Howard Yang – Heat Treat Today 40 Under 40
Raised in California, Howard Yang’s journey in heat treat took him across the country to his home in New Jersey. He has worn every hat imaginable within the company – from sales and customer service to engineering, warehousing, and accounting – and he has been the company’s anchor and number-one problem solver.
Howard began his career at CeramSource sixteen years ago as a warehouse employee. He spent most of his time packing pallets of ceramic fiber insulation materials to send to the relatively small customer base. A graduate of Middlesex College, Howard earned a degree while maintaining a role as a salesman for the company. Since 2005, the company has grown sales by 200% and Howard moved into the role of general manager.
As general manager, Howard helped keep CeramSource thriving during the tumultuous year of 2020. Through his efforts, CeramSource exceeded expectations and maintained the company’s reputation. His actions allowed the company to supply the heat treat industry with the quality materials necessary to operate in a timely fashion.
His innate ability to lead has given him the opportunity to grow within the company and the heat treat industry as a whole. Howard has been involved with the manufacturing sector in many ways and served as president of the IMF for two years. Howard’s employees, customers, and fellow IMF board members appreciate his calm demeanor and extensive knowledge of the industry. Through hands-on, practical learning, Howard has become a well-versed leader among heat treating suppliers.
Katie Bastine – Heat Treat Today 40 Under 40
Company: ThermoFusion, Inc.
Position: Quality Manager
Years in Industry: 9
Nominated by: ThermoFusion, Inc.
Although with ThermoFusion for less than a year, Katie Bastine is using her nine years of industry experience to modernize and streamline the quality system, leading the company to a complete ISO9001, AS9001 and Nadcap recertifications, and adding new Nadcap certified processes.
Specifically, Katie brought all TUS and SAT work in-house, including procuring the equipment, training the operators, and validating the work. She then prepared herself and the company for a series of audits, which ThermoFusion passed with only two major findings. During that process, Katie more than doubled the Nadcap certified processes in which ThermoFusion had been previously certified.
Katie’s dedication to her job has resulted in greater opportunity for ThermoFusion and customers and allows the company to remain one of the top-quality heat treating shops in the Western U.S.
