News Chatter

A Dozen Quick Heat Treat News Items to Keep You Current

/ FEATURED NEWS, HEAT TREAT NEWS INDUSTRIES

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

  • John Finch has joined Plibrico Company LLC as the Southeastern Territory Manager. Mr. Finch, an accomplished refractory professional and is an active member of several different industry and refractory associations.
  • Timothy C. Fish has joined the sales team at Solar Atmospheres of Western PA as Regional Sales Manager, focusing on the Midwest region.
  • Triumph Fabrications is being acquired by Arlington Capital Partners. Triumph consists of four companies that manufacture, coat, and assemble complex sheet metal components for fixed wing and rotorcraft platforms. Heat treating and annealing are included in the operations.
  • A new state-of-the-art aluminum billet manufacturing facility will be constructed in the Rapids East Commerce Center in the City of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. Matalco Inc., a member of the Giampaolo Group, will house the new facility in a 110,000 sq ft manufacturing plant, which at full production capacity, will produce in excess of 230 million pounds of high-quality aluminum billet. This is part of a larger investment plan to construct several greenfield aluminum remelt facilities for billet and rolling slab production in North America.

Equipment Chatter

  • A series of gas nitriding and tempering furnaces have been installed at a commercial heat treatment company specializing in mold & die steel heat treatment for its newly formed division. The horizontal gas nitriding furnaces supplied by JGEF Furnaces can produce a hard clean substrate onto which is deposited a duplex layer with high hardness values. The JGEF tempering furnace series will help the manufacturer achieve a pre-vacuum protective atmosphere for tempering, and the atmosphere in the furnace chamber will reduce the oxidative decarburization reaction of the heat-treated workpiece. The furnace has a load capacity of 11023 pounds and an operating temperature range of 302-1202°F
  • Grupo TTT, one of the leaders in heat and surface treatments, recently added a SECO/WARWICK vacuum heat treatment and brazing system equipped with high-pressure gas quench to their Bergara, Spain, facility to run a variety of processes. This is the fourth system purchased by Grupo TTT with an earlier installation in Europe, and two systems currently in operation in Mexico.
  • Three box furnaces have been shipped for installation by Lindberg/MPH. An unnamed customer purchased one Temperite™ Box Furnace and one Treet-All™ Box Furnace to work in tandem. The Temperite™ Box Furnace is configured for aging, annealing, austempering, baking, solution treating, and tempering applications, while the Treet-All™ Box Furnace is configured for annealing, ashing, austempering, brazing, preheating, and solution treating applications. In addition, Lindberg/MPH  announced the shipment of one Treet-All™ Box Furnace to the technology industry. The maximum temperature rating of this light industrial box furnace is 2050°F.
  • A state-of-the-art continuous mesh belt heat treat system has been commissioned for the production of high-quality automotive fasteners. CAN-ENG Furnaces International Ltd was selected for a project in the Piedmont Region of Italy, one of four installation locations for this globally recognized producer of specialty automotive fasteners.
  • A Blue M Friction-Aire® Safety Oven, which provides a controlled heat source without heating elements, was recently shipped to a manufacturer of consumer products by Thermal Product Solutions.

Kudos Chatter

  • StandardAero’s Maryville, Tennessee facility recently completed and shipped its 10,000th auxiliary power unit (APU) repair since the nearly 25 years it has been providing APU MRO services to the industry. The specific 10,000th repair was on a Honeywell model 36-150RJ APU for a regional aircraft operator.
  • Allied Mineral Products has launched a new Chinese-language website. The website, alliedchina.com, targets the local business market in China while actively engaging existing customers. In Northern China, Allied’s manufacturing facility in Tianjin celebrated its 20th anniversary last year.
  • The ASM Materials Education Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of the 2018 ASM Materials Genome Toolkit competition. As determined by an independent review committee, the undergraduate engineering departments at Georgia Institute of Technology, Louisiana Technological University, Montana Technological University, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute will receive a three-year site license for a suite of Thermo-Calc software tools intended to aid in the instruction of computational materials design, an emerging engineering practice deemed essential to the success of the U.S. Materials Genome Initiative (MGI) and global leadership in manufacturing.

