Furnaces North America (FNA) 2026 isn’t just where heat treat professionals gather — it’s where the industry’s leading suppliers, innovators, and technology experts come together to share what’s next.
With registration now open, hear what two key event sponsors have to say about why FNA remains the premier event for the heat treating community.
“You’d be hard-pressed to find a trade show around heat treatment globally, anywhere, that has this many knowledgeable people in one place at one time as Furnaces North America.” — Matt Clinite, Vice President of Sales, Ipsen
“If you’re within the heat treat segment, I think Furnaces North America is a must-attend show because you get the opportunity to see what is going on in the segment, what’s coming down the road, hear from your peers and colleagues what is on their minds and where they’re heading. And if you want to stay competitive and you want to be prepared for the future, it’s definitely the place to have great conversations.” — Patrick Reliecke, Technical Sales Account Manager, RoMan Manufacturing
Why do industry leaders keep coming back to FNA?
35+ technical sessions covering the latest trends, technology, and best practices
150+ suppliers showcasing cutting-edge equipment and services in one dynamic trade show floor
High-energy networking opportunities with peers and industry leaders from around the world
Insightful discussions on new equipment, emerging tech, and industry challenges
Who should attend?
Heat treating professionals at every level — from company leaders and department managers to engineers, operators, technical directors, and quality personnel.
When and where?
October 12–14, 2026 at the Indiana Convention Center, 100 South Capital Ave, Indianapolis, IN
Whether you’re looking for new technology, strategic partnerships, or practical solutions to today’s challenges, FNA 2026 brings the people and ideas shaping the future of heat treating together under one roof.
In this episode ofHeat TreatRadio, host Heather Falcone sits down with Doug Glenn, publisher ofHeat TreatToday, to break down the most important heat treat industry events on the horizon. From the massive international state of the THERMPROCESS trade show to the technical knowledge of Furnaces North America, they explore where those in the industry can learn, network, and grow. The conversation also highlightsHeat TreatToday’sown events, includingHeat TreatBoot Campand Helium Leak Detection seminars. Together, they offer practical guidance on choosing the right events to stay engaged and informed in today’s heat treating landscape.
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.
Introduction (00:05)
Heather Falcone: Hi, I am Heather Falcone and welcome to Heat Treat Radio. Today we are talking about a variety of upcoming events in the industry in 2026 and beyond. Joining me today is Doug Glenn, publisher of Heat Treat Today, and longtime host of Heat TreatRadio. Doug has had a front row seat to this industry for years, from the technical side to the people driving it forward. He’s also someone that I consider a mentor and a friend. I’m looking forward to digging into this conversation with him.
It’s an honor to sit down together with this one, Doug, as it’s kind of a bit of a hand off and a nod to the legacy that you’ve built here.
Doug Glenn: It’s a pleasure, and I couldn’t think of a better person to hand it off to. Heather, you’re doing great, and I appreciate you taking the time to do it and having the courage to do it.
Heather Falcone: Obviously, you have recorded over a hundred episodes, so I have so much to learn for you. Thank you so much for trusting me with this.
Key Events for 2026 and Beyond (1:19)
Heather Falcone: Doug, walk us through 2026 and beyond. We have so much going on for events. What are the key events that people should have on their radar?
Doug Glenn: We often say at Heat TreatToday that we believe people are happier, and they make better decisions when they are well informed. Our whole goal is to make people happy by giving them good information so they can make better decisions, and that that always works well. We do that in a variety of ways. Primarily it’s through our print publication — the technical articles that go out in that print publication. Our most popular product is our print publication. Most of that deals with heat treating, thermal processing, technologies, materials, etc.
But there’s also the element of continuing to sharpen your saw, as Stephen Covey says; keep yourself fresh. To that extent, attending industry shows, events, and educational seminars is helpful.
There’s a there’s a big show coming up in Germany in 2027. It’s called THERMPROCESS, but it’s actually one of four events that are all metals related, so we will talk about that whole quartet of shows. I will also talk about Furnaces North America because it is the leading thermal process/heat treat event of 2026. Then also we also have two Heat TreatToday events that I think might be helpful. Our Heat TreatBoot Camp, and then also our Helium Leak Detection seminars.
Those are the events I’m going to talk about today, but there are more events than that. If you are interested in learning more about important industry events, visit our website, heattreattoday.com, and look under Resource tab. There is the Industry Events calendar. That would be a real good place to start because we try to put all of the events that we think are important to most heat treaters and suppliers of the industry.
It’s important to note, when we talk about heat treat, we have to be very careful. We are not only talking about commercial heat treaters. That’s only about 10 to 15% of the audience that we reach. We are talking about captive heat treaters. That’s who Heat TreatToday is meant to be helpful to.
Heather Falcone: Reaching the broader industry at large is always our goal. Making sure that everyone has access to this. When you have an in-house heat treat operation, sometimes you can be even more isolated. So getting those companies exposed to as much information and data as possible.
THERMPROCESS 2027 (4:26)
Heather Falcone: Speaking of that, if someone can only commit to one or two events this year, I think we should really start with THERMPROCESS, because that one kind of rises to the top. We can unpack that a little bit first.
Doug Glenn: I think that’s a really good idea. The show itself, THERMPROCESS 2027 (thermprocess-online.com), is only one of four [in a trade fair quartet]. That show does not take place until June 21–25 of 2027. It’s over a year away. But the reason we need to talk about it now is because, unlike shows here in the United States, this is a huge show, and if you want to exhibit there, which many of our listeners may be suppliers in the industry, applications need to be in by the end of May of this year, not next year. So I wanted to make sure people are aware of that.
To give you a sense of what’s going on in that event, I want to provide a site map of the campus where THERMPROCESS is taking place. First thing to know is that there are four shows altogether. It’s held only every four years in Dusseldorf, Germany. Looking at the map, they call it “The Bright World of Metals,” you’ll notice the four logos across the top, which are GIFA, METEC, THERMPROCESS, and NEWCAST.
This is a huge campus. If you were to walk from the upper left corner, the Merkur Spiel Arena, all the way down to the east entrance, that would take you probably 10 to 15 minutes.
GIFA is a foundry show, and is located in halls 11 through 17. The dark blue on the map is all GIFA.
