Welcome to another episode of Heat Treat Radio, a periodic podcast where Heat Treat Radio host, Doug Glenn, discusses cutting-edge topics with industry-leading personalities. Below, you can either listen to the podcast by clicking on the audio play button, or you can read an edited version of the transcript. To see a complete list of other Heat Treat Radio episodes, click here.
Audio: Jim Oakes on Good Reasons to Attend Heat Treat 2019
In this conversation, Heat Treat Radio host, Doug Glenn, publisher of Heat Treat Today, conducted with Jim Oakes of Super Systems, Inc. about the upcoming Heat Treat Show. Jim is the current president of ASM International’s Heat Treating Society, and he explains in this episode some compelling reasons why manufacturers with in-house heat treating departments should attend Heat Treat 2019. Hear more about what excites Jim about the Heat Treating Society (the skilled and dedicated membership), the specifics of the Heat Treat Show (Detroit, Michigan, from October 15-17, 2019; click here for more), what’s new at the show (technologies, colocation with Motion Power & Technology Expo, expanded educational and networking opportunities), the thrill of being in the heart of the automotive industry for this event, and an upcoming 2020 event announced by ASM for all materials professionals.
Click the play button below to listen.
Transcript: Jim Oakes on Good Reasons to Attend Heat Treat 2019
The following transcript has been edited for your reading enjoyment.
Doug Glenn (DG): We’re talking today with Jim Oakes from Super Systems Incorporated. We’re going to be talking about the Heat Treat Show. Let’s learn a little bit about Jim Oakes. You’re the VP of business development at Super Systems. Tell us briefly about Super Systems, your position there, and then also your role with the ASM Heat Treating Society.
Jim Oakes (JO): At Super Systems, we’re an equipment supplier for the thermal processing industry. We provide sensors to monitor atmosphere, controls, data acquisition, flow meters, and really just a bag of equipment that is used in the thermal processing and heat treating industry. We’ve been doing that for a number of years. My role at Super Systems is to be involved in all areas of the business, whether it’s on the sales and marketing side, helping drive good ideas that the industry comes up with and to our product development in our engineering group, and of course everyone here wears a hat of customer service. I’d like to think that I get into all areas of the business at SSI.
My role at the Heat Treating Society is current president. I’m on my last lap there. I started the role as the Heat Treating Society president in 2017 and I will end that term this fall, and Eric Hutton, who is a vice president at Bodycotes in the AD&E group, will be taking over as president for the two-year term following me. It’s been a great experience working with industry leaders as it relates to heat treating.
DG: Is there one thing that might excite you about the Heat Treat Society in general?
JO: It really comes down to the membership. The Heat Treating Society has a great number of volunteers that do a lot of the heavy lifting, providing the technical content that the industry needs today, whether it’s educating the existing heat treaters that are out there or even looking at emerging technologies. We have some of the greatest minds if you look at the board and committees that do all the work. I love working with people who are passionate about something that they do and passionate about the industry that we work in.
DG: Let’s talk about the Heat Treat Show. Can you give us the basics, the fundamentals, on it? Where will it be? When is it? How do we find out more info?
JO: Heat Treat 2019 is going to be in Detroit, Michigan, on October 15th to the 17th. There are lots of great things planned for it. You can go to the ASM International website which is www.asminternational.org and look at the events. There you will see Heat Treat 2019, and it will drive you to all of the details to look at the technical programming, the events, the schedule, the times, and everything like that.
DG: How about this year’s event? Is there anything new or interesting that our listeners would want to know about?
JO: The organizing committee has looked at the technologies that are important to heat treaters. They’ve done a very good job of looking at the content that is going to be presented at the conference. If you look at the Expo itself, we co-locate with what used to be referred to as Gear Expo, which is AGMA. It’s great because it has a great draw for attendance, and there is definitely an overlap when you look at gear manufacturing and heat treating. That creates a tremendous amount of activity on both the technical content side as well as the Expo.
Looking at some of the things at the event, we’ll have a solution center presentation, there is an ASM materials camp, there is a student program, there are lots of networking opportunities with welcome receptions, with education exchanges and even a networking event that will happen on Wednesday evening following the Expo. So there are lots of great things that are going to be happening creating opportunities for networking and learning as well.
DG: Being in the heart of automotive manufacturing certainly can’t hurt.
JO: Yes, we’ve had great success in Detroit because there is a tremendous amount of thermal processing and manufacturing in that area. When you look at the amount of people that you get in attendance, it really is a great spot.
DG: You mentioned the Gear Expo which was the old name for the show put on by the American Gear Manufacturer’s Association, but they’ve changed the name this year. It is now called Motion and Power Technology Expo (MPTE), so again, that is going to be co-located with the Heat Treat Show. As you said, there is a lot of good overlap there. The one I’m interested in, though, and it’s not this year, but it’s one that ASM has announced. I thought maybe you could give us just a sneak preview of it, if you know much about it, because I don’t know that it is specifically a heat treat event, but the abbreviation is IMAT. Do you know much about that, and can you tell us a little bit?
JO: IMAT is something that came out of the work of the committees at ASM as well as the other affiliate members. We have the Heat Treating Society, which is one of six affiliates that ASM manages, including Thermal Spray Society, International Metallographic Society, Electronic Device Failure Analysis Society, Shape Memory & Superelastic Technologies, and Failure Analysis Society. These are all materials professionals. We all have similar needs when it comes to content, direction, and planning, and we all take advantage of the great resources at ASM. Out of that came this idea of doing an annual event. Because we have these other smaller topical events, why not all of us get together and do some co-programming that allows us to focus on some of the other needs that you might see out there from a metallurgical standpoint or material science standpoint, and make this an annual event that’s going to provide technical content that overlaps in those areas and in others, and creates this opportunity for us to work together? It’s shaping up to be a fantastic event which will be in 2020, and the first one will be in Cleveland, Ohio, in the backyard of ASM International, also known as “near the dome.”
DG: If I remember correctly, that takes place in September?
JO: Yes, September 14th – 17th in Cleveland. And the acronym IMAT stands for International Materials Applications & Technologies.
DG: Back to the Heat Treat Show this year in Detroit, October 15th -17th, most of these heat treat events don’t get off the ground unless they’re well supported. Do you want to mention some of the key supporters this year for the Heat Treat Show?
JO: Absolutely. There are three title sponsors that are industry leaders. They are Boeing, General Motors, and Timken. Then there are corporate sponsors which are GeoCorp, Houghton International, Inc., the Inductotherm Group, and Surface Combustion, Inc. We appreciate the sponsors because it makes for a successful event.
DG: Very good.
So that’s the Heat Treat Show coming up here in a couple months in Detroit, October 15 – 17, at COBO at downtown Detroit. Plan on coming. Bring your entire crew, all your heat treat department if you can. Make sure you look up Jim Oakes over in the SSI booth. Also, if you have a chance, also stop by the Heat Treat Today booth. I look forward to seeing you there.
At the Heat Treat Show, Super Systems booth number is 1407. And Heat Treat Today’s booth number is 2123. I hope you’ll be there.
Again, to find out more about the ASM Heat Treat Show, Google ASM Heat Treat Show 2019 and click on the most appropriate link. It’s pretty easy to find. Or go to www.asminternational.org and click on events in the navigation bar at the top of their site.
To find other Heat Treat Radio episodes, go to www.heattreattoday.com/radio and look in the list of Heat Treat Radio episodes listed.
