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Join Our New MailingList! HeatTreatNews.comis now available in a convenient, monthly summary by either email (PDFfile) or Post (North America only). To join our monthly mailing list soyou won't miss any news click here.   Pat Torok Appointed V.P. of North America Heat Treat at United Process Controls(September 2 - morning update) - Lookslike United Process Controls is brining in the ringer with theappointment of Pat Torok to handle heat treating in North America fortheir combined companies. Pat, of course, is a former VP for Waukee/FCCand MMI and is the inventor of the first widely-used portable IR systemfor heat treating. Here's the PR:UnitedProcess Controls is pleased to announce the appointment of PatrickTorok to the position of Vice President of Sales & Marketing - HeatTreat for the UPC group.Patjoins us with over 25 years of experience in the design, marketing andimplementation of metals heat treat process controls and sensors. Pat'spreviously held positions within the group companies include a 13 yeartenure at Marathon Monitors where he co-authored the industry's firstheat treat specific data acquisition system-Process Master. Heheld various other positions within MMI including VP of sales andmarketing. Pat was President/Owner of Triadx manufacturing wherehe developed the FurnaceDoctor® heat treat gas analyzer, and laterbecame VP of Engineering and Technology for FurnaceControl/Waukee. Pat recently joins us from Danaher IndustrialControls (West/Partlow/PMA) where he was Director of NA SystemsBusiness."Bringinginto UPC such a knowledgeable and energetic person as Pat Torok is aboost to our already very strong management team," said PaulOleszkiewicz, Vice President of UPC, "Our global position of leader inheat treatment controls is enhanced by his experience." Pat will becharged with development and implementation of a unified marketstrategy for North America. UPC group companies include FurnaceControl, Marathon Monitors, Nitrex Metal, Process-Electronic, andWaukee Engineering. ABOUT UNITED PROCESS CONTROLSUnitedProcess Controls is an alliance of five recognized companies within theheat treating industry (Furnace Controls, Marathon Monitors, NitrexMetal, Process-Electronic and Waukee Engineering) that share a commongoal to provide prime control solutions through their worldwide salesand services network with easy-to-access local support.Bodycote Sells Testing Services, Hubbard to Step Down(September 2 - morning update) - Bodycote has sold its testing business in a news story over at Industrial Heating. You can read that news here.We've also heard that Bodycote CEO John Hubbard has announced that hewill step down as soon as his successor is found. Hubbard has runBodycote for the last six years and we're sure he's excited to get backto some good Southwestern cuisine and open roads. Not that the ChileColorado in Manchester UK is terrible or anything...it just tastes abit like Vindaloo.Guest Editorial from Ken Hinckley(August 11 - morning update) - Anyonewhose been in the industry a long time or spent much time around MTImeetings likely knows Ken Hinckley. Ken is a long-time heat treater wholately spends much of his time in Thailand. Today we have a some wordsfrom Ken regarding what he says is the baloney press coverage of thefalling dollar helping the trade deficit. Comments welcomed: The American press and the politiciansare all jumping on an imaginary band wagon trying to justify thedevaluation of the US dollar by saying it is closing the tradedeficit and creating jobs because we are exporting more. Make nomistakes, we are not exporting any more product and no new jobs havebeen created. Furthermore, we are paying considerably more forimports and the standard or living for Americans has beensignificantly lowered. The trade deficit is decreasing on paper only.Since I spend a great deal of my timein Thailand, I will just use it as an example. The dollar valuedifferentiates against different currencies but in all cases it haslost value dramatically. In Thailand, the Baht has gained 33.5% overthe US dollar. Here is an example of how it has affected America:Trade volume between the US and Thailand in 2006 was approximately $30 billion.That is, we exported approximately $8 billion to Thailand and imported $22 billion from them. That constitutes a trade deficit on our part of $14 billion.Now, let’s see what is happening. Forconversation purposes, we will use the same 2006 figures. Thevolume remains the same at $30 billion. Note, no exports or importshave been added.Now we have exported $10.64 billion and imported $16.54 billion. The $14 billion trade deficit has dwindled down to $5.9 billion. According to the government we have closed the trade gap by $8.1 billion.Sure looks good on paper. Keep in mindthat there has been zero change in trade volume. It looks good forthe US politicians to say the trade imbalance is narrowing when inreality nothing has changed. What has happened is