METEC is the gray on the map, halls 1, 4, and 5. This show is basically steel making, metallurgy, etc.
THERMPROCESS is in one hall, hall 10, and it’s the largest hall. It’s larger than any heat treat show here in the United States by far.
NEWCAST is basically a metallurgy show, steel processing, some forging as well. That’s in halls 14 and 15.
This show is open five days, from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., all five days. If you were to spend your time walking through this show, it would basically take you all five days to go through this. It’s a huge event.
Let me give you a sense of this size. The total attendance for this entire event for 2023, which was the last one that they had, was 63,000 attendees. Even if you divide that by four, because there’s four different shows, that’s almost 16,000 people per show. To give you a sense of size difference in the United States: our biggest heat treat show, typically Furnaces North America or the ASM Heat Treat Show, attendance is no more than 2,500 people, including exhibitors and everything. You can get a sense that this is the right show.
It’s held in Dusseldorf, Germany. Germany of all countries in the world knows how to do trade shows. There are booths in these halls that are double decker booths, large booth displays. There are even restaurants on the upper level — it is a full event. Companies will spend millions of dollars just on this show.
My suggestion is, if you’ve never been to this show, or if you have a need for a full understanding in the thermal processing/heat treating industry, this is the premier event in the world, as far as I’m concerned. China has some big shows as well. I believe this one is more international. You will see people from all over Europe and the United States as well. 63,000 people total.
For just THERMPROCESS, there are 276 exhibitors, and the show takes up 8,400 square meters, which is about 90,000 square feet. Over on the Foundry side, obviously the biggest show here, taking up almost six halls, there are 854 exhibitors in about 41,315 square meters or 445,000 square feet of booth space. These are big shows.
Heather Falcone: It’s massive.
Doug Glenn: It is massive. There are companies exhibiting there from all over. Not only Western Europe, but Eastern Europe too, Turkey, Middle East, Saudi Arabia, China, India, etc. The United States, to be quite honest, is not always that well represented.
I think this is probably one of the more important things that I wanted to mention about this event. Heat TreatTodayis promoting and sponsoring a pavilion there at THERMPROCESS. If you would like to be part of that pavilion, you can call me and we’ll see what we can do.
It’s a big deal, it’s a big show. May 31 of this year is the exhibitor deadline. For those of you who are interested in attending, which I highly recommend, thermprocess-online.com is the website.
If you’ve never been to Dusseldorf, it’s definitely worth going just to see Dusseldorf. There’s this place in Dusseldorf, a section of the town called the Altstadt, which is the old city. It’s a great place, hundreds of restaurants and great to experience the culture. It’s worth it after the show ends.
Also, the public transportation in Germany is very good. There are trams that run, which make it pretty convenient to get to the exhibit hall.
Heather Falcone: What kind of company roles do you think would be best suited to attend THERMPROCESS? Who do you think would most benefit from this event?
Doug Glenn: You would want more of your upper management personnel attending this event, not so much your furnace operators. You could do that — it would not be a problem taking the furnace operators over there. But it’s typically more engineers and up. One big difference between this show and most shows in Germany compared to shows in the United States: there is not a conference associated with it. They do offer some technical presentations, typically five or six a day in the small auditorium on the show floor. So you might get 30 different technical presentations, but this is primarily a trade show. It is a show where people sit down in their meeting rooms in their booths where they can close the door and have a private meeting, and they buy and sell there.
This is a show where if you want to do business, this is the premier event. In my 30 plus year experience, this has been the most impressive show, for thermal processing/heat treating, so I highly recommend attending.
Furnaces North America (14:28)
Heather Falcone: That’s a great point that you brought up, the difference between a trade show and the technical presentations. Compared to Furnaces North America (FNA), it’s a whole different ball game.
Doug Glenn: FNA is October 12–14, 2026 in Indianapolis. The website for that event is furnacesnorthamerica.com.
The difference is marked between THERMPROCESS and FNA. It’s just a whole different category in a variety of ways. The number of exhibitors is going to be somewhere in the range of 150 to 200, maybe right on the upper end. The trade show hours are typically a little bit shorter, maybe 11 a.m. to 5 or 6 p.m. It’s only a two-day show, not a five-day show. And there are a lot of technical sessions that are held. There’s a much better opportunity for more formal learning, if you will, where you can go to some classroom environments.
Furnaces North America is owned and operated by the Metal Treating Institute (MTI), which Heather and I are both members of, which is great. MTI is the world’s largest association of commercial heat treaters. While MTI is commercial heat treaters, Furnaces North America is really intended for captive heat treaters, as well as commercial heat treaters, to help advance the technology, knowledge of processes, and materials in the North American market.
It is a good event. It starts on a Monday night, the 12th of October, with a nice opening reception. Then Tuesday is a full day of conferences and the trade show. Wednesday, the conferences begin again in the morning, and then the trade show is open until around 2 p.m. So it’s a rather abbreviated show compared to THERMPROCESS.
Heather Falcone: It’s one of the more unique events because often, when you’re at a trade show, you do want to try and get some learning in, but you also want to get out and see the vendors on the floor. So they’ve set it up really well so that you never have to miss a concurrent session. In fact, they don’t even have the trade show floor open during the conferences. So, it ensures the exhibitors do not have to leave the trade show to attend session, and it lets people attend sessions without feeling guilty that they’re not out there hitting the booths at the trade show.
Doug Glenn: Exactly, they can actually go and do some of the learning as well. If I remember correctly, Heather, you’ve been involved with program development of FNA in the past.
Heather Falcone: Yes, I tend to do a session or so. Last time I think I talked about industry involvement, which is similar to the topic today. Getting involved in the industry is one of the best things you could do for yourself and your company.
Doug Glenn: That’s FNA in a nutshell. There are still some booths available. Although I don’t anticipate that will last long. Call or go to furnacesnorthamerica.com to check in on that, or contact me or Heather, and we can steer you in the right direction.
Heather Falcone: I honestly believe anyone would benefit from going to FNA because of the technical sessions. There’s a lot of learning to be had, even down to someone that’s more operational. It’s not just meant for that owner level. It’s pretty approachable.
