Industry News | Heat Treat News


May 2006 News Archives For CURRENT News click here.
	JMA Heat Treat (Houston) (May 31) - JMA Heat Treat offers full service heat treating with a broad range of treatments and services. We're plugging them today for two reasons: 1. they gave us a nice link from their news page and - more importantly - 2. They have one really nice site chock full of heat treat news. Looks like a whole lot of Beavermatic furnaces too. Give them a visit! Click here for their news page:
	VFS Lands Another Nice Order (May 31) - Although it's been run by Industrial Heating already, it's worth mentioning that VFS Corp landed an order for a new high pressure quench furnace. I'm sure it's frustrating when the buyer won't let you mention their name, but they're trying to keep that competitive edge. Here's the PR: SOUDERTON, PA - Vacuum Furnace Systems (VFS) Corporation reports the sale of a high-pressure quench vacuum furnace to a major commercial heat treating customer. The QuenchPro furnace, model QPC-5748-12, represents the newest and most versatile of VFS's product models, and will be used for a variety of heat treating applications. The chamber size is 36” x 36” x 48”, and includes VFS's patented GraForm curved graphite heating elements, a graphite insulated hot zone, a 12 bar quench system, and VFS's exclusive CompuVac supervisory control system. Shipment is scheduled for May, 2006. The QuenchPro design incorporates several new and unique performance features not available on other high pressure quench furnaces. The Velocitorr quench system features a new secondary heat exchanger that allows for greater flow and velocity, providing enhanced gas cooling, better energy efficiency, and improved mass flow exchange. Cooling nozzle configuration and location have been engineered to provide better gas penetration into the workload, improved gas velocity and cooling speed, and more uniform quenching speed throughout the cycle. For the convection heating system, innovations include: an internal water-cooled motor which allows the user to fine-tune heating uniformity to the load, and a new isothermic nozzle design with one-way dampers which are normally closed, and open automatically during the quench cycle.
	Remembering Those Who Fought and Died for Their Country (May 29 - Memorial Day, U.S.A.) - This is Memorial day in the US. This is a day set aside to remember those who died in military service. Flags are flown at half-staff and grave sites of veterans are adorned with flags and flowers. It is also a day for picnics and family. For our readers in the US we wish you a good Memorial Day.
	China Heat Treatment Association Tours U.S.A. (May 26 - midday update) - This week and next members of the China Heat Treatment Association (CHTA) are touring facilities in the North American. The delegation is here to stimulate cooperation and collaboration between heat treaters and furnace companies in China and the US. Here are a couple shots from their visit to Marathon Sensors in Cincinnati:
	John Gupta to Retire in November (May 26) - Chitranjan "John" Gupta has been in top management for many years with AFC-HOLCROFT. During the 90s he, along with Dan McCurdy of Marathon, spearheaded efforts that led to modern, automated heat treating and control systems - including IR. John definitely moved and left his mark on the industry. The lastest news is that John will be retiring this year. We definitely think he deserves the rest and relaxation and wish him a long and satisfying retirement.
	Unsubstantiated Rumor Mill: Bob Fincken to Join SSI (May 25) - A few weeks back we heard that Bob Fincken had parted ways with Eurotherm USA. Since we try very hard not to report this sort of news while people are still "on the market" we held back that news. Well yesterday we heard (from a little birdy of course) that Bob will soon be joining Super Systems Inc. Bob, for those who don't know him, is a super-friendly guy and all-around straight shooter. He'd been with Eurotherm spearheading their heat treat sales efforts since leaving Marathon back in 1998. At Marathon Bob was very highly regarded and we know he will do well for SSI. As we hear it, Bob had multiple offers but really wanted to stay in Cincinnati, Ohio. Good luck to Bob!
	More Furnace Controls and Sensors 2006 Conference Photos (May 24) - Thanks to Doug Glenn of Industrial heating we have a few more shots from the recent conference in Chicago:
	MTI: Sales up 9.4% Over Last Year (May 22) - MTI's latest monthly report is out. Here's the scoop: Metal Treating Industry Sales Up 9.4% for the Year Through April 2006 Metal Treating Industry sales reached $296.2 million, an increase of 9.4% over 2005 year-to-date sales of $270.1 million. April 2006 billings totaled $70.7 million, a rise of 2.9% over April 2005 when billings amounted to $68.7% million. Four of the MTI districts outperformed their April 2005 sales. Eight out of nine districts remain ahead for the year-to-date.
	SECO/WARWICK Partners with PMI (May 19) - Looks like SECO/WARWICK has partnered with PMI by providing a vacuum carburizing furnace for their new facility. Here's the PR: SECO/WARWICK has partnered with Meadville based Precision Manufacturing Institute (PMI) by providing a Universal HPQ Vacuum Furnace for carburizing in a new state of the art manufacturing cell in PMI's new $4.5 million dollar, 32,000 square foot training facility opening on May 18, 2006. The center will train workers and serve as a proving ground for new technologies and manufacturing techniques. Janusz Kowalewski, SECO/WARWICK Vice President of Vacuum Systems stated, "We are pleased to offer advanced vacuum heat treating technology both to the students at PMI and the local manufacturing community in order to demonstrate the superior metallurgical results and quality that can be produced through fully automated vacuum furnace processes. We are looking forward to working with PMI to develop the best manufacturing training center in the United States." You can read the whole PR by clicking on the image.
