Gasbarre Industrial Furnace Systems

The Holiday Edition of This Week in Heat Treat Social Media

/ MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS

Welcome to the first installment of Heat Treat Today’s This Week in Heat Treat Social Media of 2025, and today we are focusing on holiday-themed social media posts. From handing out Christmas cheer to learning opportunities shared over the holiday break, check out these posts and videos for a roundup of festal heat treat social media: We start with alternatives to New Year’s resolutions.

As you know, there is so much content available on the web that it’s next to impossible to sift through all of the articles and posts that flood our inboxes and notifications on a daily basis. So, Heat Treat Today is here to bring you the latest in compelling, inspiring, and entertaining heat treat news from the different social media venues that you’ve just got to see and read! If you have content that everyone has to see, please send the link to editor@heattreattoday.com.

1. Not Into Resolutions? Here Are Some Alternatives

Leave it to young leaders in the heat treat industry to think of new ways to approach a new year. What’s your innovative alternative to resolutions?

Look these posts up on LinkedIn here: Kalen Fitch at Gasbarre; Sarah Jordan; Tim Mohr.

2. Heat Treaters Changing Lives

Something about the folks in this industry: they just love to reach out and help others.

Look these posts up on LinkedIn here: Wirco and Solar Atmospheres

3. We Don’t Stop Learning Just Because It’s a Holiday Break

Between important family time, seasonal activities, and festal joy, some of your industry colleagues were uploading opportunities for you to expand your knowledge about heat treating and all things related.

Look these posts up on LinkedIn here: Anhui Qasim Grinding Ball Group Co.,Ltd; Nonthaphat Sinprasong; and Light Metal Age.

4. Watch & Listen

Did you see or hear any of these videos or podcasts from 2024?

Check out Carlos Torres (2019 40 Under 40 alumni) hosting the Heat Treat Podcast on YouTube; Advanced Heat Treat Corp‘s post on LinkedIn; and the Heat Treat Radio page here.

5. Brain Fun To Launch the New Year

Sweep out that holiday fog! It’s time for some gymnastics for the brain!

Look these posts up on LinkedIn here: Metallurgical Engineering; Srini Vanapalli (the question); Srini Vanapalli (the solution); and Metallurgical Engineering.

Find Heat Treating Products and Services When You Search on Heat Treat Buyers Guide.com

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Heat Treat Boot Camp 2024 — and That’s a Wrap!

/ HEAT TREAT NEWS
Doug Glenn welcomes boot camp trainees at Monday evening’s meet- and-greet reception.

Heat treat industry players from across a spectrum of facilities, suppliers, and manufacturing specialties landed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Monday, September 24, 2024, to kick off Heat Treat Boot Camp 2024. Attendees networked, gained new practical knowledge, and participated in a tour of a local commercial heat treating facility. It wasn’t all work; an opportunity to get to know one another at a meet-and-greet reception upon arrival and later on a trip up Pittsburgh’s Duquesne Incline allowed boot campers to relax and connect, balancing work with fun.

A day and a half of sessions led by instructors Doug Glenn, publisher and founder of Heat Treat Today, and Thomas Wingens, president/CEO and founder of WINGENS International Industry Consultancy, brought the 39 trainees up-to-speed on “Processes & Materials,” “Heat Treat Players,” “Latest Heat Treat Developments,” and more. Questions and discussion were encouraged during the formal sessions, and heat treaters had plenty of informal, additional learning time through interactions with each other and the instructors.

At the end of the first day of lectures, nearly all of the attendees boarded a school bus to visit the Duquesne Incline on Mount Washington and enjoy the view of Pittsburgh. Following another day packed with training and resources, attendees had the option to visit Solar Atmospheres in Hermitage, Pennsylvania, to tour the in-house vacuum heat treating and brazing facility.

Ike Okoh
Product Engineer
Dry Coolers

“I’ve enjoyed talking about the different types of heat processes and the types of furnaces — vacuum and atmosphere air systems,” said Ike Okoh, a product engineer with Dry Coolers, Inc, based in Michigan. “The questions I had before the course started were answered during the course, and the most beautiful part of the program was that it’s not always you get to see CEOs and or business owners in the training sessions with you. It’s wonderful to get to meet them and find out more about them and their companies.

