The Class of 2019 40 Under 40: Heather Falcone & Trisha Rouse

Heat Treat Today is privileged to oversee the 40 Under 40 recognition awards highlighting a group of young, up-and-coming talent in the North American heat treat industry every year. This year’s Class of 2019 is no disappointment–a group of industry elite, significant contributors to the heat treat market.

Every couple of weeks we highlight two of the current class of recipients. This week we introduce Heather Falcone of Thermal Vac Technology Inc. and Trisha Rouse of General Motors.


Name: Heather Falcone

Company: Thermal Vac Technology Inc.

Position: CEO

Heather’s passion lies in breaking things: whether it’s revenue goals, glass ceilings, or tired rhetoric, her 17-year track record in one of the world’s most exacting industries shows a dedication to destroying the status quo. As CEO of Thermal-Vac Technology, she has led the company to a 65% growth rate in the past four years, resulting in the company being recognized in several awards. She is a recognized trainer, writer, and public speaker on a variety of topics and her professional associations include: voting member of NADCAP heat treat task group, professional member of MTI, and participant in other professional societies and peer advisory groups. Her impact at Thermal-Vac is demonstrated in the implementation of several projects, such as a fully compliant NIST 800-171 and DFAR 252.204-7012 cyber security program and a foundational business management system called EOS, as well as the implementation and successful accreditation to AS 9100:D and ISO 9001:2015. As an Ironman triathlete, alpine hiker, wife, and mother, Heather seeks to promote growth and opportunity outside of people’s comfort zones with an invitation to be “Green and Growing”, to reject mediocrity, and embrace their unique talents to create meaningful and lasting legacy impact.

Nominated by: Thermal Vac Technology


Name: Trisha Rouse

Company: General Motors

Position: Senior Materials Engineer

Trisha Rouse is a brilliant materials engineer. Holding a position of Senior Materials Engineer at GM, she is currently supporting the Transmission Gear and Shaft Program Management Team of GM, providing metallurgical expertise for new product development as well as supporting the resolution of production and customer concerns. Her experience in the industry is unique as she has background in not only design but also running metallurgical labs, working with customers, and overseeing production deadlines. Trisha has a great personality and is alumna of Michigan Technological University’s Material Science and Engineering program.

Nominated by: Dr. Valery Rudnev, FASM, IFHTSE Fellow, “Professor Induction”; Director, Science and Technology, Inductoheat, Inc, an Inductotherm Group Company


Read more about the feature at Heat Treat Today’s 40 Under 40 resource page and find out more about each of this year’s winners by clicking on their image. To nominate someone for the Class of 2020 40 Under 40, please click here.