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 »

15 Quick Heat Treat News Items to Keep You Current

/ FEATURED NEWS, HEAT TREAT NEWS INDUSTRIES

15 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

  • Tracy Dougherty has been named Vice President of Sales at AFC-Holcroft. Dougherty has been with AFC-Holcroft since 2008 and served in several sales-related roles, most recently as the company’s Sales Manager. As Vice President of Sales, Dougherty will now have a number of added responsibilities, including overseeing the company’s activities in Europe.
  • Retech Systems, which has been manufacturing vacuum melting systems in Northern California, will transition much of the manufacturing and assembly to facilities in Świebodzin, Poland. All of the future work done at the SECO/Warwick facilities in Poland will be per the established Retech standards with the focus on maintaining all expectations associated with the Retech brand. The Ukiah office will be downsized and will retain engineers, technical directors, technologists, and service staff. Retech’s unique R&D Center will continue to be built up, maintaining a west coast office along with the recently opened east coast office in Buffalo, NY.
  • Philip Wrisley, Project Manager at Plibrico‘s Salem, Ohio, office, is the recipient of an API STD 936 Refractory Personnel Certification from the American Petroleum Institute (API). This internationally recognized certification verifies Wrisley’s knowledge of API Refractory Installation Quality Control Guidelines for field-testing of monolithic refractory materials, as well as best practices in the installation and repair of refractory linings.
  • A new 57,500 square foot building dedicated to vacuum furnace manufacturing is under construction at Solar Manufacturing‘s campus in Sellersville, Pennsylvania. As can be seen in the photo below, the four bridge cranes are in place, the full plant and office roof is complete, and much of the concrete floor poured.
  • A thermal technology company recently announced the opening of its new sales and operations office in Norway. Chromalox, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, manufactures process heating and heat tracing products.
  • A global leader in aluminum rolling and recycling recently announced an expansion at the company’s Pindamonhangaba, Brazil, plant. This $175 million investment of its flagship facility in South America will bolster Novelis‘s capacity with 100 kilotonnes of additional rolling production and 60 kilotonnes of increased recycling and bring total capacity of the Pindamonhangaba facility to approximately 680 kilotonnes per year of aluminum sheet and 450 kilotonnes annually of recycled metal.
  • Nucor Corporation has announced that it is acquiring Corporacion POK, S.A. de C.V. (POK), a fully integrated precision castings company with a facility in Guadalajara, Mexico. POK produces complex castings and precision machined products used by the oil and gas, mining and sugar processing industries.
  • A new automotive structures facility opened in Zilina, Slovakia, dedicated to the production of aluminum crash management systems and body structure components. Constellium‘s 5,200 square meter facility in Zilina features advanced technologies for forming, machining, welding, and heat-treating aluminum automotive components, along with a state-of-the-art quality lab to ensure products meet customer specifications. Constellium plans to expand its facility to 15,000 square meters by mid-2019.

Equipment Chatter

  • A Japanese manufacturer of precision tool steels components recently commissioned a precision vacuum furnace system from SECO/WARWICK. This specialized system reduces energy consumption through power optimization and cycle time reduction, customized to work within the tight physical space limitations.
  • In addition, an American manufacturer which produces transportation components recently ordered a new precision gas nitriding furnace with ZeroFlow® from SECO/VACUUM (SVT), a SECO/WARWICK Group company.
  • L&L Special Furnace Co., Inc., has supplied a custom designed and manufactured oil quench tank to a metal stamping manufacturer in the Midwest. The quench tank is specifically used to quench metal stamping dies that are heated to 1,550°F.
  • Advanced Heat Treat Corp recently posted to Facebook a video of the installation of one of three new nitriding vessels delivered to the company’s MidPort Blvd location as part of an ongoing building expansion.
  • An international heat treating equipment manufacturer with a location in California, JGEF Furnace, recently sold 6 furnaces to a Japanese heat treating company. Four nitriding horizontal furnaces are front-loading and designed specifically for precision gas nitriding in a retort style with vacuum purge, and two tempering horizontal furnaces are designed to temper workloads after hardening.

