Onex Inc.

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

  • Recent changes in leadership at Nucor Corporation include the following: Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Nadja Y. West has been elected to join the board of directors, effective immediately. General West retired earlier this year after 37 years with the U.S. Army. In addition, John J. Ferriola will retire as chairman and CEO on December 31, 2019; the board of directors elected Leon J. Topalian to be president and COO, effective September 5, 2019, and to succeed Mr. Ferriola as CEO on January 1, 2020.
  • StandardAero has acquired Safe Aviation Solutions (including Safe Fuel, Accel, and B&E ACR), formerly the MRO services subsidiary of the B&E Group, which will continue to expand StandardAero’s Components, Helicopters & Accessories (CH&A) division and its portfolio of MRO and component repair services.
  • Dana Incorporated announced the acquisition of Nordresa Motors, Inc., a prominent integration and application engineering expert for the development and commercialization of electric powertrains for commercial vehicles.
  • Central Machine & Tool, a manufacturer and global distributor of quick connect/disconnect couplings, castings, clamps and bandings and provider of heat treating, fabrication, machining, and injection molding services, will now be known as PT World Headquarters. The launch of the new branding and signage included employees, staff, and guests. Matt Parrish, president, and Amy Parrish, vice-president of corporate communications, spoke about the new branding and the direction of the Enid, Oklahoma, company.
  • Allison Transmission Holdings Inc., a global manufacturer of medium- and heavy-duty fully automatic transmissions, announced that it has acquired the assets and certain liabilities of Walker Die Casting located in Lewisburg, Tennessee, and C&R Tool and Engineering located in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Walker produces aluminum castings and has been a supplier to Allison for 20 years. Allison is committed to continuing the 60-year-old company’s legacy. C&R Tool and Engineering is a leading supplier of metalworking tools for use at Walker and other companies.
  • Constellium N.V., Amsterdam, announces that it will be the primary supplier of aluminum auto body sheet for the new Mercedes-Benz CLS model, which entered the market in March 2018.

Equipment Chatter

  • A company operating in the nuclear sector recently purchased an advanced heat treatment vacuum furnace with a maximum temperature of 2408°F (1320°C) from TAV Vacuum Furnaces Spa.
  • A prominent aerospace equipment manufacturer is working with SECO/VACUUM Technologies (SVT) to bring the company’s low pressure carburizing and hardening work in-house. SVT will be supplying a CaseMaster Evolution® (CMe) dual-chamber vacuum oil quench furnace.
  • An electrically heated heavy-duty Ferris wheel batch oven has been shipped to a company in the aerospace industry by Wisconsin Oven Corporation. This Ferris wheel oven will be used to cure epoxy resins & varnishes on assorted aerospace parts. In addition, Wisconsin Oven shipped a natural gas-fired conveyor oven to the automation industry, which will be used to cure a resin formed mat.
  • Primetals Technologies will build a combined aluminum hot rolling mill for the production of heavy plate and strip for BaoWu Aluminium Technology Ltd., which is part of BaoWu Iron and Steel Group Co., Ltd, the highest-profile steel producer in China. The new rolling mill will be built in Sanmenxia, in the Henan province, and have an annual production capacity of 300,000 metric tons.

Kudos Chatter

  • Onex, Inc., recently received a plant visit from Pennsylvania State Representative Lee James. Talks surrounded the need for skilled labor in manufacturing and the valuable careers available at Onex and in the industry.
  • Thermal-Vac Technology is proud to be included on Inc. magazine’s prestigious Inc. 5000 list for 2019. Inc. 5000 lists the fastest-growing private companies in the United States. Thermal-Vac has grown 64 percent in the last three years. “We are excited to have our team’s hard work recognized by Inc. magazine,” CEO Heather Falcone said. “As a service business, we only grow by delivering what we promise. I think everyone at Thermal-Vac can be proud of what we’ve built.”