Doug Glenn: I would agree. The expense of going to FNA is also substantially less than the expense of going to THERMPROCESS over in Germany. So you do see a good number of shop floor personnel at this, but it is also a good place to send your upper management personnel, depending on the size of your company, and your decision makers, as far as capital expenditures go. It is a good place to bring those people. You can gather a lot of information in a very short time walking around this show.
Heather Falcone: You can cover a lot of ground and really get some good relationship and networking going. It’s a great setup.
Heat Treat Today Events (19:20)
Heather Falcone: Let’s discuss the Heat TreatToday events, I think that there’s some truly unique offerings.
Doug Glenn: While Furnaces North America is not a Heat TreatToday-owned and operated event, we are the exclusive media sponsor of the event. But Heat TreatToday also has its own events.
Firstly, we have our most fun event, which is called Heat TreatBoot Camp. It was a brainchild of mine quite a few years ago because I tend to have a mile wide and an inch deep knowledge of the industry. I am no expert in any one area, but I have this experience of being here and absorbing over 30 years worth of information and relationships. So I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to share some of that information with people who are just wanting to get their heads wrapped around the North American heat treat market? What is it, who’s there, what are we doing, what are the materials — all that good stuff.
So we put together this event called Heat TreatBoot Camp. It is not heavily technical — you don’t need to know metallurgy or anything of that sort to attend. And it’s not just focused on any one piece of equipment, any one company’s equipment, or any one process, like brazing. It is cross-cutting. If you’re coming into the industry, or if you’ve been in the industry for a long time but have only focused on point X because that’s what you’re paid for, you can attend Heat TreatBoot Camp to get a broader view of this whole market. The added benefit of that is that you might find out there are other areas that your company could add that could potentially be profitable.
This is our fifth year coming up. It’s going to be held in Cleveland, Ohio, from Monday, September 14 to Wednesday, September 16, 2026. Our first four events were held in Pittsburgh, which is a great city. But we’re going to Cleveland this year, which should be very good.
Here are the five things that we cover: heat treat markets, materials, processes, products, and players. By players, we mean, Who are the companies that manufacture the equipment… Equipment, components, supplies, materials? That’s the players.
We start the event on Monday night with a very nice opening reception. It’s usually just a nice time to get together and meet each other. Tuesday is the bootcamp day. It’s grueling, it’s a solid day of intensive learning, talking, slideshows, passing on knowledge. Thomas Wingens from WINGENS Industrial Consultancy is my partner and we teach the lectures. Thomas focuses more on the technical side because he’s a metallurgist. So he tries to explain processes and materials in terms that people who are not metallurgists can understand.
Wednesday morning is another half day of classes, and then it’s officially over at the end of the half day. However, we offer an optional heat treat plant tour afterwards on Wednesday afternoon. It is very cool actually because people who have never been to a heat treat shop can experience one.
When we were in Pittsburgh, we went to two. We alternated between Penna Flame Industries in Zelienople, PA, and Solar Atmospheres of Western Pennsylvania in Hermitage. Both are an hour from downtown Pittsburgh. Now that we’re going to Cleveland, we will be visiting Euclid Heat Treating, which is going to be a blast.
That’s bootcamp. It’s really worthwhile. You can visit heattreatbootcamp.com to learn more or you can go to our website, heattreattoday.com and look under events and hit Heat TreatBoot Camp. Feel free to register. If your company is bringing three or more people, get ahold of me and I’ll give you a discount code so you can get a little bit of a deal on registration. It’s a great event. It’s not overly technical. We had a couple company owners who bought furnace manufacturers and so have come to listen and learn. It’s meant for personnel in sales, marketing, and engineering to a certain extent as well. It’s really targeted at suppliers, but we have had quite a few captive heat treaters and commercial heat treaters who have also attended.
Heather Falcone: It’s a very approachable event and anybody should try it. This is a good opportunity for folks that are not necessarily exposed to a lot of the operations. Your HR people even. What’s a great chance to understand what your floor people are going through so that your HR can serve them better? Or accounting or anybody who hasn’t been exposed to the ins and outs of the industry. It’ll give them such a nice strategic understanding across the board without getting too heavy. Really good bang for the buck for such a short amount of time.
Doug Glenn: “Two plus years of industry knowledge in two days.” It’s like drinking out of the proverbial fire hydrant. Very worthwhile.
Helium Leak Detection Seminars (26:00)
Heather Falcone: Let’s finish off by talking about Dave and the seminars.
Doug Glenn:Dave Deiwert is a helium vacuum leak detection expert who has been in the industry many, many years. These are single-day, in-person seminars where attendees will learn hands-on tips. Dave has leak detection equipment from several different suppliers. He will explain the theory behind helium leak detection, and provide solid, practical advice on how to do it. We had our first one this year in March in Charlotte, which was well attended.
The next helium leak detection seminar is in Philadelphia on June 10th, and then we’ll have one in Long Beach, California on August 12. Our final one is scheduled the day after the Furnaces North America event ends in Indianapolis. It’s going to be located right in that neighborhood. The idea was, go to Furnaces North America, stay an extra day, and attend the Helium Leak Detection seminar. It’s scheduled for the October 15 in Indianapolis.
Doug Glenn: It is a lot going on. It is a lot going on, and I want to give a shout out to our in-house events director who’s just taking on the role this year, Karen Gantzer. Karen’s been doing a great job squaring all this stuff away. We give her this wild thing and she’s taken it by the horns and is getting it done.
Heather Falcone: With a smile always!
We covered a lot of ground today. I’m really excited about what we’ve got to be able to offer to the industry. This has been unpacking these, helps them understand exactly what might speak to them individually.
It was a lot of fun spending a little time with you. You’re a mentor, you’re the legacy. You brought us over a hundred episodes of radio, I’m going to say it until I’m blue in the face!
Doug Glenn: Yeah, well it’s nice to not have to ask the questions. It’s nice to actually be able to answer them, so thank you. I appreciate you allowing me to come on.
About the Guest
Doug Glenn Publisher Heat Treat Today
Doug Glenn is the founder and publisher of Heat TreatToday, a thermal processing industry consultant, and a longtime industry voice and conference speaker with over 30 years of experience. He spent two decades as publisher of Industrial Heating magazine, where he helped expand its global reach, and has played a key role in launching major industry events, including Furnaces North America.