Kudos Chatter

  • Hydro Extruded Solutions Hoogezand B.V. (Netherlands), which produces aluminum profiles as well as anodized and painted components, has become the first aluminum extrusion company to be certified with ASI’s Performance Standard for environmental, social and governance performance.
  • SECO/WARWICK was recently awarded the Honorary Badge for Meritorious Performance in the area of innovation in a badge award ceremony held at the Royal Castle as part of the celebrations of the 100-year anniversary of the Patent Office and industrial property protection system in Poland. The badge, given to entities and organizations having outstanding achievements in their pro-development activities, was received by Bartosz Klinowski, Managing Director (Europe), Member of the Management Board of SECO/WARWICK.
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.

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

15 Quick Heat Treat News Items to Keep You Current

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15 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

  • The purchase of a producer of fixtures and parts in refractory alloys for heat treatment, steel, incineration, power generation, automotive, and aerospace industries was recently announced. The Safe-Cronite business unit of the Safe Group was purchased by its CEO Pierre Wittmann and a group of managers in partnership with investment funds driven by CICLAD.
  • The central laboratory of H.C. Starck, known until recently as H.C. Starck Analytical Services, announced it became an independent company with the name ChemiLytics GmbH & Co. KG. The new company will remain part of the H.C. Starck Group. The company is presented on its new webpage www.chemilytics.com to provide interested customers with an overview of the company, its core competencies, and service range.
  • Paulo, a supplier of heat-treating services for a wide range of industries headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, officially inaugurated its first plant outside the U.S., located at the GP Escobedo industrial park in the municipality of Escobedo, Nuevo Leon. The facility started operations earlier this year providing proprietary heat-treatment processes for the automotive industry in a 50,000 square-feet footprint which is expected to expand up to 110,000 sq.-ft as new equipment keeps coming into the plant in order to serve manufacturers of aerospace components and agriculture equipment, among others.
  • A leading producer of semi-fabricated specialty aluminum products Kaiser Aluminum Corporation recently announced that it has acquired Imperial Machine & Tool Co., a leader in multi-material additive manufacturing and machining technologies for aerospace and defense, automotive, high-tech, and general industrial applications.

Equipment Chatter

  • Ipsen USA recently announced several furnace shipments, including several TITAN® vacuum furnaces from the platform product line, several custom horizontal and vertical vacuum furnaces and multiple atmosphere box furnaces all designed to meet customers’ specifications. Many of these shipments also included PdMetrics® software for predictive maintenance.
  • Gasbarre recently designed, manufactured, and commissioned a large capacity gas-fired temper furnace for a major specialty alloy manufacturing company located in the Northeastern portion of the United States. The furnace is designed to temper workloads that are 32 feet wide by 6 feet long by 4 feet high and weigh up to 40,000 lbs. The furnace utilizes the latest design and control technologies to achieve excellent temperature uniformity (±10°F) across a wide temperature range (800°F to 1400°F)
  • A new Hot Isostatic Press will soon be in operation at Lake City Heat Treating, expanding their Hot Isostatic Press capabilities for the aerospace and medical industries. With a much larger capacity of 2,000 pounds per load, Lake City will be able to expand load sizes and meet customer turnaround requirements. The new press will be housed in their new 6,000 square foot addition.
  • Solar Atmospheres of Western PA recently commissioned a new 20-foot car bottom furnace that has a total load capacity of up to 30,000 pounds. The Class 2 furnace, built by John Becker’s Heat Treat Equipment Inc., located in Canton, Michigan, was installed and fully tested for the first time in Hermitage, PA. This new piece of equipment will serve to compliment Solar’s lower temperature work – especially where surface oxidation is of little concern. It will also be used to economically process many “downstream” processes, including multiple tempering operations, which typically follow vacuum austenitizing treatments.
  • Quintus Technologies supplied a hot-isostatic press to a Chinese manufacturer to complement the additive manufacturing capabilities at Xi’an Bright Laser Technologies Co., Ltd. BLT produces 3DP parts in titanium and aluminum alloys, superalloys, and stainless, die, and high-strength steels, for a range of industrial applications, including automotive engine and structural parts, aircraft engine and structural components, mold/die, energy, electronics, and other customer segments.

