June 2007 News Archives

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MAHLE on the Move

(June 28 - afternoon update) - We have a couple new press releases from MAHLE, the Germany-based manufacturer of numerous automotive parts that recently purchased Dana's Engine Hard Parts business, today. The first is about a new stock purchase of Grupo Condumex, S.A. de C.V. in Mexico:

The MAHLE Group, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, announced today that its subsidiary MAHLE Industries, Inc. has entered into a stock purchase agreement with Grupo Condumex, S.A. de C.V., Mexico.

From Condumex, MAHLE will acquire 51% of the shares of capital stock of Promotora de Industrias Mecánicas, S.A. de C.V. (Promec) which owns Sealed Power Mexicana, S.A. de C.V. and Sealed Power Autopartes, S.A. de C.V.

MAHLE has recently acquired, as part of an international transaction, Dana Corporation’s engine products group and, as a result, MAHLE indirectly acquired 49% in Promec. Upon satisfaction of the conditions to which the stock purchase agreement between MAHLE and Condumex is subject, MAHLE will acquire the entire business of Promec and its subsidiaries in Mexico. Promec produces cylinder liners and piston rings for passenger car and heavy duty applications for the OE and Aftermarket businesses. The agreement includes among others the acquisition of the Aftermarket brand "Carpro".

The planned acquisition includes a total of about 1,100 employees in 4 production plants in Mexico, which are located in Aguascalientes, Naucalpan, Ramos Arizpe, and Santa Catarina. In 2006 the business generated sales of USD 67 million.

The parties anticipate that the closing conditions will be satisfied in time to close the transaction by the end of June, 2007.

The MAHLE Group is one of the 30 largest automotive suppliers worldwide. As the leading manufacturer of combustion engine components, systems and peripherals, MAHLE is among the top 3 suppliers for piston systems, cylinder components, valve train systems, air management systems and liquid management systems. MAHLE employs more than 40,000 employees in 110 production plants and seven research and development centers. In 2006, MAHLE generated sales in excess of EUR 4.3 billion (USD 5.8 billion).

The second release is about a new cooperation agreement between MAHLE and RIKEN Corporation:

The MAHLE Group, with Headquarter in Stuttgart announces that MAHLE GmbH and RIKEN Corporation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a global cooperation on June 20, 2007.

The purpose of the cooperation is that both parties make use of existing resources and create synergies aiming at offering highly value-added products and services for customers and enhancing each corporate value in globally expanding and technologically evolving automobile markets. The cooperation between MAHLE and RIKEN will be based on respecting each party’s independence and promoting each company’s strengths in the areas of piston rings, camshafts and other products.

In addition to the expansion of the already existing Allied Ring Corporation, a 50-50 joint venture manufacturer of piston rings based in North America and owned by MAHLE and RIKEN, both companies will study and promote intelligent collaborative projects worldwide making use of existing resources.

MAHLE and RIKEN will promote joint cooperation in the areas of technical development and manufacturing of piston rings, engine components and systems, camshafts and other products in line with day-by-day advancement of engine technology. Also the technological level will be enhanced by active technical exchange.

The cooperation does not consider any equity participation between the two companies.

About MAHLE
The MAHLE Group is among the top 30 automotive suppliers globally and is the world market leader for combustion engine components, systems and peripherals. MAHLE employs more than 40,000 employees in 110 production plants and seven research and development centers. In 2006, MAHLE generated sales in excess of EUR 4.3 billion (USD 5.8 billion).

About RIKEN
The RIKEN Corporation with Headquarter in Tokyo is a global company supplying automobile and industrial machinery parts and other industrial products. As of March 31, 2007 the company reached net sales of YEN 91,272 million with 4,073 employees.

Next News Wednesday Night (GMT)

(June 23 - evening update) - We've decided to do something crazy and go somewhere with no internet. I think it's called a vacation!

Look for our next updates Wednesday night (GMT) the 27th.

Dowa to Open New Heat Treat & Equipment Company in Thailand

(June 23 - evening update) - Dowa is a medium-sized Japanese heat treating services and equipment company (though some have reported them as much larger) with eight locations in Japan and two abroad. This latest news talks about the new facility they are opening in Thailand about 120 km south of Bangkok. It will be their third facility outside of Japan:

Dowa Thermotech Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Dowa Holdings Co., Ltd., today established Dowa Thermotech (Thailand) Co., Ltd., taking a step forward in the development of its heat treatment business in Asia. The new firm will offer heat treatment services, and will manufacture and maintain heat treatment equipment.

