October 2006 News Archives

For CURRENT News click here.

American Axle Reports Loss

(October 31) - There's no doubt that the management team at American Axle and Manufacturing saw this coming what with all the troubles at their biggest customer sites, but it's still tough news to see a stellar company struggle in a poor economy. All told AA&M reported a $62.9 million loss on sales of just over $701 million. You can read the full PR here. Here's a snippet:

Third Quarter 2006 highlights
  *  Third quarter sales of $701.2 million
  *  Overall 19% year-over-year decline in production volumes
  *  Non-GM sales of $153.2 million, totaling 22% of net sales
  *  Special charges of $93.1 million, or $1.17 per share, for
     postemployment benefits
  *  Net loss of $62.9 million or $1.25 per share

SECO/WARWICK Gets New Counsel / HR Director

(October 30) - One inevitable side-effect of growth is having to staff up on the legal and HR side of things and it looks like SECO/WARWICK is doing just that. Here's their latest PR:

Jeffrey Boswell, President and CEO of SECO/WARWICK Corp. announced the appointment of Lou Stack as General Counsel, Director of Human Resources. Mr. Stack will provide in-house legal counsel, oversee human resource activities and supervise contracts for the SECO/WARWICK global organization.

In over 20 years of private practice, Mr. Stack has specialized in creditors rights, litigation, business, personal injury, real estate, employment law and labor law. He has expertise in providing representation for business and employment litigation, commercial contracts, liability prevention, real estate, insurance and Federal compliance issues. He is a member of the Crawford County Bar Association, and has served as Labor Solicitor for Crawford County, Pennsylvania.

Solar Atmospheres Purchases Two Car Bottom Furnaces from Solar Manufacturing

(October 27) - Here's the latest from the Solar companies. Seems business is more than good for both:

Solar Atmospheres (Souderton, Pa.) has purchased two car bottom furnaces, both of which were designed and built by Solar Manufacturing. One of the 50,000-pound, 24-foot-deep car bottom vacuum furnaces will be installed in Solar’s western Pennsylvania plant. The furnace is high vacuum, pumped with 48-inch high-vacuum valves and 35-inch Varian high-vacuum diffusion pumps. The second furnace, which has the same specs as the first, is to be installed at an undetermined plant site in southern California.

With a combined pumping capacity of 100,000 Li/sec, the furnaces have the ability to fully degas materials such as Ti6-AL-4V into the low ppm range. High-vacuum performance is in the low 10-5 Torr range at process temperature.

Ford's Q3 Loss: $5.8 Billion; 4000 More Workers Take Buyouts

(October 25) - Ford just announced that it lost $5.8 billion in the third quarter - its worst in 14 years - and analysts expect that losses will continue to increase over the next few quarters. The losses were primarily due to charges for restructuring the company but poor vehicle sales also contributed. Along with the news of the Q3 loss Ford also said it will have to restate earnings going back to 2001. No clue how they'll restate, but usually that means a company found some mistakes in earlier financial data and the corrections are usually downward on profit.

In related news, another 4,000 Ford workers at former Visteon plants took buyouts last week as part of Ford's overall restructuring effort.

Bodycote (Cincinnati) Receives GE Aviation Approval

(October 22) - Bodycote's Cincinnati facility has recently received GE's Manual Weld approval as noted in the PR below:

Bodycote Thermal Processing, Inc. is pleased to announce the approval for General Electric’s Aviation Special Process for Manual GTA Welding.

Kevin McCurdy, General Manager of the Cincinnati ISO 9002 and NADCAP registered plant said, “Adding the GE Manual Weld approval to our growing list of approvals continues to demonstrate our investment and focus of expanding our services to provide turn-key service to our customers. We want to continue our leadership in the regional and national aerospace markets and providing our customers access to the latest technology and processes is key. Bodycote’s continued investment in specialized services allows us to meet challenging process and metallurgical specifications.” Bodycote Cincinnati specializes in assembly and vacuum brazing. Various OEM aerospace approvals are maintained in addition to ISO 9001:2000, AS9100, NADCAP and FAA Repair Station Y5DR087X accreditation. In addition to vacuum brazing and heat treatments, conventional atmosphere and salt to salt marquenching and austempering are offered. The plant also offers exceptional value to the local tooling industry recognizing the need for competitive pricing and overnight turnaround.