the price of goodsimported to Americans has increased in price, while the goods weexport have become cheaper for foreigners to purchase.A simple example: Let’s say a widgetin Thailand cost 44,000 Thai Baht, which was $1,000 USD in 2006. That same widget now cost Americans $1335. Conversely, an Americanproduct worth $1,000 used to cost Thai citizens 44,000 Baht topurchase, it now cost them 33,000 baht. Since we import more than weexport, the standard of living for Americas has decreasedsignificantly.Apply this example to productsmanufactured all over the world and it is easy to conclude that theweak USD has a devastating effect on the American standard of living.Ipsen Supplies a Third TurboTreater® to Nevada Heat Treating(August 6 - morning update) - Here'sthe latest PR from Ipsen regarding delivery of one of their well-knownTurboTreater furnaces to Nevada Heat Treating: (Rockford,IL) - Ipsen delivered another vacuum furnace to Nevada Heat Treating, aH5448 2-Bar Quench TurboTreater® Horizontal Vacuum Furnace. Thisenhanced TurboTreater® has a work zone size of 36” wide x 36” high x48” deep with a gross load weight capability of 3,500 lbs at 2400°. Theunit offers reduced power consumption, compact floorprint, and quick hotzone removal in less than one hour for maintenance. The vacuum furnacesystem includes robust graphite heating element assembly and an energyefficient 2” thick graphite thermal insulation pack composed of acarbon composite hot face backed by four layers of graphite felt. Theinsulation is housed in a carbon steel gas distribution plenum foruniform gas distribution into the workload. The Ipsen CompuVacTMcontrol system offers many features including DigiTrim automatic multi-zone tuning feature, virtually unlimited recipe storage, real-time andhistorical trending and modem capability for remote diagnostics. Thecontrol console is UL listed and the unit is designed and engineered tomeet AMS 2750 D code requirements.NevadaHeat Treating, Inc. provides heat treating services for a broad rangeof industries which includes some of the most advanced heat treatingand brazing equipment in the world. The Ipsen TurboTreater® waspurchased to service a large aerospace contract which was awarded aftermore than a year of process development with their Tier I customer.Ipsen was able to expedite the H5448 build and delivered it within 8weeks from receipt of purchase order. Between its California and Nevadafacilities, this is 7th vacuum furnace Nevada Heat Treating, Inc andCalifornia Brazing has purchased in the past 5 years.Ipsen,Inc. designs and manufactures thermal processing systems includingvacuum heat treating equipment, atmosphere furnaces and advancedthermal process control systems. With manufacturing operationsworldwide, the most sophisticated research and development facilitiesin the industry, and the largest installed base, Ipsen, Inc. offersinnovative solutions andtechnicalexpertise to improve the efficiency and performance of your heattreating applications. Ipsen, Inc. maintains manufacturing plants inRockford, IL, Souderton, PA, Kleve, Germany, Calcutta, India andShanghai, China.United Process Controls Upgrades MAHLE Heat Treat Facility(August 5 - morning update) - Based on the number of PRs of late it looks like the five companies that make-up the relatively new United Process Controls (Furnace Control Corp., Marathon Monitors Inc., Nitrex Metal, Process-Electronic and Waukee Engineering)have been quite busy. Today's release is about a controls and softwareupgrade at the MAHLE facility in Russellville, AK. Here's the full release:MarathonMonitors Inc., a member of United Process Controls (UPC) recentlyupgraded the North Plant at MAHLE Group's Russellville, Arkansas plant.MAHLE, a leading designer and manufacturer of automotive parts, updatedthe plant with advanced controls and SCADA from UPC.Thesystem upgrade is based on the industry tested and established MMIDualPro controller and a custom-designed SCADA system. "United ProcessControls sent the MMI field guys out and did the whole upgrade in justa couple days," says heat treat manager, Rodney Moore (right). "AtUPC we work with the customer on a virtual prototype of the SCADAsystem over the Internet so we can dial in the customer requirementsbefore we ever step foot in the plant" said Marathon's EngineeringDirector, Paul Barker. MAHLE plans to extend this upgrade to their South Plant in the near future. MarathonMonitors Inc. is a leading supplier of heat treating and combustioncontrol systems. As part of United Process Controls, Marathon productsare sold, supported and serviced world-wide and integrate seamlesslywith products from UPC's member companies. www.marathonmonitors.com - www.group-upc.com.Another Heat Treat Supplier Wins an Export Award(August 4 - morning update) - Governor Ted Strickland of Ohio recently announced the Ohio Excellence in Exporting Awards for 2008. Thisyear, 24 companies received the honor for exporting products from Ohioand supporting the economy