karen stanton

Heat Treat Audio

Heat Treat Today publishes twelve print magazines annually and included in each is a letter from the publisher, Doug Glenn. This letter from the March 2026 Annual Aerospace Heat Treating print edition highlights the growing presence of heat treat-focused podcasts in North American market, spotlighting both The Heat Treat Podcast with Carlos Torres and Heat Treat Radio, including the transition to a new host, Heather Falcone and the continued evolution of digital content in the industry.

Feel free to contact Doug at doug@heattreattoday.com if you have a question or comment. 


It’s amazing to me that there are at least two professionally done heat treat podcasts in the North American heat treat marketplace. There are actually more than two podcasts, but the two I’m speaking of are ongoing and very targeted toward the North American heat treat industry. Check the end of this column for a link to some of the other podcasts I won’t be discussing at length here.

The Heat Treat Podcast with Carlos Torres

Let’s start with the podcast that it not part of Heat Treat TodayThe Heat Treat Podcast with our friend Carlos Torres. Carlos is the CEO of TORSA Group Mattsa and a director at Mattsa Furnace Co. in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Carlos’ video podcast is housed on YouTube (www.youtube.com/@theheattreatpodcast) and has roughly 70 episodes. Carlos cooperates with Super Systems Inc. (SSI) in Mexico, so it is no surprise that Episode #1 from 2021 featured SSI president and all-around great guy, Jim Oakes. Carlos is a very engaging podcast host and has interviewed the likes of Tracy Dougherty, AFC-Holcroft; John Hubbard, former CEO, Bodycote; Chip Keough of the Atmosphere Group; Chad Wright from Wirco; and many other industry notables including Joe Powell, Ben Rassieur, Karen Stanton, Jason Orosz, Jim and Andy Orr, Andrew Bassett, and Trevor Jones.

When Carlos first started his podcast, I joked with him that there was no way he could keep up the pace of turning out good quality heat treat interviews. That was at least four years ago — I was wrong. Carlos continues to do a great job interviewing and posting helpful, timely heat treat content.

Heat Treat Today

The podcast that is a part of Heat Treat Today is Heat Treat Radio. By the time this column is published in March of 2026, Heat Treat Radio will have deployed over 131 episodes since 2016. Initially, the podcasts were strictly audio, but since January 2023, episodes have been video, audio, and transcribed. The list of industry notables is too long, but suffice it to say, it is impressive.

Heat Treat Radio’s new host, Heather Falcone

The BIG news regarding this podcast is that starting last month (February 2026), Heat Treat Radio has a new host, Heather Falcone, former CEO of Thermal-Vac Technology and currently the CEO of Falcone Consulting. Since 2016, I’ve had the pleasure (and responsibility) of hosting the Heat Treat Radio. Heat Treat Today‘s managing editor, Bethany Leone, has been hugely instrumental in the scheduling and production of episodes for the past four years. Both Bethany and I have handed over the reins to Heather, and we are very excited about how the podcast will morph and grow under Heather’s leadership.

By the way, Heather, in her previous life, was interviewed by both The Heat Treat Podcast (Carlos Torres) and Heat Treat Radio. She is, by every measure, an industry legend in her own right.

The nice thing about having Heather take the lead is her ability to “talk turkey” with other industry experts…something I was not able to do being a lowly “publishing guy,” and her creativity and technical savvy when it comes to digital products like audio and video productions. We’re very excited to have Heather on the Heat Treat Today team.

If you have a topic you’d like to see covered on a future episode, or if you know of someone that you think Heather should interview, please reach out directly to Heather at heather@heattreattoday.com.

Whether it’s The Heat Treat Podcast or Heat Treat Radio, I hope you find some of the heat treat audio (and video) helpful.

As promised, here’s a link to some other podcasts. Heat Treat Today provides this link on the Heat Treat Radio landing page: https://www.heattreattoday.com/media/heat-treat-radio-lp/other-industry-podcasts/.

