The four heat treat industry-specific economic indicators, gathered by Heat Treat Today each month since June 2023, indicate expectations for economic growth in May compared to what suppliers experienced in April. However, while growth is still expected, it appears that most suppliers are more tame in their projections for growth across most indicators.
The numbers, which were compiled in the second week of May, show that responding parties strongly anticipate all four indices — number of inquiries, value of bookings, size of backlogs, and health of manufacturing economy — to grow. Again this is growth as is compares to the previous month (April). One specific indicator does stand out, though: Manufacturers are expecting significant growth in number of inquiries.
The results from this month’s survey (May) are as follows; numbers above 50 indicate growth, numbers below 50 indicate contraction, and the number 50 indicates no change:
Anticipated change in the Number of Inquiries from April to May: 61.5
Anticipated change in Value of Bookings from April to May:56.8
Anticipated change in Backlog Size from April to May: 52.7
Anticipated change in the Health of the Manufacturing Economy from April to May: 55.9
Data for May 2024
The four index numbers are reported monthly by Heat Treat Today and made available on the website.
Heat TreatToday’sEconomic Indicatorsmeasure and report on four, heat treat industry indices. Each month, approximately 800 individuals who classify themselves as suppliers to the North American heat treat industry receive the survey. Above are the results. Data started being collected in June 2023. If you would like to participate in the monthly survey, please click here to subscribe.
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Heat Treat Today offers News Chatter, a feature highlighting representative moves, transactions, and kudos from around the industry. Enjoy these 11 news items.
Company
By rolling the first hot strip, SMS group put the new high-capacity hot strip mill (HSM) at Jindal Steel Odisha Ltd. (JSOL) successfully into operation. The commissioning and erection of the furnace took place in record time, despite temporary restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eisengießerei Th. Schultz have placed an order with OTTO JUNKER GmbH for the delivery and commissioning of a medium-frequency coreless induction furnace plant. The 1.7-ton induction furnace will be equipped with a 12-pulse IGBT frequency converter and have a power of 1,200 kW. Apart from a glycol-free air/water re-cooler with integrated heat recovery, the new furnace plant will be fitted with the OCP+ temperature monitoring system for permanent coil monitoring.
Angang Guangzhou Automotive Steel Co., Ltd. and Ansteel Engineering Technology Corporation Limited have signed a contract with SMS group for the supply of a new hot dip galvanizing line (No. 2). The first ready-for-sale coil is scheduled for production in November 2025.
Roughing mill No. 2 in 4 hi-design with attached edgerSMS group to supply new hot dip galvanizing line (No. 2)
Company & Personnel
Control Concepts, Inc. is excited to announce that seasoned employee Tony Busch has been promoted to the position of North American sales manager. Busch has been with the company for 15 years, having most recently served clients as Sales Applications engineer for the past 10 years.
The American branch of SECO/WARWICK has decided to expand its presence on the continent. Mexico is an important market for SECO/WARWICK USA; hence, the decision was made to open a sales and service office in Monterrey as the new SECO/WARWICK, MEXICO division. It will occupy about 2,000 square feet of office space in a high-rise business park, including garage parking and controlled-access reception.
CAN-ENG FURNACES INTERNATIONAL LTD. is pleased to announce that Tim Donofrio, VP of Sales, has reached his 25-year milestone with the company. Tim joined CAN-ENG in 1999 in an outside sales capacity, eventually leading the Company’s Aluminum Products Group, which captured a significant portion of the ICE and Aluminum Structural casting component heat treatment equipment market. With the launch of EVERGREEEN KILN TECHNOLOGIES, LLC in 2024, Tim has the added sales and marketing responsibilities for kilns used in the processing of anode and cathode materials for the emerging BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) market.
SECO/WARWICK has opened a new production hall in India. This is one of the steps in implementing their global expansion strategy, which aims to deliver the highest quality equipment for metal heat treatment to all continents.
SteelheadTechnologies launched “The Hatchery Roadshow” in April 2024, bringing an interactive and immersive demo experience of its digitization job shop solutions to manufacturers across the U.S.
Ipsen bolstered its aftermarket team with the addition of two new Regional Sales engineers. Tyler Freewill support customers in the Midwest, while Charlie Preston will serve the Southeast region. They join a seasoned team, including Steve Mondorf (West), Tom Sutherland (South), and Chad Mehmel (Northeast).
Allied Mineral Products, LLC has purchased Gemcast, Inc. The acquisition will allow them to have a manufacturing presence in Canada and adopt new lines of business through Gemcast’s industry-leading vacuum-formed products, fiber gaskets, and precast shapes.