Bodycote Thermal Processing is part of Bodycote International, plc the international metallurgical services group with more than 300 facilities in 22 countries. The group’s strategic business units provide heat treating, metallurgical testing, hot isostatic pressing and metallurgical coatings. Bodycote’s North American network of locations is comprised of more than 70 heat treatment & brazing, testing, coatings and hot isostatic pressing plants. Bodycote is a primary supplier to various industries including automotive, aerospace, power generation, military, petrochemical, agricultural and consumer products. Most facilities maintain one or more of the following accreditations NADCAP, AS 9100, ISO 9002, QS-9000 or TS 16949.

For more information please contact:
Kevin McCurdy PE
General Manager
Bodycote Thermal Processing, Inc
710 Burns Street
Cincinnati, OH 45204
Ph: 513.921.2300
Fx: 513.921.2536
Email: kevin.mccurdy@bodycote.com
Online: www.bodycote.com

Tata Steel Buys Chorus for $8B

(October 20) - It's official: Tata Steel is now the world's fifth largest. While it's a far cry from Mittal's $31B takover of Archelor from a few weeks back this is one large deal for sure. You can read the full article on CNN's site here.

Ford to Stop Future Business with Collins & Aikman

(October 18) - The details are a little thin on this one so far but it appears that Collins & Aikman suspended parts shipments to Ford over some financial issues. This forced a shutdown at a Ford plant in Mexico and some very red faces (understandably) at Ford. We can't find any details on the disagreement, but we did learn that it's the first time C&A has done something like this and that Ford's Paul Wood has called Ford's relationship with C&A "irreparaby harmed."

In other Ford news we have a shot of their snazzy 2007 "Edge" crossover SUV that some consider critical to Ford's turnaround...less bucks, more features and power than its rivals according to Ford.

GM Sales Soar 37%...in China

(October 18) - It's simply amazing how much perception plays in the success of a brand. While Americans are down on GM's cars they're selling like hotcakes in China. Sure, some of those China sales are models unique to that market, but the Buik LaCrosse is one of the hottest cars in that booming market! In raw numbers, GM and its partners sold more than 645,000 cars in the first three quarters of this year. That's a run rate of 860,000 cars/year...nearing that 1 million mark.

Diamond Heat Treat, Rockford, Illinois

(October 16) - Here’s a quick blurb on a commercial heat treat operation located in Rockford, Illinois.

Sources tell heattreatnews.com that Diamond Heat Treat located in Rockford, Illinois has effectively managed to sustain its momentum as a commercial heat treatment operation despite being in an area that has been hit hard over the years due to numerous plant closings.

DHT specializes in Tool & Die, Vacuum, Carburizing, Carbonitriding, Gas Nitriding & Induction heat treatment processes. We're told that they operate a large number of batch furnaces manufactured by Beavermatic Inc. also, located in Rockford, Illinois.

Sources tell us that Bill Akre, President of Diamond Heat treat is a top notch professional and very personable.

C.I. Hayes Installs Furnace at Stack Metallurgical

(October 13) - Two days ago (Oct 11) Industrial Heating broke the news of a new C.I. Hayes vacuum installation at Stack Metallurgical. You can read the PR on the Industrial Heating web site here.

Timken to Exit European Seamless Tube Manufacturing

(October 13) - Hot on the heals of two Timken items below we have news today that Timken is seeking to dispose of its seemless steel tube manufacturing operations in Desford, England. The move is intended to improve overall performance. Timken appears to be willing to entertain other options than closure too. Here's the PR:

CANTON, Ohio, Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The Timken Company (NYSE: TKR) today announced its intention to exit its European seamless steel tube manufacturing operations located in Desford, England, as part of its strategy to manage its business portfolio to improve performance. Timken will begin consultations with representatives of the 400 associates located at the Desford facility to explore alternative solutions to closure. "The proposed action is part of the company's strategy to focus on lines of business that produce differentiated products while driving profitable growth," said Salvatore J. Miraglia, Jr., president of Timken's Steel Group. "Exiting this business would further advance the focus of the Steel Group on differentiated products that deliver value to both customers and shareholders." The Desford facility generated sales of approximately $85 million to $95 million in recent years but has not been profitable. It manufactures seamless steel tube for machining and mechanical applications, primarily serving the bearing industry in Europe.