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 »

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

  • Patrick J. DeCourcy, who has served as Allegheny Technologies Incorporated’s Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer since 2013, recently announced plans to retire. To ensure a smooth leadership transition, he will remain in his current role until his successor is appointed and will retire from ATI on March 31, 2020.
  • A leading manufacturer of products used in the transmission, distribution, and measurement of water in North America, Mueller Water Products, recently announced plans to build a new, state-of-the-art foundry in Decatur, Illinois. According to Mueller, this facility is expected to be one of the largest finished goods brass foundries in the world.
  • Jerry Bunch has recently joined Pelican Wire as a Design Engineer II, and Larry Brindise has been hired as IT Development Leader. Bunch will be reviewing production processes, ensuring technical oversight to manufacturing steps and working to support the company-wide ‘continuous improvement’ program. Brindise comes to Pelican Wire with some knowledge of the company, as he has previously served Pelican Wire as a professional software consultant. He comes on-board full-time to lead an ongoing ERP project and will continue to develop and implement software solutions to improve the entire customer lifecycle process.
  • It has been announced that Opti-Tech Scientific, a leading Canadian supplier of scientific equipment, will represent Buehler, an ITW Company, in Canada. Opti-Tech Scientific specializes in optical/digital microscopy, metallography, and hardness testing.
  • Allegheny Technologies Incorporated announced it completed the sale of its Cast Products business unit to Consolidated Precision Products Corp. (CPP) of Cleveland, OH.
  • A partnership has been launched between leading Enterprise Artificial Intelligence® provider Noodle.ai and SMS group, which digitalizes plant and equipment used in steel and nonferrous-metals production and processing, to jointly further optimize the world’s first learning steel mill for Arkansas-based Big River Steel. To help Big River Steel conserve resources and control energy output, the joint solution was created by implementing Noodle.ai’s learning algorithms into SMS group’s X-Pact® MES 4.0. Noodle.ai was able to seamlessly leverage the fact that SMS group’s X-Pact® MES 4.0 was engrained into the steel mill’s IT environment and into their SaaS (Software as a Service) applications. The new end solutions digitize applications throughout every stage of the steelmaking process – starting at the liquid phase all the way to strip finishing.

Equipment Chatter

  • Centorr Vacuum Industries announced it has shipped its new Sintervac AM™ furnace for the debind and sintering of additively manufactured parts for a leading 3D/Additive Manufacturing company.
  • A customer needed the lower sidewalls of its forge furnace shotcreted with 90,000 lbs of material. Onex Inc posted a video of the job on Twitter.
  • The Slovakian company U.S. Steel Košice – one of the largest integrated steel producers in Central Europe – placed a major order for the supply of an annealing and coating line (ACL) for dynamo steel strips to Tenova LOI Thermprocess, a worldwide leader in heat treatment lines and furnaces located in Essen, Germany.

Kudos Chatter

  • The Chemical Coaters Association International (CCAI) recently announced the second annual Women in Finishing FORUM will be held at the Embassy Suites South Bend at Notre Dame from May 6-8, 2020.
  • Metal heat treater Exactatherm, based in Mississaugua, Ontario, has been awarded Nadcap Merit status for heat treatment.
  • The International Titanium Association (ITA), Denver, Colo., announces that metallurgist George L. Durfee has been named the recipient of the ITA’s 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award. A member of ASM International, Mr. Durfee is a metallurgist who built his career around pioneering applied research projects for the titanium industry at forging company Wyman-Gordon Co.

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 »