Doug Glenn
Publisher
Heat Treat Today
For more information: Contact Doug at
doug@heattreattoday.com

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HTA Group Increases Heat Treat Capability with 2 Vacuum Furnaces

Source: SECO/WARWICK

HTD Size-PR LogoHTA Group (HTA) purchased two vacuum furnaces to augment its support for Australian defense capabilities. The equipment will provide heat treatment processes for HTA’s manufacturing customers in the region to meet defense customer and quality specifications. The project was developed in response to customer demand and market analysis identifying gaps in Australia’s advanced manufacturing industrial framework.

The two new Vector® single chamber high-pressure quench vacuum furnaces from SECO/VACUUM will go to HTA's Melbourne and Sydney commercial heat treatment facilities to provide expanded processing capabilities to support the Australian defense industry.

"HTA is the only Australian Nadcap-approved thermal processor and has had ongoing success with commercial and aerospace operations to date," commented Dr. Karen Stanton, director of Corporate and Strategy at HTA (pictured in the headline image above). "Increasing the footprint of heat treatment assets through the establishment of this capability in Melbourne and Sydney will increase the ability of defense component manufacturers to deliver projects faster and allow them direct access to a qualified local supply chain."

Norm Tucker
Director of Operations
HTA Group

"SECO/WARWICK Group has the most advanced and user-friendly vacuum furnaces on the market," added Norm Tucker, director of Operations at HTA. "But equally important to me is the way we can collaborate with their team to determine the best furnace features and capabilities to do the job. These two new Vector furnaces will be the first of their capability in Sydney and Melbourne and will be used to heat treat high strength components such as landing gear or brazing engine parts and opening up advanced processing capabilities to our new and current customers."

Piotr Zawistowski
Managing Director
SECO/VACUUM TECHNOLOGIES, USA
Source: secowarwick.com

"HTA has been very smart about how they approach their growth, measuring business opportunities through research and thoughtfulness and looking carefully at the potential upside of their investments," noted Piotr Zawistowski, managing director at SECO/VACUUM. "We are proud to be an integral partner in their planning and execution."

The addition of Vector® vacuum furnaces to HTA’s processing capabilities follows 7 other installations of SECO/WARWICK products in Brisbane and Los Angeles CA, including high-pressure gas quench vacuum furnaces, vacuum aluminum brazing furnaces, and tempering/stress relieving furnaces.

HTA Group Increases Heat Treat Capability with 2 Vacuum Furnaces Read More »

A Dozen Quick Heat Treat News Items to Keep You Current

A Dozen Quick Heat Treat News Items to Keep You Current

Heat Treat Today offers News Chatter, a feature highlighting representative moves, transactions, and kudos from around the industry.

Personnel and Company Chatter

  • A partnership was recently formed between C3 Data LLC and CCPI Europe Ltd. for distribution of furnace software compliance products throughout the UK and Europe. C3 Data’s innovative software solutions are now available for streamlining furnace compliance processes for Nadcap, AMS2750, and CQI-9 for the UK & European aerospace and automotive industries.
  • The NextGenAM collaborative project, formed to establish the basis for a future system for series production using 3D printing technologies, has launched its pilot facility at Premium AEROTEC’s technology center in the German city of  Varel. Premium AEROTECEOS, and Daimler partnered in this project, and the project team has been working on assessing the additive manufacturing process to see what kind of potential it holds for automation.
  • Industry leaders and executives gathered in Atlanta from July 30 – August 1 for the second ITPS (International ThermProcess Summit). Anne Goyer, IHEA’s Executive Vice President, noted that attendee evaluations showed executives felt the speakers and their presentations were very valuable. “I have been involved in organizing conferences and summits for more than 35 years. This year’s ITPS was one of the highest evaluated events we’ve ever produced.”
  • Heat Treatment Australia’s North American operations (HTA-Los Angeles) recently moved into a new facility in Santa Fe Springs, California, as part of an ongoing improvement program to increase available services to N.A. industries. The company also reports an impending order of an age hardening furnace (12-ft) which will be delivered in January. “The new facility provides much-needed resources required to run the new equipment,” said Karen Stanton, referring to the availability of power and gas. The new address is 10140 Romandel Avenue, Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670, not far from the previous location.

