U.S. Navy

18 News Chatter To Keep You Current

Heat Treat Today offers News Chatter, a feature highlighting representative moves, transactions, and kudos from around the industry. Enjoy these 18 news items.


Equipment

  • A Canadian automotive components manufacturer recently expanded its operations with an electrically heated small batch oven to be used for curing arts. The small batch oven was manufactured by Wisconsin Oven, designed to utilize combination airflow to maximum heating rates of 650°F and temperature uniformity.
  • With the successful conversion to a four-stand finishing mill, Henan Yirui New Materials Technology Co, Ltd, officially began production. SMS Group converted an existing hot rolling mill into a tandem finishing mill by adding three new finishing mill stands, developed for refurbishing and integrating components.
  • KALLER, a manufacturer of gas springs and gas hydraulic systems based in Sweden, recently launched its fully automated line of hardening furnaces for surface coatings on gas springs. The hardening systems were supplied by Ipsen International.

Company & Personnel

  • Steve Fuller has joined the team at Nitrex HTS as the new plant general manager at their Michigan location. He brings 45 years of experience in commercial heat treating, machine tool manufacturing, fabrication, quality management, and more.
  • Bobby Boom, Tim Litchauer, and Wade Sholmire, have been added to the Superheat team as business development managers. Wade is the new National BDM, Tim will oversee the Greater Houston Area, and Bobby will manage the Southeast Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas regions.
  • Chris Martin has been promoted to regional sales manager for the Southeast by Ipsen. Chris will be responsible for leading a team of seven that includes six field service engineers and one service administrator.
  • Adam Woelber has been promoted to manager of aftermarket parts and service at AFC-Holcroft.
  • Ethan Castle has been appointed the St. Louis plant manager for Paulo Heat Treating, Brazing, and Metal Finishing, recognized for his leadership, technical capability, and mentoring role, in addition to representing the company within the North American Diecasting Association and National Tooling and Machining Association. Ethan has also been named to Heat Treat Today‘s 40 Under 40 Class of 2024.
  • Gary Doyon has stepped down from his role as CEO of Inductotherm Group, after 15 years in the position and 38 years with the company. Mick Nallen and Satyen Prabhu have taken as co‐leaders at the company, which provides thermal processing technologies. Mr. Doyon will remain actively involved with the company, assisting with specific operational needs of other businesses owned by the Rowan family and pursuing new business avenues and opportunities for the Inductotherm Group.
  • Ipsen USA has launched its Field Service Engineer Academy, designed to be a 20-week in-depth program with classroom training and experience in the field with veteran service technicians. Darci Johnson, program and transformation manager at the company, is leading the implementation of the FSE Academy. Content will focus on the fundamentals of vacuum furnace repair.
  • Industrial furnace equipment manufacturer Gasbarre welcomed Dan Hill as product development manager; he will be based at the company’s Livonia, Michigan, facility. A licensed professional engineer, Dan brings a diverse background in capital equipment, spanning material handling, control systems, boilers and furnaces, combustion systems, and industrial washing/deburring equipment.
  • The U.S. Navy recently selected StandardAero to serve as its engine depot-level repair prime contractor to perform Rolls-Royce T56-A-427A engine MRO services, supporting the Navy’s fleet of E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft. The aerospace aftermarket service supplier has also announced that Turkish and European Boeing 737 Operator Corendon Airlines has extended its contract for the support of CFM LEAP-18 engines.
  • Ipsen USA recently announced the formal launch of its Service HUB model, marking a significant shift in how the company delivers customer service and support across the United States. The program has been under the direction of Geoffrey Somary, the company’s global CEO. Currently being led by John Dykstra, chief service officer, the HUBs now provide services across a large portion of the Midwest and Southeastern United States. Lu Chouraki, manager of business development, is leading the implementation of the HUBs.

Kudos

  • James Wellborn, gas nitride manager at Advanced Heat Treat Corp, celebrates 25 years with the company.
  • Patricia Miller, director of technical services at Uddeholm, has been named the Technical Committee Member of the Year by North American Die Casting Association (NADCA).
  • Denise Blaubach, who is known as the resident flow meter assembly expert at UPC-Marathon in Wisconsin, recently celebrated 35 years with the company.
  • Constellium today announced it has achieved Aluminum Stewardship Initiative (ASI) Performance Standard Certification for all its operations, and for its corporate office in Paris.
  • Sinosteel E&T and Tenova have successfully completed the performance test for the ENERGIRON DRI Plant at the Baosteel Zhanjiang site in China. The sustainable hydrogen-based 1,000,000 tonnes/year ENERGIRON Direct Reduction (DR) plant demonstrated the nominal production of DRI, reducing carbon dioxide emissions and marking a significant step in the green steel industry. 