Kudos Chatter

  • Materion Corporation recently announced that the Society of Automotive Engineers – Aerospace Material Specification Nonferrous Alloys Committee (SAE-AMS) has approved AMS4369 specification for SupremEX® 225XF metal matrix composite (MMC) and AMS4379 for SupremEX 225XE MMC. This represents the second AMS specification for SupremEX 225XE and applies to the extruded form of the material. With the two recently added specifications, the company now has a total of four AMS specifications for its SupremEX line of products, allowing engineers to reference a national standard for material properties.
  • Worcester Polytechnic Institute recently presented its 2018 Innovator of the Year Award to metallurgical pioneer Diran Apelian. The first WPI faculty member to receive the honor, Apelian is the founding director of WPI’s Metal Processing Institute, an internationally recognized researcher and educator, and a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.
  • ASM International recently recognized several members for achievement at its ASM Awards Banquet, held in Columbus, OH on October 16, 2018. In addition, ASM International Trustee-Elects have been selected to serve on the 2018-2019 ASM Board of Trustees. ASM International’s trustees are charged with acting in the best interests of the society’s membership and help to lead the governance of the society. The ASM officers and trustees were officially installed in office at ASM’s Annual Meeting on October 15, 2018, also in Columbus, OH. Details can be found at ASM International’s website: https://www.asminternational.org/membership/awards/photos
  • Kanfit Ltd., a leading manufacturer of assemblies and subassemblies for the aerospace industry, announced today that it has recently achieved Nadcap re-certification for chemical processing and heat treatment following thorough audits of the Performance Review Institute. Kanfit was awarded recertification of Chemical Processing and is qualified for full Nadcap merit status of 24 months. This means that the frequency between audits has been increased from 18 months to two years. Kanfit has been Nadcap accredited for chemical processing since 2013 and has been accredited by Nadcap for heat treating since 2008.
  • GE Aviation recently produced 30,000th 3D printed fuel nozzle at its Auburn, Alabama, plant.
  • Surface Combustion Inc., Maumee, Ohio, has recently updated its website, which provides details about its standard atmosphere and vacuum furnace designs. Not only is the website mobile friendly, but also thermal processing solutions on the product, industry, and process pages are easier to navigate.

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.

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

15 Quick Heat Treat News Items to Keep You Current

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15 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

  • AFC-Holcroft has announced the addition of Daniel Hill as the newest member of their sales team. Hill will be based out of the company’s headquarters in Wixom, Michigan, focusing on key account management as well as new lead generation. Hill will report to Tracy Dougherty, Sales Manager at AFC-Holcroft.
  • Solar Atmospheres’ CEO, Roger A. Jones, was awarded the distinguished honor of ASM Fellow (FASM) at the ASM Awards Dinner on Tuesday, October 16, 2018. According to ASM, “The honor of Fellow represents recognition of distinguished contributions in the field of materials science and engineering, and develops a broadly based forum for technical and professional leaders to serve as advisors to the Society.” Roger’s citation reads: “For advancing production vacuum thermal processes and procedures for large and heavy assemblies utilizing state of the art vacuum furnaces, for the enhancement of the overall heat treating industry.”
  • A company that specializes in automated manufacturing solutions for automotive manufacturers among other industries, Innovative Automation, has acquired Tridan International, which supplies machinery for the production of heat exchangers, evaporators and condensers commonly used in manufacturing. This acquisition includes all ongoing operations of the company from their 88,000 square foot facility in Danville, IL.
  • StandardAero, the world’s largest independent Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A Designated Overhaul Facility (DOF) with Distribution rights, has recently inducted the first five PT6A-68 engines at its Summerside facility on Prince Edward Island, Canada.  StandardAero has provided full-service support for the PT6A-68 since 2013 but is now in the process of transferring its support of the engine model to its Summerside facility, as part of the company’s Center of Excellence (COE) activity, announced in May 2018.
  • Caterpillar, Inc, has announced that a closed South Carolina casting facility will house its new $13.5 million, 103,000-square-foot building in Hodges where it will produce specialty castings for various engines and transmissions in Caterpillar’s line of products.
  • Schenck Process, which engages in the design, manufacture, and supply of applied measuring and process technology, announced the acquisition of Process Components Ltd, a UK based designer and manufacturer of powder processing and handling equipment, components and spare parts, and its subsidiaries.
  • Braidy Industries and its subsidiary Veloxint recently announced five new executive appointments. Julio Ramirez will take on the position of Chief Financial Officer at Braidy. At Veloxint, Major General Kevin McNeely (Ret.) joins as Chief Operations Officer; Dr. Phoebe Kwan will take on the role of Chief Commercial Officer; Dr. Judson “Jud” Marte will be Vice President of Product Development; and John Gaspervich joins Veloxint as Executive Vice President of Manufacturing.

