VAC AERO is investing $5.8 million to open its first U.S. operation in Greenville, SC. The facility will initially feature vacuum furnaces, with a defined goal of introducing advanced coating technologies.
Brent Davis President & COO VAC AERO U.S. Inc. Source: Linkedin
The Canadian thermal processing company will be partnering with Meyer Tool to deliver advanced heat treating solutions. The companies are working together to establish a “shop-in-shop” facility within Meyer Tool’s Greenville location. The “shop-in-shop” model enables VAC AERO to operate a fully integrated vacuum heat treating, brazing, and coating operation within Meyer Tool’s advanced manufacturing environment.
“We are excited to bring our expertise in vacuum heat treating directly into the heart of one of North America’s most respected regions for power generation and aerospace component manufacturing,” said Brent Davis, president and COO of VAC AERO U.S. Inc.
Dan Godin Executive Vice President Meyer Tool Source: Linkedin
Dan Godin, executive vice president of Meyer Tool, stated: “This collaboration is leveraging our combined expertise to offer the customers better control of their Value Stream.”
This strategic partnership marks VAC AERO’s first operational presence in the United States and underscores its renewed commitment to global expansion.
Press release is available in its original form here.
Beginnings and endings often come together. As we prepare to begin a new year next month, we want to pause to remember a few lives that came to an end. Although the following are by no means the only important endings,Heat Treat Todaywould like to honor the memory of the following individuals who left their mark in the heat treating world.
This article first appeared in Heat TreatToday’sDecember 2023 Medical and Energy print edition. Feel free to contact Bethany Leone at bethany@heattreattoday.com if you have a question, comment, or any editorial contribution you’d like to submit.
Scott Hoensheid, Commercial Steel Treating Corp. (c. 1959–2022)
Scott Hoensheid retired as the president of Commercial Steel Corp., a commercial heat treater based in Highland, MI. As president of Commercial Steel Corp. since 1979, he served the heat treating industry diligently for over 40 years. He leaves behind his wife, Anne, and two children, Allison (John) VanHaverbeke and Katherine Hoensheid.
(Source: dignitymemorial.com)
John “Jack” Marino, Hauck Manufacturing and Denton Corporation (c. 1938–2023)
Well-known as a capable educator through several online IHEA courses, Jack Marino was an industry expert with more than 40 years of experience in the heat treating industry. Jack became the president of not one, but two companies: Denton Corporation and Hauck Manufacturing. Throughout his career, he obtained six U.S. patents in combustion technology and was the author of Ok, You’re a New Executive. Now What? Jack leaves behind his wife, Jean, and six children.
Clint Ooten was an incredible resource to Bluewater Thermal Solutions where he used his background in human resources for skillful team building and management. Included in Clint’s impressive background were four years as an HR director at GE. He began his time at Bluewater Thermal Solutions as the director of HR, and later went on to become the President — Industrials. Surviving Clint are his three daughters.
(Source: cannonbyrd.com)
Ross Pritchard, VAC AERO (c. 1929–2023)
Ross Pritchard began his career in the heat treating industry with a metallurgical engineering degree. In 1959, Ross founded VAC AERO International, Inc., a provider of vacuum furnaces and a source of excellent technical content for those in the industry. Ross led the company through building new plants, expanding the workforce from two employees to 200+, and continually keeping up with the changing technology of the industry. He is survived by his three daughters.
(Source: Tribute Archive.com)
David Pye, Pye Metallurgical International Consulting (c. 1939–2023)
David Pye was the founder of Pye Metallurgical International Consulting, a company he began after years of practical experience in the heat treating industry, both in commercial and in-house environments. At the end of his life, David had amassed over 45 years of metallurgical consulting, and therefore helped countless clients and friends throughout the industry, both in the U.S. and in the U.K. David was skilled not only in technical sales but also in metallurgical laboratory processes. He passed away on June 12, 2023, in Virginia.
(Source: Industrial Heating.com)
William Edward Terlop, Sr., Jackson Transformer (c. 1938–2023)
William (Bill) Terlop was part of the induction heating industry for over 68 years. Bill became both a friend and mentor to many others in the industry, always willing to share knowledge and advice on transformers and magnetics. His career in the industry began when he was a young man working for a company; through his R&D, Bill grew their magnetics products division. He later purchased this division in 1986, creating Jackson Transformer Company. Everyone at the company is proud to honor Bill by carrying on his legacy.