Heat Treat Today publishes twelve print magazines annually and included in each is a letter from the publisher, Doug Glenn. This letter from the February 2026 Annual Air & Atmosphere Heat Treating print edition celebrates the return of in-person industry events following the disruptions of COVID-19, and previews the lineup of events that Heat Treat Todaywill be involved in throughout 2026 and beyond, such as THERMPROCESS 2027 in Germany and Furnaces North America (FNA) in Indianapolis.
We are five years out from COVID-19 and life is returning to normal, including in-person events. In 2026, Heat TreatToday is starting an Events Division spearheaded by Heat Treat Today veteran, Karen Gantzer. Here’s a preview of the in-person events that Heat TreatToday will be working on in 2026. These events may be important and of interest to you.
Helium Leak Detection Seminars
We are holding four seminars in 2026, one each quarter. If you hurry, you might be able to register for the Helium Leak Detection Seminar scheduled for March 25 in Charlotte, North Carolina. You can register up to the day, including walk-ins. The remaining three seminars are scheduled for June 10 in the Philadelphia area, August 12 near Long Beach, California, and October 15 in Indianapolis, the day after Furnaces North America 2026 concludes. Pricing is very reasonable; standard pricing is $795 for the day, but early-bird registrations are available at $695.
Dave Deiwert, Heat Treat Today’s new favorite vacuum leak detection guy, will be instructing. These should be super-helpful, super-practical seminars. If you have vacuum furnaces, send someone. More information and registration can be found at www.heattreattoday.com/leakdetectionseminar.
THERMPROCESS 2027
This event is not until 2027, but exhibitors should sign up now because the exhibitor registration deadline is May 31, 2026. Heat Treat Today is both sponsoring and helping to create a North American Pavilion at THERMPROCESS. Find out more by reading last month’s Publisher’s Page or by going to www.heattreattoday.com/pavilion.
Heat Treat Boot Camp
Scheduled for September 14–16 in Cleveland, Ohio, Heat Treat Today’s 5th annual Heat Treat Boot Camp is becoming one of the industry’s leading educational events. With a day and a half of classroom instruction sprinkled with some excellent and entertaining networking opportunities, as well as a small (10–12 vendor) tabletop exhibit, Heat Treat Boot Camp has been growing in popularity since its inception in 2022. Last year (2025) saw over 60 attendees. This event has some technical content but is more geared for non-technical individuals who want to understand the marketplace better. Discussions include markets, materials, products, processes, and players. Register early to make sure you or your team get a seat at the 2026 event. Learn more at www.heattreatbootcamp.com.
Furnaces North America 2026
I, alongside the team at Industrial Heating (now out of business), started Furnaces North America (FNA) in 1995 in Cleveland, Ohio. We sold the event to the Metal Treating Institute (MTI) in 1998 after the Las Vegas show. MTI, under the leadership of Tom Morrison, has done a great job growing the show to be one of the top two heat treating events in North America. Heat Treat Today is the exclusive media partner. FNA is in Indianapolis this year, October 12–14. FNA will be the largest and most important technical and commercial trade show of the year in North America. If you’re not planning on being there, please reconsider. More at www.furnacesnorthamerica.com.
Others — And Your Suggestions
There is one other vacuum furnace-related event that we are hoping to do later in the year. More details are forthcoming.
And finally, we’d like to hear your thoughts on what events might be worth doing. Please send your ideas — crazy or sane — to me.
Heat TreatToday offers News Chatter, a feature highlighting representative moves, transactions, and kudos from around the industry. Enjoy these 18 news items.
Equipment
Saarstahl expands its production with an alternate current-electric arc furnace (AC-EAF) supplied by SMS group.
A Class A safety oven equipped with a solvent monitor and roll-in rack, meeting the stringent safety requirements of industries working with volatile materials, was recently shipped by industrial and laboratory ovens manufacturer Blue M.
A manufacturer in the defense industry has received shipment of a gas-fired walk-in batch oven from Wisconsin Oven Corporation, to be used for curing filament wound composite materials.
The Saarstahl team announces AC-EAF agreement with SMS Class A safety oven equipped to process volatile materialsGas-fired walk-in batch oven delivered to defense industry
Company & Personnel
Sean Patrick Murphy has been named product manager for laboratory and R&D furnaces at Centorr Vacuum Industries. He will be responsible for representing over 30 different vacuum furnace product lines to national laboratories, universities, and industrial sectors.
Charles (Charlie) Caldwell joins the team at Solar Atmospheres of Michigan Inc. as the quality manager for its new facility in Chesterfield.
Steel Goode Products LLC (SGP), a thermal spray specialist, has recently been acquired by Aalberts N.V., a provider of thermal spray coating and finishing services. The acquisition includes two operating facilities in Texas and one in Ohio.
The Wirco, Inc, team recently announced Chris Robbins as the new director of business development and Chad Kumfer to the position of director of sales.
Daniel Sonnenberg joins Nitrex Heat Treating Services as the new business development lead for North America. Daniel will focus on identifying and cultivating relationships with potential customers. His goal is to foster trust and drive growth by building enduring partnerships that deliver sustained value over time.
Dave Deiwart has begun a new position as president at Tracer Gas Technologies, based in Yorktown, Indiana. This follows a brief retirement after 35 years of providing leak detection and vacuum application support and training. Dave’s new focus will be on providing training and consulting.
Nel Hydrogen Electrolyser AS, a fully owned subsidiary of Nel ASA, has been awarded a grant from the EU Innovation Fund of up to EUR 135 million (over $145.4M USD) for industrialization of its next-generation pressurized alkaline technology. The technology is currently being prototyped, and the potential industrialization is planned at Herøya, Norway.
OTTO JUNKER GmbH, system providers for metallurgic processes and metal refinement, recently announced that the new business division OTTO JUNKER Solutions, which was established in late 2023, will be further expanded. The company’s focus will be on the development and implementation of green technologies. The new division is headed by R&D expert Tobias Mertens.
