MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS

Allied Mineral Products Jobs

Refractory Manufacturer’s $23.5M Expansion To Create Jobs in Alabama

/ FEATURED NEWS, HEAT TREAT NEWS, HEAT TREAT NEWS INDUSTRIES, HEAT TREATING ACCESSORIES, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS

Thirteen new manufacturing jobs will open up with the $23.5 million expansion of an Alabama heat containment refractory production facility. The Ohio-based company supplies products used in a variety of industrial applications, including heat treating operations.

headshot Paul Jamieson
Paul Jamieson
President & CEO
Allied Mineral Products

Allied Mineral Products, an Ohio-based producer of monolithic refractory ceramics, recently broke ground on the major expansion at its Pell City, Alabama, location.  The growth project will add a 200,000-square-foot production facility on the company’s current site and expand the workforce with thirteen new manufacturing jobs added to the company’s current workforce of 81 full-time employees. The project is expected to be completed in late 2025, increasing the facility’s production capacity and improve efficiency. State and local officials joined executives and employees of Allied Mineral Products, LLC (Allied) at the groundbreaking ceremonies marking the investment.

“Our partnership with Alabama is strengthened yet again with the expansion of this plant which we originally built in 2019,” said Paul Jamieson, president and CEO of Allied Mineral Products. “Locating our facility in Alabama was part of a long-term strategy to expand our manufacturing presence in the south to be closer to our customers. Because of the quality of this workforce and the local support here, our growth in Alabama has been faster than we planned. We are excited to be expanding our facility so soon and are confident this will help us to continue that growth.”  

 

The press release is available in its original form here.

Find Heat Treating Products And Services When You Search On Heat Treat Buyers Guide.Com

 

Refractory Manufacturer’s $23.5M Expansion To Create Jobs in Alabama Read More »

Heat Treater Overhauls Aging System To Upgrade Carburizing Processes

/ CARBURIZING NEWS, CONTROLS NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS

An Italian heat treater enhanced its operations with the installation of control cabinets, allowing for real-time data analysis and more efficient management of its carburizing processes. The improvement helped minimize downtime and optimize furnace performance.

Daniel Panny
Product Manager and Head 
UPC-Marathon Europe

Despite the robustness of their three batch IQ furnaces, T.T.M. Trattamenti Termici dei Metalli Srl identified an opportunity to redefine their approach to furnace controls and automation and partnered with UPC-Marathon, a Nitrex company, to breathe new life into their aging systems. The project entailed the installation of control cabinets equipped with advanced process controllers, the integration of the controllers into a SCADA system for advanced monitoring and control capabilities. To complement T.T.M.’s technological upgrades, UPC-Marathon also installed a new gas cabinet.

“This strategic investment in modernizing the furnace controls with UPC-Marathon proved not only highly effective in resolving immediate challenges with aging controls but also more cost-effective than replacing the three furnaces,” said Daniel Panny, product manager and head of UPC-Marathon Europe.

The press release is available in its original form here.

Find heat treating products and services when you search on Heat Treat Buyers Guide.Com

Heat Treater Overhauls Aging System To Upgrade Carburizing Processes Read More »

Heat Treat Operations Modernize with 9 Hardening Furnaces

/ HARDENING NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS, TEMPERING NEWS, VACUUM FURNACES NEWS

Nine heat treat furnaces are set to modernize the operations of a manufacturer’s heat treat facilities. This move is intended to create cleaner, safer, more cost-effective operations while also allowing for finer process control and a reduced carbon footprint.

The nine furnaces are being fabricated by SECO/VACUUM, a division of SECO/WARWICK Group: three Vector® vacuum furnaces and six tempering furnaces with supporting auxiliary systems. This returning heat treat client currently operates twelve SECO/VACUUM furnaces at their various locations throughout North America. They will incorporate the new furnaces as a continuation of their strategic planning to modernize all facilities from atmospheric heat treatment to vacuum processes.

