The brain drain is real. As new professionals enter the industry, Heat Treat Today is helping to ensure that young and old inquiring minds can connect with and grow from the experiences of high-value industry experts. Get to know the second Heat Treat Today Consultant: Thomas Wingens.
International Industry Consultancy
I am Thomas Wingens, masters in material science, MBA. During my over 35 years in the heat treat industry, I have worked with Bodycote, Ipsen, SECO/ WARWICK, Tenova, and IHI-Group in executive positions. Since 2011, I have been president of WIIC - Wingens LLC International Industry Consultancy in Pittsburgh, PA.
Thomas Wingens began his career in heat treat in 1987 as a metallurgist, heat treater, and consultant. Today, Thomas is an executive manager, experienced metallurgist, and hands-on heat treater with a knack for improving sales, solving technical problems, giving furnace advice, doing his due diligence, and advising executives. If it weren’t for NDAs, Thomas would love to share stories about the many exciting projects he has been fortunate enough to work on, but Thomas is able to share about his experience in developing novel processes for clients in the semiconductor, battery, rare earth magnet, and rocket industries. At Wingens LLC International Industry Consultancy, Thomas’ strengths are on full display. Thomas describes himself as a “hands-on” heat treater, as he consults 100% of the time on heat treating, leveraging his background as a metallurgist. His key assets strengths are his deep thermal processing knowledge and his perfect furnace selection abilities.
Powder metallurgy and thermal processing of specialty materials are areas of expertise for Thomas. These specialty materials include: titanium, tantalum, niobium, neodymium, and rare earth elements. Along with these specialty materials, Thomas has an extensive knowledge of brazing, metal cleaning, hydriding/dehydriding, tool and die heat treatment, high speed heat treating, brazing heat exchangers, and debinding/sintering, as well as sputter targets and reduction and diffusion processes. Thomas has served the medical and aerospace industries, working with medical components and heat treatment of landing gears. Thomas agrees with Elon Musk’s opinion on what comes next: “making stuff ” is the future. In the U.S., 50 years of off- shoring industrial manufacturing is finally coming to an end, and America is reindustrializing. Mines are reopening, raw material processing is becoming a trend, however, a large portion of intellectual property and practical skillsets have been lost. State of the art, environmentally friendly, safe, and automated equipment is needed to meet today’s technical and economical standards.
Thomas was also one of two keynote speakers at Heat Treat Today's Heat Treat Boot Camp. Thomas’ lectures centered on the processes and materials of the North American heat treat industry; he shared some of his vast knowledge of heat treating for attendees, speaking on common processes, various alloys used in heat treating, and exciting new developments in the future of heat treating.
See www.wingens.com for further info or visit Thomas’ consultants page at HeatTreatToday.com.