Equipment Chatter

  • A forced air recirculating oven was supplied by Lucifer Furnaces to a manufacturer of medical & aerospace parts and will be used to heat treat 17-4 stainless steel.
  • A tool and die manufacturer recently expanded its in-house heat treat capabilities with a Vector® furnace, one of the SECO/VACUUM (a SECO/WARWICK Group company) flagship vacuum furnaces. The purchase process included validation tests of tooling dies in a similar nearby furnace with positive results. The furnace being delivered is a  horizontal, front-loading Vector furnace with a capacity of 2,650 lbs.
  • A leading provider of metal additive manufacturing (AM) solutions recently announced that a prominent Southeast Asian aerospace parts manufacturer has purchased a dual-purpose Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM®) and EB Welding System. Sciaky, Inc., a subsidiary of Phillips Service Industries, Inc. (PSI), provided the one-of-a-kind hybrid machine to be customized with special controls to switch from 3D printing to welding in a quick and easy process. The manufacturer will utilize the system to 3D print metal structures, as well as weld dissimilar materials and refractory alloys for these structures and other aerospace parts.
  • Four Gruenberg explosion resistant Class “A” truck-in-ovens were shipped to the pharmaceutical industry by Thermal Product Solutions. The pharmaceutical ovens are rated for Class A operation to handle processing solvents per the NFPA 86 specifications.
  • A continuous mesh belt conveyor furnace was shipped by Lindberg/MPH to the computer market. This conveyor furnace is configured for soldering process applications, provides a heating and cooling process environment under a nitrogen/hydrogen blended atmosphere, and will be heated to the customer’s specified temperature (maximum of 1000°C).
  • A leading supplier of the automobile industry received shipment of a natural gas-fired two zone conveyor oven from Wisconsin Oven Corporation. The conveyor oven will be used for stress relieving automotive springs and has the design capacity to heat approximately 11,000 pounds of springs per hour. The overall work chamber dimensions of this stress relieving oven are 11’3” wide x 24’3” long x 14’0” high. The maximum operating temperature is 650°C (1202° F) with guaranteed temperature uniformity of ±5°C at set points of 520°C (968° F) and 570° C (1058° F) to ensure the conveyor oven meets the CQI-9, 3rd edition process Table E for stress relieving/annealing.

Kudos Chatter

 

  • In 2019, AGMA will expand upon the legacy and success of Gear Expo, launching the Motion + Power Technology Expo (MPT Expo). The new show will continue its focus on gears and mechanical power transmission while adding fluid power and electric drive exhibitors to provide all power transmission options to our attendees
  • eldec LLC recently unveiled a new website for manufacturing professionals who use induction heating, brazing, shrink fitting, pre-heating for laser welding, or annealing in their manufacturing processes. The new site provides updates on company and product information, trade shows, and manufacturing and equipment maintenance tips. It can be accessed at www.inductionheatingexperts.com.

 

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.