Tony Busch, North American Sales Manager, Control Concepts, Inc.Tim Donofrio, VP of Sales, CAN-ENG FURNACES INTERNATIONAL LTD.SECO/WARWICK reports that the opening of the hall will significantly increase the group’s efficiency in this region.Ipsen’s two new Regional Sales Engineers: Tyler Free (Midwest) and Charlie Preston (Southeast)
Kudos
Solar Atmospheres’ Greenville, SC, facility announced that it has been awarded Lockheed Martin Space Systems approval. With this approval, now all five of Solar Atmospheres’ facilities can meet Lockheed Martin requirements for thermal processing services.
Solar Atmospheres of Greenville awarded Lockheed Martin Space Systems approval
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Solar Atmospheres, Inc. announced their most recent acquisition, Certified Metal Craft (CMC) located in El Cajon (an East County suburb of San Diego). With nearly 55 years of serving the Southern California region, CMC and the Wiederkehr Family have established themselves as a source for heat treating and brazing services. With the addition of CMC to the Solar Family of Companies, CMC establishes Solar’s 6th nationwide location and bolsters their West Coast presence.
Derek Dennis President Solar Atmospheres California
CMC has extensive capabilities to include vacuum, aluminum, atmospheric, endothermic, salt bath and cryogenic processing and currently employs 25 dedicated employees. Servicing the aerospace, medical, and commercial markets, CMC is Nadcap-accredited and holds a long list of customer and prime approvals. Tim Wiederkehr will immediately assume the role of V.P. of Operations and report to Derek Dennis, president of Solar Atmospheres of California, Inc.
Derek Dennis states “Solar is excited to welcome the dedicated CMC team into the growing nation of Solar companies.” He adds, “Together, we will continue to grow our west coast footprint while solidifying our industry leading approach of being the ‘go-to’ choice for all heat treating & brazing needs with an unwavering commitment to honesty and integrity in all relationships.”
This press release is available in its original form here.
Today’s News from Abroad installment highlights more carbon-cutting trends from the steel industry, ranging from robots in the cast house to recycling best practices.
Heat Treat Today partners with two international publications to deliver the latest news, tech tips, and cutting-edge articles that will serve our audience — manufacturers with in-house heat treat. heat processing, a Vulkan-Verlag GmbHpublication, serves mostly the European and Asian heat treat markets, andFurnaces International, a Quartz Business Media publication, primarily serves the English-speaking globe.
Robots Bring Safety to Casting
Primetals Technologies’ new customized LiquiRob robotics system in operation at Siam Yamato Steel’s Map Ta Phut plant
Source: Primetals Technologies
“Thai steel producer Siam Yamato Steel has implemented a new robot concept from Primetals Technologies, including LiquiRob, at its steelworks in Map Ta Phut . . .. Thanks to the robotics solution, safety and occupational health in the steelworks have significantly improved. Previously, workers who manually operated the shadow tube had to stand directly next to the distributor and the stream of steel flowing out of the ladle. In the case of a so-called ‘frozen pan.’”
CELES EcoTransFlux™ brings green high heating abilities to the induction heating technology.
Source: Furnaces International
“Nippon Steel Stainless Steel Corporation and Sojitz Group met with our induction team at Fives headquarters in Paris for a detailed design review of the transverse flux induction heating system. CELES EcoTransFlux™ is an induction heating technology with very high heating rates at extremely high temperatures, and a compact footprint. It also has a minimal environmental footprint, making it beneficial for steelmakers to improve their carbon, stainless or electrical steel production.”
EAGP members signed an agreement to engage in a standardisation project for beverage cans.
Source: Anrita1705/Pixabay
“Four leading flat-rolled aluminium manufacturers and members of the European Aluminium Packaging Group (EAPG), Constellium, Elval, Novelis and Speira, have signed an agreement to engage in a standardisation project to maximise the recycled content levels of the beverage can and thus substantially lower carbon emissions, focused on increased recyclability of the can end.”
Mini-Mill Investment Transforms Future for Swedish Metal Manufacturer
Fossil-free mini-mill
Source: Furnaces International
“SSAB’s Board of Directors have taken the decision to proceed with the next step in SSABs transition, building a state-of-the-art fossil-free mini-mill in Luleå, Sweden. When completed SSAB will close the current blast furnace-based production system. This will reduce Sweden’s CO2 emissions with 7% in addition to the 3% from the Oxelösund mill conversion.”
“It’s really difficult to speak against ‘quality.’ Who doesn’t want quality?” Read on to discover Doug’s thoughts on this topic.