The new company is located in Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate, which is situated in southern Thailand’s Rayong Province. It will perform heat treatment of auto parts and other components on consignment, and offer maintenance services for heat-treatment equipment. The progress of Japanese auto makers in establishing overseas operations has been remarkable, and amidst a strong
outcry for local procurement in Thailand, Dowa Thermotech is working to become one of Thailand’s top manufacturers, just as it is in Japan, based on its policy of vigorous expansion overseas. First, in December 2007 the new firm will offer maintenance services and surface treatment of dies and molds, then, in the summer of 2008, it plans to expand operations to include carburizing, nitrocarburizing, and other types of processing.

Looking toward the future, Dowa Thermotech (Thailand) will serve as a foothold for a Southeast Asian heat-treatment-equipment manufacturing base. It will allow the expansion of marketing channels in Vietnam, where the market for the automobile industry is showing substantial growth, and sales of ¥400 million are forecast.

Dowa Thermotech is already one of the top firms in Japan’s heat treatment business, with eight domestic plants and two overseas. It is establishing new manufacturing bases in this flourishing automobile market in an effort to increase its global market share. Dowa Thermotech last year acquired control of CEMM Co., Ltd., and acquired a new plant site in Gifu Prefecture. In addition,
the Ohta Plant in Gunma Prefecture is scheduled to commence operations this fall. In the future, the company will continue to pursue a vigorous investment program both in Japan and overseas.

Nickel May Have Dropped, but It Won't Last!

(June 21 - evening update) - This is one of those days when getting that fix of the IH MagEzine was key (click banner at top to subscribe). IH has a write-up on nickel and a link to a comprehensive article on the state of nickel today.

Short version? World stocks of nickel are down to a single day's worth of consumption (hence why it's so hard to find RA330 or RA253MA) and there's no signs of the shortages letting up for at least 18 more months.

As we've said before, if you aren't passing nickel costs along to your customers you might want to think long and hard on it now unless you can survive another 18 months (or more) of escalating nickel prices.

To see the IH MagEzine write-up as a web page click here.

Note on Solar Manufacturing / CHS-ASIA Furnace Order

(June 21 - afternoon update) - We got a very nice note from Rick Jones of Solar Manufacturing today about his recent order from Singapore. It turns out that, while Randy Simmons is one of the owners of CHS-ASIA, it was his partner, David Pickup, who helped Rick with this one.

David's a very sharp and very experienced guy and handles many of CHS-ASIA's start-ups throughout the region.

Nickel Starting to Drop?

(June 20 - evening update) - It's WAY too early to tell, but Kitco's charts (see right) are showing Nickel down below $18 for the first time in months. This hasn't translated into lower alloy prices yet (if you can even find it!), but we're hopeful that's the trend.

SECO/WARWICK Lands Nice Strip Weld Annealing Furnace Order

(June 20 - evening update) - Although there are those who will insist that steel makers aren't heat treaters, the fact is that most mills have a huge investment in heat treating.

Often it's pretty simple stuff compared to getting just the right case on a gear, but, in some cases, it's "true old fashioned" heat treating, like this flame-impingement furnace SECO/WARWICK will deliver to Guild International this year in China:

Guild International has selected SECO/WARWICK Corp. to manufacture a new gas-fired strip weld annealing furnace to perform a flame impingement heat treatment within a steel coil joining system for a continuous production pickling line to be installed later this year in China.

A companion unit to the Guild MES ZIPWELDER™ the gas-fired Weld-Annealer will be used to heat the weld zone of the two strip ends. The unit consists of the main frame, a two piece insulated heat chamber, combustion system and control panel. The heating chamber sections are positioned above and below the weld area of the steel strip, and are raised and lowered by pneumatic cylinders so that the burners are close to the strip for annealing and farther away for “line-run” condition.

SECO/WARWICK’s Thermal Process Team designs and manufactures a wide variety of heat treating equipment configurations with and without the addition of protective atmosphere. Specialists in applications for automotive and aerospace components, tube and pipe manufacturing, electrical steel components and other unique and divergent applications, the Team can offer many types of quality furnace systems including roller hearth, rotary retort, rotary hearth, mesh belt, specialty box, bell and pit furnaces along with custom designed furnaces, all developed specifically to meet each user’s plant, process and energy requirements.

###
Press Contact:
Beth Ryan, Marketing Communications Director
814/332-8437
bryan@secowarwick.com

 

Solar Manufacturing / CHS-ASIA Lands Singapore Furnace Order

(June 20 - morning update) - Funny how news goes. This morning we put up a wedding photo from Randy Simmons' wedding and a couple hours later we receive a press release from Solar Manufacturing about their latest Southeast Asia order sold in partnership with Randy's company, CHS-ASIA. Here's the Solar release:

Souderton, PA – With the partnership of CHS-ASIA, Solar Manufacturing announces an order for a new horizontal loading vacuum furnace from a company in Singapore.