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

Heat Treat Today Launches Live Link to Digital Edition

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As representatives from the heat treat industry gather over the next couple of days in Indianapolis, Indiana, for Furnaces North America 2018, Heat Treat Today is offering two new resources for attendees to peruse in between meetings or sessions — and for those not in attendance, there’s no need to feel left out because one of these resources is digital.

Today, Monday, October 8, 2018, Heat Treat Today launches its digital edition of the inaugural Heat Treat Today publication, with the physical edition to be distributed on Tuesday, October 9, 2018, at FNA.

While “the melting pot of the best minds in heat treating” brings you multiple opportunities for networking, valuable technical sessions presented by industry experts, and an exhibitor’s hall with over 170 suppliers ready to help you, Heat Treat Today promises to enhance your FNA experience with the following features:

  • Our inaugural 40 Under 40 Class of 2018, highlighting 40 enthusiastic, forward-thinking, skilled professionals who have made a mark on the heat treating industry before their 41st birthday (plus 10 Honorable Mentions)
  • 101 Heat Treat Tips — troubleshooting, preventative, green initiatives, safety reminders, time savers — from experts representing all facets of the heat treating industry.
  • A round-up of News Chatter items featuring personnel and company news, equipment transactions, acquisitions and expansions, and kudos — what have your colleagues been up to in the last few months?
  • A selection of Technical Tuesday articles that examine the how, what, why, and when of a variety of heat treating operations.
  • Heat Treat Shop — where the buying and selling begins

You don’t have to wait for the print edition to read the new Heat Treat Today publication!

Go here for the digital edition, or go to www.heattreattoday.com and click on the Resources tab to link to the Digital Edition.

For a copy of the print edition, visit Heat Treat Today at FNA 2018 Booth #505.

Heat Treat Today Launches Live Link to Digital Edition Read More »

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

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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

  • John Hubbard, P.E., has been awarded the 2018 Distinguished Alumni of the year award from Cleveland State University’s Washkewicz College of Engineering, which has provided a tradition of high-quality undergraduate and graduate education in engineering and engineering technology. Hubbard recently joined Calvert Street to form Thermal Process Holdings to create a new North American heat treating group.
  • Paulo is pleased to announce the promotion of two employees to new roles in the company. Scott Herzing, a 20-year company veteran who most recently was Manager of Project Engineering, will take over as Vice President of Engineering. And Jessica Sickmeier, who had been Director of Human Resources Development, has been promoted to Vice President of Human Resources.
  • Contour Hardening, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is proud to announce the appointment of Ben Crawford as its new CEO and President. The appointment, which became official on July 30, 2018, follows the recent passing of Contour Hardening’s founder, CEO and President, John Storm.
  • The National Tooling and Machining Association, based in Cleveland, Ohio, has announced the appointment of Dean Bartles, PhD, as their new president, succeeding Dave Tilstone, who is retiring after serving as president since 2010. Bartles brings almost four decades of experience in the manufacturing sector, most recently as the director of the John Olson Advanced Manufacturing Center at the University of New Hampshire (Durham, NH). Previously, Bartles served as a president of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, president of the North American Manufacturing Research Institute, founding executive director of the Digital Manufacturing & Design Innovation Institute, and founding chairman of the Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition.
  • Kristopher R. Westbrooks was recently named as executive vice president and chief financial officer to succeed current CFO Christopher J. Holding at TimkenSteel Corp., based in Canton, Ohio. Westbrooks joined the company in this new role on September 24, 2018.
  • Jim Feltner, vice president of sales and marketing with FPM Heat Treating, in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, was recently honored with an Entrepreneurial Excellence Award from the Daily Herald Business Ledger, nominated by Tom Merrick.