of the state. Of the 24 companies, 2 wereawarded Exporter of the Year 2008, one in the small and medium category and the other in the large company category.Last year's winner of the overall Exporter of the Year was Marathon Sensors (Marathon Monitors), beating out 30 other companies in Ohio that received the "Excellence in Exporting" award. Followingon Marathon's success last year, another heat treat supplier, SuperSystems Inc., was given one of this year's 23 "Excellence in Exporting"awards for 2008.Beating out Super Systems and the other 21 "Excellence in Exporting" award winners, the big winners this year were Select Sires (small to medium companies) and Lincoln Electric (large companies). Select Sires sells frozen bull semen. Lincoln Electric is a global leader in the brazing and alloys equipment market. Companies can only be considered for the Exporter of the Year award once every three years.For the full release from the state of Ohio, go to http://www.odod.state.oh.us/newsroom/releases/1949.asp.Bodycote Results(July 31 - morning update) - Bodycoterecently released their latest results. The short version is a 4.9%profit increase on a 20.5% revenue increase. Definitely a good resultconsidering both the slump in manufacturing and the low dollar withBodycote owning so many plants in North America. You can read the wholereport here. Here's the quick recap: - Revenue from continuing operations increased by 20.5% to £382.6 million (H1 2007: £317.6 million) - Headline operating profit1 grew by 8.9% to £52.5 million (H1 2007: £48.2 million) - Operating profit ahead 6.7% at £50.8 million (H1 2007: £47.6 million) - Headline profit before tax2 up 7.4% to £46.4 million (H1 2007: £43.2 million) - Profit before tax improved by 4.9% to £44.7 million (H1 2007: £42.6 million) - Operating cash flow3 increased by 20.8% to £29.0 million (H1 2007: £24.0 million) - Basic headline earnings per share4 lifted by 4.9% to 10.8p (H1 2007: 10.3p) - Basic earnings per share increased 2.0% to 10.3p (H1 2007: 10.1p) - Interim dividend increased by 7.3% to 2.95 pence per share (H1 2007: 2.75p)No More Leased Vehicles from Chrysler(July 31 - afternoon update) - Startingtomorrow you will no longer be able to lease a vehicle from ChryslerLLC. The move is a drastic attempt to avoid the losses Chrysler hasseen on returned vehicles with sharply lower residual values thanexpected thanks to high gasoline costs and the corresponding drop indemand for its trucks, SUVs and gas-guzzling cars such as the 300C.Unfortunatelyfor Chrysler this may be a no-win situation since leases account for avery large portion of Chrysler's total new vehicle sales.Thechange is having a positive short-term outcome, however, with CNNreporting that Chrysler's sales have soared with customer's trying toget leases in the last few days of July.Toyota Sees Hard Times Ahead(July 29 - morning update) - Onlya few days after beating GM is quarterly auto sales, Toyota has revisedits forecasts for the year downward based on sluggish North AmericanSales. Read the full story here.Gas Prices Tumbling - Time to Lock-in?(July 29 - morning update) - It was only a couple weeks ago thatwe were lamenting skyrocketing natural gas prices. Well if you take alook at our chart (provided courtesy of Power Market Today) over to theright, you'll see gas futures tumbling! This is a good thing for thosewho didn't already lock-in their natural gas prices.Nitrex Lands Two-Furnace Repeat Order from MAHLE(July 22 - morning update) - Nitrex,as pretty much everyone knows, was a pioneer in high-quality nitridingprocesses and is currently the benchmark by which all such systems arejudged. As part of United Process Controls they have a support network that's frankly hard to beat.No surprise to see MAHLE going with them again for their nitriding needs. Here's the PR:MAHLEGroup, a leader in the design and production of piston systems, haspurchased two complete NX-1015 gas nitriding systems for its new plantsin China and Mexico. These Nitrex systems will process piston ringsusing the Nitreg®-S controlled nitriding technology for stainlesssteels and enable Mahle to meet its requirements for high manufacturingand quality standards. This represents Mahle's eighth and ninth systemsfor use in piston ring manufacturing. The decision to reorder was basedon the success achieved with the equipment and technology previouslysupplied to the group's operations in Brazil and Portugal. The ordersare scheduled for installation during the 3rd quarter of the year atthe facilities in Ying Kou, China and Aguascalientes, Mexico.ABOUT NITREX METAL INC.NitrexMetal is a key supplier of automated, turnkey heat treating systems fornitriding and nitrocarburizing applications and operates a network ofcommercial heat treating facilities across North America. To date thecompany has over 250 installations in plants worldwide and has licensedits technology to commercial heat treating companies in Australia,Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Italy, South