Are there rapid changes in the North American aluminum industry to accommodate trending technology, or does the aluminum market have a different focus? Enjoy this Technical Tuesday article, in which six industry players responded to the following survey from Heat Treat Today’s editorial team in August 2023.
Steady and Increasing Melters’ Demand
Is demand increasing or decreasing for aluminum processing/melting equipment?
AFC-Holcroft: “Yes, we continue to see opportunities for a variety of furnaces for T5, T6, and other aluminum heat treating processes. We recently signed a license agreement with Sanken Sangyo in Japan to offer their aluminum rotary furnace designs in the U.S. and Canada.”
Can-Eng Furnaces Intl., Ltd.: “Yes, particularly in finished component heat treatment systems (T4, T5, T6, and T7 processes). The processing demand is coming from new vehicle (ICE, hybrid, electric) model line-ups that are focusing heavily on lightweighting body in white (BIW), structural, and suspension components that are being converted from steel to aluminum.”
Lindberg/MPH: “We have seen an increase in aluminum scrap melting in the recent past with larger capacity melters being quoted.”
Premier Furnace Specialists: “We’re seeing a steady demand for aluminum processing equipment. Typically, our clients are requesting either aluminum solution furnaces, drop bottom furnaces, or pre-heat furnaces. There has been an increased demand for larger furnace chamber sizes and heavier load capacities as more customers are requesting furnaces that can handle a variety of materials, temperature ranges, and processes. It seems the aerospace industry is driving most of the demand at the moment.”
SECO/WARWICK: “On the molten metal side of the SECO/WARWICK business, there are a few significant projects out there which are active, and the level of inquiries is good!”
Wisconsin Oven: “We have seen an uptick in aluminum solution treat and aging equipment in recent years.”
Chief Operating Officer
AFC-Holcroft LLC
Vice President of Sales
Can-Eng Furnaces International, Ltd.
General Manager
Lindberg/MPH
Mechanical Engineer
Premier Furnace Specialists, Inc./BeaverMatic
Product Manager
Molten Metal Furnaces
SECO/WARWICK Corp.
Vice President of Sales
Wisconsin Oven Corporation
AM/3D: Allusive Adoption
Has additive manufacturing/3D printing contributed to current business levels?
AFC-Holcroft: “It’s been an ongoing topic, but volumes are still low, which has kept heat treating equipment investments at a minimum.”
Can-Eng Furnaces Intl., Ltd.: “No noticeable increase.”
Lindberg/MPH: “There have been more requests than in the past few years for sintering applications which, I believe, is largely driven by the increase in 3D metal printing manufacturing.”
Premier Furnace Specialists: “The company has been receiving a number of requests for smaller batch style ovens for the processing of additive manufactured/3D printed materials. We have also fulfilled a number of requests to alter existing or used systems to meet new process requirements.”
SECO/WARWICK: “On the molten metal side, this would be what we call the powdered metals industry, we has not seen much interest in that area this year. One exception is an inquiry that our sister company Retech was fielding.”
Wisconsin Oven: “No contribution.”
Adaptations To Slow Supply Chains
Have international supply chain disruptions impacted demand for your company’s equipment?
AFC-Holcroft: “There are certainly disruptions, but we’re finally starting to see some improvements. Our team has worked hard to mitigate the supply chain challenges through unique forward-looking programs with our suppliers and clients. As far as demand goes, it has not had an impact at all. In fact, we are currently experiencing booking levels that we haven’t seen in more than 20 years.”
Can-Eng Furnaces Intl., Ltd.: “Clients are planning ahead to address the longer lead times.”
Lindberg/MPH: “We have noticed that supply chain issues in general, both domestic and international, have created an environment where lead times to build equipment have more than doubled. This has caused many clients to begin looking for alternative solutions to meet their needs, as they cannot wait two-thirds of a year for equipment. The largest delays are with refractory, gas burners, alloy, and many various control components.”
Premier Furnace Specialists: “Actually, we’ve seen an increase in demand for our equipment from various industries impacted by disruptions. Many companies seem to be reassessing their supply chains and expanding production capacity to avoid future disruptions.”