Equipment Chatter

  • A Pennsylvania-based company that provides custom engineering and manufacturing of power equipment recently shipped a 360KVA, three-phase, 60HZ transformer for use in wire annealing. Magnetic Specialties produced a transformer that features an extended primary winding with multiple taps to adjust the output voltage of the high current secondary.  The tap can easily be changed via the three phase tap switch mounted to the front of the enclosure.  The delta connected secondary winding is designed for line currents up to 6,500 ARMS.  The delta connection was made with large aluminum bus bars due to the high secondary current. The core and coil, along with the custom NEMA 1 enclosure, were designed using Solidworks 3D modeling.
  • A tool and equipment manufacturer recently received shipment of an electrically heated, standard two-zone, belt conveyor oven to be used to temper steel parts. The furnace, shipped by Wisconsin Oven Company, has the capability to heat 1,800 pounds of steel from 70° F to 425° F within a 1-hour time period. The tempering oven has work chamber dimensions of 3’0″ wide x 34’0″ long and 1’6″ high and a maximum operating temperature of 500° F.
  • A North American heat treater recently expanded its capabilities by adding a new ZeroFlow® precision gas nitriding vacuum furnace. The horizontal, front-loading furnace joins another SECO/WARWICK gas nitriding furnace already in production at the customer’s facility.

Kudos Chatter

  • Professor Jerzy Michalski has been recognized as the 2018 Hephaestus Award. Organizers Nitrex Metal and United Process Controls announced the specialist in the design of gas nitriding processes and modeling of nitriding atmospheres as this year’s recipient. The award is bestowed upon individuals in the field of heat treating whose contributions have had an impact on surface engineering, materials science, and industrial processes or production techniques. The award will be presented to Prof. Michalski during the 3rd Novatherm Seminar, taking place October 3-5, 2018, in Poland.
  • Richard Sisson Jr. has been named a fellow of two materials science professional societies, the International Federation for Heat Treatment and Surface Engineering (IFHTSE), and the American Ceramic Society (ACerS). The George F. Fuller Professor of Mechanical Engineering and director of the Manufacturing and Materials Science and Engineering programs at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), who directs the Center for Heat Treating Excellence, part of WPI’s Metal Processing Institute, received the IFHTSE fellowship at the 4th International Conference on HTSE in Automotive Applications in Spartanburg, S.C., in June, where he also delivered one of the conference’s three keynote addresses.
  • Nevada Heat Treating (NHT), based in Carson City, Nevada, was recently awarded a two year merit on their Nadcap heat treat accreditation.
  • FPM Heat Treating, a leading provider of heat treat processes in the Greater Midwest Region recently announced the successful re-certification of Nadcap accreditation. FPM also reported that all three of the company’s commercial heat treating locations upgraded to the new ISO 9001-2015 certification standards.
  • Solar Atmospheres announced that all four of the company’s facilities have recently obtained certifications to AS9100 Revision D and ISO9001:2015. Solar has held AS and ISO quality management systems registration certificates since 2001. These latest releases are the most demanding international standards required of suppliers to the aviation, space, defense and medical industries.

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 Quick Heat Treat News Items to Keep You Current Read More »

Heat Treat Radio #8: Karen Stanton and HTA’s “Coming to America” Story

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.


What would the Australian Ministry of Defense have to do with heat treating in Southern California?

Karen Stanton, Director–Corporate & Strategy of Heat Treatment Australia (HTA), explains how a growing Australian aerospace and defense market propelled HTA’s launch of their first non-Australian heat treating shop, which is today located in Sante Fe Springs, California, within a reasonable distance of customers and suppliers alike.

Listen to Heat Treat Radio’s podcast (Episode #8) with Karen’s description of how expansion into the southern California heat treat market seemed to be the most reasonable move for an agile and growing company like HTA.

Click the play button below to listen.

 

Doug Glenn, Publisher, Heat Treat Today
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.

Heat Treat Radio #8: Karen Stanton and HTA’s “Coming to America” Story Read More »