Piotr Zawistowski
Managing Director
SECO/VACUUM TECHNOLOGIES, USA
Source: SECO/WARWICK

Each of the nine units are front-loading, horizontally configured furnaces with a 36″ x 36″ x 48″ working volume and a 3300 lb. capacity. The Vector® is a single-chamber gas quenching vacuum furnace using high pressure quench (2 to 25 bar) which can be applied to a variety of heat treating processes and applications. These particular Vectors will be used primarily for hardening. Tempering is a process primarily used to increase the toughness of hardened ferrous-alloy parts. The tempering process is typically applied after a hardening process.

Heat treating operations will have to shut down entirely during the modernization changeover. To minimize disruption, SECO/VACUUM will also serve as the general contractor, overseeing the installation of the new furnaces, auxiliary systems, wiring, piping, and ventilation needed prior to commissioning and operator training.

“It is a testament to our commitment to our partner’s success that they not only continue to return for more furnaces, but that they place their trust us in to manage the entire project in order to get them back to serving their customers,” said Piotr Zawistowski, managing director at SECO/VACUUM.

The press release is available in its original form here.

Find heat treating products and services when you search on Heat Treat Buyers Guide.Com

Heat Treat Operations Modernize with 9 Hardening Furnaces Read More »

Heat Treater To Receive 2 Furnaces

/ CARBURIZING NEWS, HARDENING NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS, VACUUM FURNACES NEWS

François Studer SA, a Swiss commercial heat treater with 45 years of experience, will advance their hardening capabilities with the order of two furnaces: a vacuum furnace with 15 bar abs high-pressure gas hardening and a furnace for tempering with vacuum purging.

The new solutions from SECO/WARWICK will help increase processing capacity while maintaining the processed element’s high precision and quality. This is important to the heat treater, a hardening plant that processes two truckloads of charges every day.

“We are constantly developing,” commented Francois Studer, CEO of Francois Studer S.A. “We needed to add the capacity to utilize vacuum carburizing, pre-nitriding for carburizing technology and low-pressure carbonitriding, and the new Vector fits these needs perfectly. The retort furnace, on the other hand, significantly increases the hardening plant’s processing capacity in terms of time-consuming tempering and nitriding processes using ZeroFlow technology.”

The vacuum furnace on order by the hardening plant enables efficient processes to be carried out at a vacuum level in both medium and high ranges. The round heating chamber allows for oversized loads. Combined with dedicated LPC, HPGQ technology and a high vacuum system, the furnace will meet the heat treater’s requirements for hardening and carburizing a wide range of various parts.

Maciej Korecki
Vice President of Business of the Vacuum Furnace Segment
SECO/WARWICK

The partial pressure system used helps to prevent evaporation and sublimation of alloying elements from the load surface during the vacuum heat treatment or vacuum brazing process. Partial pressure control is important when processing many materials to prevent the heating chamber evaporation and contamination. Isothermal quenching provides control of the cooling process by automatically managing the load temperature and the gas blower motor control using a frequency converter. The carburizing and low pressure carbonitriding (LPCN) options, which the furnace for François Studer SA is equipped with, enables precision processing to increase the steel surface hardness during the entire thermal process.

“The Vector furnace will streamline and increase the hardening process capacity and improve process efficiency. The advantage of this product is a large working space which can be adjusted to an oversized load, using the round heating chamber’s advantages. This is the so-called golden mean for many commercial heat treaters, also because it can be equipped with numerous additional options. With limited production areas, multifunctional, failure-free furnaces are worth their weight in gold for commercial heat treatment,” added Maciej Korecki, VP of the Vacuum Furnaces Team at SECO/WARWICK.

The second furnace on order is a horizontal retort furnace for gas nitriding using ZeroFlow technology and for high tempering with vacuum purging.

The press release is available in its original form here.

Find heat treating products and services when you search on Heat Treat Buyers Guide.Com

Heat Treater To Receive 2 Furnaces Read More »

In-House Heat Treat Innovates To Improve Aluminum Extrusion

/ ATMOSPHERE AIR FURNACES NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS, NITRIDING NEWS, NITROCARBURIZING NEWS
Nitrex batch-type nitriding/nitrocarburizing furnace
Source: Nitrex

Beymetal Alüminyum, a manufacturer in the aluminum extrusion industry and based in Türkiye, is overcoming limitations with an outdated gas nitriding furnace with the installation of a batch-type nitriding/nitrocarburizing furnace.

