In a culture that does many things to a mere minimum standard, Bob Puls chose to found Zion Industries, Inc. on the standard of “Glory to God.” Seeking this high standard led the company to a specialization in induction heating, and since 1978, they have been building their knowledge on this topic. Today, the company’s expertise is demonstrated in the unique, customized services that benefit their own team as well as clients like Ford and Honda.
Specialized, in-house induction equipment is one of the most interesting aspects of Zion Industries’ story. Across their three locations in Ohio, Michigan, and North Carolina, they have a combined total of over 30 induction machines (capable of frequencies from 3 Khz to 450 Khz and power levels from 30 Kwatts to 300 Kwatts) that were designed and built in-house. Supplementing these 30 unique machines is equipment for tempering and metallurgical inspection of all the heat treated products. The impact of this equipment is enhanced by the commitment to making their own tooling in-house, which decreased time and cost of the induction projects.
The company demonstrated their ability to create specialized solutions in-house when hardening safety critical, automotive industry parts. One instance of this was when Zion supplied latch striker parts that required a specific center case depth. This project was complicated by the fact that the part had a longer end geometry. To address this complication, the company created a completely unique, clamshell induction coil. The customization, however, did not end there. They also integrated the coil with fixtures that allowed for quenching and for sorting out suspect parts, all in the same operation.
The company offers personalized consulting services at their three locations. One aspect of these consulting services is training seminars that discuss the benefits and drawbacks of outsourcing induction heat treating versus bringing it in-house. Using the technical expertise of their 100+ employees, the company helps clients develop technology they may not currently have, but that may significantly benefit operations. The primary goal of offering consulting is to build a unique service around the client’s unique problems, rather than offering a one size-fits-all solution.
In the future, the company seeks to bring their customized, built-in-house induction equipment to new geographical markets. They will continue to upgrade their equipment and hope to integrate automation and robotics into their facilities. As Zion Industries spreads to new markets and grows internal operations, their success will continue because of their fixed focus: specialized induction heat treating.
Zion Industries, Inc.
6229 Grafton Rd.
Valley City, OH 44280
sales@zscan.com
www.zioninduction.com
Main image: Zion Industries, Inc., facility in Valley City, OH