“The instructors, Doug and Thomas, were really nice, went through the course and broke down some of the issues, took questions and answered them,” Okoh added. “All in all, it’s been an enlightening experience.”

“Every group that’s been here is different,” said Glenn. “This group has been really fantastic; it’s an engaging group, and overall, we’ve heard positive feedback that the sessions and networking have been helpful. So, thanks to everyone who has come, and we look forward to seeing others next year.”

Highlights of the Event

Monday evening’s meet-and-greet allowed participants to network and connect.
Days 1 and 2 of instruction from Doug Glenn and Thomas Wingens
Field trip to Pittsburgh’s Duquesne Incline after Day 1 of instruction
HTBC 2024 team and attendees

Heat Treat Today thanks everyone for their participation in Heat Treat Boot Camp 2024, including our sponsors. Title Sponsors for this year’s event were Aerospace Testing & Pyrometry, Inc. and Control Concepts Inc.. Social Sponsors were CAN-ENG Furnaces International Ltd. and Cleveland Electric Labs. Additional sponsors were Algas-SDI, AFC-Holcroft, Chiz Bros: Refractory and Insulation Specialists, GASBARRE, Ipsen USA, Super Systems Inc., and I Squared R Element Co.

Keep your eyes open for your invitation to join us in 2025 for our fourth year of training up heat treaters of the future. Be sure to register early and bring friend and coworkers! 

Find Heat Treating Products And Services When You Search On Heat Treat Buyers Guide.Com

 

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A Baker’s Dozen Quick Heat Treat News Items to Keep You Current

/ FEATURED NEWS, HEAT TREAT NEWS INDUSTRIES

A Baker’s 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

  • Tom Spicer recently joined Gasbarre Industrial Furnace Systems (OEM of J.L. Becker brand equipment) as a Field Service Technician. Tom brings over 20 years of industry experience to the Plymouth, Michigan, company, having previously worked with OEMs assembling and servicing equipment and in maintenance at a commercial heat treat facility.
  • Changes at DANTE: The month of May saw the transition of Dan Londrico and Stefan Habean from intern to staff engineer. Charlie Li moved from Vice President to President of the company, and Lynn Ferguson became Emeritus. Edward Lee, a mechanical engineering student at The Ohio State University, joined the DANTE team as an intern.
  • Sławomir Woźniak has been appointed by the Supervisory Board at the SECO/WARWICK Group to the role of President of the Management Board. The new President has been appointed for the same period as the joint term of the new Management Board, which spans the next three full financial years.
  • Ajax TOCCO Magnethermic / Emmedi would like to congratulate Don Gibeaut on his election to Chairman of the North American Management Board of Directors (NAMB) for the International Tube Association (ITA). Don is the product manager for ATM’s Tubular Products Division.
  • A materials technology engineering group recently completed a partial acquisition of a provider of metal additive manufacturing (AM) services and advanced end-use components. Sandvik acquired a 30% stake in privately owned Beam IT, which supplies metal AM end components to demanding industries, including automotive, energy and aerospace, and holds several relevant quality certifications to serve these industries.
  • A new hot isostatic press (HIP) has been delivered and installed at Paulo’s Cleveland Division. The furnace was built by Quintus Technologies. The 30,000-sqft expansion to house the HIP vessel is complete and will provide the Cleveland Division room for additional expansion to support customer needs.
  • GE Additive recently announced that the company has made a significant investment in its electron beam melting (EBM) technology, with the purchase of an additional 17 A2X systems and 10 Spectra H systems. Avio Aero, a GE Aviation company, currently operates a fleet of 35 Arcam machines at its recently expanded site in Cameri, Italy. The additional EBM systems will be installed at GE Aviation and Avio Aero facilities in the US and Europe and will be used primarily for the production of titanium aluminide (TiAl) blades on the low-pressure turbine for the GE9X engine.
  • Metal Exchange Corporation (MEC), headquartered in St. Louis, MO, is forming a new joint venture with Novellini Industries Srl in Mantova, Italy. Called novALmec, the newly formed company will supply aluminum billet capacity to the European market.