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$149 Million U.S. Navy Contract to StandardAero

HTD Size-PR Logo

Marc Drobny
President, Military Aviation
StandardAero.com

The United States Navy has awarded StandardAero a $149 million multi-year contract to provide engine maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services for Rolls-Royce T56 Series III engines powering the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps fleet of C-130s, C-2, P-3 and EP-3 aircraft.

The multi-year contract will continue into 2026 with the work being performed at StandardAero’s San Antonio and Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada facilities. StandardAero was part of a Multiple Award Contract (MAC) on this program over the last five years, having recently completed option year four in support of this customer. Under the new contract, StandardAero will provide the same service experience the Navy and Marine Corps has received through the previous multi-year contract.

“We are thrilled to continue expanding our successful partnership supporting Navy and Marine Corps aircraft engine MRO,” said Marc Drobny, president of the military division at StandardAero. “Powering these aircraft is a strategic and logical continuation within our portfolio of services.

“Our employees, many of whom have served in the military, take great pride in serving the Navy – Marine Corps Fleet. As a former Naval aviator, I take great personal pride in our team’s ability to provide exceptional operational readiness through reliable and high-performing engines.”

StandardAero also supports the Rolls-Royce Series IV engines including support for the Marine Corps C-130J AE2100 engine and the Navy E-2D T56-A-427/A MRO requirements as a sub-contractor to Rolls-Royce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(photo source: Military_Material at Pixabay )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lockheed Martin Company to Build Six Presidential Helicopters

The U.S. Navy has commissioned six new presidential helicopters. Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, will build six production VH-92A presidential helicopters. These helicopters are part of the 23-aircraft program of record for the U.S. Marine Corps.

Sikorsky has transferred five VH-92A helicopters into government test with the sixth completing modification and entering government test Q2 2020. The VH-92A program is on track to enter Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) later this year.

“Now that we are ramping up production, the VH-92A program is gaining momentum,” said Dave Banquer, Sikorsky VH-92A program director. “This second contract award demonstrates the confidence the U.S. Marine Corps has in Sikorsky’s proven ability to deliver and support the next generation presidential helicopter. The men and women of Sikorsky treasure our legacy of building and providing helicopter transportation for every president and commander in chief since Dwight D. Eisenhower. We are proud to continue that legacy with the VH-92A helicopter.”

All six of the production aircraft from the first Low Rate Initial Production contract are undergoing modifications at Sikorsky’s Stratford, Connecticut, plant and are on schedule to begin deliveries in 2021. The remaining production aircraft will be delivered in 2022 and 2023.

VH-92A presidential helicopter (Source: U.S. Navy)

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New Vacuum Furnace to Stress Test Defense Vessel Parts

 

A new vacuum furnace will be tasked to stress test parts for the LM2500 turbine, which is used by the U.S. Navy to power Spruance and Kidd-class destroyers, Olive Hazard Perry-class frigates, Ticonderoga-class cruisers, and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

Ashleigh Burke-class destroyer

Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW) commissioned the $1.9 million furnace from SECO/Warwick Group, which manufactured the 2,800°F unit to specification for technicians to test the engine’s components after the heat treat process. It will not be used for the heat treating or plating of LM2500 parts.

“The furnace was custom made for our use and took almost a year to manufacture,” said Martha Hoffman, project manager for FRCSW’s Capital Investment Program (CIP), which invests in new technologies and equipment to improve production efficiencies. “The equipment arrived May 15, and the sign off (acceptance) was July 2.”

The new unit replaces a model that was more than 50 years old with a four-year history of sporadic operation. Difficulty in maintenance and increasingly obsolete replacement parts often resulted in a 60-80 percent down time, causing some LM2500 work to be contracted out.

Sailors check a gas turbine engine. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Brian M. Brooks/Released via Wikimedia)

Hoffman said that the new unit will save the command about six months in turn-around time per part vice contracted workload and that 12-15 components will be tested weekly.

FRCSW is scheduled to overhaul about 15 LM2500 engines annually.

 

Photo caption:

FRCSW teammates who were instrumental in the procurement, installation and acceptance of the Seco/Warwick Group furnace are, from left, materials engineers Michael Schutt and Jessica Porras, CIP project manager Martha Hoffman, metrology calibration Hung Pham, and material engineers David Arenas and Blake Whitmee. (U.S. Navy photo)

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