Korea, NewZealand, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, UAE, UK, andUSA.NitrexMetal is a member of United Process Controls, an alliance of fiverecognized companies within the heat treating industry that share acommon goal to provide prime control solutions through their worldwidesales and services network with easy-to-access local support.Bidding War for Bodycote Test Business(July 14 - afternoon update) - Onthe topic of Bodycote (see next item) it's worth nothing that sixprivate equity firms have made it to the second round of Bodycote's"auction" of is testing business. Bodycote is hopeing to garner some400 million pounds ($800 million) for the business unit. You can readthe story here.Bodycote Makes First French Acquisition(July 14 - afternoon update) - I'mpretty sure there are quite a few Bodycote facilities in France, butthe wire claims that Bodycote said this was their first acquisition inFrance. I suppose that means the previously bought someone who ownedsome French facilities or maybe they just meant the testing servicesgroup. Anyway, here's the PR:Bodycote has bought Toulouse-based materials testing laboratory Centechfor an undisclosed sum, according to a statement issued at theFarnborough Air Show today. The Macclesfield-based engineering group said the deal was its first acquisition in France.Centech’scustomers include Airbus, French jet engine maker Snecma and GeneralElectric Aircraft Engines and its services include mechanical testing,machining and failure analysis of metallic and composite materials. SeanKerr, Bodycote Testing's managing director Europe, said: "Theacquisition of Centech, with its close links with Airbus France, notonly dovetails perfectly with our existing business, but gives usfurther opportunities for expansion into the European market." Gas Prices Going Through the Roof(July 8 - afternoon update) - Incase you haven't been watching the handy-dandy chart over to the rightside of this window that gives you the very latest on natural gasprices here's some news - it's heading up. It was just a few monthsback we were below $9 and now we're pushing $14. And it's not justnatural gas, but propane and nitrogen and, heck, I suppose Helium'sprobably up too. I guess we can take some solace in the reasonablenickel costs of late.Ford and GM Riding High!(July 8 - morning update) - ...inChina that is. Yes, two of the "big three" US auto makers - you knowthe ones that reported sales down between 21-30% just a week back - arereporting strong sales in China. Overall, GM's sales in China grewabout 13% and Ford's grew abut 21%. Not nearly enough to offset NorthAmerican sales drops, but good news for sure. I guess the pressure ison Chrysler for some good news now.Derek Dennis Joins Solar Atmospheres of California(July 1 - morning update) - Forthose who don't know that Solar Atmospheres is opening a facility inCalifornia, well, now you do. The man to head that operation is its newpresident, Derek Dennis. Here's the full Press Release:Souderton,Pa. — Roger Jones, Corporate President, announces the hiring of DerekDennis as President of Solar’s new California heat treating company:“Derek comes to Solar with a wealth of heat treating and managementexperience, primarily from the aircraft and petrochemical business asformer Director of Operations for Valley Metals and ManufacturingManager for Jet Products (Senior Aerospace) both of San Diego,California. He also served in the US Marine Corps as an AerialNavigator and Crew Chief.” Accordingto William R. Jones, CEO: “Derek was carefully selected to headthe new company after reviewing numerous applicants”. His strongpoints are his life long ties to California, his managerial experience,and knowledge of the metals business. Derek’sfirst assignment will be to select a plant site with a primary focus onthe Inland Empire, just east of Los Angeles, where an experienced laborpool is available and several potential plant sites exist.Accordingto Bob Hill, Solar’s President of Western, Pennsylvania operations, whodid advance marketing research for the project: “Our aim is toinstall large, high tech furnaces and provide high quality operationsnot currently available on the West Coast.”For more information, contact Solar’s Marketing Manager, Bob Lacock, at 800.347.3236, extension 213.Delphi Looks to Sell Global Exhaust Business(July 1 - morning update) - Well-knownauto parts giant, Delphi is looking to sell its exhaust business aspart of its ongoing transformation plan. Here's a brief bit from the press release:AUBURNHILLS, Mich., — Delphi Corporation (PINKSHEETS: DPHIQ) today announcedthat it is seeking buyers for its global exhaust business as part ofthe company's transformation plan.Thebusiness to be sold relates to the design and manufacture of theexhaust system front exhaust module ("hot end") including catalyticconverters and exhaust manifolds. The business serves more than 10major customers and includes sites in Blonie, Poland; Clayton,Australia; Gurgaon, India; and