Heat Treat Todaypublishes eight print magazines a year and included in each is a letter from the publisher, Doug Glenn. This letter first appeared in the March 2024 Aerospace Heat Treatprint edition.
With door plugs flying out of airplanes at scary-high altitudes, it seems an appropriate time to revisit where we are in quality initiatives in the North American heat treat industry from an equally high, 30,000-foot perspective.
It’s really difficult to speak against “quality.” Who doesn’t want quality? Those who even bring it up are bound to be looked at with suspicion. Let the suspicion begin, because I would like to bring it up.
One Standard To Rule Them All
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Since my early days in the heat treat industry (late 1980s), there have been discussions about “quality” standards and certifications. I first remember QS-9000, a standard imposed on automotive industry suppliers by the Big 3: General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. The understanding was if you (a supplier to the Big 3) work and achieve QS-9000, then you won’t need to worry about complying with any other quality certifications, especially from one of the Big 3; it was one standard to rule them all, to borrow language from Lord of the Rings.
Before QS-9000, each of the Big 3 could demand that you comply with their specific quality standards, and each of them could (and would) audit your processes, costing suppliers significant time and money. Saving these costs by complying with JUST ONE standard that would make the Big 3 happy was the driving force behind QS-9000.
But QS-9000 ceased to exist on December 14, 2006, and was replaced by one or two other standards systems (depending on how you look at it). So much for one standard.
During the 1980s and 1990s, the quality industry saw enormous growth. “Quality Assurance” (QA) departments burgeoned, “Quality Managers” became more prevalent, and standards organizations, like SAE and ISO, flourished. Quality had become an industry of its own. In fact, my previous employer, BNP Media, publishes Quality Magazine just to serve the growing quality industry. Quality is now a living, breathing organism that, like all living things, is interested in self-propagation and survival.
“Quality” or Consistency?
One of the first thoughts I remember having about the corporate quality initiative I was involved with was the distinct lack of a definition of what “quality” really meant. For many of the standards, they did not really care what you did (whether or not you did quality work), they just wanted you to prove you had documented your work, that your people knew said documentation existed, and they were following the processes you had described in documentation.
That doesn’t sound so much like true quality so much as it sounds like a consistency check for documentation. Certainly, documenting and complying with documentation is a good thing. To that extent, the quality movement has certainly helped many companies.
“. . . current “quality” standards . . . act [more] as an anchor on a fully throttled ship . . . .”
As the current “quality” movement stands, it seems to be more of a hindrance to quality than a help. Today, most of the current quality standards that exist, as much as they may help in some instances, act as an anchor on a fully throttled ship — slowing progress and innovation.
Regularly, we hear about new technologies that are very innovative. These new technologies, if they could be adopted, would undoubtedly increase true quality and lower costs. They are, however, not being commercialized at a significant rate because suppliers have to conform to quality standards, and it would take heaven and earth to change those standards. In this sense, the quality movement is inhibiting quality instead of supporting it.
Love-Hate Relationship
Even many in the quality industry are aware of this hinderance. Over the past several months, I’ve spoken with quite a few quality people who think their industry is bloated and, in many cases, counterproductive. But it is a huge part of their livelihood. When I ask them if they think the industry would be better off without a quality movement, nearly all of them have a hard time letting go . Most think it would be a bad thing if quality standards and audits went away.
Perhaps in a future column, I can give you one scenario of how we could pivot away from the current “quality” system to a more market-oriented quality system which would do a better job promoting both quality and innovation .
There are four heat treat industry-specific economic indicators gathered by Heat Treat Today each month since June 2023, and this month, we are seeing a marked downturn in expectations across all indicators.
The numbers, compiled in the second week of April, show that responding parties strongly anticipate all four indices — number of inquiry, value of bookings, size of backlogs, and health of manufacturing economy — to grow. However, all projections are significantly down, which would seem to indicate that industry suppliers are approaching April with far more conservative expectations as compared to Q1 2024.
The results from this month’s survey (April) are as follows; numbers above 50 indicate growth, numbers below 50 indicate contraction, and the number 50 indicates no change:
Anticipated change in the Number of Inquiries from March to April: 51.9
Anticipated change in Value of Bookings from March to April: 56.5
Anticipated change in Backlog Size from March to April: 51.9
Anticipated change in the Health of the Manufacturing Economy from March to April: 51.3
Data for April 2024
The four index numbers are reported monthly by Heat Treat Today and made available on the website.