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

  • James Herald has been appointed the president and CEO of EVRAZ North America, Chicago. He will replace Conrad Winkler, who is leaving the group to pursue other opportunities. Herald joins EVRAZ from AXIP Energy, where he served as CEO. He has more than 35 years of experience in the oil and gas and energy pipe industries.
  • Advanced Heat Treat Corp. (AHT) recently announced the addition of three new sales and metallurgy employees: Tim Zemaitis, Shane Seevell, and Katie Herron. Zemaitis, regional sales manager for AHT’s Michigan facility, joins the team with over 30 years of experience in heat treatment, metallurgy, and engineering. Seevell, regional sales manager in the corporate office located in Iowa, brings over 15 years of sales experience plus past heat treat experience working at AHT; and Herron, materials engineer & quality specialist in Alabama, rounds out the growing AHT team. Herron is a recent materials engineering graduate from the University of Alabama – Birmingham.
  • Meggitt, which specializes in high-performance components and subsystems for the aerospace, defense, and selected energy markets, has opened its newly expanded aerospace services and support center of excellence in Miami, Florida.
  • Virginia-based aluminum extruder Service Center Metals has been acquired by The Riverstone Group through its investment entity SCM Industries, LLC in Richmond.
  • L&T Technology Services, a leading global pure-play engineering services company has been selected as a strategic partner by United Technologies Corporation (UTC) for Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of UTC. Collins Aerospace comprises of the former UTC Aerospace Systems, Rockwell Collins, and BE Aerospace, and is one of the leading providers of intelligent solutions for the global aerospace and defense industries.

Equipment Chatter

  • A 2000°F (1093°C), gas-fired heavy-duty furnace from Grieve (No. 1042), is currently being used for heat treating at a customer’s facility. In addition, the No. 1047, a 350°F (177°C), bench oven, has been purchased from Grieve for curing plugs on the ends of cords at the customer’s facility.
  • A factory with multiple lines of (fixed) heat treating ovens recently purchased a temperature data logging solution from CAS DataLoggers for the purpose of automatically monitoring the oven temperatures with precise accuracy while also handling data transmission and enabling remote access.
  • A manufacturer of electronic components purchased a Blue M inert gas batch oven, with a temperature range of 59°F (15°C) above ambient to 1099°F (593°C), from Thermal Product Solutions.
  • A manufacturer in the oil and gas industry recently received a shipment of an electrically heated four-zone conveyor oven from Wisconsin Oven Corporation. Each chamber in this oven has a maximum temperature rating of 752°F (400°C). The oven has a guaranteed oven temperature uniformity of ±10.8°F at 590°F (±6°C at 310°C)) for a minimum of 6 minutes per heating chamber. In addition, Wisconsin Oven Corporation announced the shipment of an indirect natural gas-fired batch oven to a leading manufacturer in the aerospace industry. The batch oven will be used to cure composite materials and has a maximum oven operating temperature of 500°F.

Kudos Chatter

  • Onex, Inc., recently received the 2018 Pinnacle Award from Vesuvius. Only two contractor installer distributors were presented this award in 2018.
  • AK Steel has accepted an award from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) High-Performance Computing for Materials (HPC4Mtls) Program. Researchers from AK Steel plan to work in collaboration with DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to develop microstructure-based transformation models to predict austenite stability in high strength steels in a project titled “Thermo-Mechanical Forming Process Development to Produce Tailored Strength Automotive Structural Components.”
  • Specitubes has received Nadcap accreditation for demonstrating its ongoing commitment to quality by satisfying customer requirements and industry specifications. The scope of this accreditation covers the heat-treating of seamless precision metallic tubes made in Samer (northern France) of Nickel and Cobalt Alloys, Austenitic Stainless Steels and Titanium Alloys. Typical applications include hydraulic and pneumatic ducting systems for aircraft.
  • thyssenkrupp has announced plans to build the world’s most advanced forging line in Homburg/Saarland, a new facility to produce forged front axles for trucks.  This production expansion represents the biggest single investment ever made at thyssenkrupp’s Homburg site.

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

 

 

Onex is proud to receive the 2018 Pinnacle Award from Vesuvius. Only two contractor installer distributors were presented this award.