In conjunction with the proposed exit of the business, Timken would intend to sell some portion of the plant's assets and secure a reliable alternative source of steel tube for its European bearing operations.

You can read the full press release here.

SECO/WARWICK Wins Order for 2 Coil Annealing Furnaces from ASSAN Aluminum

(October 12) - It certainly has been a banner year for furnace manufacturers and it doesn't seem as if it's going to let up anytime soon. The latest news is that ASSAN Aluminum has awarded a contract for two of SECO/WARWICK coil annealing furnaces complete with their Vortex Jet Heating. Here's the PR:

SECO/WARWICK has received an order from ASSAN Aluminium Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. Turkey for two double chamber furnaces for coil annealing various sizes of coils, equipped with high convection Vortex Jet Heating™. ASSAN ALUMINIUM endeavors to be at the forefront of implementing and developing next generation technologies in the aluminium rolled products industry. Recognizing the productivity and quality gains offered by the Vortex Jet Heating System compared to conventional technologies, ASSAN ALUMINIUM made the choice for the patented innovative solution. The furnaces are part of the ASSAN ALUMINIUM�s large-scale investment programme for renovation and expansion of Standart Aluminium ( Ex-Nasas) assets - acquired last year - to a 100,000 tpy aluminium complex for foil and specialty products.

The heating system will incorporate recuperative burners for maximum energy efficiency. The complete installation includes an automatic charging machine for furnace loading, unloading, and load transportation between furnaces and load tables. The furnaces are scheduled for start-up the first quarter of 2007.

You can read the full press release, along with descriptions of the technology used here.

Auto Makers Call for an End to Steel Tariffs

(October 11) - In 1992 the U.S. sought to stem the tide of cheap steel imports by imposing tariffs. Over the last two years, however, steel prices have climbed 68% causing a drop in profit and in jobs for automakers. As a result, the six largest U.S. automakers, GM, Ford, Toyota, DaimlerChrysler, Honda and Nissan have joined forces to call for an end to the 1992 tariffs.

"This marks the first time that these six companies have united on a trade issue," said Mustafa Mohatarem, GM's chief economist. GM buys some 10 million tons of steel each year. Mohatarem went on: "Further protection for the steel industry is simply unjustified. Continuing these outdated duties hurts American manufacturing competitiveness and U.S. jobs."

The U.S. International Trade Commission will hold hearings beginning October 17 to review the tariffs.

Timken News

(October 11) - A couple of news releases have come out of Timken in the past week. One covers expansion of their facility in Mesa, AZ while the other touts expanded business with Telcon. Here are some snippets with links to the full articles:

CANTON, Ohio., Oct. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The Timken Company (NYSE: TKR) is continuing to expand its capabilities for the aerospace aftermarket with an investment of more than $12 million for a new technology center in Mesa, Ariz. The new facility, which will include manufacturing and engineering functions, more than doubles the capacity of Timken's previous aftermarket operation in Gilbert, Ariz., which will be vacated over the next several months. http://www.timken.com/media/kits/aerofacility.asp

The 85,000 sq. ft. manufacturing and technology center provides critical new space for integrating Timken's specialized engineering, manufacturing, reconditioning and service functions for components and systems used for aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul. Many of these products are covered by Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Full story here.

...

CANTON, Ohio, Oct. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- The Timken Company (NYSE: TKR) announced today that it is supplying Telcon Construction Equipment Company with bearing products and application support for its JD-315V backhoe loader, EH600 dumper and TFC cranes. Telcon is a leading manufacturer of equipment used in major Indian infrastructure projects.

In addition to supplying Timken(R) tapered roller bearings, Timken also helped Telcon improve equipment performance and productivity through technical support, such as establishing proper bearing constraints and determining correct fitting practices. Timken's local supply of bearings also cut Telcon's costs. Full story here.

