Kay & Associates

Heat Treat Today recently unveiled its Heat Treat Consultants page in the October 2018 print edition (available in digital format here) and at FNA in Indianapolis, Indiana. We offer this comprehensive listing of heat treat industry consultants as part of our efforts to help minimize the effects of heat treat “brain drain.” With so many heat treat brains growing older, the expertise that once used to reside inside of manufacturing operations is dwindling. Where, then, do manufacturers with in-house heat treat departments go when they need heat treat answers?

Turn to Heat Treat Today and our comprehensive list of heat treat industry consultants, which we will introduce to you one by one in this occasional feature, “Meet the Consultants”. There is no more comprehensive list of heat treat consultants. Learn more about Dan Kay of Kay and Associates, and then click through to the page to read more details about each consultant. We are adding more regularly. Contact them directly, or call us and we’ll introduce you to them. Whether it’s a technical process question, a safety concern, a compliance issue, or a business related question, one of our heat treat consultants will be able to help. If you are a consultant and would like to be listed, please contact Doug Glenn.

Name: Daniel Kay
Company Name: Kay & Associates
Location: Simsbury, Connecticut
Years in Industry: 45+
Consulting Specialties:

• Brazing Engineering
• Business Management, Leadership, Training
• Brazing Auditor, “Expert Witness”
• Trade Shows, Industry Education

Send an email | Website | Phone: (860) 651-5595

Briefly:

Dan Kay has been involved full-time in brazing engineering for more than 45 years and has been operating his own brazing consulting and training business since 1996, regularly consulting in areas of vacuum and atmosphere brazing, as well as in torch (flame) and induction brazing. Dan has become known worldwide as an excellent seminar leader, trainer, speaker, and well-versed brazing auditor, traveling all over the world not only providing consulting and problem solving but also teaching brazing seminars and conducting in-house brazing-training programs. Numerous publications include his articles on the subject of brazing; in addition, he is a regular contributor to several online resources, including Industrial Heating, VAC AERO, and the Heat Treat Forum. Dan’s extensive knowledge and experience in brazing have also proven useful over the years when companies are seeking an “Expert Witness” in legal matters, enabling clients to bring about resolution to their legal issues, usually without having to go inside a courtroom.

Publications or Significant Accomplishments:

1. Head brazing engineer on corporate engineering staff for Handy & Harman, New York, N.Y, customer liaison, brazing-training, new product development, and the marketing and advertising for the brazing product line. Also responsible for trade show development, salesmen training, and problem solving for customers. (1974-1980)
2. Asst. Vice President of Manufacturing, Wall Colmonoy Corporation, Madison Heights, Michigan. Also: plant general manager for the Detroit Processing Plant; Brazing Products Manager (worldwide); Director of the Brazing Engineering Center (WCC’s Detroit-based R&D center for development of brazing products and applications for same). 1980-1995
3. Conducted semi-annual 3-day furnace brazing seminars in Detroit for Wall Colmonoy along with Robert Peaslee; taught the ASM Brazing Fundamentals course in Materials Park, Ohio, for several years; taught 3-day torch brazing seminars several times each year for more than 7 years while at Handy & Harman.
4. Contributed to and reviewed brazing information for inclusion in the AWS Welding Handbook, Vol. 4, Metals and their Weldability (Seventh Ed., ©1982, AWS)
5. Revised and rewrote Chapter 34 (Honeycomb Brazing) for the Fifth Edition (©2007, AWS) of the AWS Brazing Handbook. Also contributed to and reviewed brazing information for inclusion in the AWS Brazing Handbook (Fourth Ed., ©1991, AWS).
6. Authored several articles published in Industrial Heating, Practical Welding Today, AWS Welding Journal, Heat Treating magazine and ASM International from 1993 to present.
7. Founded Kay & Associates Brazing Consultants, 1996.
8. Recipient of Materials Engineering Institute Instructor of Merit Award by ASM International for “excellence in technical expertise, presentation skills, and quality support materials.”
9. Expert Witness in legal disputes.
10. Wrote and published the Nicrobraz NewsTM, a highly successful, technical brazing newsletter for Wall Colmonoy Corporation (which was issued 2-3 times per year). It achieved worldwide distribution to over 4,000 recipients.
11. “Life Member” in both the American Welding Society (AWS) and in ASM International.
12.  Technical speaker, technical-session chair, host at hospitality suites, and working in booths at numerous international and regional industry trade shows.
13. Has conducted intensive brazing-engineering training seminars for 45 years (varying in length from 1-day to 5-days) around the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and several Pacific-basin countries, consisting of regionalized general brazing seminars, as well as intensive in-house specialized training seminars for individual companies.

Links to Heat Treat Today or Other Online Resources

• “Diffusion Brazing”, ASM Handbook, Vol. 6, Welding, Brazing, and Soldering (©1993, ASM International)
• “Controlling Suppliers and Customers: Key to Successful In-House Brazing?”, Industrial Heating, November 2004
• “Liquation of Brazing Filler Metals — Good or Bad?” Industrial Heating, November 2009
• “Honeycomb-Brazing Essentials for Successful Use As Turbine Seals”, VAC AERO, October 2010
• “Brazing Heat-and-Corrosion Resistant Alloys for Robust Service”, Industrial Heating, September 2014

References (partial list):

VAC AERO | Kay & Associates Brazing Consultants | Wall Colmonoy Corporation |