Equipment Chatter

  • A Warrington, PA, furnace manufacturer recently delivered a large dual chamber unit to a metal stamping manufacturer in the Midwest. Lucifer Furnaces built Model HL82-P24, a hardening furnace over tempering oven, as a space-saving combination for multipurpose heat treating. The upper hardening chamber heats to 2300°F with 6.5” multilayer insulation throughout the chamber.
  • A vacuum furnace heat exchanger cleaning process has been developed by Souderton, PA, company Solar Atmospheres, involving a 12-hour soak submerged in a suitable tub using a water base cleaning agent. Recirculated forced water jets wash out the accumulated dirt from deep inside the heat exchanger. It is then pressure washed and blown dry with nitrogen gas. The heat exchanger is cleaned to an as new condition and then returned to the user.
  • A global manufacturer recently purchased a second vacuum furnace from SECO/VACUUM, a SECO/WARWICK company, for its US-based manufacturing operations. This second furnace, a vacuum temper furnace for tempering and stress relieving metal parts, is part of the company’s new US-based manufacturing expansion and becomes a centerpiece in a new processing line for the company.
  • An electrically heated annealing furnace was recently shipped to a firearms manufacturer to be used for annealing an assortment of brass and bronze firearm caps. Wisconsin Oven Corporation provided this conveyor furnace with a maximum temperature rating of 1,400° F (760° C) and a normal operating temperature of 572° to 1,202° F (300° to 650° C).

 

Kudos Chatter

  • On 24 September, at the Grand Gala of the Business Leader 2018, SECO/WARWICK was awarded for the second time the statuette in recognition of the company’s strong market position. Katarzyna Sawka, Marketing Director of SECO/WARWICK Group, collected the award on behalf of the Company. “Business Leader” is the award that recognizes the best companies in Western Poland who conduct their business in a transparent and honest manner and their success is a regional trademark.
  • Pelican Wire was named Manufacturer of the Year in the Small Business category at the 2018 Manufacturers Association of Florida “MAF Exchange” conference and awards banquet. Selected from over fifty nominees spanning numerous industries and cities throughout the State of Florida, Pelican Wire also received this award in 2014.
  • Ohio Star Forge, a steel firm with heat treating, cold roll forming, and CNC machining capabilities, recently held a ribbon cutting for its expansion and celebrated its 30th anniversary at the company’s location in Youngstown, Ohio. Ohio Star Forge was originally a joint venture of Copperweld Steel and Japanese company Daido Steel.

 

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 »

15 Quick Heat Treat News Items to Keep You Current

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15 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

  • ThermTech of Waukesha, Wisconsin, celebrates the groundbreaking of a 10,500-square-foot manufacturing addition. Construction is expected to be completed in December 2018. 
  • An Ohio-based engineering firm, Dana Incorporated, announced a new series of Brevini™ heavy-duty winch drives for marine and offshore applications.  This new series of lightweight winch drives have been engineered with a sealing system designed to withstand harsh marine environments, and with improved power density, housing made from either cast iron or steel, and high-radial load bearings to deliver reliable lifting performance for heavy loads.
  • Brunel University London opened its Advanced Metal Processing Centre (AMPC) at the Brunel Center for Advanced Solidification Technology (BCAST), which will enable R&D activity to enable innovations, such as lightweight car parts, to make the leap from the lab to full-scale industrial trials. The 1,500 sq m AMPC facility includes industrial and pilot-scale equipment for processing and fabrication of extruded metals (novel bending processes, machining, and advanced joining); additional casting processes (gravity die casting and sand casting, etc.), and supporting materials characterization technologies (strength and fatigue testing and 3D x-ray tomography).
  • A global leader in manufacturing and overhauling aerospace structures, systems, and components, Triumph Group, Inc., based in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, recently announced that its Aerospace Structures business has been awarded a multi-year airframe component contract for Lockheed Martin’s C130J Super Hercules program. Under initial terms of the contract, Triumph Fabrications in San Diego, California will provide 108 different part numbers for the C130J program. The parts include fabricated sheet metal structures made from a combination of aluminum, steel and titanium materials that will be fitted to the nacelle, wing and fuselage sections of the aircraft.
  • Aerospace equipment manufacturer Liebherr Aerospace has been awarded another contract from Boeing Commercial Airplanes for their 777 and 777X programs. Liebherr-Aerospace will deliver two electronic components of the main gear steering system for the two wide-bodies: the main gear steering control unit and the nose gear steering position transducer.
  • Engineered bearings and power transmission manufacturer, The Timken Company, based in Canton, Ohio, recently completed the acquisition of Rollon Group, a leader in engineered linear motion products. Rollon specializes in the design and manufacture of engineered linear guides, telescopic rails and linear actuators used in a wide range of industries such as passenger rail, aerospace, packaging and logistics, medical and automation.
  • Gear Motions, which has divisional offices in central New York, recently appointed to executive positions: Dan Bartelli to Director of Operations of Nixon Gear, a division of Gear Motions, and Anna Pastore to Corporate Controller. Bartelli, who began his career as a machinist, also recently celebrated his 30th anniversary with Nixon Gear, a division of Gear Motions. He is responsible for all Nixon Gear Division Operations including Manufacturing, Quality, and Engineering. Pastore previously served as Director of Finance for Cascade & Maverik Lacrosse, and Vice President of Finance of the Produce and Technology Division at Agway.
  • Worthington Industries, a metals manufacturing firm based in Columbus, Ohio, announced today that Mark Russell, president and COO is retiring. Andy Rose has been named president and will continue as chief financial officer (CFO). Geoff Gilmore has been named vice president and chief operating officer (COO) and will also continue to lead the Pressure Cylinders business.