Equipment Chatter

  • An automotive supplier recently ordered a nitrocarburizing furnace for a new component line for a major carmaker. SECO/WARWICK commissioned the high-volume, horizontal retort furnaces, which will allow the customer to produce parts for North American suppliers. In addition to ferritic nitrocarburizing, the furnaces can provide clean, stress relief processing.
  • Four atmosphere controlled, aluminum coil annealing furnaces, which will be used to anneal automotive body stock and common alloy sheet coils, have been ordered by a leading U.S. aluminum producer from Consolidated Engineering Company.
  • A quench tank has been installed by Baker Furnace, a division of Thermal Product Solutions, for a supplier in the heat treatment industry. The customer had two quench tanks and three drop bottom furnaces and needed the third quench tank in order to optimize quench loads per day.

Kudos Chatter

  • During the 2019 CCAI Annual Meeting in Hilton Head, South Carolina, the Chemical Coaters Association International held their annual awards ceremony to recognize the CCAI Chapter Users and Suppliers of the Year and announce the 2019 James F. & David J. Wright Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. The 2018-19 Chapter Award winners are: Central States Chapter – Frank Laster, A-1 Paint Powder and Sandblasting LLC and Ron Cudzilo, George Koch Sons LLC; Georgia Chapter – Wayne Pettyjohn, Georgia Power Company; Las Vegas Chapter – Tony Sclafani, AR Iron, LLC and Sercy Spears, TIGER Drylac, Inc. USA; Northern Illinois Chapter – Matt Ambrose, Henkel Corporation; Salt Lake City Chapter – Ginny Phommavongsay, Martin Door Mfg.; Southern California Chapter – Shivie Dhillon, Sundial Powder Coating, Tony Sclafani, AR Iron, LLC and Luis Hernandez, Coral Chemical Co.; Twin Cities Chapter – Mark Walsworth, Retired and Jim Henningsen, Troy Chemical; West Michigan Chapter – In memory of Herb Knape, Knape Industries Inc., and Jason Meekof, Industrial Metal Cleaning; and Wisconsin Chapter – Justin Jarmuz, Wacker Neuson Corp. and Matt Roeser, DuBois Chemical Co.
  • During the July 9th Collier County Board of County Commissioners meeting, Pelican Wire was named the Collier County ‘Business of the Month’ and was recognized by the Board for being a manufacturing leader in Collier County for over forty years.
  • On July 11th, Solar Atmospheres hosted 28 high school students enrolled in the Summer Engineering Institute (SEI) at Lehigh University. The group also included a few members of Lehigh University undergraduate students and staff. The SEI program, under the guidance of Director Dr. Laura Moyer, is a two-week residential program, running two sessions back to back. Students are nominated by faculty of local high schools, and the program specifically targets under-represented groups including girls, first-generation students, and students who might otherwise have limited opportunities to study in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

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

A Baker’s Dozen Quick Heat Treat News Items to Keep You Current Read More »

A Dozen & a Half Quick Heat Treat News Items to Keep You Current

/ FEATURED NEWS, HEAT TREAT NEWS INDUSTRIES

A Dozen & a Half 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

  • Mike Woolery has recently joined Plibrico Company, LLC,  as its purchasing manager. Woolery will report directly to the company’s Chief Financial Officer, Rob Wasieleski.
  • The recent acquisition of the SME Group by Dana Incorporated, as well as the Drive Systems segment of Oerlikon Group, including the Graziano and Fairfield brands, has resulted in the addition of five facilities throughout China.
  • Gasbarre Industrial Furnace Systems is pleased to announce the promotion of Mike Harrison to Engineering Manager for Gasbarre (formerly J.L. Becker), in Plymouth, MI.
  • A global investment firm recently announced that it has closed its purchase of StandardAero. The Carlyle Group completed the purchase from Veritas Capital. StandardAero is a global provider of repair and maintenance services to the aviation industry.
  • R. Joseph Stratman, Chief Digital Officer and Executive Vice President of Nucor Corporation, recently announced plans to retire on June 8, 2019, after more than 29 years of service with Nucor. Effective May 19, 2019, MaryEmily Slate will be promoted to Executive Vice President and will assume responsibilities for the Tubular Products Group, logistics and certain joint ventures.
  • Saint-Gobain Coating Solutions, Amherst, N.Y., has recently appointed Tim Vitorino, a member of the ASM Thermal Spray Society, to the position of Product Manager for Thermal Spray Powders. In this role, he will have global responsibility for the current TSP portfolio and for new product development.

