A contract valued at approximately $116 million to deliver 16 additional UH-72A Lakotas for the United States Army has been received by a leading aeronautics, space, and related services provider, the company’s second request this year to supply the U.S. Army’s Lakota program.
Chris Emerson, president and CEO of Airbus Helicopters, Inc. and head of the North America Region
Airbus Helicopters Inc announces the new contract includes the UH-72A production aircraft, associated technical and flight operator manuals and program management in training configuration for the Initial Entry Rotary Wing mission at Ft. Rucker. The UH-72A is a twin-engine utility helicopter used for a wide range of military operations including troop and light cargo transport, MEDEVAC, VIP transport, border security, and Homeland Defense.
“We are proud of our partnership with the U.S. Army. As the world’s best Helicopter Trainer provider, we recognize how important an asset the Lakota is for Army Aviation and our nation. Our employees at Airbus are committed to delivering every aircraft on-cost and on-schedule, without exception,” said Chris Emerson, president and CEO of Airbus Helicopters, Inc. and head of the North America Region. “Our mission of providing this vital national asset is crucial to the protection of our country and the closure of the pilot shortage gap.”
The Lakota is a key component of the Army’s Aviation Restructuring Initiative (ARI) and the primary rotary-wing trainer for the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker, Ala. The UH 72A Lakota is fielded in and out of the Continental United States in several different configurations, performing a number of essential missions for the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and the National Guard.
This is the third and final special report from the triennial mega-meeting hosted by the Metal Treating Institute (MTI) and the Industrial Heating Equipment Association (IHEA) and the pressing question that needs to be answered is: “Where do manufacturers with in-house heat treat departments find good training and troubleshooting resources?”
This three-day event with over 91 heat treat industry supplier companies represented and approximately 200 attendees addresses the “brain drain” topic we reported on in Monday’s special report (click here to read Monday’s post).
Pete Hushek, 2018 President of MTI, talks about heat treat training for manufacturers with in-house heat treat operations
Both organizations are offering training courses, both live and web-based, for manufacturers with in-house heat treat. Some of the specific courses are mentioned below. In addition to offering training, both organizations also offer memberships to these same companies.
For membership information, click on the appropriate links below:
For the Industrial Heating Equipment Association, click here.
For training, consider the following:
IHEA Training Opportunities
If you’re looking for comprehensive, face-to-face combustion training, consider attending IHEA’s Combustion Seminar. The next combustion seminar is scheduled for early October and a link to register will be up on the website (www.ihea.org) in the near future. You can also purchase a video recording of a recent Combustion Seminar by clicking here. The cost is $960 (less for IHEA members). The course includes the following (plus more):
chemistry and efficiency of combustion
types of industrial burners available and how they are applied for efficient operation
supply and control of the fuel and air for these systems including piping design and valve selection
flame safety requirements of combustion systems
process and ratio controls with exposure to micro-processor equipment
furnace pressure controls for operation and efficiency improvements
preheated combustion air and furnace recuperators
NOX and other emissions: what causes them and how to minimize them
infrared process heating overview and applications
IHEA also offers an Induction Webinar and a Safety Webinar for training your employees how to safely operate and work around heat treating equipment. The next iteration of these face-to-face seminars are scheduled for early October. Check back to IHEA’s website for exact details.
IHEA also offers a very comprehensive online training course which covers many of the fundamentals of heat treating. More information at https://www.ihea.org/events/event_list.asp.
MTI Training Opportunities
The MTI offers equally good training in its Online Academy (click here for more information). The course offering is broad and very professionally presented. The Online Academy comes at a very affordable price of $1,400-$2,800 per year for up to 10 “seats”.
The Academy for Heat Treaters has both technical and managerial content. With over 175 hours of training, there is a wide array of heat treat topics to help management and line personnel understand the technical aspects of heat treating as well as “think” like a heat treater.
Since its inception, the MTI Academy has held over 25,000 classes all across the world. It satisfies minimum training requirements for Nadcap, ISO, and most other certification bodies.
Sample MTI Certificate of Completion available for completing certain MTI Academy training courses.
Within the Academy, students can earn four different certificates:
Courses can be purchased individually or through the Academy Annual Corporate Subscription Program which provides unlimited use of all 175+ hours of training for a heat treat plant.
