MTI Member Profile: Stack Metallurgical Group
From its roots in Seattle to its facilities across the western United States, Stack Metallurgical Group has built a legacy defined by precision, quality, and innovation. Founded in 1946, the company began with a few repurposed World War II furnaces and a small team dedicated to serving local foundries. Over time, it expanded its capabilities, added new furnace technologies, and became a trusted partner to some of the leading manufacturers in the Northwest.
As the business evolved over the decades, acquisitions and expansions shaped it into the organization known today. In 1982, the Stack Metallurgical Group consolidated in Portland and added multiple vacuum furnaces to increase capacity. A full-service facility followed in Spokane in 1984, and a new site, Aerospace Aluminum Processing, was established in Salt Lake City in 2015. These additions created a broad network capable of meeting the demanding needs of aerospace, defense, and advanced manufacturing industries.
At its core, the company remains focused on delivering heat treating excellence backed by decades of experience and technological investment. With over 75 years of service, it supports clients producing everything from rocket engines to precision cutlery, maintaining approvals across a comprehensive list of industry standards.
Among its many capabilities, vacuum heat treating stands as the cornerstone of the heat treater’s expertise. This process, essential for alloys such as nickel and titanium, provides unmatched control and consistency — critical qualities for aerospace, power generation, and high-performance tool applications. Complementing vacuum processing are extensive Endothermic heat treating operations for ferrous alloys, enhancing hardness, wear resistance, and toughness, along with aluminum heat treating and anodizing services that strengthen components and improve corrosion resistance.
The company’s facilities house six internal-quench Endothermic furnaces, more than two dozen air furnaces, and over fifteen vacuum furnaces across its Portland and Spokane locations. In Portland and Salt Lake City, aluminum quench and aging furnaces support aerospace and precision manufacturing work, while the Salt Lake site also features an advanced anodizing line and multiple paint booths for finishing applications.
Beyond equipment and technology, the company’s greatest strength lies in its relationships. The organization has long operated with a client-first philosophy, one that views every heat treat job as a collaboration. Every employee takes personal ownership of each component that passes through their care. This approach, built on partnership and dedication, has earned the trust of manufacturers across the industry.
Partnership has long been a defining value, especially with regional tool and knife manufacturers. Working closely with these partners, the team develops specialized processes that enhance product performance, helping create some of the toughest, sharpest, and most consistent tools available today.
Equally vital to the company’s legacy of enduring quality are its people. Many employees have been part of the organization for more than a decade, with several bringing multiple decades of experience. This continuity has fostered a culture of craftsmanship, accountability, and deep technical knowledge, qualities that customers recognize and trust.
Future growth will follow the same guiding principles that have carried the company for generations: hiring exceptional people, investing in new equipment, and expanding capabilities to serve a growing manufacturing base. As U.S. production advances, Stack Metallurgical Group remains committed to helping clients achieve superior results through dependable heat treating and metal processing solutions.
With more than seven decades of proven performance, the company continues to set the standard for precision, quality, and care, proving that craftsmanship, which built on consistency and innovation, never goes out of style.
Stack Metallurgical Group
5938 N Basin Ave
Portland, OR 97217
sales@stackmet.com
www.stackmet.com
Main image: Stack Metallurgical Group’s largest vacuum furnaces at Stack Portland’s Vacuum Department, shortly after commissioning in 2015
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In 1947, amidst a global war that touched every corner of the world, a small heat treat company emerged to serve the thriving and diverse manufacturing market of northeast Ohio. That company, Ohio Metallurgical (Ohiomet), was started by William Latiano and Frank Monaco with only a few salt pots in Lorain, but grew into a larger plant in Elyria, adding vacuum, shaker, and integral quench furnaces. Years later in 1977, Don Gaydosh, who was the general manager at the time, purchased 70% of the company, along with fellow employee Jerry Pragg. In 1990, John Gaydosh followed in his father’s footsteps and is the current president and owner.
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