Answers in the Atmosphere: Industrial Gas Supplier Tech Support Part 1

/ BULK GASES & SYSTEMS TECHNICAL CONTENT, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT TECH

In this Technical Tuesday installment of Answers in the Atmosphere, David (Dave) Wolff, an independent expert focusing on industrial atmospheres for heat treat applications, examines how technical support has evolved from a value-added service into a key differentiator among industrial gas suppliers. Drawing on industry history and insights from Messer LLC, Wolff explores the range of support models available today and the factors heat treaters should consider when evaluating gas supply partnerships beyond price alone.

This informative piece was first released in Heat Treat Today’s July 2026 Annual Super Brands Issue print edition.

Do you have the technical support you need? Not all industrial gas suppliers are the same when it comes to technical support and gas delivery offerings. A critical look must be taken to consider how much technical support you can be looking to your supplier for when signing a gas contract.

We’ll look at a bit of history of the differentiation of technical support offerings in the industrial gases space before homing in on how one specific has supplier, Messer LLC, offers their support so you can better evaluate the cost of gas supply alongside the level of technical support your operations may require.

A Bit of History

Industrial gases have long been treated as commodities, making differentiation among suppliers a persistent challenge. In the early years of the industry (through the 1950s), gas applications were narrowly utilized, especially for the primary steelmaking and refining industries, and most technical knowledge remained with these end user rather than the supplier.

To increase traction with their smaller manufacturing clients, industrial gas suppliers began pairing gas delivery with technical support to help these clients use gases safely and achieve productivity gains. This full-service model propelled increased industrial gas adoption across more general industries.

By the 1970s, the use of industrial gases had become more widespread to include industries like heat treating. Clients were increasing their knowledge of these gases and sought to improve labor and energy efficiency as well as reduce manufacturing costs.

This knowledge increase brought intensified competition for suppliers, prompting a shift toward offering range of service models. Some suppliers reduced or separated technical support to compete on price, while others continued to emphasize integrated service and application expertise. For example, in the 1980s Airgas reduced their technical support to provide a bare product approach at a lower price point. This action prompted other major gas suppliers to adjust their approach and offer technical support selectively, and at times for an additional cost.

Today, these technical support offerings are widely varied. The rest of the discussion is taken from an interview I was privileged to have with Grzegorz Moroz, program manager at Messer LLC.

Supporting Furnace Owners in a Changing Environment

Moroz first spoke about heat treaters’ long reliance on gases to maintain furnace atmospheres. Early-generation atmospheres, such as exothermic and endothermic gas, acetylene, and dissociated ammonia, were effective for their time. Over the past decades, industrial gas companies have advanced the safe use of nitrogen- and hydrogen-based atmospheres among others to deliver greater precision and tighter process control.

According to Moroz, furnace owners face multiple challenges:

  • Higher quality expectations with shorter lead times and reduced costs
  • Increasing safety and emissions regulations
  • Greater automation across operations
  • A less experienced and more transient workforce

Types of Support

Industrial gas companies, Moroz continues, vary widely in the level of support they may offer. Some focus on gas delivery or a specific expertise, while others offer comprehensive technical, safety, and application support as part of the overall supply relationship. For Messer, solutions are tailored from a team of technical and product experts that support heat treating from efficient, safe, and reliable operations as well as play review.

Access to Support

There are different commercial models industrial gas providers employ to enable their services, explains Moroz. While most will not provide ongoing assistance to facilities supplied by their competitors to avoid conflicts of interest, practices vary across the industry. Even so, contract structures often limit many suppliers from being flexible in delivering technical resources. Informal technical advice may be provided occasionally from gas suppliers that maintain in-house expertise.

Multi-supplier arrangements are common. This may be due to increased volume demands, supply security, strategies, or differing gas specifications, so Messer routinely navigates this reality. However, be aware that larger suppliers often prefer being the sole provider of all gas requirements at a site.

In part 2, we’ll talk more about what’s involved in an installation technical assessment and considering the right industry supplier expert.

About The Author:

David (Dave) Wolff
Industrial Gas Professional
Wolff Engineering

Dave Wolff has over 40 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.

For more information: Contact Dave Wolff at Wolff-eng@icloud.com.

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Heat Treat Economic Indicators for July: Growth Outlook Remains Strong

/ HEAT TREAT ECONOMIC NEWS

Heat Treat Today has gathered the four heat treat industry-specific economic indicators for July 2026. The results suggest continued growth across the heat treat industry, with suppliers anticipating healthy business conditions despite a modest cooling from June’s stronger outlook.