There’s More
The above listing of courses is not all that can be said about the offering from either organization. More can be found at each organization’s website or by contacting me directly with any questions. Click here to send me an email.
With the need for training being real, both of these organizations have well-developed educational and training programs that are worth pursuing.
See the first two Special Reports by Heat TreatTodaypublisher Doug Glenn here:
A new high-tensile, highly shock-resistant prepreg that incorporates carbon fiber has recently been developed by a high-performance fiber company in Germany for aerospace applications and specialized carbon nanotubes (CNT).
Toho Tenax Co., Lt., the core company of the Teijin Group, announced the hybrid prepreg has been adopted by Mizuno Corporation in a new golf club shaft that weighs nearly 30 percent less than conventional shafts of the same thickness. A prepreg is a carbon fiber sheet pre-impregnated with matrix resin and used as an intermediate material for carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP). The high-tensile prepreg enables the shaft to bend suitably as the ball is impacted and then cuts the shock of impact by more than 10 percent to reduce club movement on the follow-through swing.
The surface of the CNT is specially treated and its structural elements disperse equally when Toho Tenax’s carbon fiber is impregnated with matrix resin containing the CNT. The hybrid combination of carbon fiber and CNT realizes a superior CFRP that offers improved tensile strength and shock resistance. The CFRP is more durable because the carbon fiber and matrix resin do not peel away from each other thanks to the CNT’s balanced dispersion.
The Teijin Group is accelerating its development of its new high-tensile, highly shock-resistant prepreg for high-end applications in the sports and leisure fields, then eventually in aircraft fields, where weight reduction and high functionality are especially critical. Teijin also is strengthening its capabilities to provide solutions for diverse global businesses, from upstream to downstream.
Special Report by Doug Glenn, Heat Treat Today Publisher
Doug Glenn, Publisher, Heat Treat Today
As mentioned in yesterday's special report, the Metal Treating Institute (MTI) and the Industrial Heating Equipment Association (IHEA) kicked off their combined triennial meeting yesterday in Scottsdale, Arizona, at the Talking Stick Resort.
For manufacturers with in-house heat treat departments, this event carries significance . . . even though it is not an event many (or any) of you might attend. It's at this event where the suppliers of your equipment, components, technology, and know-how update and hone their skills for helping you accomplish the heat treating you do every day.
Because many of you in the aerospace, automotive, medical, and energy sectors may know and recognize some of the attendees at this event (and because we all like seeing OUR pictures online!), today's Special Report is a selection of photos taken at last night's Opening Reception. Enjoy today's Special Report and let your favorite vendor know you saw them on Heat Treat Today if/when you see them next.
Also, special thanks goes out to these three generous sponsors for helping to underwrite the cost of this event:
Manufacturers with in-house heat treat would benefit from what’s going on this week in Scottsdale, Arizona. As many of you have expressed, experts are leaving your organizations, and they are not easy to replace.
Heat Treat Today recently had a manufacturer in the mid-Atlantic region call to say, “We need help with stress relieving!” They had nowhere to turn so they called us. This same type of thing is happening time and time again across the country as those with in-house heat treat knowledge retire or move on to other companies.
Where does a manufacturer with in-house heat treat turn for heat treating knowledge?
Besides subscribing to one of Heat TreatToday‘s regular newsletters and visiting the website periodically, in-house heat treaters can tap into the resources that have converged on Scottsdale this week. Starting today at the Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, North America’s largest gathering of heat treating industry professionals are holding a combined meeting with two of the nation’s most prestigious thermal processing organizations:
MTI — The Metal Treating Institute is a network of over 300 commercial/contract heat treating companies and suppliers.
Both of these organizations have separate semi-annual meetings, but once every 3 years they have a combined mega-meeting that brings in one of the largest gatherings of heat treat intelligence in all of North America. Companies from Canada, Mexico, and the USA are represented. This week’s meeting has drawn over 200 attendees and is full of educational sessions and networking opportunities to keep North America’s heat treat minds fresh and progressive.
Companies with in-house heat treat should consider tapping into one or both of these organizations to help them fill the brain drain that is happening and will continue to happen over the next decade.
Brain drain is a real phenomenon.