Big Week for Non-Heat Treat News

(October 10) - Here at HeatTreatNews.com we're obviously about news that relates to heat treating and the heat treating industry. That said, it sure has been a busy week for news. Elections looming, scandals breaking and a new, if basically insane, nuclear power are big stories we won't be covering...

Bodycote Enters Turkish Market

(October 10) - Looks as though Bodycote has taken an interest in the Turkish economy. They've formed a joint venture with Turkey's largest commercial heat treat operation. Here's the Bodycote PR:

Bodycote International Plc has now completed the formation of a joint venture with ISTAS, Turkey’s largest commercial heat treatment group. Under the agreement, highlighted in Bodycote’s 2006 interim statement, Bodycote acquired a 60% share of the ISTAS businesses based in Istanbul, Izmir, Bursa, Ankara and Adana.

ISTAS is ideally placed to service the growing number of automotive suppliers locating to Turkey and will benefit from Bodycote’s many global relationships in this sector. The development will also enable further expansion into other emerging markets.

The business will form part of Bodycote’s Central European Group and will be managed from Istanbul by Mr Baris Telseren from the ISTAS will assume responsibility as general manager from 1 January 2007 when the businesses will be consolidated into a single fiscal entity.

ISTAS anticipates sales of €8m during 2006 and expects strong growth especially from its new facility recently opened in Bursa.

Bodycote is delighted to have reached this agreement with the ISTAS shareholders and to have established a footprint in this important developing market.

SMS Meer to Supply Reheat Furnace

(October 10) - Today's Industrial Heating email news blast has word of Steel Dynamics placing an order with SMS Meer. To read the release click here.

John Pease Joins Marathon Rep Network

(October 4) - Former Hinderliter, Curtiss-Wright and Ipsen guy, John Pease, has signed his company up to rep Marathon in the Midwest. Here's the PR:

Cincinnati, OH (04 October 2006) - Marathon Sensors Inc. is pleased to announce that Alta Metallurgical Systems LLC (614-873-7099) of Dublin Ohio will represent their products for Ohio, Kentucky and southern Indiana. Alta also represents Ipsen International and Conrad Kacsik, two other industry leaders.

John Pease, President of Alta, brings his experience in heat treat and his training as a Metallurgist to Marathon customers. "In a highly competitive market such as heat treating, suppliers must offer support and solutions rather than just a product. John brings expertise as a metallurgist and over 20 years experience in the field to Marathon and our customers," says Erika Leeds, Customer Service and Sales Manager for Marathon Sensors.

Prior to Alta Metallurgical Systems, John was with Hinderliter Heat Treating as Quality Control Manager and also as the General Manager for two of their facilities, a Group Manager with Curtiss Wright Flight Systems and the Southeast Service Manager for Ipsen International.

New Order for Solar Manufacturing

(October 4) - Looks like another new furnace order for Solar. This time they're not only giving customer names but purchase prices and all. Here's the PR:

Souderton, PA - Solar Manufacturing announces the receipt of a contract from the United States Department of Energy for a Model HFL-2624-EQ vacuum heat treating furnace. Valued at $252,000, the furnace will be shipped to the National Energy Tech Lab-Albany in Albany, OR. The vacuum furnace work hot zone is 18”w 14”h 26”d will hold a capacity of a 500lb work load and operate to 2500f with an ultimate vacuum in the low 10-6 Torr range. The hot zone will use high efficiency insulation and operate with an efficiency of less than 5 watts per square inch and utilize cylindrical graphite band heating elements. Full electronic furnace control is provided with a Honeywell Model DCP551 programmable controller, an Allen Bradley Micrologix 1500 PLC and a Eurotherm Graphic Digital Display Recorder.