July’s data points to anticipated expansion in all four indicators, with each remaining above the growth threshold. Inquiries are projected at 64.3 (up from 54.0 in June), signaling renewed client activity. Bookings are expected to remain solid at 60.6 (up slightly from 60.0 in June). The Backlog index is forecast at 60.0 (from 61.0 in June). Meanwhile, the Health of the Manufacturing Economy index is projected at 60.7 (from 65.0 in June).

July’s indicators suggest suppliers continue to anticipate favorable business conditions heading into the heart of the summer production season. The sharp rebound in inquiries points to healthy client engagement, while bookings and backlog remain firmly in expansion territory, indicating sustained demand for heat treating services. Although manufacturers’ outlook for the broader economy moderated from June’s exceptionally strong reading, it continues to signal expected growth, reinforcing expectations that the industry will remain on stable footing in the month ahead.

The results from this month’s survey (July) are as follows: numbers above 50 indicate growth, numbers below 50 indicate contraction, and the number 50 indicates no change:

  • Anticipated change in Number of Inquiries from June to July: 64.3
  • Anticipated change in Value of Bookings from June to July: 60.6
  • Anticipated change in Size of Backlog from June to July: 60.0
  • Anticipated change in Health of the Manufacturing Economy from June to July: 60.7

Data for July 2026

The four index numbers are reported monthly by Heat Treat Today and made available on the website. 

Heat Treat Today’s Economic Indicators measure and report on four heat treat industry indices. Each month, approximately 800 individuals who classify themselves as suppliers to the North American heat treat industry receive the survey. Above are the results. Data collection began in June 2023. If you would like to participate in the monthly survey, please click here to subscribe.

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Vacuum Arc Remelting Supports Aerospace Casting

/ AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT NEWS, FOUNDRY CASTING NEWS, TITANIUM PROCESSING NEWS, VACUUM FURNACES NEWS

A titanium casting manufacturer is expanding its vacuum melting capacity with the installation of a vacuum arc remelting consumable casting furnace, increasing capacity for near-net-shape titanium components serving the aerospace industry. The investment is intended to improve production lead times while supporting growing demand for titanium castings used in high-performance applications.

Castings Technology chooses Retech VAR. | Image Credit: SECO/WARWICK Group

Castings Technology, the United Kingdom’s only commercial titanium casting specialist, selected a VAR Consumable Caster (VAR-CC) furnace from Retech, a global vacuum metallurgy company within the SECO/WARWICK Group based in North America. The furnace will be installed at the company’s new 18,000-square-meter facility, where it will be used to cast titanium ingots into ceramic molds.

Richard Cook
Managing Director
Castings Technology

“The delivery of the new VAR furnace will help us fulfill the growing needs of our exacting client base,” said Richard Cook, managing director of Castings Technology. “Due to dynamic growth and significant constraints within our current facility, we are in the process of relocating to a new site of about 18,000 square meter just a short distance away. The relocation is on plan, with a period of parallel operation continuing throughout 2026 to fully mitigate any risk to our clients’ programs.”

The new furnace is expected to support increased demand for titanium, especially from the aerospace sector, where backlogs have now surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Titanium’s high strength-to-weight ratio and corrosion resistance have made it a widely used material across many sectors, including aerospace, motorsport, medical prosthetics, restorative dentistry, and high-duty rotating equipment. Near-net-shape titanium casting also provides mechanical properties comparable to forged or wrought material while increasing fatigue resistance.

Press release is available in its original form here.

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Vacuum Degassing Plant to Boost Steel Quality

/ MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS, VACUUM FURNACES NEWS

A new vacuum degassing plant is expected to increase meltshop performance and capacity while enabling the production of a larger volume of high-quality steel grades. The investment in secondary metallurgy will support steelmaking operations by removing a production bottleneck and improving productivity at a Mexican steel producer’s facility.

TYASA has selected Primetals Technologies for a new vacuum degassing (VD) plant at its Ixtaczoquitlán site. | Image Credit: Primetals Technologies

Mexican steel producer Talleres y Aceros S.A. de C.V. (TYASA) has awarded Primetals Technologies a contract to supply a twin vacuum degassing (VD) plant for its steelmaking facility in Ixtaczoquitlán, Mexico. The plant is scheduled to begin operation in October 2027.