Heat TreatToday spoke with one company who estimated that up to 60 percent of the heat treat brains in their organization will retire within the next 10 years. This is not an isolated case. Baby boomers, who make up the vast majority of today’s heat treat industry brain trust, are beginning to retire and there are not enough metallurgists graduating from North American universities to fill the gap. Where are these manufacturers with in-house heat treat going to turn for specific, real-life heat treat help?
MTI CEO, Tom Morrison takes a “selfie” with Heat Treat Today’s Mary and Doug Glenn in Scottsdale, Arizona, as plans are being finalized for this week’s big heat treat brain trust meeting.
Both MTI and IHEA encourage manufacturers with in-house heat treat to join their organizations. This would be a great place to start. Both of these organizations are capable of fielding nearly any heat treat-related questions and if they don’t know the answers, they know people who will know the answers.
Both organizations also provide excellent training programs targeted especially for manufacturers with in-house heat treat.
IHEA’s combustion, safety, and induction seminars are all highly rated and reasonably priced. For more information on these courses, click here.
MTI offers a wide spectrum of heat treating courses in their “Heat Treat Academy”. Some are free, some come at a price. Click here for more information on the Heat Treat Academy.
So, here is a challenge. If you are a manufacturer with in-house heat treat, and your company is located near Scottsdale, Arizona, I suggest you send one or more of your top heat treat personnel over to the Talking Stick hotel/resort/casino sometime on Tuesday or Wednesday to join in on the meetings of top heat treat minds. If you’re brave and compulsive enough to take the challenge, please send me an email and I’ll help make the arrangements.
Otherwise, think about joining one or both of these organizations.
Finally, you can always contact Heat Treat Today with any heat treat related problems or questions.
A Dozen Quick Heat Treat News Items to Keep You Current
Heat Treat Today offers News Chatter, a feature highlighting representative moves, transactions, and kudos from around the industry.
Personnel and Company Chatter
Lars Jonsson has been appointed new employee representative to the Bulten AB board for a term of office of three years. Lars has been employed at Bulten’s plant in Hallstahammar since 1984 where he has worked as a machine operator until two years ago when he switched to tool maker. Bulten is a supplier of fasteners to the international automotive industry.
Paulo’s Cleveland division is expanding to add 50,000 sq ft, allow for the installation of more vacuum heat treatment furnaces, and provide optimized flow of work through the facility. The Cleveland plant primarily serves the aerospace, power generation, and agriculture industries and specializes in precise high-temperature vacuum heat treatment and brazing of nickel-based superalloys.
James R. Darsey, executive vice president of raw materials for Nucor Corporation announced his upcoming retirement after more than 39 years of service with Nucor. Effective June 10, 2018, Craig A. Feldman will be promoted to the role of executive vice president of raw materials. Mr. Feldman began his career with the David J. Joseph Company (DJJ) in 1986 and stayed with the company, becoming president of DJJ in 2013. When DJJ was acquired by Nucor in 2008, Feldman became a vice president and general manager of Nucor Corporation. Upon his promotion to EVP, Mr. Feldman will retain his role as president of DJJ.
Dr. Steve Offley recently joined Phoenix Temperature Measurement as Product Marketing Manager, bringing over 21 years of experience in the industrial process temperature monitoring industry. Besides promoting and marketing PhoenixTM’s temperature monitoring productions, Dr. Offley will focus on development of new and innovative processes temperature-monitoring solutions.
Solar Atmospheres of Western PA recently installed a second machining center to support its newest service for customers – tensile testing. By adding a brand new fully programmable 8100 RPM Haas VF2 milling center, Solar is now able to support the machining of flat tensile specimens. This machining ability fully complements the function of the 10,000 PSI hydraulic jaw that is an integral component of the Tinius Olsen 300SL tensile machine. These massive hydraulic jaws can grip either threaded round or flat specimens.
Paulo\’s expansion in Cleveland
Craig A. Feldman, executive vice president of raw materials, Nucor
tensile testing center, Solar Atmospheres of Western PA
Equipment Chatter
A 750°F (399°C), gas-fired cabinet oven was recently supplied by Grieve Corporation to be used for baking radiator cores at the customer’s facility. The workspace dimensions of this oven, the No. 1046, measure 80″ W x 88″ D x 18″ H, with a 76″ wide x 76″ long, 750 lb. capacity pneumatic operated rollout shelf with an insulated plug to seal doorway opening.