This Nitrex furnace installation will increase their in-house nitriding capabilities. With a much larger furnace size and advanced technological capabilities, the company has pushed the boundaries in die performance to meet increasing production demand.

Marcin Stokłosa
Technical Sales Manager
NITREX Poland
Source: LinkedIn.com

The NX-1015 furnace model, with a 2,000 kg (4,400 lb.) capacity, is equipped with Nitreg® controlled nitriding and Nitreg®-C controlled nitrocarburizing, tailored for treating extrusion dies for aluminum profiles used in architectural applications. These technologies ensure precise control over uniform case depths and nitride/nitrocarburizing layer formation. This enhances the mechanical properties of the extrusion dies, resulting in a long service life and increased output per die, lowering the overall tooling costs for Beymetal. Additionally, the new installation contributes to more efficient use of production media and reduces electricity consumption.

For Marcin Stoklosa, manager of Technical Sales for the EMEA region at Nitrex, commented, “The need for extrusion companies to enhance tooling performance while prioritizing sustainability represents the future of the aluminum industry. Beymetal’s adoption of Nitrex nitriding and nitrocarburizing technologies serves as an example of this necessity. This transition harmonizes production with global sustainability initiatives for a more environmentally friendly future.”

The original press release can be accessed here.

Find heat treating products and services when you search on Heat Treat Buyers Guide.Com

In-House Heat Treat Innovates To Improve Aluminum Extrusion Read More »

2 Al Billet Homogenizers & 2 Coolers Headed Coast to Coast

/ ANNEALING NEWS, COOLING SYSTEMS NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS

Two aluminum homogenizers and two coolers are set to enhance U.S. operations for an aluminum manufacturer with locations across America. One of each unit will be sent to locations on opposite sides of the U.S.

The supplier of these systems is SECO/WARWICK USA. Homogenizers are a type of annealing furnace used in the aluminum industry to prepare log billets for extrusion. They heat the aluminum alloy logs to near-melting temperatures, then allow them to cool slowly, leaving a uniform molecular structure free of stresses or irregularities that compromise extrusion quality.

While proper homogenization requires a slow cool-down period, the large loads at this manufacturer’s location in the western side of the U.S. would take far longer than necessary to cool passively. So, after homogenizing, the load is removed from the homogenizer and placed into a cooler unit. The cooling is accomplished using a bank of high-power fans to keep fresh air passing over the hot ingots but cooling aluminum alloy to room temperature from close to 1000°F is not as simple as just placing the load in front of the fans. Instead, the cooler has walls that contain the heated air so it can be safely ducted to the exterior.

Marcus Lord
Managing Director at SECO/WARWICK Corporation
Source: SECO/WARWICK

Headed to the eastern side of the U.S., the furnace and cooler are of a different style and customized to fit within the tighter footprint available in the facility. It is configured as a two-position traveling furnace with car-bottom loading, which means the furnace is mounted to roll on rails, with a door at both ends, so the load can be staged in open floor space, then the furnace rolls over the top of it. The cooler system is mounted on parallel rails, with an extendable roof and end walls, such that it can enclose the load, still stacked on the same furnace car-bottom. The furnace will replace the first traveling furnace that SECO/WARWICK ever fabricated, installed back in 1975, when the plant was under different ownership.

“We have provided this industry partner with equipment and support for decades and we share their commitment to a cleaner, greener future. These homogenizers and coolers will help them meet that commitment by increasing the energy efficiency of their aluminum production process,” commented Marcus Lord, the managing director at SECO/WARWICK USA.

The original press release can be accessed here.

Find heat treating products and services when you search on Heat Treat Buyers Guide.Com

2 Al Billet Homogenizers & 2 Coolers Headed Coast to Coast Read More »

News from Abroad: Casting Metal and Forging a Venture

/ FOUNDRY CASTING NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS

Today’s News from Abroad installment brings us news of casting equipment supplied in China, heat treat supplier joint venture forged in Austria, and big standardization plans in Germany — where doing LESS is more.

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 GmbH publication, serves mostly the European and Asian heat treat markets, and Furnaces International, a Quartz Business Media publication, primarily serves the English-speaking globe. 