(Source: trinitymemorial.com)
James Joseph Van Etten, Alhern-Martin Industrial Furnace Company (c. 1944–2023)
The owner of Alhern-Martin Industrial Furnace Company for over 40 years, James Van Etten was dedicated to the heat treating industry and leveraged his knowledge and expertise to help clients with their equipment needs. His dedication grew the business to be the dynamic company it is today. James is survived by his wife, Sandra, and his children, Julie and James. His son is currently the vice president of Alhern-Martin Industrial Furnace Company.
(Source: detroitnews.com)
Find Heat Treating Products and Services When You Search on Heat Treat Buyers Guide.com
Which vacuum gauges are most often found on a heat treater's vacuum furnaces? What are the conditions for selecting a vacuum gauge? And how do you adapt a vacuum gauge to service floor requirements?
Today's feature article is a "best of the web," that gives you a roadmap when selecting the best vacuum gauge for your heat treating purposes. In this piece, you will also learn how gauges perform differently depending on their type. Read to learn more and see these differences.
An excerpt: "There are several types of vacuum gauges, each engineered for a specific function over a specific range of vacuum pressure. Common types include:
Nadcap accreditation is looked on by most of the heat treating world as a significant achievement and a guarantee of quality. It not only permits a company to perform heat treating for the Aerospace/Defense industries but also tells customers that this company has a high standard of quality.
So what is it, and how does it work?
In this HTT Best of the Web Technical Tuesday feature, Vac Aero International takes readers through the entire Nadcap accreditation process from start to finish, examining what it is, how it works, and troubleshooting problem areas.
An excerpt: “Nadcap accreditation benefits not only the company being audited but helps ensure their customers receive products and services that meet or exceed both their expectations and requirements. The audit and accreditation processes result in continuous improvement in multiple areas, with deficiencies (i.e., nonconformances) identified and corrected based on specific rules (i.e., guidelines) to ensure each process meets or exceeds industry standards.”
Vac Aero gives a detailed look at the common pitfalls in the accreditation process, useful resources and training courses to help companies prepare for their audit, and what to do after the audit is complete.
We look now at the third of the seven important criteria that should be followed in order to insure good brazing, namely, the importance of good gap clearance (joint fit-up). We’ll see how reasonably tight joint clearances can significantly improve overall joint quality, whereas poor fit-up often yields poor brazing results (which could then hurt the reputation of the company doing the brazing.)
International aerospace engineering group MB Aerospace has completed the acquisition of Vac Aero (Poland) from its Canadian parent company Vac Aero International.
The business, which employs over 100 employees at two sites in Kalisz (central Poland) and Rzeszow (south-east Poland), specializes in providing protective and performance enhancing coatings for aero-engine and industrial gas turbine components. These OEM licensed and proprietary coatings provide wear, corrosion and heat resistance properties across performance critical compressor, combustor and turbine components. Since the company was founded in 2003, it has developed an extensive range of special process capabilities including heat treatment and vacuum brazing, vacuum carburizing, air plasma spray (APS) and high-velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) protective coatings, as well as corrosion and oxidation resistant paint coatings. The former Vac Aero subsidiary will continue to serve key customers in Europe including UTC, Pratt & Whitney and Siemens.
The business will remain at its two current sites and will be immediately rebranded as MB Aerospace Technologies (Poland). In order to support the existing customer base and growing aerospace market in Eastern Europe, MB Aerospace is planning to invest across the business with particular focus on its surface coating services, including thermal and plasma coatings and a range of paint capabilities, as well as heat treatment and brazing processes.
Craig Gallagher, MB Aerospace chief executive officer, said: “We are delighted to acquire the Polish operations of Vac-Aero – now trading as MB Aerospace Technologies (Poland) – as its extensive range of capabilities and skilled employees will help us broaden our offering to existing customers and the expanding aerospace market in Poland and the surrounding industrial areas of Western and Eastern Europe.
“With thermal and plasma coating capabilities now available to us in the region, we can provide customers with fast, responsive lead times for aero-engine and industrial gas turbine component treatments, whilst mitigating the logistics, and cost, of shipping products long distances to have such critical work done.”
Dave Farmery, managing director of MB Aerospace Poland, added: “We have inherited a well-established and respected business in Poland with highly skilled employees and a wide range of customer approvals. Working closely with the existing team, we will invest heavily to provide the local market with the capabilities and capacity required to ensure customers continue to receive a world-class service.”
Tomasz Krążyński, General Manager, of MB Aerospace Technologies (Poland) said: “After more than a decade of growth and success under Vac-Aero we look forward to starting a new chapter within the MB Aerospace family of companies. The acquisition offers a fantastic opportunity for the business and the planned investment will help us establish ourselves as one of the premier providers of thermal processes and surface coating services in Europe.”