Sean Patrick Murphy Product Manager of Laboratory and R&D Furnaces Centorr Vacuum IndustriesCharles (Charlie) Caldwell Quality Manager – Chesterfield Solar Atmospheres of Michigan Inc.Chris Robbins Director of Business Development Wirco, Inc.Chad Kumfer Director of Sales Wirco, Inc.Daniel Sonnenberg Business Development Lead – America Nitrex Heat Treating ServicesTobias Mertens General Manager OTTO JUNKER SOLUTIONS GmbH
Kudos
Constellium SE has received the Supplier of the Year Award from Stellantis, recognized for its overall best-in-class performance as a long-time partner.
Gary Sharp, founder of Advanced Heat Treat Corp, has been honored with the Legends of Manufacturing Award at the Iowa Manufacturing Conference.
Global Thermal Systems (GTS) Mexico’s pyrometry laboratories recently completed the reaccreditation process in the ISO/IEC 17025 standard.
Rex Heat Treat has achieved its fourth consecutive merit-status Nadcap certification under the leadership of Conner Popo, quality assurance manager, and Vindon Griffin, technical services manager.
Aalberts surface technologies Dzierżoniów recently celebrated its tenth anniversary. Through acquisition and expansion, the company has grown from 16 employees in 2014 to a current team of over 90 employees, serving the automotive, aerospace, power, fasteners, agriculture, and mining sectors.
The Metal Treating Institute (MTI) recently celebrated its 2024 YES Management Training Program graduates at the final reception of Furnaces North America (FNA) 2024.
Bennett Heat Treating & Brazing Co. received the 2024 Master Craftsman Award, also known as the Heat Treater of the Year Award, at the Metal Treating Institute’s Final Night Dinner & Awards Ceremony following FNA 2024. The award was announced by Doug Glenn, publisher of Heat TreatToday along with a scholarship check for the heat treater to bestow upon a deserving young student going into heat treat.
Ingrid Joerg, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer at Constellium, and Maxime Picat, Chief Global Purchasing & Supply Chain Officer, Greater Paris Metropolitan Region, at StellantisGary Sharp, founder of Advanced Heat Treat Corp, honored with the Legends of Manufacturing Award The Global Thermal Systems (GTS) Mexico’s pyrometry laboratories team completes ISO/IEC 17025 standard reaccreditation process
Furnaces North America(FNA) 2024 begins Monday, October 14, and runs through Wednesday, October 16. If you haven’t registered yet, you can still do so onsite, and one look at the technical sessions planned over the two days of training says all you need to know about the caliber of instruction at the event.
All of the sessions will be worth your time! Presenters are highly qualified to speak on the topics, which range from processes and equipment to technology to security:
Emerging Technologies
Furnace Maintenance & Equipment
Heat Treat Business & Digital Transformation
Energy & Gases
Operational Efficiencies
Quality, Compliance & Materials
Process Advancements
If you want to do a little prereading to prepare for the sessions, Heat TreatToday is pleased to direct your attention to technical session presenters who have contributed to our radio, print, and digital resources during this year:
On Tuesday at 8:50 a.m., Bryan Stern, product development manager at Gasbarre Thermal Processing Systems, will be speaking on “The Impact of Oil Quenching – A Look at the Carbon Footprint and Cost of Vacuum vs. Atmosphere Processing.” On June 20, 2024, Bryan was our guest on Heat TreatRadio, episode #110, “Isolated Heat, the Future of Vacuum Furnaces,” which you can listen to here.
Later that morning, at 9:40, Peter Sherwin, global business development manager of Heat Treatmentat Watlow, will focus on “Smart Heat Treatment: Industry 4.0 Innovations for Environmental & Energy Efficiency.” Peter co-authored “Thermal Loop Solutions: A Path to a Sustainable Future in Heat Treatment,” a two-part series published in both the magazine and on our website. You can read the first part here and the second part here.
During that same time slot, Brian Turner, sales application engineer at RoMan Manufacturing, is scheduled to speak on “Efficient Furnace Power Solutions”. Brian joined fellow RoMan employees who have contributed technical content to an ongoing series on controls. You can read that article, “Basic Definitions: Power Pathways in Vacuum Furnaces,” originally published July 16, 2024, here.
On Wednesday at 8 a.m., Sefi Grossman, founder and CEO of CombustionOS, is scheduled to present a session on “Maximizing Heat Treat Operational Efficiency: Digitize Your Data for Automation.” Sefi wrote a piece for our August Automotive print edition on “A New Era: Tracking Quality Digitally,” which was later republished at the website. You can read the digital version here.
At 8:50, Joe Coleman, cybersecurity officer at Bluestreak Compliance, will address “CMMC’s Impending Impact On The Metal Treating Industry.” Just last month, he joined Heat TreatRadio in an interview about “NIST and CMMC: What Heat Treaters Need To Know,” which you can listen to here.
Chad Beamer, senior applications engineer at Quintus Technologies, will speak on “Quintus Purus: Development of Clean HIP Processing” at 9:40 on Wednesday morning. Earlier this year, he collaborated with fellow Quintus employees on an article, “HIP Innovation Maximizes AM Medical Potential,” which you can read here.
Bryan Stern Product Development Manager Gasbarre Thermal Processing SystemsPeter Sherwin Global Business Development Manager Heat TreatmentBrian Turner Sales Applications Engineer RoMan Manufacturing, Inc. Source: RoManSefi Grossman Founder & CEO CombustionOS Source: AuthorJoe Coleman Cyber Security Officer Bluestreak ConsultingChad Beamer Senior Applications Engineer Quintus TechnologiesHeat Treat Today contributors leading technical sessions at FNA 2024
Stop by Heat TreatToday‘s booth (424/426) to let us know how the sessions went and if you did your homework beforehand!
Renowned for its dynamic trade show environment, FNA 2024 brings together the foremost experts, suppliers, decision makers, and buyers from around the globe. This year’s event is set to continue the tradition of offering an engaging technical conference alongside the bustling trade show floor.
The excitement takes off on the first day of the trade show with a unique gaming opportunity. During the Day 1 Trade Show Floor Reception, one lucky attendee will be selected to participate in a thrilling game at the heart of the expo, standing a chance to win $500, $1,000, or a staggering $100,000!
With exhibit booths in high demand and an anticipated sellout, prospective exhibitors are urged not to hesitate in securing their spots. Registration for attendees will open on May 1, 2024.
Mark your calendars and prepare to be a part of the industry’s most awaited event. Stay tuned for more details and visit www.FurnacesNorthAmerica.com for the latest updates.