Heat TreatToday'sEconomic Indicatorsmeasure and report on four, heat treat industry indices. Each month, approximately 800 individuals who classify themselves as suppliers to the North American heat treat industry receive the survey. Above are the results. Data started being collected in June 2023. If you would like to participate in the monthly survey, please click here to subscribe.
Find heat treating products and services when you search on HeatTreatBuyersGuide.com
As heat treaters strive for a sustainable future, pressure mounts to make the right choices while running commercially viable operations. This guest column by Michael Mouilleseaux, general manager at Erie Steel, Ltd., explores how and why heat treat operations are now coming under the focus of the U.S. Department of Energy.
This informative piece was first released inHeat Treat Today’s March 2024 Aerospace print edition.
The iron and steel industry contributes approximately 2.1% of energy-related CO2 emissions from primary sectors in the U.S. These statistics may seem insignificant or far removed, but the federal government has now determined that heat treating is a significant contributor and has set in motion critical changes for U.S. heat treaters.
Background
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On December 8, 2021, President Joe Biden issued an executive order that committed the federal government to “lead by example” in U.S. efforts towards carbon-free and net zero emissions solutions. Since then, the executive has delegated the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to spearhead these initiatives aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) and promoting energy efficiency across various sectors of the U.S. economy. To support these efforts, $10,000,000,000 in incentives are being allocated for the DOE and EPA to investigate and promulgate regulations.
Specifically, the government sees the “industrial sector” as responsible for close to a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE); the five industries named within this sector are chemical processing, petroleum processing, iron & steel production, cement production, and food & beverage manufacturing. The DOE is leading the efforts of “supercharging industrial decarbonization innovation” and leveraging the potential of “clean hydrogen.”
Following these directives, the DOE unveiled the “Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap” in September 2022. This strategic plan will guide decarbonization efforts of the five key industrial sectors to mitigate GHGE. The four pillars are:
Energy efficiency
Industrial electrification (using green electricity)
Adoption of low-carbon fuels, feedstocks, and energy sources (LCFFES)
Carbon capture, utilization, and storage at the generated source (CCUS)
The DOE determined that process heating — accounting for 63% of energy usage within the iron and steel industry — would be the best opportunity to apply these four pillars. However, until May 2023, heat treating had not been explicitly mentioned as a target for decarbonization efforts.
Why Should Heat Treaters Care?
In May 2023, the Industrial Efficiency & Decarbonization Office — an office within the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy — held a symposium to refine its commitment to the decarbonization of the industrial sector. It was then that heat treating was specifically defined as a process targeted for the reduction of GHGE in the steel, aluminum, and glass manufacturing industries.
The DOE’s refined commitment focuses on two things: reduce GHGE attributable to “process heating” by 85% by 2035 and achieve net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050. To reach these ambitious goals, the DOE emphasized the importance of adopting LCFFES, green electrification, and implementing strategies that promote industrial flexibility, advanced heat management, smart manufacturing, and alternative technologies.
The potential ramifications of the DOE’s efforts on the heat treating industry are momentous. With the development of regulations to support these efforts, businesses within this sector must prepare for significant changes. The focus on green hydrogen, biofuels, and electrification, coupled with advanced technological solutions like ultra-efficient heat exchangers, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and alternative no-heat technologies, are strategies being considered for potential regulation.
Conclusion
The heat treating industry stands at a crossroads, with the DOE’s decarbonization initiatives signaling a shift to adopt cleaner energy practices. As these regulations take shape, businesses will need to adapt, investing in new technologies and processes that align with the nation’s clean energy goals. In the next column, we’ll address potential ramifications of the DOE effort for industrial decarbonization in the heat treating industry to help you be better informed and prepared.
About the Author:
Michael Mouilleseaux General Manager at Erie Steel, Ltd.
Michael Mouilleseaux is general manager at Erie Steel, Ltd. He has been at Erie Steel in Toledo, OH since 2006 with previous metallurgical experience at New Process Gear in Syracuse, NY, and as the director of Technology in Marketing at FPM Heat Treating LLC in Elk Grove, IL. Michael attended the stakeholder meetings at the May 2023 symposium hosted by the U.S. DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. He will be speaking on the MTI podcast about this subject on March 5, 2024, 2:30 EST, and will present on this topic at the April 3, 2024, MTI Mid-West chapter meeting.
For more information: Contact Michael at mmouilleseaux@erie.com.
Attend the SUMMIT to find out more about the DOE’s actions for the heat treat industry.
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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 the January/February 2024 Air & Atmosphere Heat Treatprint edition.