Primetals’ scope of supply includes the VD plant’s mechanical equipment, vacuum pumps, valve stands, alloy addition systems, and Level 1 and Level 2 automation systems. The company will also provide electrical equipment and advisory services for installation and commissioning.

The new VD plant will integrate with TYASA’s existing twin ladle furnaces using the same rail track and ladle cars. The ladle cars will be modified with VD tanks, allowing ladle furnace treatment while the ladle remains in the vacuum degassing tank. This arrangement minimizes crane movements between the ladle furnace and VD station while supporting efficient material handling.

The VD plant will support TYASA’s Castrip® plant by enabling an LF-VD-LF process that maximizes productivity of the facility’s Quantum electric arc furnace. The project layout takes advantage of existing utility systems and infrastructure that were designed to accommodate a future VD installation, allowing the plant to be installed with only minor impact on ongoing production.

Press release is available in its original form here.

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MTI Member Profile: Akron Steel Treating Company

/ MTI MEMBER PROFILES

In the heart of Akron, Ohio, stands Akron Steel Treating Company — an enduring example of American grit, craftsmanship, and family-driven values built upon a legacy that began in a family garage in the quiet hum of wartime urgency. Founded in 1943 by Prosper P. Powell with the help of the U.S. Army, the original facility was no more than a makeshift operation for heat treating firing pins. But even then, the commitment to quality was uncompromising. Work overflowed into the family’s kitchen oven, and every part was handled with care and purpose.

Prosper P. Powell at the original Akron Steel Treating building | Image Credit: Akron Steel Treating Company

Today, more than 80 years later, that same spirit drives the company. Still family-owned and operated, Akron Steel Treating (AST) has grown into a 65,000 square-foot facility that blends old-school workmanship with modern technology. Their secret isn’t just in the furnaces; it’s in their values. Honesty, integrity, and respect guide every project, every client relationship, and every part that passes through their hands.

When manufacturers think of AST, they should think of reliability without compromise. With industries ranging from aerospace and automotive to medical, electronics, construction, and defense, the heat treater supports some of the most demanding applications where failure is not an option. Their metallurgical consultants and heat treating experts work hand-in-hand with clients to identify the most cost-effective and performance-driven solutions, ensuring that heat treating enhances, rather than limits, the manufacturing process.

What makes them truly stand apart is its commitment to tailored solutions. Rather than push a one-size-fits-all service, AST embraces the consultative process. With a suite of heat treating options, including neutral hardening, carburizing, carbonitriding, and vacuum heat treating, they select the process that best suits each client’s needs. Their extensive quenching capabilities range from oil and air to martempering, austempering, and even intensive water quenching, offering unparalleled flexibility and precision.

Quality is not just a goal here — it is a guarantee, backed by detailed documentation and inspection protocols. Clients benefit from heat treat certifications, furnace charts, hardness testing, and stress measurements. Every part is tracked through the company’s proprietary JobShoppe™ system and Spec-View® monitoring platform. This computer network monitoring system ensures high-quality, repeatable heat treating that clients can rely on time and again.

One of AST’s proudest achievements? Supporting national defense by heat treating missile guidance fins and aircraft braking components. The company even holds a federal manufacturing firearms license, a testament to their reputation and rigorous process controls.

Looking ahead, AST is focused on staying true to its roots while embracing innovation. The next 80 years will see continued investment in new technologies to improve efficiency and broaden capabilities, all while maintaining the personalized service and family culture that define their brand.

In a world of fleeting trends and fast fixes, this heat treater is proof that craftsmanship, consistency, and character still matter. Their team, many of whom have been with the company for decades, is not just a workforce; they are the AST family, and they carry forward a proud tradition, one heat treated part at a time.

For more information:

Akron Steel Treating Company

336 Morgan Avenue
Akron, Ohio 44311

jpowell@akronsteeltreating.com
akronsteeltreating.com

Main image: Akron Steel Treating building in Akron, Ohio

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Vacuum Heat Treat Capacity Grows for Metal AM

/ MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS, SINTERING POWDER METAL NEWS, VACUUM FURNACES NEWS

AGF DEFCOM, a metal additive manufacturing company, has expanded its vacuum heat treating capacity with the addition of a second furnace, increasing throughput for thermal processing operations while reducing scheduling constraints. The investment is expected to support growing production requirements and improve turnaround times for clients requiring vacuum heat treatment of additively manufactured components.

