Heat Treat Today publishes eight print magazines a year and included in each is a letter from the publisher, Doug Glenn. This letter first appeared in Heat Treat Today’s December 2022 Medical and Energy Heat Treat Issue print edition.
Publisher and Founder
Heat Treat Today
It’s roughly noon on November 8, 2022, and I’m sitting outside Starbucks in downtown Beaver, Pennsylvania, about 40 minutes from downtown Pittsburgh, enjoying an unseasonably mid-70s, pure blue sky day. I live another 40 minutes away near New Castle, PA, but I’m here in Beaver to see the newest Glenn grandchild and stopped at Starbucks to buy a triple-shot decaf espresso – the mid-afternoon drink of choice for my wife — which the barista’s have affectionately dubbed “Why Bother.” (Think about it . . . three shots of DECAF espresso. Why bother?)
There’s plenty of human activity here in downtown Beaver. People walking and talking. Many conversations and warm greetings — handholding, smiling, kids with parents, cars passing, movement and activity everywhere.
This moment in Beaver reminds me of the Altstadt in Dusseldorf, Germany in June of any given year. Aldstadt, which means “old town,” is the hub of activity in the evening after each of the five days of Thermprocess, the world’s largest heat treating trade show held every four years at the Messe (fairgrounds) in Dusseldorf, Germany. In fact, walking and eating dinner in the Aldstadt is one of the highlights of participating in Thermprocess.
If you’ve never heard of Thermprocess and you’re involved in the heat treating industry, you need to know about it. It is one of four co-located metals trade shows held in mid-June every four years in Dusseldorf. It is an event to behold, and one highly recommended by the author of this column. In addition to Thermprocess, there is GIFA (a foundry event), NEWCAST (a casting event), and METEC (a metallurgical event). All-in-all, over 70,000 visitors and over 2,000 exhibitors flood the Messe every four years.
Source: Unsplash.com
In 2023, Thermprocess is being held from June 12-16, and I would like to personally invite you to join me in Dusseldorf. As the largest heat treat event in the Western world (and arguably, the ENTIRE world), Thermprocess offers North American participants an opportunity to expand their view of what is happening in the heat treating/thermal processing world. And a broader perspective is exactly what we need. For those of you who have ever attended one of the larger manufacturing events here in North America, IMTS for example, Thermprocess and her three sister shows are MUCH bigger and better.
The Messe, where the event is located, is easily twice to three times the size of McCormick Place in Chicago, where IMTS is located. It would easily take you 20 minutes to walk from one end of the Messe to the other. During the full week it is open, the Messe is packed with metals-related exhibits and activities. It is not humanly possible to see all that is available to be seen.
Heat Treat Today is encouraging North American heat treat suppliers who market internationally to exhibit. We are putting together a group of like-minded North American exhibitors to join us. Assuming we get enough companies to join us, we will exhibit close to one another and share resources to make it more affordable for all concerned. We’ll share things like food & beverage, interpreters (if needed), and meeting rooms. By the way, unlike many North American shows, it is not unusual for people to actually strike deals and sign contracts at Thermprocess.
If you’re not a heat treat industry supplier, we encourage you, as a consumer of heat treat products, services, or supplies, to attend the event. The technology that you will see will be eye-opening. Please let us know if we can be helpful getting you to Dusseldorf in June 2023.
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