Furnaces North America 2024 is excited to unveil its lineup of Title Sponsors for the upcoming trade show and technical conference, scheduled for October 14-16, 2024. Produced by the Metal Treating Institute in collaboration with Heat Treat Today, the event will be hosted in Columbus, OH — a hub of manufacturing innovation.
Jim Oakes, president of Super Systems, has been awarded the first ever Furnaces North America (FNA) Industry Award at the trade show's opening night kickoff reception.
This award is given to an individual in recognition of their contribution(s) and current/ongoing commitment to the betterment of the heat treating industry with one or more significant accomplishments in the last five years in the area of innovation, leadership, academia, or research.
The Metal Treating Institute’s 2018 President, Pete Hushek, who gave the award to Jim stated, "[No] one has been more deserving of this award than Jim Oakes. Having served as the President of ASM for two years and immediately being elected as president, serving two years during the pandemic, along with his service in a host of other technical standards groups, Jim’s leadership shined as he led two of the major associations the last five years."
Jim Oakes (pictured above in the center) stated upon receiving the award, "This is truly an incredible honor to be recognized by my peers. We don’t do what we do for awards. We do it to make a difference. It is through that difference that we make a better future for everyone. It has always been a pleasure to serve this great industry."
The FNA trade show is produced by the Metal Treating Institute in partnership with its media partner, Heat TreatToday.
Find heat treating products and services when you search on Heat Treat Buyers Guide.com
Heat treaters travel for miles to attend Furnaces North America 2022, in Indianapolis, IN, for two days of learning and networking. This guide gives some necessary attendee information and can’t-miss highlights from the schedule.
The Indianapolis Convention Center (ICC), at 100 Capitol Avenue, is the place to be. Check out the parking maps to plan your route and incorporate access via skywalk when planning your arrival. Additionally, scan the QR code below (or click here) to log in to the FNA 2022 resources, including resources to navigate the show floor tomorrow and links to find things to do with colleagues, employees, and clients.
Monday
Contact us with your Reader Feedback!
From 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM today, you can complete registration and pick up your badge at the ICC outside of hall B. You can do this on your way to the FNA 2022 Kickoff Welcome Reception, which begins at 6:00 PM at the Marriott Downtown 350 W Maryland Street.
Tuesday
Here’s a sample guide of how to maximize your time at the Indianapolis Convention Center on Tuesday, October 4th.
7:00 AM – 5:00 PM: Pick up your badge and register outside hall B of the ICC if you haven’t already done so.
10:30 AM – 5:30 PM: Tour the FNA Business Exhibition in hall B.
12:00 PM: Lunch at adjoining food court.
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM: Trade Show Floor Reception
What?
Discover “New Equipment”, “Emerging Technology”, and “Changing Trends” at the technical sessions. The 5 topics that you can explore on Tuesday are Maintenance, Equipment, Energy, Compliance, and The Future.
The following is a sample of some of the technical classes we are looking forward to:
“Heat Treat Robotics . . . .The Present, The Future” Room 124 (8:00 am — 8:35 am)
“Improved Predictive Maintenance Using SCR Power Controllers” Room 120 (8:50 am — 9:25 am)
“Saving Energy & Money in Your Heat Treat Plant” Room 122 (9:40 — 10:15am)
“Vacuum Furnace Leaks — What You Need to Know” Room 120 (10:30 am — 11:05 am)
Following these technical sessions, the entire exposition floor of Hall B holds over 135 booths, just waiting to share ideas and innovations. Find Heat Treat Today at Booth #622-624.
Who?
This full list of exhibitors will help you identify the heat treat industry players you want to visit. The time for in-person conversation is invaluable as you navigate new leads. This quick video (or watch below) gives the sense of what an opportunity this is: “You will not want to miss everything heat treating including a packed exhibit hall of the top suppliers in the industry, 35 technical sessions and the best minds in heat treating from both commercial and captive heat treaters.”
See you soon!
Find heat treating products and services when you search on Heat Treat Buyers Guide.com
The Metal Treating Institute (MTI) and Furnaces North America announced that they have signed a new media partnership with Heat Treat Today out of New Castle, Pa. Heat Treat Today is one of the heat treating industry’s leading publications, reaching heat treaters through their print, digital and social media platforms.
“2020 brought on many changes to many companies, and MTI,” says Tom Morrison, CEO of MTI, “was no different. After looking at the value proposition from numerous publications on who could provide the largest voice for commercial heat treaters, Heat Treat Today’s offerings matched up with the needs and future plans of MTI and FNA.”
Heat Treat Today founder and publisher, Doug Glenn, added, “We are excited about the media partnership with MTI and FNA. Our passion is the heat treating industry and we are looking forward to providing a strong voice for MTI members to the captive heat treaters throughout our readership.”
MTI will release MTI’s Commercial Heat Treating in Heat Treat Today’s printed magazine. This section will focus on sharing why outsourcing part or all of their heat treating to a MTI commercial heat treater could be beneficial. Content will also include articles on safety, Industry 4.0, digital business strategies, and automation.
Tom Morrison image provided by Metal Treating Institute. All other images provided by Heat Treat Today.
Welcome to another episode of Heat Treat Radio, a periodic podcast where Heat Treat Radio host, Doug Glenn, discusses cutting-edge topics with industry-leading personalities. Below, you can either listen to the podcast by clicking on the audio play button, or you can read an edited version of the transcript. To see a complete list of other Heat Treat Radio episodes, click here.
In this conversation, Heat Treat Radio host, Doug Glenn, interviews Tom Morrison, CEO of the Metal Treating Institute (MTI) to reveal the new look of Furnaces North America(FNA)2020. The engaging online platform will allow heat treaters and suppliers to network, share information, "shake hands," and more virtually. Additionally, Tom will talk about how heat treaters can attend technical talks at the FNA 2020 Virtual.
The following transcript has been edited for your reading enjoyment.
DG: We want to talk about Furnaces North America which obviously in these COVID days has taken a little bit of a turn, right or left depending on how you want to look at it. My understanding is that Furnaces North America is moving from a live face to face event to a virtual event. Tell us why.