Equipment Chatter

  • A modified shelf oven, No. 879 from Grieve Corporation, heats to 350°F (177°C) and is currently used for pre-heating bulk friction material in trays at the customer’s facility.
  • A continuous annealing and chemical pretreatment line for processing strip coils for the aluminum market has been contracted by Henan Tongren Aluminum Co. Ltd, which specializes in aluminum products. Tenova will deliver the new line, which will process automotive and aircraft aluminum alloys, family series 2XXX, 5XXX, 6XXX and 7XXX.
  • A new 12’ long car-bottom vacuum furnace with advanced pumping system and rapid cooling capability has been ordered for Solar Atmospheres’ Greenville, South Carolina, facility. The horizontal vacuum furnace has been manufactured by sister company Solar Manufacturing; installation is scheduled for early 2020.
  • Two CaseMaster Evolution® (CMe) vacuum furnaces have recently been delivered to an aerospace components manufacturer, and an additional CMefurnace has gone to a performance automotive manufacturer, from SECO/WARWICK Group.

  • A Gruenberg explosion resistant truck-in oven has been shipped to the defense security industry by Thermal Product Solutions.
  • An electrically heated horizontal solution treat system with a maximum oven operating temperature of 1,100°F and a chiller system has been shipped to a manufacturer in the aerospace industry by Wisconsin Oven Corporation. Guaranteed temperature uniformity of ±10°F at set points of 870°F, 920°F, & 985°F was documented with a twelve (12) point profile test in an empty oven chamber under static operating conditions and was performed in accordance with BAC 5621F specifications.
  • A 2012°F (1100°C) crucible furnace has been shipped to a research and development laboratory in the nuclear industry by Lindberg/MPH. This crucible furnace will be used for a wide variety of laboratory melting applications, including annealing, ashing, carbon firing, ceramic firing, hardening, melting, nitriding, normalizing, sintering, solution treating, and stress relieving.

 

Kudos Chatter

StandardAero recently celebrated the delivery of the company’s 500th CFM International CFM56-7B turbofan engine from its overhaul facility in Winnipeg, MB, Canada. This milestone engine powered a Boeing 737 Next Generation passenger jet operated by a major North American airline supported by StandardAero via offload agreements with its valued partner GE Aviation. StandardAero launched its CFM56-7B program in June 2009,

Precision Micro is now certified to ISO 13485 – the internationally recognized quality management system for medical device manufacturers. The accreditation was awarded following a successful site audit conducted by the British Standards Institution (BSI), the national standards body of the United Kingdom.

Stratolaunch Systems Corporation recently completed the first flight of the world’s largest all-composite aircraft, the Stratolaunch. With a dual fuselage design and wingspan greater than the length of an American football field, the Stratolaunch aircraft took flight at 0658 PDT from the Mojave Air and Space Port. Achieving a maximum speed of 189 miles per hour, the plane flew for 2.5 hours over the Mojave Desert at altitudes up to 17,000 feet. As part of the initial flight, the pilots evaluated aircraft performance and handling qualities before landing successfully back at the Mojave Air and Space Port.

JTEKT North America (JNA), a supplier of steering systems, driveline components and bearing technologies was recognized with an Excellent Award in Technology & Development from Toyota Motor North America, Inc. (TMNA) at its Annual Supplier Business Meeting (ABM) in March.

The leading producer of flat-rolled aluminum products recently hosted a ribbon cutting celebration to commemorate a $4.5 million investment at its facility in Warren, Ohio. Through this investment, Novelis, Inc., will provide greater versatility for pretreatments, improves operational efficiency and reduces costs over time.

