SECO/WARWICK

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

  • Peters’ Heat Treating, Inc. recently announces that Andrew S. Wilkosz has been named president of the company. Wilkosz, who has been with Peters’ Heat Treating, Inc. for nearly four years, was previously acting as the Vice President of Operations, overseeing the day to day operations of the company across all three facilities. Wilkosz is also a principal in Laser Hard, Inc., specializing in robotic laser heat treating and cladding. He is also a Heat Treat Today 2018 40 Under 40 recipient.
  • Geoffrey Somary has been appointed to CEO of Ipsen Group worldwide, taking over the position after former CEO Thorsten Kruger moved to the Advisory Board of the company.
  • Jake Verdoux has recently been promoted to the position of Manufacturing Manager for Plymouth, Michigan-based, Gasbarre Industrial Furnace Systems (IFS) (formerly known as J.L. Becker).
  • A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to mark the completion and opening of a 15,000-square foot building expansion at the corporate headquarters of Advanced Heat Treat Corp. (AHT), located in Waterloo, Iowa.
  • Braidy Industries has alerted potential investors that the aluminum mill it plans to build in northeast Kentucky will open in 2021, not in 2020 as previously projected, a change due to a “minor adjustment to the construction schedule.”
  • Multiple industries have recently purchased and installed equipment in SECO/WARWICK’s Vector® vacuum furnace line, including an international electric motor producer, an emissions control device manufacturer, a forging company, a defense contractor, an automotive manufacturer, and an aircraft components manufacturer.
  • Kandil Steel, headquartered in Cairo, Egypt, recently commissioned bell annealer technology from EBNER. Kandil, which is celebrating its 150 anniversary, is expanding the EBNER HICON/H2® bell annealer located at Galva Metal by four work bases to a total of fourteen. The facility is scheduled to start production in 2020.
  • A 2000°F (1093°C), inert atmosphere, heavy-duty furnace, No. 1039, was recently purchased for heat treating turbine components at a customer’s facility. The workspace dimensions of the Grieve Corporation furnace measure 36” W x 60” D x 36” H. 73.
  • A medical device company recently acquired the assets of Options Medical LLC, a Florida-based medical device distributor. Orthofix Medical Inc., which manufactures musculoskeletal products and therapies, is purchasing the distributor of bone growth therapies devices.
  • A U.S.-based orthopedic and spinal medical device manufacturer and developer recently agreed to sell major assets related to its artificial joint, trauma and spinal product businesses to Kyocera International Inc., based in San Diego, Calif.  The assets of Renovis Surgical Technologies Inc. will be transferred into a new California-based company, wholly owned by Kyocera International Inc., to be named Kyocera Medical Technologies Inc.

  • Buehler, an ITW Company, and ASM International are celebrating 75 of continuous partnership in 2019. The pinnacle of this relationship is Buehler’s continuous support 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.
  • APMI International has named Joseph Tunick Strauss and John L. Johnson. as the organization’s 2019 Fellows. APMI International’s most prestigious award recognizes APMI members for their significant contributions to the goals, purpose, and mission of the organization as well as for a high level of expertise in the technology, practice, or business of the industry.
  • Chemical Coaters Association International (CCAI) recently announced its first Women in Finishing FORUM which will be held at the Embassy Suites South Bend at Notre Dame from May 9-11, 2019. CCAI began its Women in Finishing initiative with a networking reception at FABTECH 2017 in Chicago. The response exceeded expectations, leading to the official establishment of Women in Finishing (WiF) under CCAI. 2019 will feature the expansion of WiF programming, including the Women in Finishing FORUM.

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 »

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 »

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

  • A Berwick, Pennsylvania, machining company which offers heat treating among its services was recently acquired by precision machining provider DPMS, based in Santa Clara, California. K-Fab Inc. operates a 22,000-sq.-ft. precision machine shop that manufactures parts for the aerospace, defense, and semiconductor sectors.
  • GKN Powder Metallurgy recently announced a strategic collaboration with HP Inc, becoming the first to deploy the just-launched HP Metal Jet, a groundbreaking binder jetting technology, into its factories to produce functional metal parts for auto and industrial leaders, including Volkswagen and Wilo, and for companies around the world.
  • Joshua Farrell recently took over the Operations Manager position at Mid-South Metallurgical, based in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Equipment Chatter