TM: For months we have been tracking the status and trends. Our executive team has been meeting every single week for months and really watching the trends and developments of COVID-19 and its impact on meetings. I'm a part of a number of forums and I'm connected with hundreds, if not thousands of associations, and everybody is canceling their meetings. So there is too much liability and risk and we don't want to our attendees and exhibitors in that moment with COVID-19 and just the dangers and stuff that are associated with it. There came a moment when we decided: “You know what? The timing is right for us to do this.” So we went virtual. Typically, about 1% of the industry attends a heat treat show. What we're very excited about is that we're going to be able to bring all that energy and excitement, that you'd experience live, into a virtual event, right to the front doorstep and computer screens of every captive and commercial heat treater, as well as suppliers in the marketplace. It is just an incredible and unique opportunity as we go into this digital age of training and trade shows in the future.
DG: Is it still going to be September 30 through October 2, but not full days, correct?
TM: That is correct. We've learned in watching other trade shows out there, and conferences that go virtual, that people don't sit on the computer for eight hours, but they can take breaks at their leisure and also you can watch at a pace you want. It's going to be September 30th through October 2nd You can actually go onto www.furnacesnorthamerica.com and click 'schedule' at the top, but it's going to from 11:00 in the morning until 5:00 in the afternoon.
DG: And just to be clear, that's going to be east coast time?
TM: Yes. That's kind of a funny story, Doug: When we were looking at the times, I said, yes, we can start at 9:00 in the morning. Because when you go to a live show, everybody is in the city under that time zone. But one of my very perceptive staff said, “Tom, if we do it at 9:00, the people on the west coast are going to be getting up and getting in there at 6:00 a.m.” So yes, it's going to be at 11:00 EST which will then make it 8:00 a.m. on the west coast.
DG: Tell me why else your team, yourself and some of the exhibitors you've talked to so far are excited about this new virtual event.
TM: The sponsors have stepped up. We had a webcast with over 100 exhibitors telling them about the transition and we had to transition our sponsorships from the live show to this show, and I think about the caliber of sponsor that came to the table within that first day selling out. We've got ECM USA, Gasbarre Furnace, Thermal Processing Systems, McLaughlin Furnaces, Super Systems, Surface Combustion, Honeywell in the burner market, RoMan Manufacturing in the power market. And think of vacuum technologies. Eight companies that jumped right out of the gate and said, “We believe in this and we think this is the future and we want to be a part of it and in the building of it.” That's where some of the excitement is coming from.
But the biggest excitement to me personally, and my staff and the leadership that are putting this on, is virtual meetings are never going to do away with live meetings. Live meetings, as soon as there's a vaccine, or we see it go away and people are comfortable getting back together, live meetings are going to come back to everywhere. It's just a matter of when. But while we're waiting for that to happen, the digital marketplace is going to grow like never before. I've had so many sales agents say that they have sold more furnace equipment in the past three or four months than they have in the previous 6 months, and they haven't seen a single customer. So I think there's a market for that. And so we're excited. This is a stepping stone into that marketplace and taking our furnace show to the 99% of the people that don't typically attend the show. Most people can't bring their seven furnace operators to a Furnaces North America, but now they can take the content and the trade show right to their computer screen which is really exciting.
DG: I want to ask you two questions, first about exhibitors and then about attendees. Let's knock it down to the very basics. Why should an exhibitor get involved?
TM: Exhibitors should get involved because this is an opportune step into the digital mode. Our booth fee for the exhibit show is only $1500 compared to if you came to the live show, the smallest you're going to pay is $5000 for everything, including travel up to 50 – 60K if you're one of the bigger companies. This gives any heat treat supplier an opportunity to get involved. If you consider that between industrial heating magazine as our media partner, we're going to have a $200,000 valued marketing campaign with direct mail, email, social media going for the next two and a half months until the show happens. There's going to be a lot of activity. We expect that we're going to have
Virtual Booth for Exhibitors
great attendance. So, an exhibitor that doesn't get involved in this is going to lose out on the one opportunity in the next 12 months to get new customers. That's what this show is about – connecting them to leads. Our platform, if they go onto www.furnacesnorthamerica.com and click on exhibitors, they can see a webcast of 38 minutes where we actually unveil the digital platform where they're going to be able to connect them with customers to build their digital exhibitor booth. I know that most exhibitors out there are used to that live handshake format, and some ask, “How do we shake hands through the computer?” Well, you're going to see how you do that if you go watch that video. Exhibitors should do it for one reason: leads, leads, leads. If you're not in the show, you're going to miss out on the opportunity to get access to leads that carry you into 2021.
[blocktext align="right"]"Exhibitors should do it for one reason: leads, leads, leads..."[/blocktext]DG: So I understand that every exhibitor will get a complete list of attendees at the conclusion of the show, but not with email addresses. Can you elaborate on what exhibitors have to do to capture email addresses?
TM: There is a box in your exhibit booth where it says contact needs more information and it gives you the ability to click on what you want to see more of from that exhibitor. When you click that, it's just like being in the live show – remember how they scan you badge? Well, it's like a badge scan. But here's the cool thing: On the day of the show, the exhibitors are watching their exhibit dashboard and anybody that is looking at your screen on their computer, you can see how many are looking at it. But if they click on anything in your booth, their demographic data and contact data go right into your real-time exhibit lead dashboard. And you can download those leads at any time. You get everything but the email. Now if they click on the 'contact me for more information', that's like scanning a badge and you get their email address at that very moment. At the end of the show, you're going to be able to download a list of the entire database of attendees to your computer right after the show so you can then reach out to them and contact them for sales. We're trying to make this very content rich and very data-driven rich and giving the exhibitors the information in real-time so they can follow up on it.
DG: Why should manufacturers with their own in-house heat treat be coming to the event?