An intermediate-sized front-loading box furnace was recently delivered to the Canadian Government Forestry Division. L&L Special Furnace Co., Inc., equipped the furnace, which meets Canadian electrical standards, with an atmosphere-sealed case for use with inert gas to displace oxygen and minimize surface de-carb. It is purged with inert gas prior to loading and the parts are then heated under a controlled atmosphere. There is a 1″ NPT survey port located on the right side of the furnace employed for calibration and uniformity surveys.
An aerospace and defense company recently purchased a rotary hearth furnace to heat treat state-of-the-art equipment, specifically to process specialized gears for helicopters. Ipsen plans to deliver the rotary hearth furnace early next year.
gas-fired cabinet oven, Grieve Corporation
intermediate-sized front-loading box furnace, L&L Special Furnace
rotary hearth furnace, Ipsen
Kudos Chatter
Advanced Heat Treat Corp. recently reported that its Iowa (MidPort-Corporate Office and Burton Ave, Waterloo) and Michigan locations have successfully transitioned from ISO/TS 16949:2009 to ISO 9001:2015 / IATF 16949:2016.
Stock Drive Products/Sterling Instrument (SDP/SI) has also announced that it meets all certification requirements of the new ISO 9001:2015 + AS9100D standard, maintaining processes that provide superior components and assemblies with detailed quality reporting.
Harbison Walker International (HWI), based in western Pennsylvania, adds its announcement to the mix, reporting that its Thomasville, Georgia, monolithic/precast facility recently became the first of the company’s North American locations to earn ISO 9001:2015 certification, followed by HWI’s South Shore, Kentucky, plant becoming the first refractory brick manufacturing plant in North America to achieve the same status. Both plants achieved this quality system recognition based on the recommendation of SRI Quality System Registrar.
Rio Tinto celebrates the distinction of being the first company in the world to receive certification under the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI), the highest internationally recognized standard for robust environmental, social and governance practices across the aluminum lifecycle of production, use, and recycling. The certification follows an independent third party audit and covers a range of operations, from bauxite mining to alumina refining, aluminum smelting, the creation of value-added products, transformation and recycling, and associated activities. Rio Tinto’s five aluminum smelters, the Vaudreuil refinery, casting and spent potlining treatment centers, and associated infrastructure such as power, port and railway facilities in Quebec, Canada, have been certified, along with the Gove bauxite mine in Australia.
Heat Treat Today is pleased to join in the announcements of growth and achievement throughout the industry by highlighting them here on our News Chatter page. Please send any information you feel may be of interest to manufacturers with in-house heat treat departments especially in the aerospace, automotive, medical, and energy sectors to the editor at editor@heattreattoday.com.
Christophe Dominiak, senior vice president and chief technology officer of Dana
An engineering solutions company based in Maumee, Ohio, recently announced it will be supplying all-wheel-drive axle to the new, award-winning Volkswagen Crafter 4 Motion panel van.
Dana Incorporated manufactures the compactly designed Spicer® AdvanTEK®M180 axle at its Birmingham, England, facility. A key feature of the axle is its advanced electronic-locking differential. As part of the complete system design, the four-pinion rear-locking differential incorporates an electric solenoid with an electronic position sensor to lock the wheels together for improved traction and stability. Dana was responsible for ensuring the locking differential application software met Volkswagen’s stringent performance and demanding functional safety requirements.
“Our team worked closely with Volkswagen from start to finish to develop and launch the best solution for the all-new Crafter 4 Motion. We are proud to be part of this vehicle, the 2017 International Van of the Year,” said Christophe Dominiak, senior vice president and chief technology officer of Dana. “The new axle on the Volkswagen Crafter is a great example of Dana’s leadership in efficient all-wheel-drive integration technologies and our ability to partner with our customers to provide them the solution they need to meet ever-changing market demands.”
The company also launched its Spicer® AdvanTEK® M250 rear axle – also manufactured in Birmingham, England – for rear-wheel-drive versions of the VW Crafter. This axle is designed to handle heavier payloads while providing optimal traction and power density, even when the vehicle is fully loaded.