Featuring a high efficiency, 2" thick graphite insulated hot zone for operating temperatures up to 2650°F, the furnace’s work zone measures 42" wide x 42" high x 48" deep, with thermal uniformity meeting AMS 2750D standards. A gross load capacity will hold 3500 pounds, with low-watt density graphite heating elements heating work loads rapidly while improved, tapered graphite gas nozzles will direct quench gas onto the work load for optimum gas cooling.

A 35" Varian diffusion pumping system is used for high vacuum applications up to 10-6 Torr and the external gas quench system will consist of a 100 HP motor, a Robinson fan wheel, heat exchanger, and diffuser. The electrical control cabinet will house the SolarVac 3000 instrumentation which includes the Allen-Bradley PanelView and the Eurotherm 6180A paperless graphic recorder for state-of-the-art operator interface and control. A Hunterdon 255 KVA Variable Reactance Transformer will power the furnace hot zone, balanced across the three phase power source.

Solar Manufacturing manufactures vacuum heat treating and brazing furnaces and offers replacement hot zones for various vacuum furnace brands. To learn more about their diverse product line, contact Peter Reh, Vice President of Sales, Rick Jones, International Sales Manager or Dennis Hiddemen, Aftermarket Sales Manager at 267-384-5040 or pkr@solarmfg.com, rick@solarmfg.com, or drh@solarmfg.com. More information can also be found at www.solarmfg.com.

Randy Simmons Ties the Knot

(June 20 - morning update) - Here at HTN we tend to steer clear of the gossip stuff since it tends to lean toward the slanderous side of things at times. In this case, however, our news item is a celebration for a well-known figure in the heat treating industry.

Randy Simmons is the former manager of Marathon's service department and the former head of AFC's Process-Master Controls.

A few years back he headed over to Thailand and, along with partners, started a company, CHS-Asia, that is one of the fast-risers in Southeast Asia, selling furnaces, controls and services throughout the region.

The big news is that a couple months back, Randy and his long-time girlfriend, Warunee, tied the knot. The ceremony was traditional Thai (very ornate) with about 500 guests, 14 dancers and 4 singers. Here's a shot of the wedding party:

Bodycote China Acquisition

(June 19 - morning update) - Bodycote is committed to expanding in China to the tune of one new facility per year. This week they made good on that commitment by purchasing Ningbo Jiangdong Ruidahong Heat Treatment Co., a two-location commercial outfit not too far from Shanghai. Here's Bodycote's PR with some shots of the new facility:

Bodycote International plc has today acquired Chinese heat treatment company, Ningbo Jiangdong Ruidahong Heat Treatment Co. Limited. This is the second company the group has added to its Chinese heat treatments division as part of its strategy to expand heat treatment operations in emerging economies. RHT operates from two facilities in the Yangtze River Delta, approximately 300 km south of Shanghai and the existing Wuxi heat treatment centre.

Founded by Mr Zhou Wen Yong and Mr Hong Bo in 1998, RHT provides protective atmosphere heat treatment services and associated testing support to local businesses who supply a number of leading Western based OEMs in the automotive, power tools and agricultural sectors.

Existing local management will continue to guide operations and a major local
customer has entered into a three-year strategic outsourcing agreement with the business. Sales in 2006 were £2m.

Bodycote intends to grow its business in China by adding at least one new
location every year as part of a five-year strategic plan.

Looking Back on Thermprocess

(June 19 - morning update) - What can we say looking back on 6 days of Europe's largest thermal processing show? Well, it's a shame more shows aren't this good. Good booths, good food, good drink and good ideas. We're not sure if it's so much the market (since North America is humming along nicely), or the lack of R&D (metallurgy as a degree seems long gone in North America, replaced by "nano technology" and composites emphasis) or if it's the talent of the Thermprocess hosts to put on a good show.

At the end of the day, however, this is what the two North American shows should strive for. Here are a few "parting shots":

A shot of SECO/WARWICK's 2-story booth with furnace:

A shot of Process-Electronic's booth (turnkey shop-control and process control systems):

A shot of JUMO's (controllers and dataloggers) booth:

Solar Manufacturing Nitrider Update from Bill Jones

(June 18 - morning update) - Friday we reported on Solar Manufacturing's entry into the atmosphere nitrider business. We were confused about some parts of the PR that was floating about the net, in particular, one site that claimed up to a 100% faster process.

The actual PR text was: "Early tests indicate 50 to 100% faster production cycles and with quality equal to ion with white layer reduced to nil or none."