SECO/WARWICK: “Lately our clients are for projects that are further out, 1–2 years in some cases. Most of our end users are aware that prices are still moving up and deliveries are stretched out, however there have been some improvements of deliveries on MCC’s and PLC’s.”
Wisconsin Oven: “Not that we know of.”
The State of Sustainability in Aluminum Market
Has the sustainability push affected demand for your equipment?
AFC-Holcroft: “Again, no impact on demand, but our group has been offering many ‘green’ options on our equipment for years to assist our clients in the drive for a reduction in their carbon footprint.”
Can-Eng Furnaces Intl., Ltd.: “Yes, there’s more emphasis on reduced environment impact processes and equipment designs.”
Lindberg/MPH: “Not really. We have had a couple of RFQ[ET7] ’s come in related to green energy, but they are very slow-moving projects with a lot of R&D on the buyers’ end. Additionally, we have been asked to partner with these clients to develop a solution to help them meet the end goal.”
Premier Furnace Specialists: “For a minor segment of clients, the push for sustainability seems to be driving a demand for electrically heated equipment rather than natural gas. Even for those clients, however, the main deciding factors are still local utility costs, existing facility restrictions, and familiarity with existing equipment.”
SECO/WARWICK: “Environmental sustainability has definitely affected what our clients are looking for on most new inquires. Most have strict emissions requirements and are looking for combustion systems with lower NOx and higher fuel efficiency. Peripheral hooding is also commonly requested to capture emissions from around door openings and over charge wells. I would not say that sustainability has diminished the demand, however it has affected what they need with regard to emissions compliance.”
Wisconsin Oven: “Clients occasionally request energy-efficient features and designs, but not more often than in the past.”
Anticipating Growth and Novel Aluminum Applications
What plans are you making to meet future market demand?
AFC-Holcroft: “We are a global group and have recently restructured our organization to better serve our customers. We have also undergone a facility expansion to help reduce our carbon footprint and provide our clients with the best products and deliveries available in the market. This includes an expansion of our build to stock production planning to greatly reduce lead times on UBQ furnaces and EZ endothermic generators among other products.”
Can-Eng Furnaces Intl., Ltd.: “We have increased emphasis on electric battery vehicle component and materials processes and equipment design development. Additionally, we are planning further use of electric energy as an alternate heating source for system designs.”
Lindberg/MPH: “We are looking to work with vendors to create vendor managed inventory in order to reduce lead times, as well as hire additional employees to reduce labor driven lead times. We continually look for additional vendors to remain cost competitive and reducing the overall cost of manufacturing.”
Premier Furnace Specialists : “We’ve expanded vendor and supplier listings. We have also gained experience implementing existing and new alternatives for almost all of our furnace components. By reassessing our standard component choices and offering a variety to clients, we have been able to substantially reduce lead times which allows for more efficient and flexible production while reducing costs.
“We have also added new technology to aid in our manufacturing. Building parts in-house significantly cuts down on lead times and pricing. Thus, clients know that their equipment will have little or no downtime, saving them the time and stress of not running product.”
SECO/WARWICK: “We are adding engineers, field service technicians, etc. and having our “seasoned veterans” bring them up to speed! We have also moved to a larger new office location to accommodate future growth.”
Wisconsin Oven: “We have acquired additional floorspace in recent years and have been hiring aggressively in the last six months.”
About the Industry Experts
Tracy Dougherty, Chief Operating Officer, AFC-Holcroft LLC. tdougherty@afc-holcroft.com
Dan Peterson, Product Manager, Molten Metal Furnaces, SECO/WARWICK dan.peterson@secowarwick.com
Tim Donofrio, Vice President of Sales, Can-Eng Furnaces International, Ltd tdonofrio@can-eng.com
Kelley Shreve, General Manager, Lindberg/MPH https://www.lindbergmph.com/
Jacob Laird, Mechanical Engineer, Premier Furnace Specialists, Inc./BeaverMatic jlaird@premierfurnace.com
Mike Grande, Vice President of Sales, Wisconsin Oven Corporation www.wisoven.com