	Mailing List News (May 18) - If you submitted your name for the mail/email newsletter above some time in the last month please re-submit it as our previous web-hosting provider conveniently lost all records for that period. We're sure it's not because we went with a new provider...
	Indiana Heat Treat Hounds! (May 18) - Jeff McLaughlin is a well-respected furnace guy in Indiana who has been handling maintenance for MP Steel for many years. In his off time he also relines, rebricks and rebuilds furnaces. It turns out that Jeff is also a dog lover and sent in a couple photos of his pups...the first is of Jeff doing a rebuild on a test furnace and the second two are Jeff's great dane (Diesel) and labrador (Mack) pups.
	Up and Running - with some changes (May 17) - If you're reading this then you're reading HTN on its new server with NTT/Verio. We're hoping this means an end to our ongoing email and uptime problems from our last provider. As of now the old calendar application is broken and we'll be replacing it with a new one very soon. News updates should start again tonight.
	Site Updates: New Server + Delays (May 15) - Please be patient these next few days. After a number of problems with our current server we're updating HTN.com to a more reliable service. The transition may take a few days and we'll do our best to get news up in spite of it! Thanks!
	Furnace Controls and Sensors 2006 Conference - CONTINUED (May 11) - Well the overwhelming consensus was that Dan Herring and Industrial Heating's new conference was a success! With some 80 folks in attendance and a overall high quality of presentations most folks were very positive about the conference and intend to continue or increase participation. Here are a couple photos from the conference: In this photo we have (from left to right) Yvonne Spooner from Marathon, George Maumee of Lesman Instrument Company, Wayne Buroker, Brad Deede and Tom Olinsky (all with Harley Davidson) and, on the far right, Andy Melville and Pat Torok of Waukee Engineering/Furnace Control Corp. The second photo shows the presentations in progress and gives you an idea of the turnout for this conference dedicated to furnace controls and sensors:
	Furnace Controls and Sensors 2006 Conference (May 9) - Tomorrow is show time for Dan Herring and Industrial Heating's new conference on Heat Treating controls and sensors. The first ever Furnace Controls & Sensors 2006 Conference kicks off tomorrow morning in Schaumburg, IL. No word on attendance yet, but it seems all the main names in sensors and controls have shows up to peddle their wares. We'll try to get some photos for later in the week.
	More MTI Meeting Shots (May 9) - Below we mentioned the recent MTI meeting in Bonita Springs, Florida. Thanks to Roger Jones (President of Solar Atmospheres) we have a couple new photos from the event. The first is of Roger and Suellen Keeran who are now Honorary Life Members of MTI: The second shot is of Michelle Jabs and Sylvia Jabs from Can-Eng in Niagara Falls with their Associate Member of the Year award:
	Toyota City, Thailand (May 8) - As we've mentioned before, Toyota is building what might be one of the world's largest manufacturing facilities in Thailand. Dubbed "Toyota City" this new facility will reportedly have every single element of auto manufacturing in one large facility. As you may know, Toyota is very big on external vendors and intends to use them here. The difference is that they won't be across town as they are in other parts of the world, but inside this new Toyota City. Talk about "captive"! Here's a shot of the facility under construction:
	UPDATED Alfe Almost Opens and Moves Into New Charlotte Facility (May 4) - Looks like we (and others) jumped the gun on this announcement from Alfe. Word from Alfe today indicates that they don't plan on moving into their new facility until sometime this Summer! Oops! We'll keep you updated. (May 3) - Back in 1997 Alfe of Fort Wayne, IN, purchased Piedmont Heat Treating in Charlotte, NC. We have word today from Industrial Heating, that they have moved into a new facility: "Alfe North Carolina, a division of Alfe Heat Treating (headquartered in Fort Wayne, Ind.; http://www.al-fe.com) opened and moved into a new facility in Charlotte. This new facility offers a variety of heat-treating services using continuous and batch-processing capabilities, including aluminum heat treating in addition to ferrous heat treating." You can read the rest over at Industrial Heating's site here.