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

/ 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

  • Leroy M. Ball has recently been appointed to the Board of Directors at Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (ATI). Ball, 50, is president and CEO of Koppers Holdings Inc.
  • Heat Treat Today 2018 40 Under 40 recipient Matt Clinite of Ipsen USA has recently been promoted from Midwest Regional Sales Owner to Customer Service Sales Manager, effective immediately. Clinite joined the company in June 2014 as a Sales Engineer.
  • Vesuvius plc recently announced that it has acquired CCPI Inc., a specialty refractories producer focused on tundish (steel continuous casting) applications and aluminum. Based in Ohio, CCPI will become part of Vesuvius’ Advanced Refractories business unit.
  • Gasbarre has announced that the company will no longer be using the J.L. Becker name, but instead, are transitioning to its new name, Gasbarre Thermal Processing Systems. Thermal Processing Systems is one of the three new business units that now comprise Gasbarre Products, Inc. The other two units are Powder Compaction Solutions and Manufacturing Technologies.
  • Marisa A. Oeltjen has been added to the Bluestreak I Bright AM™  team as customer success support specialist. Ryan Wenzel, working from Bluestreak I Bright AM™’s Northeast Ohio location, serves as a database analyst and key member of the tech support group.
  • Howard Kimberley has joined Aeromet International as Chief Executive Officer. Kimberley has extensive experience in the aerospace industry including senior executive positions at GKN and Hampson Industries, and most recently as CEO of international aerospace group Shimtech since its formation in 2011.
  • Abbott Furnace Company recently announced it will be hosting its Fifth Annual Continuous Brazing Symposium in Mexico this spring in Puebla, Mexico from May 21 – 23, 2019.

  • Equipment Chatter

  • A European manufacturer of investment castings for the medical industry recently purchased a gas-fired pusher furnace from Armil CFS, Inc. The 2-row pusher furnace will be used for the burnout and pre-heating of investment casting molds.
  • A midwestern facility of a US-based manufacturer of safety-critical fasteners and assembly solutions has purchased a new MB48-120 mesh belt furnace from AFC-Holcroft, replacing an older AFC-Holcroft installation. The new mesh belt furnace will be used in the production of metal fasteners.
  • Several orders have been met by SECO/WARWICK for various equipment and systems: 1) An American manufacturer of flat rolled aluminum sheet recently added a new SECO/WARWICK sow and T-bar preheat furnace system 2) The main producer of forgings in Central Europe for strategic markets recently invested in a single-chamber furnace type PEK. 3) A manufacturer of high quality matrix forgings, construction connectors and manual tools purchased a CaseMaster AFS – a multipurpose Sealed Quench chamber furnace, intended for thermal and thermo-chemical treatment in a controlled endothermic atmosphere.  4) SECO/WARWICK provided an additional atmosphere generator system to a supplier of engineered carbon and graphite solutions for severe service lubrication applications in the aerospace, petrochemical, energy, industrial, and defense sectors. 5) The company updated and simultaneously extended a box furnace’s productive longevity for a leading international participant in the field of precious metals and advanced materials. 
  • Lindberg/MPH announced the shipment of a single-zone tube furnace to an engineering company in the nuclear power industry.

Kudos Chatter

U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (PA) meets with Onex Inc and members of NWIRC
  • U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (PA) recently met with Onex Inc and members of NWIRC with the purpose of hearing firsthand from Onex employees about NIST MEP’s impact on Pennsylvania’s manufacturing industry.
  • Dana Incorporated‘s motor and inverter joint venture, TM4, recently announced it has reached a major milestone with the production of its 12,000th TM4 SUMO™ electric powertrain for buses and commercial vehicles in China.
  • For the ninth time, The Timken Company, a world leader in engineered bearings and power transmission products, has been recognized as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies. Ethisphere Institute is a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices.

 

Special Mention

On Valentine’s Day, Thermcraft lost its founder, Mr. Morris L. Crafton, at 93. In 1971, Mr. Crafton and his wife Clara founded Thermcraft on the principle of providing the best customer service available in the thermal processing industry.

Born in West Palm Beach, Florida, Mr. Crafton grew up in North Carolina and served in the US Navy during WWII, and then after college, he was called again to serve his country during the Korean War. After his military service, Mr. Crafton  moved his family to Washington, PA, where he ran a popcorn business and, in time, became a partner in a business that manufactured replacement heating elements for industrial and laboratory furnaces.

After returning to North Carolina, he decided to start his own company. With the full support of his wife Clara, they secured a small warehouse in downtown Winston Salem and began making replacement heating elements for industrial and laboratory furnace applications.

