SIFCO Industries Inc.

 

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

• Italy-based ICMI Forni Industriali has installed and launched its third heat treatment chamber furnace. The company specializes in the design and construction of plants for heat treatment and heating. The furnace has an internal dimension of approximately 7 ft 10 in x 7 ft 10 in x 7 ft 3 in (2,400 x 2,400 x 2.220 m), and can load a weight up to 3 tonnes.
• A Southbridge, Massachusetts, heat treating company recently received approval of a tax deal from the town council for the expansion of space and equipment of its facility. Hardline Heat Treating Inc. manufactures thermal processing units and lines for the automotive and firearms industries and hopes this expansion will open up the aerospace market.
• US Representative Mike Kelly (PA District 3) recently toured Solar Atmospheres of Western PA. The congressman, a leading supporter to small business, was able to observe and hear firsthand how tax reform has influenced Solar’s future and was extremely pleased to hear how the tax reform bills that he supported have spurred tremendous private investment and job creation within the Hermitage PA facility. Congressman Kelly stated, “I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Solar Atmospheres in Hermitage last week. It is truly a world-class facility that I’m proud to represent right here in the Shenango Valley. It was fascinating to learn more about what they are producing, and just as importantly, how they are producing it. I was particularly glad to speak with Solar’s dedicated professionals about the specific policies I can support to help them thrive in our community, including tax reform and the revival of the Export Import Bank.”
• Robert S. Wetherbee has been appointed by the Board of Directors of Allegheny Technologies Incorporated to become ATI’s President and Chief Executive Officer effective January 1, 2019, succeeding Richard J. Harshman as ATI’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Harshman will remain Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer until January 1, 2019, following which he will continue to serve as Executive Chairman of the Board until his retirement in conjunction with ATI’s May 9, 2019, Annual Meeting. The Board has elected Diane C. Creel, who has served as ATI’s Lead Independent Director since 2011, to become Board Chair effective immediately following Mr. Harshman’s May 2019 retirement. Wetherbee will also join the ATI Board.
• Thomas Kubera has been named to the position of Chief Financial Officer with SIFCO Industries, Inc., effective August 7, 2018. Kubera has been with the Company since May 2014.
• Jennifer Howe was recently hired by Michigan-based Premier Thermal Solutions as Regional Sales Manager, responsible for all aspects of sales within her territory of Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Canada.

  

  

  

  

Equipment Chatter

• A Midwestern engine manufacturer recently received an electric box furnace for the purpose of heat treating larger structures and running batches of multiple parts. The furnace is in use for hardening and annealing of many varieties of components. L&L Special Furnace Co, Inc., supplied the 22″W x by 18″H x 22″D unit, which has an alloy fan that provides uniformity (±10°F) from 300°F to 1,800°F. The alloy roller hearth and movable load table allow for larger heavy parts to be easily moved in and out of the furnace manually.
• A 250°F (121°C), special electrically heated oven (No. 861), sold by Grieve Corporation, has been installed for drying small parts in a tray at an unnamed customer’s facility.

Kudos Chatter

• ASM International recently announced a new entity, the ASM Materials Solutions Network, “to serve as an extension of [ASM]’s R&D capacity by leveraging the ASM network to provide collaborative and scalable solutions.” Announced at the AeroMat Conference in May 2018, the network serves multiple industries including Aerospace, Automotive, Oil & Gas, Materials Processes, and Medical Devices. Founding Provider Members have been announced: Battelle, ESi, Granta, IMR Test Labs, NSL Analytic Services Inc., QuesTek Innovations, Solar Atmospheres. In addition, Parker Hannifin Corporation officially became the Founding Client Member of ASM’s Materials Solutions Network.
• A global manufacturer of engineered fasteners, shims and installation equipment has announced that two of its manufacturing facilities have recently been certified to IATF 16949:2016: SPIROL Industries in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, which manufactures roll formed tubular products including dowel bushings, spring dowels, ground hollow dowels, compression limiters and spacers; and SPIROL International Corp. in Stow, Ohio, which manufactures disc springs, precision shims, custom washers and spacers.  In addition to IATF 16949, SPIROL Ohio also holds AS9100 Rev D (aerospace) and NADCAP (aerospace and defense) quality system certifications.
• Twelve teachers from across North America, including one from Canada, and three Temple University students were hosted by Solar Atmospheres Inc. at its Souderton, Pennsylvania, facility as part of their participation in the ASM International Teachers’ Camp. The camp was sponsored by the ASM Philadelphia Liberty Bell Chapter and was located at Temple University’s Ambler campus where participants spent a week learning the basics of Materials Science Technology (MST) as taught at the high school level. For its part, Solar Atmospheres gave a brief overview of vacuum heat treating furnaces, processes, and metallurgy pertinent to the teachers’ curriculum, followed by a tour of the facility.

 

In Memoriam . . . 

Professor Hans Tensi, formerly of the Technical University of Munich, recently died following a lengthy illness. As related by George Totten of GE Totten and Associates, “As all of you know, Professor Tensi made vital, influential and lasting contributions to the fundamental understanding of quenching technology as we understand it today. Much of his work and that of his contemporaries has been memorialized in Theory and Technology of Quenching, an authoritative handbook co-edited by B. Liscic, H.M. Tensi, and W. Luty. . . . Prof. Tensi was recognized for his numerous contributions by his election as a Fellow of ASM International and the International Federation for Heat Treatment and Surface Engineering (IFHTSE). Professor Tensi is survived by his wife Ingrid, his son Thomas, and his three grandchildren Elina, Nelia and Jannis.”

Read here Joe Powell’s reflection on the role Professor Tensi played in the development of the heat treating metallurgy industry.

 

 

 

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.