Equipment Chatter

  • An electric box furnace has been supplied to a plant located in Louisiana that is a global supplier of large industrial valves for various industries. L&L Special Furnace Co., Inc., shipped this furnace, which is the fifth supplied by the company to this facility. The furnace is used to both heat treat and temper various rings and seals deployed in the manufacturing of valves used in the power-generation field. It is also used for general heat treating of various steels prior to machining.
  • Two furnaces have recently been shipped to customers from Grieve Corporation. No. 1040 is a 2200°F (1204°C), inert atmosphere pit furnace, currently used for heat treating automotive parts in baskets at the customer’s facility. No. 989 is an electrically heated, 2,000°F (1,093°C) inert atmosphere furnace from Grieve, used to process fabricated parts at the customer’s facility.
  • A leader in the technology industry recently purchased an electrically heated enhanced duty walk-in oven from Wisconsin Oven Corporation to be used for composite curing small parts. The batch oven has the capability to heat 16,000 pounds of a composite material from 70° F to 350° F within 6-7 hours.

Kudos Chatter

  • Akron Steel Treating celebrated its 75th anniversary August 31, 2018, with guests, officials, employees, customers, and suppliers in attendance, as well as the deputy mayor for economic development, Samuel D. DeShazior, who presented AST president Joseph Powell with a letter of congratulations from Mayor Daniel Horrigan. Joe’s grandfather, Prosper P. Powell, founded the company in 1943, and his daughter, Christina Somogye, recently purchased a 10% interest in ASTC and is an integral part of the succession plan.
  • For the second year in a row, GKN Aerospace has received a supplier award from Spirit AeroSystems. Spirit recognized GKN Aerospace with a Collaboration Values Partner award for superior performance at the 2018 Spirit AeroSystems supplier recognition banquet in Wichita, Kansas. In addition, GKN Aerospace also recently announced via Stratasys that the company is improving production times and removing design constraints for multiple tooling applications since integrating additive manufacturing at its Filton manufacturing site in the UK.
  • Retech Systems, a SECO/WARWICK company based in Mendocino County, California, recently won North Bay Maker Award for “best manufacturing process innovation”.
  • Induction heating company Ambrell Corporation is the honoree for the Global Advancement Award and Ambrell President Tony Mazzullo is a finalist for CEO of the Year at the Technology and Manufacturing Awards, created by the Rochester Business Journal and Rochester Technology and Manufacturing Association. The Global Advancement Award is given to a company that demonstrates dynamic growth through expansion of export opportunities and participation in new global markets. The CEO of the Year demonstrates leadership in the industry, commitment to staff development, and dedication to the Greater Rochester/Finger Lakes Region. Tony Mazzullo is one of two finalists and the winner will be announced on October 23rd.

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.

 

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