 

Ipsen and VFS Complete Merger of Sales Teams

(October 3 - midday update) - After what had to be a lot of hard work, Ipsen and VFS have combined their sales forces and equipped them all with both product lines. This should allow Ipsen/VFS to offer a multitude of solutions that are dialed-in to the customer's needs. Here's the official PR:

ROCKFORD, IL and SOUDERTON, PA – Effective October 1, 2006 the North American sales representative groups of Ipsen International Inc. and VFS Corporation have become one team to better serve our customers. This change will result in one representative team for both brands designed to take full advantage of the best local expertise available, delivering improved technical guidance on both new furnaces and aftermarket service.

For a complete list of representatives, please visit:

http://www.ipsen-intl.com/locations.asp
or
http://www.vfscorp.com/contact-n_american_reps.html

 

Pat Torok Departs FCC/Waukee for Danaher Controls

(October 3) - Pat Torok is somewhat of an icon in the heat treat controls business. He started all those years ago in IT at Marathon Monitors eventually climbing to Vice President of Sales. As VP he helped lead the company to prominence in heat treat control systems. He left Marathon around '98-99 for Triadx, a rep firm and manufacturer of sensors and the first low-cost, portable NDIR designed for heat treaters - the "Furnace Doctor," designed by none other than Torok himself.

A couple years back Pat sold his company to Furnace Control Corp and took a sales position with FCC where he also helped out in product design at Waukee.

At FNA last week Pat let us know that he was leaving FCC after accepting a position with Danaher Controls in Cincinnati, Pat's home. With more time for family we're sure it's a great move for Pat and wish him the best of luck with Danaher!

Small-scale Nitriding Furnaces from Nitrex

(October 2) - For those looking for small scale nitriding capacity, check out Nitrex's latest press release:

Nitrex Metal Inc., Montreal, Canada, has introduced its multipurpose
NX-400 series of nitriding and nitrocarburizing systems, an economical
and dependable choice for use in small scale processing as well as for
general laboratory and testing purposes. These furnaces have a compact
construction that makes efficient use of restricted floor space in a
plant. Available in three standard sizes, ranging in workload capacity
from 440 to 880 lbs (200 - 400 kg), the furnace, control system and
auxiliary equipment are integrated and mounted on a platform for secure
transport by forklift; alternatively, the system may be physically
separated back into individual components at the customer's request. The
NX-400 series comes plug-and-play ready, so installation is quick and
simple.

Cincinnati Steel Treating Taps Process-Electronic

(October 2) - Hand in hand with the Nitrex announcement above, we received news from their sister company, Process-Electronic. This one is about Cincinnati Steel Treating installing a new PE system:

Cincinnati Steel Treating Co. recently automated a nitriding / ferritic nitrocarburizing furnace using Process-Electronic process controls at its Cincinnati, Ohio heat treating facility. The automation upgrade included the modernization of a gas-fired pit furnace with new instrumentation and hardware such as a gas control panel, gas analyzer, furnace exhaust and heat tracing system, and smart safety system for overheat protection.
Furnace controls are based on a Protherm 500 controller pre-programmed for nitriding and ferritic nitrocarburizing processes. The controller is connected to a Protherm 9800 SCADA software that will monitor and supervise the automatic nitriding / FNC cycles remotely, optimizing the furnace’s performance and availability.
The overhaul results in an automated system able to repeat processes without operator involvement, optimize process and fuel gas usage, and provide the customer with full process traceability and quality control. Installation, integration and testing were completed in July 2006.

Chrysler Following Ford and GM? Some Investors Say Yes

(October 2) - Seems some Daimler investors are of the "what have you done for me lately" mindset. After keeping DaimlerChrysler in the black in spite of huge losses from Daimler's "Smart" car project, Chrysler has fallen on hard times and is forecasting a loss in excess of $1 billion this year. Amazing how quickly fortunes turn in the auto industry.

The thing is, Chrysler was big profit for the group only a year ago when the group was flirting with disaster over its tiny Smart Car that wouldn't sell for a profit. Now, not much more than a year later, investors are calling for DaimlerChrysler to sell off Chrysler for its bad fortune under high gas prices.

It seems Chrysler probably did over-produce and may not have predicted the $3.00+/gallon gas prices, but their contributions shouldn't be forgotten.

Personally, we think the design group at Chrysler will respond and return the company to winning ways. It does, after all, take more than a few months to develop and build new cars.

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