Shortly after putting that news up on our site we received this very helpful clarification from none other than Bill Jones (reprinted with permission):

The comment in our news release concerning the nitriding cycle time is a bit out of context. Since our furnace has a low mass hot zone and a rapid gas cooling system, with gas blower and heat exchanger, most of the cycle time pick up is in our product heating rate to temperature and product cooling rate back to ambient. We do expect better control over nitriding potential through out the nitriding part of the cycle, yielding better quality and some cycle improvement as well through the use of the SSi instrumentation. All this is not exactly blue sky as we have amble experience in ion nitriding and we have been working on vacuum nitriding and nitriding at atmospheric pressure for several years via our R&D team.

William R. Jones, CEO
Solar Atmospheres Inc.
Souderton, Pa.

So Much for RA 253 MA

(June 15 - morning update) - Over the last couple months there has been an ongoing discussion in the heat treat business (particularly within MTI) on lower-cost alternatives to RA330, the workhorse alloy of the heat treating industry.

Many have come forward to recommend RA253 MA (a Sandvick alloy distributed by Rolled Alloys) for applications where carburization of the alloy isn't a big issues.

Unfortunately it appears that RA253 MA is in such high demand that stocks are near zero for almost every form factor.

Our recommendation to heat treaters? Bite the bullet and pass the alloy costs along to the customer.

Meridian Automotive to Buy Ford Sandusky Plant

(June 15 - morning update) - The Ford Sandusky Plant, which was basically on the chop list, has been sold to Meridian Automotive Systems.

The plant produces signal lighting for about 60% of all Ford vehicles produced in North America and employs some 1700 workers. The plant was a Visteon plant that Ford took back in a bailout of Visteon back in 2005.

Solar Manufacturing to Enter Atmosphere Nitriding Business

(June 15 - morning update) - There's a press release here on Industrial Heating's site that talks about Solar Manufacturing entering the nitriding business.

According to the release Solar Manufacturing has their first order for a vacuum purge/recirculation gas nitriding furnace from Winston Heat Treating in Dayton, Ohio.

Nitriding is one of those processes that's easy to do for high tolerance parts but very difficult to master for tight tolerances and long-term stability. It will be interesting to see if Solar can get the kind of tight tolerances that Nitrex is famous for.

It looks like Solar will use a new control system from Super Systems that, according to Super Systems, gives "50 to 100% faster production cycles."

We know that 50% faster means half the time, but the 100% faster claim is confusing as it would mean they can nitride in no time at all - pretty amazing if true.

Nonetheless, we're sure that Bill Jones and Solar, as usual, will turn out another quality product.

Thermprocess 2007 Shots

(June 12 - evening update) - Once every four years Düsseldorf, Germany is home to what has to be the world's largest thermal processing and metals exposition. Thermprocess is, simply put, huge. You could fit the entire ASM show (North America) in a single one of the somewhere near a dozen halls that Thermprocess fills.

European shows are very different in ways other than size too. For one, most of the exhibitors serve food, coffee beer and wine - nice touch in our opinion. Some of the booths are quite impressive with second-level areas for drinking and working deals.

Below we have a series of shots from the first morning at Thermprocess. What's interesting to us is how few North American companies are represented at Thermprocess.

Marathon to Sell & Support PE's SCADA/Shop Management Software

(June 8 - morning update) - Just a few weeks back we told you about Marathon's licensing of their instrumentation technologies to Process-Electronic of Germany. Well the story continues as today we have word that Marathon will begin selling and supporting Process-Electronic's software library in Marathon's markets.

The software, as we understand it, does traditional SCADA for full "lights out" operation of a heat treat and also does shop management and ties into virtually any accounting/ERP software as well. Here's their PR:

Cincinnati, OH (04 June 2007) – Marathon Sensors Inc. and Process-Electronic GmbH recently partnered to bring PE’s Production Management Software portfolio to all of Marathon’s markets and customers. MSI and PE together have a collective 55 years experience in heat treatment solutions making this partnership ideal for the growing needs of heat treaters worldwide.
Protherm 9800 is more than SCADA. By combining process control, equipment integration, and automation capabilities, the Protherm 9800 provides a comprehensive approach to plant wide supervisory control and management. In addition to Protherm 9800, ShopPilot ties together shop floor planning with sales and customer accounts management. It is designed to increase the productivity, organization, and efficiency of your shop business by developing a framework for collaboration and information sharing between work groups and departments. And with PE’s recent licensing of MMI protocol, the software can speak to legacy and current MMI instrumentation.