AGF DEFCOM recently installed a second Mentor Pro vacuum furnace from Solar Manufacturing. The additional furnace expands its in-house heat treating capabilities, enabling more jobs to be processed simultaneously while improving workflow efficiency and reducing bottlenecks.

The second furnace complements AGF DEFCOM’s existing vacuum heat treating operation and increases overall processing capacity. It is designed for precision thermal processing under high-vacuum conditions and is used for applications requiring controlled heat treatment.

The addition reflects AGF DEFCOM’s continued investment in expanding its manufacturing and thermal processing capabilities for clients in the metal additive manufacturing sector.

Press release is available in its original form here.
Edit: The original press release mentions the vacuum furnace is from Solar Atmospheres. It has been updated in this press release to Solar Manufacturing, as confirmed by Solar Atmospheres.

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Why Heat Matters and the Need for Speed

/ BURNERS & COMBUSTION SYSTEMS TECHNICAL CONTENT, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT TECH, OP-ED

In this installment of Technical Tuesday, Jim Roberts of U.S. Ignition engages readers in a Combustion Corner editorial about the role of velocity in heat treating — breaking down how faster burner speeds create more turbulence in the furnace, which helps parts heat up faster and more evenly.

This editorial was first released in Heat Treat Today’s June 2026 6th Annual Buyers Guide Issue print edition.

A furnace guy walks into a heat treat plant and looks around. While it all looks calm and controlled, the agitation inside the furnaces is rampant.

So many times, we forget to slow down, look over our shoulders, and see all we’ve accomplished or learned. Combustion Corner series began with the intent to take a simple, almost primer-level look at what combustion-related issues the modern heat treater — furnace technicians, production managers, and really everybody involved in the process — may encounter.

The focus has been on burners and flame-related items. Occasionally, we get questions for an opinion on considering gas-fired versus electric furnaces or other similar questions. That’s dangerous ground to tread because so many different processes can use both. In fact in most cases, the method of heating is really moot to the process goal: Get heat delivered, cleanly, and all will be well with the parts and the process.

With that in mind, let’s take a peek at what really matters in heat treating. It’s the heat. Specifically, it’s how to get heat delivered as quickly as possible and with as much control as is possible. I know, kind of obvious that heat is important in heat treating. There are “four modes of heat transfer,” but we’ll just look at one of them today.

Convective Transfer

Convective transfer is an easy one because we see so many practical applications in our own homes. The new ovens in the modern home are often convection ovens and seemingly everybody has an air fryer. In the kitchen alone, you can see this how heat transfer increases can happen via convection increases. Take this principle to the shop floor and you can see how critical it is in processes that allow contact with flue gases or hot air.

We used to heat up the box of bricks, and once it got to the needed temperature for the metallurgy requirement, we would push in a basket of parts and wait for them to catch up to that temperature. The thermal mass of the load would literally suck the heat right out of the box, and the temperature would crash. Then, we’d wait for the temperature to stabilize. Once there, the old rules of time and temperature would apply.

But what if we wanted to speed up the process? What if we wanted more even temperature delivery and more temperature uniformity? The word that comes to mind in most burner intrinsic processes is velocity.

Velocity

We talked about how some direct-fired burners are now designed to give fantastic exit velocities from the burner and into the furnace chamber. And when I say fantastic, it has to do with comparing what was an acceptable burner design back in the early days of industrial America when burner flame/flue gas exit velocity of direct-fired heat treating was like 40 MPH. New burners of today have exit velocities of almost 500 MPH!

Here is why it matters: Velocity will have a direct effect on the heat transfer, firstly by blasting into the “boundary layer” of gases that circulate around parts in the furnace. And most flue gases have been laminar in nature, but with this increased turbulence, the agitation of these gases allows more direct contact with the actual part.

The Reynolds Number

This increased turbulence results in a higher Reynolds number. The Reynolds number (Re) is a dimensionless quantity in fluid mechanics that predicts flow patterns — laminar (smooth) or turbulent (chaotic) — by calculating the ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces.

The word viscous reminds us that all things flowing around in the furnace are considered fluid from a scientific viewpoint. Interestingly, all this turbulence also results in greater mass transport. Remembering that the part or load has some mass, once it begins to heat up, it actually begins to emit heat as well. This mass transport mechanism is a result of the turbulence moving the heated molecules away from the surface of the part more quickly, which maintains a higher temperature differential, and again, increases heat transfer.