Dana supports the passenger vehicle, commercial truck, and off-highway markets, as well as industrial and stationary equipment applications.
Engineering giant Rolls-Royce has entered into a 15-year contract with a UK-based thermal processing services specialist to secure specialized vacuum heat treatment and hot isostatic pressing (HIP) to support its civil aerospace production.
Bodycote, which provides heat treatment services that protect and improve the properties of metals and alloys, extending their operational life and making them safer, will work with Rolls-Royce’s turbine blade casting facilities in Derby and Rotherham.
The agreement, which is expected to be worth over £160 million ($227.3 million US) in incremental revenues over the 15-year period, ensures the provision of specialist thermal processing capacity utilizing Bodycote’s high performance, quality-focused approach to support the growth of Rolls-Royce’s large civil engine programs, including the Trent XWB, Trent 1000, Trent 7000, Trent 700 and Trent 900.
A Cleveland-based iron ore mining company recently broke ground on its first hot-briquetted iron (HBI) production facility in the Toledo area.
Lourenco Goncalves, chairman, president, and CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs
Cleveland-Cliffs hosted company officials and state and local representatives to launch construction on the plant, which is expected to produce 1.6 million metric tons per year of customized, high-quality HBI. This will make Cleveland-Cliffs the sole producer of high-quality customized feedstock for the domestic electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmakers located in the Great Lakes region.
“Today we are launching a new era for the iron and steel industry in the United States,” said Lourenco Goncalves, chairman, president, and CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs of the $700 million investment. “As Cleveland-Cliffs begins the construction of the first hot-briquetted iron (HBI) production plant in the Great Lakes region, we are taking the initial steps to enable EAF steelmakers to produce the specs associated with high margin steels for sophisticated end markets, such as automotive and others.”
“For several decades, Cleveland-Cliffs has been supplying the American steelmakers in the Great Lakes with customized pellets to feed their blast furnaces,” Goncalves added. “With the growth in participation of EAFs, it was just a matter of time for Cliffs to become a supplier of these important steelmakers. Our HBI will be for the EAFs the same great feedstock our taconite pellets are, and will continue to be, for our blast furnace clients.”
“This facility is an important step for economic development in heavy industry right here in the heart of America,” said Ohio congresswoman Marcy Kaptur.
Founded in 1847, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. is the largest and oldest independent iron ore mining company in the United States, supplying iron ore pellets to the North American steel industry from mines and pellet plants located in Michigan and Minnesota. Additionally, Cleveland-Cliffs operates an iron ore mining complex in Western Australia.
Pictured L-R: Clifford Smith, Executive Vice President, Business Development, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.; Dean Monske, President and CEO, Regional Growth Partnership; Paul Toth, President and CEO, Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority; Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, U.S. House of Representatives (OH-09); Lourenco Goncalves, Chairman, President & CEO, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.; Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz – City of Toledo; Peter Ujvagi, Toledo City Councilman; and Alex Johnson, CEO & President, Midwest Terminals. (Photo: Business Wire)
A Belgian manufacturer of buses, coaches, and industrial vehicles recently announced it will build a bus factory in Morristown, Tennessee. This will be Van Hool’s first production facility in the United States although its vehicles have been on the streets of North America since 1987. The plant is expected to produce state of the art buses and commuter coaches under the “Buy America Act”, which requires vehicles supplied to public authorities that are assembled in the U.S. to contain 70 percent of their parts from American suppliers and 100 percent American steel.
“We are excited to announce the next step of the Van Hool group’s global growth plans here in Morristown, Hamblen County, Tennessee. The investment of more than $47 million confirms the more than 30-year presence of Van Hool on the American market. Today we are looking forward to building a state-of-the-art bus factory in Morristown to provide the entire North American market with high-quality buses and commuter coaches for transportation agencies from 2020 onwards,” said Filip Van Hool, CEO at Van Hool.
Once the facility is operational in the first quarter of 2020, Van Hool will employ 600 and manufacture around 400 buses and commuter coaches annually for the North American public transport market. The groundbreaking ceremony for the new site will take place at the end of summer 2018.
Present at the announcement in Morristown, Tennessee, were Bill Haslam, Governor of Tennessee, and Bob Rolfe, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD).
