong. In-person site visits give us an unmatched opportunity to understand your process flow, your constraints, and what really makes your team tick. It’s the difference between writing about heat treating and actually getting into it.
A New Editorial Series: “An Inside Look at In-House”
We’re calling this editorial series “An Inside Look at In-House.” Our aim is to profile exceptional in-house heat treat operations to hear their stories: Why they changed a process, added automation, doubled down on legacy equipment, or resisted the pressure to outsource. Even when change isn’t the story, stability might be. If you haven’t altered your heat treat process in twenty years, that might be the very reason we want to feature you.
Why Open Your Doors?
I am not naive, though. Your work home is not an open-door environment. So why let us in?
We respect your time and value your trust. Our editorial team works with every contributor closely to ensure accuracy and clarity with absolutely no trade secrets exposed and no photos published without your consent. In return, you get visibility for your team, credibility for your investment in captive heat treating, and a chance to shape the conversation in your industry. Dare I ask you to envision the front magazine cover of Heat Treat Today splashed with a picture of you and your team?
Whether you have a story to tell or you’re simply proud of what your people do, we want to talk with you. Maybe even walk, too.
Get in Touch
Reach out to me directly at bethany@heattreattoday.com. If you’re lucky, Doug Glenn might even come with me — or instead of me! (You can request either one of us, but no guarantees.)
Let’s open the doors and shine a light on the hidden heroes of heat treat. We’re ready when you are.
Managing Editor
Heat Treat Today
Contact: Bethany Leone at bethany@heattreattoday.com