High-Performance Continuous Caster on Order 

Representatives from Primetals Technologies and Wuyang Iron and Steel at the signing ceremony
Source: Primetals Technologies

“Wuyang Iron and Steel has awarded Primetals Technologies an order for a 1-strand continuous caster with several record-breaking features. The continuous casting plant will be put into operation at the Wuyang plant in Wugang, Henan Province, and is expected to be the most powerful of its kind in the world. It will also produce the thickest slabs in the world, up to 460 millimeters thick. Thanks to the new facilities, Wuyang will be able to produce sheet metal for heavy-duty applications such as shipbuilding and the wind power sector. The annual capacity will be one million tonnes of high-quality slabs.”

READ MORE: “Primetals Technologies: Chinese steel producer orders high-performance continuous caster” at heat-processing.com

Aichelin in Austria

Left to right, 1. row: Christian Grosspointner, CEO Aichelin Group; Mehmet Özdeşlik, CEO Sistem Teknik; 2. row: Wolfgang Brosche, Erwin Strauszberger, Beril Özdeşlik, Beste Özdeşlik, Gökhan Lale, Levent Sindel.
Source: Aichelin

“The Aichelin Group and Sistem Teknik have signed an agreement to establish a joint venture in Austria. This joint venture will produce and distribute industrial vacuum heat treatment technologies and services in Europe. The Aichelin Group is thus adding a promising segment to its existing product portfolio.”

READ MORE: “Aichelin expands portfolio” at heat-processing.com

Germany Decides To Do LESS

Two steelmaker groups, GMH (Georgsmarienhütte) Gruppe and Swiss Steel, have issued notes of approval for the proposal from German steel federation for a standard for low-emission steel (LESS).
Source: worldsteel

Dec“Two steelmaker groups, GMH (Georgsmarienhütte) Gruppe and Swiss Steel, have issued notes of approval for the proposal from German steel federation for a standard for low-emission steel (LESS). Both mills happen to be makers of special bar qualities, and the word of Swiss Steel may have some international weight, given it has melt shops in Germany, Switzerland and France. WV Stahl announced on Monday that it has set a cornerstone for prime markets for climate-friendly streel with a standard its members developed together with the German economy and climate protection ministry. The Low Emission Steel Standard (LESS), as it is called, is the first standard that makes the main customary production routes, blast furnace and EAF, comparable in terms of their efforts to decarbonise. Its centrepiece is a labelling system for the classification of low-CO2 steels.”

READ MORE: “Mills Welcome German Federation’s Low-Emission Standard LESS” at heat-processing.com

Find Heat Treating Products And Services When You Search On Heat Treat Buyers Guide.Com

News from Abroad: Casting Metal and Forging a Venture Read More »

Fringe Friday: Additive Manufacturing Brings Metal Processing to New Heights

/ FEATURED NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS

We’re celebrating getting to the “fringe” of the weekend with a Heat Treat Fringe Friday a press release detailing how additive manufacturing continues to move into the metals manufacturing industry.

While not exactly heat treat, “Fringe Friday” deals with interesting developments in one of our key markets: aerospace, automotive, medical, energy, or general manufacturing.

Desktop Metal, a global company at the forefront of additive manufacturing 2.0 technologies for mass production, announced that it has installed four Figur G15 Pro systems featuring digital sheet forming (DSF) technology to three manufacturers, including Evology Manufacturing in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

With 30+ years as a contract manufacturer, Evology has a full suite of both traditional and additive technologies to service companies in a wide range of industries, including aerospace, defense, automotive, agricultural, marine, mining, medical, electronics, and consumer goods. Evology serves companies ranging from small startups to Fortune 50 companies with prototyping and low-volume production, typically under 10,000 pieces.

Evology is now offering digital sheet form parts off its Figur G15 for cold rolled steel up to 2 mm thick and 6061 aluminum up to 3.175 mm thick, with more materials in development.

“We are delighted to offer our customers this cutting-edge rapid sheet metal forming technology from Desktop Metal,” said Sean Momsen, VP of Business Development and Marketing at Evology. “In addition to our ability to fabricate sheet metal parts rapidly, we also have a full suite of traditional finishing equipment to deliver finished final products to customers.”