Thermcraft was moved to its current facility in 1979, just a few miles south to the edge of Winston Salem. Through new product development and various acquisitions, the Craftons began to grow Thermcraft into the company it is today.

Mr. Crafton lost Clara to cancer in 1995. He eventually turned the reigns of Thermcraft over to his son Tom, but that didn’t stop Mr. Crafton from being involved in the day-to-day business. He continued to drive himself to work well into his 92nd year, making mail runs and performing various other tasks. He enjoyed a daily walk through the factory, talking to his employees and staying on top of what was going on within his company.

Mr. Crafton will be missed by all who knew him. He will be remembered as a strong leader who was kind and generous to those around him. He had a great sense-of-humor and often left those he met with the saying, “glad you got to see me.”

“We are certainly glad we had the opportunity to meet you, Mr. Crafton,” is the sentiment of all at Thermcraft.

Heat Treat Today offers its condolences to the family of Mr. Morris Crafton and the team at Thermcraft.

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

/ FEATURED NEWS, HEAT TREAT NEWS INDUSTRIES

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

Personnel and Company Chatter

  • Roger Smith has recently been appointed Technical Manager at Plibrico Company, LLC.  Smith will be responsible for development of innovative refractory formulas, oversee product quality, and assist in identifying the best materials for refractory construction projects.
  • William “Bill” Cowell has been promoted to the position of Vice President of Operations at Advanced Heat Treat Corp. (AHT). Cowell, who has been at AHT since 1999, will oversee operations for all AHT  facilities.
  • Wirco has announced the promotion of Aaron Fisher to Vice President of our Fabrication Division. Aaron has been with Wirco for 19 years. In addition, Wirco welcomes Marco Möser as the Vice President of our Foundry Division.
  • Thomas G. Gasbarre has stepped down as Chief Executive Officer of Gasbarre Products, Inc, a position he has held since his father George Gasbarre, the founder of the company, retired in 1990. Gasbarre also announced that Tom’s son, Alex Gasbarre, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and is now leading the development and execution of the company’s short- and long-term strategies. Heath Jenkins has been promoted and will succeed Alex as President, Press & Automation, and Manufacturing Technologies.
  • John C Plant has been appointed to serve as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Arconic Inc. The Board has also appointed Elmer L. Doty, a current Director, to serve as Chief Operating Officer, and Arthur D. Collins, Jr., a current Director, to serve as Lead Director. These appointments are effective immediately.
  • Xerox, based in Norwalk, Connecticut, has acquired metal additive manufacturing company Vader Systems, which will enable it to offer its customers access to low-cost metal additive manufacturing with a greater variety of metals. Based in Buffalo, New York, Vader Systems is a developer of liquid metal additive manufacturing technology.

Equipment Chatter

  • Several convection ovens were supplied to a manufacturer of small medical parts in the southern U.S. by Lucifer Furnaces. Model 42-B18 has a working chamber size of 9”H x 9”W x 18”L and heats to 1200°F.
  • A floor-standing furnace has been shipped by L&L Special Furnace Co., Inc. to a worldwide leader of high tech ceramics and associated components located in the Northeastern United States. The furnace will be used for glass components along with fiber optics and research and development. It will also be used to fill in on various thermal projects and development.
  • A Treet-All™ Box Furnace has been shipped to a Japan-based global battery manufacturing company by Lindberg/MPH.  The maximum temperature rating of this light industrial box furnace is 2050°F and has work chamber dimensions of 18” wide x 36” deep x 18” high. The Treet-All™ Light Industrial Box Furnace is suited for multiple applications, including annealing, ashing, austempering, brazing, preheating, solution treating, stress relieving, and normalizing.
  • A supplier of the aerospace industry received shipment of a Electrically Heated Horizontal Quench Solution Treat System from Wisconsin Oven Corporation. The Horizontal Quench Solution Treat System has a maximum oven operating temperature of 1,200° F and work zone dimensions of 5’4″ wide x 5’6″ long x 5’4″ high (above the rollers).
  • Chromalox, a thermal technology provider, recently contracted with Sierra Monitor Corporation  to enable cloud system connectivity on their Heat Trace solution.
  • A cabinet oven is being used to finish batch loads of metal parts at a customer’s facility. The No. 828 is a 500°F (260°C) cabinet oven from Grieve Corporation.
  • A recycling and melting group has ordered for installation a Twin-Chamber Melting Furnace TCF® from Tenova LOI Thermprocess. Italy-based Fonderie Pandolfo specializes in processing of aluminum, mainly for extrusions. The casted billets are mainly extruded in the extrusion shops of the main European extruders.