  • California-based Delta H Technologies, LLC, recently delivered a commissioned dual chamber aerospace heat treating system — the largest and most advanced to date — to a leading U.S. military aircraft manufacturer. Both chambers are certified for heating parts up to 1200°F and capable of solution heat treating, aging, annealing aluminum, stress relieving titanium and ferrous castings, weldments, and aging of PH stainless steel.
  • An auto parts manufacturer recently received shipment of a customized oxidation nitriding furnace, manufactured by JGEF Furnace, a vacuum heat treating  equipment supplier with U.S. offices in San Francisco, California. The pit furnace, which has useful dimensions of 43.3 inches (1,100 mm) in diameter x 70.9 inches (1,800 mm) high, has a maximum temperature rating of 1292°F (700°C). The goal for this project was to represent an advanced solution for metallic parts. The furnace includes an advanced oxidation system that ensures the workpieces are preheated in a controlled oxidizing atmosphere and guarantees corrosion resistance, which in turn facilitates nitrogen uptake and growth of the nitride compound layer.
  • A large capacity fastener hardening furnace system has been commissioned by a tier one automotive supplier based in Detroit, Michigan. CAN-ENG Furnaces International Ltd has been contracted to design and commission the system for the company, which offers heat treating among its services.
  • A large capacity SECO/Warwick vacuum furnace was delivered to U.K.-based Wallwork Heat Treatment company just before Christmas.

Kudos Chatter

  • America Makes recently announced the awardees of a Directed Project Opportunity on advancing additive manufacturing (AM) post-processing techniques (AAPT), funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Manufacturing and Industrial Base Technology Division. Awardee #1 is Arizona State University, in conjunction with Quintus Technologies; Phoenix Heat Treating, Inc.; and Phoenix Analysis & Design Technologies, Inc. Awardee #2 is ASTM International Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence (AM CoE), a collaborative, which includes ASTM International, Auburn University, EWI, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Wichita State University – National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR), in conjunction with Quintus Technologies, Carpenter Technologies Corporation, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Rolls Royce Corporation, Honeywell Aerospace, GE Aviation, and Raytheon.
  • Paulo recently announced the recent addition of the St. Louis Division to the approved heat treat sources list for General Motors High-Pressure Die Casting Die Insert Material. The approval list references AWQ49658 which includes the heat treatment specifications for Hot Work Tool Steels for GM High-Pressure Die Casting applications.  The St. Louis Division joins Paulo’s Nashville plant on the approval list, which includes only seven approved locations in the US. AWQ49657 covers approved material providers, heat treaters, and testing labs. Paulo is the only US source with two facilities on the list.
  • Nominations are open for the ASM HTS/Surface Combustion Emerging Leader Award, which recognizes an outstanding early-to-midcareer heat treating professional whose accomplishments exhibit exceptional achievements in the heat treating industry. The award was created in recognition of Surface Combustion’s 100-year anniversary in 2015. The winning young professional will best exemplify the ethics, education, ingenuity, and future leadership of our industry. Deadline for the nomination is February 1, 2019. Past winners include Olga Rowan of Caterpillar in 2015 and Lee Rothleutner of Timken in 2017. For nomination rules and forms, visit the Heat Treating Society website at hts.asminternational.org and click on Membership & Networking and Society Awards.

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 »

Heat Exchanger Supplier Purchases CAB Cooling System

/ AUTOMOTIVE HEAT TREAT, AUTOMOTIVE HEAT TREAT NEWS, COOLING SYSTEMS NEWS, FEATURED NEWS

An India-based independent heat exchanger manufacturer for the domestic automobile industry recently purchased a controlled atmosphere brazing system to reduce energy costs as well as improve production quality and operate within the latest environmental regulations.

NBR Cooling Systems commissioned the signature controlled atmosphere brazing (CAB) cooling system from SECO/WARWICK.

Liu Yedong, Managing Director, SECO/WARWICK RETECH

“We selected SECO/WARWICK because they provided a high-quality production assurance which we needed to keep our plant running efficiently along with low atmosphere consumption, minimum maintenance, and repeatable process results, all at a low capital cost investment,” said Aarif Hussain, NBR Cooling Systems managing director. “A SECO/WARWICK CAB system was definitely our first option – the company leverages many years of experience and guarantee continuous trouble-free operation at a high technological level and provides local contact, care and service.”

“We are pleased to support NBR Cooling Systems’ vision to become the leader in the national and international market for commercial heat exchangers and air conditioning systems for the automotive industry,” said Liu Yedong, Managing Director, SECO/WARWICK RETECH (China).