On the evening of October 11, 2023, at the El Conquistador Resort in Tucson, Arizona, a crowd of roughly 300 individuals associated with the Metal Treating Institute experienced something I’m quite sure NO ONE in the room had ever experienced before. Following that evening’s gala dinner event, Mr. Wally Bamford (more about Wally below) addressed the crowd with a few remembrances and thoughts on the over 50 years he has spent in the North American heat treating industry and then announced to the crowd that he and his wife Betty were establishing a $1,000,000.00 scholarship fund to be administered by the Metal Treating Institute’s Educational Foundation.
In typical Wally Bamford style, Wally tacked on the word “Canadian” (as if to minimize the amount!) after wowing the crowd with “one million.” This resulted in both a roaring round of applause mixed with sprinkles of laughter for Wally’s characteristic humility and humor. The smile on Wally’s face was so genuinely happy.
Wally Bamford donating $1,000,000.00 CN at the 2023 MTI Fall Meeting (Source: MTI)
What a great guy! Even before this exceptionally generous donation, Wally was known to be one of the most kind, gracious, and generous individuals in the industry. He and Betty were one of the first people my wife Mary and I met when we first entered the industry back in 1994. The four of us, along with two other couples, went hiking in the mountains near Whistler, British Columbia, on one of the free afternoons of an industry annual meeting. It was a memorable time not only for the beauty of the scenery but also for the kindness and impressive physical fitness of both Wally and Betty. Consistently, from hat day forward, Wally and Betty have been stalwarts in the industry — always kind, always interested in other people.
For those who don’t know Wally, he is now in his late 80s or early 90s and was the founder of Can-Eng Furnaces International Ltd. He’s been involved with a variety of commercial heat treating ventures as well as high-temperature furnace manufacturer, Harper International. His list of accomplishments is too long to list here but suffice it to say that Wally is a true heat treat legend and a genuinely nice person.
Buster Crossley, of Texas Heat Treating in Austin, Texas, is the current president of the MTI Educational Foundation. Along with Tom Morrison (CEO of MTI) and me (the current treasurer of the Foundation), he gratefully and humbly received Wally’s very generous donation. According to Mr. Crossley, the donation and earnings from the donation will be used over the next 10 years to establish a strong and lasting scholarship program to be administered by the Foundation.
The North American heat treating industry is a better place with Wally and Betty Bamford. Everyone affected would like to say a HUGE thank you to both of them for their exceptionally generous donation.
No matter where you sit on the advanced manufacturing supply chain, discover game-changing solutions at Ceramics Expo
Ceramics Expo is North America’s leading technical ceramics exhibition and conference that provides the opportunity to discover how the unique properties of advanced ceramics materials enhance high-tech manufacturing industries.
No other event offers the opportunity for professionals working across sectors such as Automotive, Aerospace & Defense, Electronics, Energy, Telecoms/5G, and Medical to delve into cutting-edge use cases for ceramics materials and components, helping to solve manufacturing and engineering challenges. Attendees can tap into the advantages of cross-sector networking and in-person engagements with the latest material engineering solutions and concepts.
Co-located with Thermal Management Expo, this event is scheduled for April 29 – May 1, 2024, at Suburban Collection Showplace, Novi, Michigan, USA. Global market-leading suppliers and manufacturers including 3M, Almatis, ERG Aerospace, Exentis Group, Fiven, GeoCorp, IPS Ceramics, McDanel, and Saint-Gobain will be showcasing the materials and manufacturing process innovations that are driving innovation across high-tech applications,
In addition to the exhibition, the free-to-attend conference will feature sessions led by technical experts from industry heavyweights such as Lockheed Martin, McDanel, The American Ceramics Society, Himed, Intel, Henkel, and more. These sessions will provide insights into innovation in ceramic materials, supply chain sustainability, piezoelectric ceramics, workforce and talent development, 3D printing, advanced ceramic innovations in aerospace and electronics, and next-generation solid-state batteries.
Ipek Saltik, Exhibition Director, emphasizes, “The pivotal role of advanced ceramics in fueling innovation across critical sectors cannot be overstated. This yearly gathering serves as a catalyst for innovation, fostering crucial exchanges of knowledge, progress, and optimal strategies, thereby propelling the future of advanced ceramics.”
Registration is now open, and Ceramics Expo encourages interested visitors to pre-register for free via the website at https://www.ceramicsexpousa.com/
May you have a blessed Easter weekend! Heat Treat Today offices are closed today (Friday, March 29), but will be back open Monday morning.
As we’ve come to Good Friday, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on the gift of the resurrection of the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. Through his death and resurrection, we can have eternal life! At Heat Treat Today, our prayer is that as we are helpful to you, you would also see the light of Christ shine through us. See you Monday!