 

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.

 

 

 

A Dozen & a Half Quick Heat Treat News Items to Keep You Current Read More »

A Baker’s Dozen Quick Heat Treat News Items to Keep You Current

/ FEATURED NEWS, HEAT TREAT NEWS INDUSTRIES

A Baker’s 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

  • Peters’ Heat Treating, Inc. recently announces that Andrew S. Wilkosz has been named president of the company. Wilkosz, who has been with Peters’ Heat Treating, Inc. for nearly four years, was previously acting as the Vice President of Operations, overseeing the day to day operations of the company across all three facilities. Wilkosz is also a principal in Laser Hard, Inc., specializing in robotic laser heat treating and cladding. He is also a Heat Treat Today 2018 40 Under 40 recipient.
  • Geoffrey Somary has been appointed to CEO of Ipsen Group worldwide, taking over the position after former CEO Thorsten Kruger moved to the Advisory Board of the company.
  • Jake Verdoux has recently been promoted to the position of Manufacturing Manager for Plymouth, Michigan-based, Gasbarre Industrial Furnace Systems (IFS) (formerly known as J.L. Becker).
  • A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to mark the completion and opening of a 15,000-square foot building expansion at the corporate headquarters of Advanced Heat Treat Corp. (AHT), located in Waterloo, Iowa.
  • Braidy Industries has alerted potential investors that the aluminum mill it plans to build in northeast Kentucky will open in 2021, not in 2020 as previously projected, a change due to a “minor adjustment to the construction schedule.”

  • Multiple industries have recently purchased and installed equipment in SECO/WARWICK’s Vector® vacuum furnace line, including an international electric motor producer, an emissions control device manufacturer, a forging company, a defense contractor, an automotive manufacturer, and an aircraft components manufacturer.
  • Kandil Steel, headquartered in Cairo, Egypt, recently commissioned bell annealer technology from EBNER. Kandil, which is celebrating its 150 anniversary, is expanding the EBNER HICON/H2® bell annealer located at Galva Metal by four work bases to a total of fourteen. The facility is scheduled to start production in 2020.
  • A 2000°F (1093°C), inert atmosphere, heavy-duty furnace, No. 1039, was recently purchased for heat treating turbine components at a customer’s facility. The workspace dimensions of the Grieve Corporation furnace measure 36” W x 60” D x 36” H. 73.
  • A medical device company recently acquired the assets of Options Medical LLC, a Florida-based medical device distributor. Orthofix Medical Inc., which manufactures musculoskeletal products and therapies, is purchasing the distributor of bone growth therapies devices.
  • A U.S.-based orthopedic and spinal medical device manufacturer and developer recently agreed to sell major assets related to its artificial joint, trauma and spinal product businesses to Kyocera International Inc., based in San Diego, Calif.  The assets of Renovis Surgical Technologies Inc. will be transferred into a new California-based company, wholly owned by Kyocera International Inc., to be named Kyocera Medical Technologies Inc.

  • Buehler, an ITW Company, and ASM International are celebrating 75 of continuous partnership in 2019. The pinnacle of this relationship is Buehler’s continuous support of the ASM World Training Center in Novelty, Ohio, through its innovations for metallography and hardness testing, solutions for the newest materials and participation in ASM International activities.
  • APMI International has named Joseph Tunick Strauss and John L. Johnson. as the organization’s 2019 Fellows. APMI International’s most prestigious award recognizes APMI members for their significant contributions to the goals, purpose, and mission of the organization as well as for a high level of expertise in the technology, practice, or business of the industry.
  • Chemical Coaters Association International (CCAI) recently announced its first Women in Finishing FORUM which will be held at the Embassy Suites South Bend at Notre Dame from May 9-11, 2019. CCAI began its Women in Finishing initiative with a networking reception at FABTECH 2017 in Chicago. The response exceeded expectations, leading to the official establishment of Women in Finishing (WiF) under CCAI. 2019 will feature the expansion of WiF programming, including the Women in Finishing FORUM.

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.

A Baker’s Dozen Quick Heat Treat News Items to Keep You Current Read More »