TM: The cool thing about attendees is that in every shop, everybody has three or four people that really 'get' everything they need to know about being an effective employee. And then there are about four or five others that are always saying, “I wish I could be like them.” And the difference in those two employees traditionally is training knowledge. So the ability to bring the latest trends, technology to their computer screen and have them watch that, they're going to be a better employee because they're going to know more. One key thing that's going to be really cool about this show for attendees, is that we've made it affordable for everybody to be involved. Just like our live show, you can log in and register just to go look at the booths and the trade show. And that's very powerful. But here's what's going to happen. There's a space on the exhibit booth where you can watch product demonstrations and we're encouraging every exhibitor to do a 7 – 10 minutes product demonstration video and upload it to their booth. Let's say there are 100 exhibitors, your furnace operator, or your manager for that matter, can go in and watch every one of those product demonstrations on everything that you can imagine heat treat, that's going to be highly educational. And that is free. That is just if they go in and look at the booths. On an upgrade, you can upgrade to the conference session, in which there are 35 conference sessions and four live sessions, that when they happen, they're going to be recorded live and then they're going to be made available immediately after that.
FNA seminar in 2018
DG: Tell us about the highly informative and cutting edge content that will be covered in the technical sessions at Furnaces North America 2020 virtual event.
TM: Let me share with you what some of the sessions are. In the live format, we're going to be talking about the seven questions someone should always ask before buying heat treat equipment, the key behind managing and controlling distortion (that's a big issue and one of the most read things in your publication and Industrial Heating magazine), and the aerospace, automotive and agriculture. What's next for that? In the world of 3D printing technology, processes and materials that could impact more heat treating or less heat treating in a particular product. When you've got the coming economic boon, reshoring with all of this COVID-19, things happening in China and other countries, how many companies are going to reshore their products back to America? What does that mean for manufacturing, which can boost heat treating and the level that it is done in the states? That's the four live sessions. Then if we look at the technical track, there are four or five technical tracks that are going to be highly informative. We've got furnace equipment and controls, processes and quality, emerging technologies, furnace maintenance and operations and productivity; all key things to any captive and/or commercial heat treater in operating a productive business that maximizes through-put. Everything that we're doing this year is focused on helping a commercial or a captive to be very efficient. Here's what's happened. COVID has ransacked employeeship. People have had to let people go and they're operating on minimal staff in a lot of cases. So it's imperative that both captive and commercials learn how to operate with 20-30% staff, and you can only do that if your people know what they need to do knowledge-wise in order to that.
DG: Somebody potentially wanting to attend, let's say some captive heat treater or even a commercial heat treater, they can go on the website, I assume, and look now at what the topics are going to be, correct? They can see what the technical sessions will be.
TM: The entire Furnaces North America website has been transformed into our virtual show information. You can go there right now and look at everything – the schedule, if you want to exhibit, you can hover over exhibitor and click exhibit information and it gives you all the details, and then a place to click to sign up your exhibit booth and we'll get that set up for you. Registration is going to open August 1 for everyone.
[blocktext align="left"]"In the live format, we're going to be talking about the seven questions someone should always ask before buying heat treat equipment, the key behind managing and controlling distortion..."[/blocktext]I don't want to go too far without mentioning the pricing. We are so determined to get people that never attend a live event to get involved in the show, here's the special offer we're making. The first two people that register with any show (and you have to register at the same time) is only $199 and you get everything. You get the trade show, you get the live session, you get the 35 technical sessions. Everybody that registers after that for that show is only $49. Literally, for $500, a captive or commercial could register up to six people into the show. That is going to have a proton impact on that operation because that's six people that are more educated on what heat treating is about than they were before the show.
DG: So that's $199 per person for the first two, and then $49/person after that.
TM: That's correct. That way you can get it down to the furnace operators. Most people bring their managers, but if you could put your two managers in there and then get your six furnace operators in there, that's a really good deal.
DG: The show covers September 30, October 1 and 2; I assume $49 or $199 gets you into all three days, correct?
TM: That is correct. Once you're signed in, you'll have logged in for the entire show, all three days, all six hours each day, to do whatever you'd like to do.
DG: So, I'm a captive heat treater, I come to the show, I want to walk the exhibit hall. How do I do it?
FNA Virtual Lounge
TM: You're going to log in, and as soon as you log in, at the bottom you're going to see a place where you can go to the online networking lounge where you can actually meet people online. You can click on exhibit hall where when you click on the exhibitor, the exhibitor will pop up. You can look for them by category. There are 15 categories. There are air atmosphere furnaces, vacuum furnaces, control sensors, etc. Pick what you want and all the exhibitors will pop up. You can then go in and out of the booths from left to right. And here's the powerful thing about the system: there's a search engine that you can type in calibration, every discussion, every session and every exhibitor that is involved with calibration and have it in their description is going to pop up for you. We're making this really easy for you to get to the information, the sessions and/or the exhibitors that you want.
Here is the cool feature that is going to make this dynamic. When we were building out the system, we were wanting to make the online experience as close to the live experience as possible. So when you're looking at an exhibitor, and you like what they have to say and you want to speak to someone, you can click exhibit booth contact and that will pop up 6 people, or however many they have in the booth at that time. And when you click on one of them, clicking video call, just like you would a zoom or a skype and they're going to get a request. They're going to then click yes, and you're going to be talking to someone right on your screen live like you would a zoom call. You can see them, you can talk, you can virtual handshake if you want. But here's the other cool factor: If you want to see a presentation they have, they can share their screen with you and you can walk through a short little power point presentation.
Our goal is give attendees the opportunity to see the data that they need to make purchases that they're looking to make over the next 12 months or so.
DG: Let's wrap up with the details then. Let's say I want to be an exhibitor. Where do I need to go? When do I need to do it?
TM: Right now, you can go to www.furnacesnorthamerica.com, click on exhibitors and you'll see a space there where you can watch a video to tell you a little bit more about exhibiting at the show, or you can click down at the bottom where it says 'click here to get our booth', fill that out, and we will get your booth set up. On August 1st, the exhibit hall is going to open for the exhibitors to go out and get their digital booth customized. They get to pick colors. They can link up their videos and documents so you can see those.
DG: And if I'm thinking about attending, bringing my heat treat department, when and where?
TM: Same thing. August 1st, go to www.furnacesnorthamerica.com, click on attendees and click on register and then follow the prompts to register your team.
Doug Glenn, Heat Treat Today publisher and Heat Treat Radio host.
To find other Heat Treat Radio episodes, go to www.heattreattoday.com/radio and look in the list of Heat Treat Radio episodes listed.
HTT · Heat Treat Radio: Tom Morrison, CEO of the Metal Treating Institute
Heat treaters travel for miles to attend 