	Marathon Wins Probe Insertion/Removal Device Patent (May 3) - You would think this would have been invented before, but we'd never heard of such a beast. As most folks know, sensors (oxygen, T/Cs) have to be put into furnaces very slowly to avoid busting the ceramics inside - thermal shock. Looks like Marathon has invented (and won a patent) for a device that does this without user intervention. Here's the PR: Cincinnati , OH (28 April 2006) - Marathon Sensors Inc. announces the introduction of the new "Slowride™" sensor insertion and removal device. The novel time and cost saving device is described in U.S. Patent No. 7,021,165 entitled "Sensor Insertion and Removal Apparatus and Methods Using the Same." The "Slowride" probe insertion and removal device manages the tedious job of slow handling for probes. Instead of using time and resources for valuable operators to insert and remove oxygen probes in furnaces, the "Slowride" does the job automatically. Using the "Slowride" minimizes the risk of damage for fast removal and insertion resulting in better performance and lifetimes for probes used in heat treatment furnaces. Mounting brackets are available for Marathon's Carbonseer and Magnum heat treatment probes. The patent issued on 04 April 2006 to Nicholas Brunck, Paul Barker, Eric Boltz and Keith Roy highlights ongoing innovation at Marathon. "Marathon has the best products for heat treatment and combustion trim and has returned to cutting edge and creative technology solutions for the customer," says Nick Brunck, Mechanical Engineer with Marathon Sensor Inc. The "Slowride" insertion and removal device compliments the "Thermal Shock Absorber™" for all probe handling needs.
	Timken First Quarter Results (May 2) - Timken is, of course, one of the largest captive heat treaters. Last week they announced their first quarter results. Here's a bit of the press release: CANTON, Ohio, April 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Timken Company (NYSE: TKR) today reported record first quarter sales of $1.35 billion, up 3 percent from the same period a year ago. First quarter net income increased 13 percent to $65.9 million, or $0.70 per diluted share, from $58.2 million, or $0.63 per diluted share, in the first quarter a year ago. You can read the full PR (as well as Timken's dividend announcement) here.
	More Katrina Relief Shots (May 2) - A number of people have been touched by the write-up from Brien Knight on Katrina relief efforts in Gulfport (below). Here are a few more shots of the area where Brien has been working.
	Katrina Relief Efforts (May 1) - Today we have a story that's a bit out of the normal for HTN.com. Brien Knight has been in the industry for over twenty years. Once an independent rep then with Zircoa/AACC (Advanced Atmosphere) and with Marathon since they purchased Zircoa/AACC in 1995, Brien is well known in the industry. So what does a guy like Brien do with his free time? Well competitive fishing (Kingfish) for one, but Brien, along with his church, also has chosen to put his muscle into Katrina relief efforts. Here's his story: Many people do not know that Southern Baptists have the 3rd largest relief agency in the United States, behind only The American Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Baptist disaster relief teams are currently working all over the world to bring comfort and assistance. The Gulfport initiative is an ongoing and long-term effort. North Carolina Baptists have committed to rebuild 600+ homes in the Gulfport area, over a period of two years. The work is hard and the hours are long, but the rewards are great. In addition to physical needs, the teams also minister to the spiritual needs of the disaster victims. The yellow t-shirts and caps worn by the volunteers are recognized and welcomed by everyone in the region. Most weeks seem to have 200 to 400 volunteers present and the largest week accounted for over 700. The volunteers are from all over the US and even some from Germany and other international areas. Guess what! They are not all Baptists either. In December of 2005, I was inspired to go to Gulfport for a week with a group of men, women, and teenagers from my home church. I was astonished at the devastation that had taken place in the Gulfport region. The media and pictures can not come close to expressing how bad things really were and still are. Many of the people have lost everything or have gone from living in their homes to staying in the very small FEMA trailers and even tents. We performed demolition, clean-up, framing, wiring, and hung drywall in three homes that week. It was a lot of work and very long days, but you only had to look in to the owner’s eyes to make it all very worth while. I am not sure who experienced the most heart felt joy and satisfaction, the owners or me. It is something that has touched me deeply and I will never forget the experience. This month, April, I returned for another week of service in Gulfport. This time we performed roofing, plumbing, wiring, framing, door and window installation, hanging and finishing of drywall, and painting in four houses. Helping these individuals to return to their homes and regain their lives is a task that we all should be accomplishing. I am now looking forward to my next trip. Please go to www.biztoolsone.com/katrina/ and view the slide presentation. It will touch your heart. If you would like to contribute time, materials, or even monetary donations to directly help those in need in the Gulfport region please contact: Eddie Williams, Gulfport Disaster Recovery Coordinator North Carolina Baptist Men 3310 17th Street Gulfport, MS 39501 Phone: 919-422-9990 Fax: 228-864-6362 Email: drgulfport@bellsouth.net Website: www.ncmissions.org Over the next couple days we're going to put all of Brien's photos from the trip into an article for our articles page. For now here are a couple photos. The first is of Brien (yellow hat) and some of the other workers. The second give you an idea of the level of devastation.
	Disclaimer: HeatTreatNews.com makes all efforts to vet its news sources for accuracy and truthfulness. Unfortunately even vetted news can prove inaccurate at times. HeatTreatNews.com will make every effort to ensure that all of the information contained herein is correct but but HeatTreatNews.com cannot guarantee accuracy. Please send any concerns or corrections to admin@heattreatnews.com