Heat Exchanger Supplier Purchases CAB Cooling System 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 »

CAB Technology Commissioned by Auto Parts Manufacturer

/ AUTOMOTIVE HEAT TREAT, AUTOMOTIVE HEAT TREAT NEWS, FEATURED NEWS

A manufacturer of automotive heat exchangers recently partnered with a leading heat treat furnace manufacturing company with a formidable U.S. presence to produce parts using a complete Controlled Atmosphere Brazing (CAB) line for its greenfield project in Gujrat, India.

Karnavati Car Air Conditioners Pvt. Ltd, Ahmedabad, (KCPL), which produces a wide variety of high-quality radiators, condensers, cooling coils, and fan assemblies, will utilize SECO/WARWICK’s CAB line and related equipment in the manufacturing process, including thermal degreaser, fluxer, dry-off oven, air quality and cleaning. The system will be utilized for aluminum heat exchangers of all types for the automotive market.

“KCPL is one of the fastest growing companies in India,” said Kartik Jethwa – Chief Engineer, KCPL, “dealing in automotive radiators, condensers, cooling coils and fan assemblies. We have selected the complete SECO/WARWICK’s CAB brazing line because the system versatility will enable our company to produce a wide variety of high-quality products with the lowest possible cost – our goal is to continue our rapid pace of growth and improve profitability by modernizing our brazing operation.”

“We are proud technology partners with KCPL and look forward to their continued success. Since 1984, SECO/WARWICK has been the leader in the evolution and innovations in CAB technologies ensuring our customers that they will receive the finest system value and professional technical services to keep their equipment online and operating efficiently for many years in the future,” said Piotr Skarbinski, VP, Aluminum Process and CAB Technology, SECO/WARWICK.

CAB Technology Commissioned by Auto Parts Manufacturer Read More »

VIM Furnace Enlisted in Purdue Project to Develop New Composite Material for Efficient Energy Use

/ ENERGY HEAT TREAT, FEATURED NEWS

Purdue University recently turned to an integrated furnace manufacturer for equipment to be used in an innovative project developing a new material and manufacturing process that would use solar power — as heat energy — more efficient in generating electricity.

RETECH, a SECO/WARWICK company, has provided a vacuum induction melting (VIM) furnace for the project’s research to increase efficiency of solar-generated electricity. The furnace can easily handle a wide range of materials used in everything from automotive and consumer products to critical, high-value equiax, directionally solidified or single-crystal aerospace parts.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, solar power accounts for 1.3 percent of U.S. electricity. If the cost of electricity generation and energy storage for use on cloudy days and at nighttime were cheaper, the percentage of electricity generation by renewable energy sources – like solar power – would be higher.

 

See Retech’s video on the use of a new composite material that harnesses the sun’s heat for cheaper renewable energy: https://youtu.be/PMC3EE19ouw

VIM Furnace Enlisted in Purdue Project to Develop New Composite Material for Efficient Energy Use Read More »

Matrix Forgings Manufacturer Commissions Sealed Quench Chamber Furnace

/ ENERGY HEAT TREAT, FEATURED NEWS, FORGING NEWS, QUENCHING NEWS

A Polish manufacturer of high-quality matrix forgings, construction connectors, and manual tools manufactured with their own forgings recently commissioned a multipurpose sealed quench chamber furnace to expand their current line of equipment.

Jarosław Talerzak, VP, Thermal Heat Treatment Furnace Systems at SECO/WARWICK

SECO/WARWICK will deliver the fully-automated furnace, a CaseMaster AFS, which is capable of a wide variety of processes but particularly carbonizing, gas carbonitriding and pure hardening, to KUŹNIA Sułkowicie S.A.. The equipment is intended for thermal and thermo-chemical treatment in a controlled endothermic atmosphere.

“We have been cooperating with SECO/WARWICK for more than 10 years. A decade ago, we purchased and implemented a process line for thermal and thermo-chemical treatment with a chamber furnace type CaseMaster AFS 10E,” said Marcin Szafrański, MSc. Ing., Commercial Director at “Kuźnia” Sułkowice S.A. The main customers for the products of KUŹNIA Sułkowice S.A. are the leading European and Polish manufacturers operating in the construction, automotive, power engineering, machinery, and mining industries.

“The appropriately selected production process guarantees the quality of forgings. Thanks to many years of experience in the production of heat treatment equipment, we perfectly understand our customers’ needs, which enables us to propose and help in selecting the most optimum solutions that meet market expectations,” said Jarosław Talerzak, VP, Thermal Heat Treatment Furnace Systems at SECO/WARWICK.

Matrix Forgings Manufacturer Commissions Sealed Quench Chamber Furnace 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

  • 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

/ 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

  • 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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