Kudos Chatter

  • Buehler, an ITW Company, and ASM International are celebrating 75 of continuous partnership in 2019. Buehler has continuously supported 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.
  • Pennsylvania-based Onex Inc recently completed a forge furnace refractory reline in one week.

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 »

10 Quick Heat Treat News Items to Keep You Current

/ FEATURED NEWS, HEAT TREAT NEWS INDUSTRIES

10 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

  • Julien Noel has been named Vice President / General Manager of the Buehler worldwide division. ITW Test and Measurement Group President, Yahya Gharagozlou, made the announcement. Buehler is an ITW Company which manufactures scientific equipment and consumables for materials analysis.
  • A fourth vacuum aluminum brazing (VAB) furnace has been purchased by California Brazing, a Newark, California, heat treating company in order to expand the capability to service the aerospace sector.
  • Solar Atmospheres recently awarded the title of CEO Emeritus to Roger A. Jones, FASM. The honorary title was conferred by the company and announces his semi-retirement as Solar Atmospheres’ CEO, the culmination of 45 years of leadership and service to the vacuum heat treating industry.
  • A refractories supplier’s recently established partnership will result in the full-service distribution of the company’s products and services throughout several European countries. The Plibrico Company and Pli Group Europe GmbH, a highly experienced refractory distributor contractor based in Vienna, Austria, have entered into a new value-added distribution partnership will cover Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, and Bulgaria.
  • The world’s largest aerospace company, the Boeing Company recently acquired Embraer SA, the commercial aircraft arm of a Brazilian aircraft manufacturer, in a new $4.75 billion joint venture.

Equipment Chatter

  • Seven Gruenberg Glassware drying ovens were recently shipped to a university in the U.S. Midwest by Thermal Product Solutions, a manufacturer of thermal-processing equipment based in New Columbia, Pennsylvania.
  • A furnace equipment company based in Erie, Pennsylvania, recently designed and manufactured a front-loading forge furnace for a leading North American forging company. The furnace built by Onex, Inc., is one of the largest of its kind in North America with workspace dimensions measuring 26ft (W) x 20ft (D) x 14ft (H).
  • A heat treating services provider in the U.S. Northwest recently purchased a Meg-HIP hot isostatic press for heat treating and metal processing. Västerås, Sweden-based, Quintus Technologies installed the system at Stack Metallurgical Group in Albany, Oregon.

Kudos Chatter

  • Thermal-Vac Technology, Inc. has been awarded a 2018 Top Workplaces honor by The Orange County Register. The list is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by research partner. The anonymous survey measures several aspects of workplace culture, including alignment, execution, and connection, just to name a few.
  • AK Steel recently announced that it has accepted an award of up to $1.2 million from U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE) Advanced Manufacturing Office program to investigate novel low-density steels in the laboratory, which could ultimately be used in automotive structural applications. The three-year project will be conducted in collaboration with DOE, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Materials Science and Technology Division, and the Advanced Steel Processing and Products Research Center in the Department of Metallurgical & Materials Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines.  The objective of the project is to conduct alloy design, laboratory validation, and testing of low-density steels that are alternatives to currently available advanced high strength steels and other lightweight metals.

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.