Justin Nardone, CEO of Figur, a Desktop Metal brand, said, “We are encouraged by the continued demand we see for our rapid sheet metal forming technology, which truly saves manufacturers time and money when it comes to sheet metal production. The G15 eliminates a lot of the work required when forming metal, such as the design and manufacturing of tools and dies. Our system produces designs quickly, accurately, and repeatedly, so manufacturers are able to focus on the craftsmanship of design while getting their products to market faster and more efficiently.”

Introduced in 2022, the Figur G15 is the first commercial platform of its kind to shape sheet metal on demand directly from a digital file. A software-driven proprietary tooling system on an XY gantry forms the sheet with up to 2,000 lbs of force in a highly engineered and proprietary build zone.

With a maximum sheet size of 1,600 x 1,200 mm (63.0 x 47.2 in), the Figur G15 delivers parts with a draw depth up to 400 mm (16 in) in Z without custom forming tools, molds, dies, or presses. The G15 supports forming a range of metals and sheet thicknesses – including steel up to 2.0 mm and aluminum up to 2.5 mm – and delivers a high quality surface finish

Pro configurations of the Figur G15 include an automatic tool changer and measurement, through tool part lubrication, and automated work holding capabilities.

This press release is available in its original form here.

Find heat treating products and services when you search on Heat Treat Buyers Guide.Com

Fringe Friday: Additive Manufacturing Brings Metal Processing to New Heights Read More »

All 11 News Chatter To Keep You Current

/ HEAT TREAT NEWS, HEAT TREAT NEWS INDUSTRIES, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS

Heat Treat Today offers News Chatter, a feature highlighting representative moves, transactions, and kudos from around the industry. Enjoy these 11 news items.

Company

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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 edger
SMS group to supply new hot dip galvanizing line (No. 2)

Company & Personnel 

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Steelhead Technologies 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.
  6. Ipsen bolstered its aftermarket team with the addition of two new Regional Sales engineers. Tyler Free will 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).
  7. 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 

  1. 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

Find Heat Treating Products And Services When You Search On Heat Treat Buyers Guide.Com

All 11 News Chatter To Keep You Current Read More »

IperionX and Vegas Fastener To Co-Produce Titanium Fasteners for US Army

/ AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT, AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT NEWS, ENERGY HEAT TREAT, ENERGY HEAT TREAT NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS, SINTERING POWDER METAL, SINTERING POWDER METAL NEWS, TITANIUM PROCESSING, TITANIUM PROCESSING NEWS

IperionX Limited and Vegas Fastener Manufacturing, LLC (Vegas Fastener) have agreed to partner to develop and manufacture titanium alloy fasteners and precision components with IperionX’s advanced titanium products.

The commercial focus of this partnership is on developing and manufacturing titanium alloy fasteners and precision components for the U.S. Army Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC), which is the United States Armed Forces’ research and development facility for advanced technology in ground systems. GSVC’s research and development includes robotics, autonomy, survivability, power, mobility, intelligent systems, maneuver support and sustainment.

Additionally, the partners will design, engineer and produce titanium fasteners for critical sectors such as the aerospace, naval, oil & gas, power generation, pulp & paper and chemical sectors. These sectors demand fasteners that provide not only high strength-to-weight ratios but also exceptional corrosion resistance for high-performance applications.

Vegas Fastener, headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, is a global leader in the development and manufacturing of high-performance fasteners and custom machined components. Together with its allied company, PowerGen Components, Vegas Fastener serves a diverse array of customers in the defense, marine, power generation, oil & gas, nuclear, chemical, and water infrastructure sectors. Vegas Fastener develops and manufactures precision high-performance fasteners using specialized alloys to meet demanding quality specifications.

IperionX’s leading titanium technology portfolio includes high-performance near-net shape titanium products, semi-finished titanium products, spherical titanium powder for additive manufacturing and metal injection molding, and angular titanium powder for a wide range of advanced manufacturing applications. These innovative patented technologies allow for sustainability and process energy efficiencies over the traditional Kroll titanium production process.

Image above: High-performance fasteners manufactured by Vegas Fastener

This press release is available in its original form here.

Find Heat Treating Products And Services When You Search On Heat Treat Buyers Guide.Com

IperionX and Vegas Fastener To Co-Produce Titanium Fasteners for US Army Read More »