I guess what we are doing here is starting with velocity on a burner-level discussion, and we will discuss multiple methods and scientific quirks regarding the big picture — heat transfer. We will discuss some of the basics of heat transfer and explore comparisons between conduction, radiation, and convection, and more.

Till next time…

About The Author:

Jim Roberts
President
US Ignition

Jim Roberts president at U.S. Ignition, began his 45-year career in the burner and heat recovery industry focused on heat treating specifically in 1979. He worked for and helped start up WB Combustion in Hales Corners, Wisconsin. In 1985 he joined Eclipse Engineering in Rockford, IL, specializing in heat treating-related combustion equipment/burners. Inducted into the American Gas Association’s Hall of Flame for service in training gas company field managers, Jim is a former president of MTI and has contributed to countless seminars on fuel reduction and combustion-related practices.

For more information: Contact Jim Roberts at jim@usignition.com.

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Defense Funding Backs US Titanium Production

/ AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT NEWS, SINTERING POWDER METAL NEWS, TITANIUM PROCESSING NEWS

Federal funding will support expanded domestic production of titanium plate and large-format titanium components for defense applications, helping strengthen U.S. manufacturing capacity for mission-critical materials. The initiative supports efforts to scale advanced titanium processing technologies that reduce reliance on conventional production routes while increasing supply chain resilience for aerospace, defense, and other strategic industries.

IperionX, an American titanium metal and critical materials company, has been awarded up to $6.8 million through the U.S. Department of War’s Office of the Secretary of War-Submarine Workforce and Industrial Base (OSW-SWIB) program to expand manufacturing capabilities at its Titanium Manufacturing Campus in Virginia. The award is part of a broader, multi-organization effort to increase domestic production of high-performance titanium alloy products, including ballistic-grade titanium plate for land and maritime defense platforms.

The project will be completed in two phases. An initial $200,000 will fund project scoping and testing. Pending successful completion of Phase 1, IperionX expects to receive an additional $6.4 million to expand the manufacturing capacity and purchase capital equipment for its Virginia facility.

Conventional titanium plate production involves multiple thermal and metallurgical processing steps, including sponge production, vacuum melting and remelting, ingot or slab casting, breakdown forging, hot rolling, repeated annealing, and final surface conditioning. These processes contribute to long production lead times, high capital and energy requirements, and material yield losses.

IperionX’s patented titanium technologies are designed to simplify and shorten this production route. Its proprietary HAMR™ process can produce low-cost titanium powder from titanium materials or recycled titanium while its HSPT™ and THRM™ technologies processes hydrogen-enabled thermodynamics and powder metallurgy processing to deliver high-performance, wrought-like titanium properties without reliance on conventional melt-remelt-forge pathway.

Anastasios (Taso) Arima
CEO
IperionX
Source: IperionX

Together, these technologies support IperionX’s powder-to-plate titanium manufacturing platform, which aims to reduce process steps, improve material utilization, lower energy consumption, and strengthen domestic supply-chain resilience. “By combining lower-cost titanium feedstocks with our patented HAMR™, HSPT™ and THRM™ technologies, we are developing a more efficient domestic manufacturing platform for high-performance titanium plate and components,” said Taso Arima, CEO of IperionX.

The project is a systematic metallurgical study to demonstrate how THRM/HSPT microstructural engineering can be used to achieve ballistic performance. It complements separately DoW-funded IperionX programs for powder-to-plate production. Together, these DoW-funded activities provide an alternative pathway that has the potential to reduce the U.S. dependency on imported titanium sponge.

Press release is available in its original form here.

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Happy 4th of July!

/ HEAT TREAT NEWS, HEAT TREAT NEWS INDUSTRIES

As we celebrate Independence Day, we’re reminded that the freedoms we enjoy have helped foster the innovation, determination, and entrepreneurial spirit that define American manufacturing.

At Heat Treat Today, we’re proud to serve manufacturers with their own in-house heat treat, commercial heat treaters, suppliers, and manufacturers whose work strengthens industries across North America. Your commitment to excellence helps keep manufacturing moving forward.

We wish you a safe and memorable 4th of July filled with family, friends, and celebration. Thank you for being part of the Heat Treat Today community, and Happy Independence Day!

Our offices are closed on Friday, July 3, 2026. We will be back on Monday, July 6, 2026.

Happy 4th of July! Read More »