10 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

  • Ashleigh Walters, president of Onex, Inc., recently participated in Penn State’s 2018 Fall Engineering Speaker Series, addressing how leadership can create impact through focusing on teamwork, creativity, improved processes, and mission.
  • Wallwork Heat Treatment’s Richard Burslem recently received the Meritorious Service to Heat Treatment Industry Award at the annual Surface Engineering and Heat Treatments Awards, presented on October 12th at the Radisson Blu in Manchester by Alan Hick, the secretary of the Contract Heat Treatment Association (CHTA).
  • A high tech provider of vacuum solutions for multiple markets recently opened a new 27,000-sq ft building in Nashua, New Hampshire, to house the company’s North American headquarters for administration, sales, product management, marketing and customer care. Pfeiffer Vacuum will convert the former 24,000 square foot administration building into a Service Center of Excellence, bringing together under one roof all service activities for the major part of the Pfeiffer Vacuum product portfolio.
  • A mobile heating station where ceramic components can be heated uniformly to 400ºC has been introduced by StrikoWestofen, allowing the components of dosing furnaces to be heated up on site.
  • StandardAero recently extended its long-running relationship with leading aviation services provider Dumont Group, LLC, through a follow-on contract for Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) JT15D-5R engine overhauls.
  • Novelis Inc. recently made several newsworthy announcements: 1) The company announced that it expects its new $300 million automotive aluminum sheet manufacturing plant in Guthrie, Kentucky, to be in production in mid-2020 where it will operate heat treatment and pre-treatment lines that prepare aluminum for use in vehicle parts. 2) Novelis has agreed to partner with Impression Technologies to explore innovative ways to increase the broader adoption of aluminum through the hot stamping process. Impression Technologies has the exclusive rights to Hot Form Quench (HFQ®), a unique technology used to design and manufacture components using ultra high-strength aluminum for the high volume automotive and transport markets. 3) Finally, the company unveiled plans to establish a global network of Customer Solution Centers (CSCs) to accelerate collaborative innovation between Novelis and automakers for the next generation of vehicle design.

Equipment Chatter

  • Ipsen USA recently posted a record month of sales with orders for nine TITAN® vacuum furnaces to be shipped for use in a variety of applications for companies in aerospace, automotive and commercial heat-treating industries. In addition,  Ipsen also sold seven custom units, including MetalMaster®, TurboTreater® and vacuum aluminum brazing furnaces.
  • A Hot Isostatic Press from Quintus Technologies has been purchased by Paulo to be installed in the Cleveland Division’s recent expansion and primarily support densification and heat treatment of investment castings and additively manufactured parts.
  • GE Additive and GE Aviation recently announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has given ‘change in design’ approval to replace a conventionally manufactured power door opening system (PDOS) bracket, used on GE Aviation’s GEnx-2B commercial airline engines that power the Boeing 747-8, with an additively manufactured bracket.
  • An order for a complete walking hearth furnace plant has been received by ANDRITZ Group from Deutsche Edelstahlwerke Specialty Steel GmbH & Co. KG, Germany, for its facility in Witten, Germany. Production is scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2020.

  • The expansion agreement for an existing bell annealer facility is expected to begin production next month. Guang Xi Zheng Run New Material Technology Co., Ltd. placed an order with EBNER® for the expansion this summer. The agreement includes three HICON® workbases employing 100 % argon as a process atmosphere, two heating bells, and one cooling bell.

Kudos Chatter

  • Solar Atmospheres – Greenville, SC, announces that it has been awarded Nadcap 18-month Merit status for Heat Treating, Brazing and Carburizing. We are extremely pleased PRI has recognized our corporate commitment to quality. Achieving 18-month merit has been a goal set by Solar’s employees since opening its doors in 2015. The adherence to strict specification requirements, flawless process execution, and a daily commitment to quality processing is evident among all employees of Solar Atmospheres. The Solar Atmospheres Greenville facility has held Nadcap accreditation since 2015.
  • Meron Medical, LLC, announces the successful transition to ISO 13485:2016. Safety and quality are non-negotiables in the medical devices industry. Regulatory requirements are increasingly stringent throughout every step of a product’s life cycle, including service and delivery. With greater attention on the organization’s ability to meet applicable customer and regulatory requirements, ISO 13485:2016 focuses on the entire supply chain of the medical device industry, with added emphasis on risk management.

 

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 »

Skip to content