For additional information, visit PE at ThermProcess 2007, Dusseldorf Germany June 12-16 and both PE and Marathon at the ASM Heat Treating Society Conference and Expo 2007 in Detroit USA September 17-19.

For over 30 years, Process Electronic has been specializing in the design and implementation of industrial control systems. The company designs various types of controllers and develops software modules adaptable to different industrial environments. Its specialty resides in automating heat treating facilities, including nitriding, hardening, carburizing, quenching and other processes as well as related equipment and functions such as industrial washing units, data acquisition, quality and remote plant operation.

Marathon Sensors, an ISO 9001:2000 registered firm, designs, manufactures and markets atmosphere sensors, instrumentation and control systems for the heat treating, power generation, glass and ceramic, chemical and petrochemical, steel reheat, and incineration industries. For more information about Marathon’s products, visit the website at www.marathonsensors.com, phone 800-547-1055 (+01 513-772-1000 outside the United States), or email at yboltz@marathonsensors.com.

MAHLE Buys Siemens VDO Air Filtration Division

(June 5 - evening update) - Just a couple months back we reported on MAHLE's acquisition of Dana's Engine Hard Parts business (including all of Dana's North American heat treat operations we believe). Today we have word of yet another acquisition by MAHLE. Not a heat treat acquisition, but as one of the larger captives MAHLE news is certainly of interest. Here's their PR:

Stuttgart/Germany, 5th June 2007 – The MAHLE Group, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, announced today that the acquisition of the air intake module and air filtration business division from Siemens VDO (SVDO), a division of Siemens AG, was successfully concluded as of June 1, 2007.

The acquisition includes all worldwide units of Siemens VDO’s business division “air intake modules and air filtration” with locations in Canada, Mexico, England and China. In 2006, the turnover of the division was approximately EUR 300 million, generated by approximately 1,000 employees. The main products are air intake modules and air filter systems for passenger car gasoline and diesel engines.

Prof. Dr. Heinz K. Junker, Chairman of the Management Board of the MAHLE Group, explained in this regard, that with this acquisition MAHLE is further expanding its worldwide activities in the business division air intake systems and air filtration. “In the coming year, we will generate a turnover of more than EUR 1 billion in this business segment and to significantly enhance our worldwide presence. Particularly in North America we will be integrally positioned in the future, but also the regions Europe and Asia will grow further through this acquisition. In order to create the synergy potential which is necessary for the future, we will undertake appropriate restructuring measures during the integration of this business segment into the MAHLE Group.”

The MAHLE Group is one of the 30 largest automotive suppliers worldwide. As the leading manufacturer of combustion engine components, systems and peripherals, MAHLE is among the top 3 suppliers for piston systems, cylinder components, valve train systems, air management systems and liquid management systems. MAHLE employs more than 40,000 employees in 110 production plants and seven research and development centers. In 2006, MAHLE generated sales in excess of EUR 4.3 billion (USD 5.8 billion).

Stuttgart/Germany, June 5, 2007

Contact:
MAHLE GmbH
Birgit Albrecht
Corporate Communications/Public Relations
Pragstraße 26 – 46
70376 Stuttgart Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 711/501-12506
Fax: +49 (0) 711/501-13700
birgit.albrecht@mahle.com

 

Hyundai Takes Top Spot for Quality

(June 5 - evening update) - Five years ago Hyundai had a reputation for cheap and pretty good - a vast improvement over their early years where their industry leading ten year warranty had more claims than fans.

Well today Hyundai has gone from pretty good to taking more category wins for quality than any other manufacturer in a survey by Strategic Vision of San Diego.

All in all, Hyundai had five cars at the top of their class for quality in the survey - including the Santa Fe small SUV built in Alabama. Ford and BMW each had three make the list while GM, Honda and Mercedes had two and Dodge (Chrysler), Lexus (Toyota) and VW each had one.

The survey polled some 27,000 buyers of 2007 models.

Last year Hyundai one exactly zero spots on the list. Hats off to Hyundai for sure.

GM's Relations Improve Leaving Ford the Worst According to Suppliers

(June 4 - midday update) - Planning Perspectives Inc. is a company that takes annual surveys of North American automotive suppliers regarding their relationships with the automotive manufacturers.

For years North American suppliers have had much better relationships with Japanese auto manufacturers than the "big three" and that trend continues this year.

Surprising in this years results, however, is that GM has made a huge improvement over last year climbing from a rating of 131 to 174.

For comparison, Chrysler rates 199 and Toyota is tops at 415. Ford comes in dead last at 162. All three of the "big three" rate as "poor" which is any score below 200.

Keep in mind that all of the big three are struggling and negotiating hard for lower prices - most suppliers aren't too keen on selling parts today for less than yesterday.

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