Port Elizabeth, South Africa; as well asjoint venture interests in Shanghai, China; and Monterrey, Mexico; andtechnical centers in Auburn Hills and Flint, Michigan; and Bascharage,Luxembourg.AlthoughDelphi intends to divest its exhaust business, the company intends tocontinue to provide full engine management systems, including air andfuel management, and combustion and valve-train technology.Additionally,Delphi's non-equity based alliance with Belgium-based Bosal Group tooffer complete exhaust systems will be terminated by mutual agreement.The alliance was announced in the spring of 2005. Delphi and Bosaltogether provided customized exhaust systems for automotive andcommercial vehicle manufacturers worldwide to meet stringent exhaustemissions standards and reduce engine noise.PendingCourt approval, Delphi will retain Lincoln International, a leadingglobal mid-market investment bank, to explore sale opportunities.Parties interested in Delphi's exhaust business should contact RobertSatow at (+1) 212.277.8102 or rsatow@lincolninternational.com. MAHLE Acquires Oil Pump Manufacturer ENTEC(July 1 - morning update) - Itwasn't that long ago that a major pump manufacturer (Sulzer) wasmaking noises about buying Heat Treating Biggie Bodycote. Well today wehear that a large auto parts manufacturer (and large captive heattreater) has reversed this news by buying a pump manufacturer. Noconnections of course. Here's a snip from the MAHLE press release:Stuttgart, July 1, 2008 – Stuttgart’s MAHLE Group announcedtoday that MAHLE has acquired all the shares of ENTEC GmbH inThuringia, Germany. ENTEC is a developer and manufacturer of controlledoil pumps for combustion engines.In its currentorganization, ENTEC develops controlled oil pumps on customer order andproduces prototypes and small lots for special applications andmotorsport. These brought in sales of about EUR 7 million in the 2007business year, generated with a total of about 60 employees. Inaddition, licenses for controlled pumps have been issued to contractmanufacturing companies for large lot orders. While development iscurrently concentrated in the Crock/Thuringia location, productionprincipally takes place at the Brattendorf/Thuringia location.Developmenttrends in modern generations of combustion engines are focused stronglyon the topic of significant reductions in fuel consumption, especiallyin light of imminent CO2 regulations and legislation. In the future,controlled oil pumps will make significant contributions in this area,since they can be precisely tuned to provide only the amount of oilthat is needed at different engine operating points. Potential fuelsavings due to optimization of the entire oil circuit system, usingcontrolled oil pumps, range at up to three percent. MAHLE plans, in themiddle and long term, to exploit the great growth potential forcontrolled oil pumps as part of its in-house manufacturing program.American Axle Strike to Close Another GM Plant(March 3 - morning update) - Lookslike the ongoing strike at American Axle has caused GM to close(temporarily) their assembly plant in Morain, Ohio. The plant makesTrailBlazers, GMC Envoys, Saab 9-7X and the Isuzu Ascender and employssome 2,170 hourly workers.AFC-HOLCROFT Names Director of European Operations(February 18 - morning update) - You'dbe hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't know AFC-HOLCROFT and theirsuccess in developing standard furnace products that they can deliveraround the world on very short notice - including a snazzy modularendo-generator system. Well it looks like they've got a new guy - botha metallurgist and engineer no less - to run Europe. Here's the PR:AFC-Holcroft,one of the largest suppliers of industrial heat treating equipment inthe world, has named Marc Ruetsch as Director of EuropeanOperations. Ruetsch will be responsible for all activity inEurope, including Russia, from a branch office in Boncourt,Switzerland.  Ruetschholds degrees in both Metallurgy and Engineering and has 27 years ofexperience in the heat treating industry. He is fluent in French,German and English. Thescale of opening a satellite office of a world-leading company isnothing new for Ruetsch. In his previous post at another majorEuropean industrial furnace company, he launched manufacturing supportin China, organized a network of technology agents across Europe andAsia, and managed large customized projects from start tofinish. Throughouthis extensive industry experience he has been responsible for allphases of the commercial cycle – beginning with inquiry, progressing tosite review, sales, commercial contracts, project management, andafter-sales support. His 18 years in Sales also included posts asManaging Director and Director of Sales of a former technology licenseeof AFC-Holcroft.Withthe U.S. dollar currently very weak against the Euro, the obviousbenefits of manufacturing equipment in North America and shipping toEurope make the timing of a European support location “a logical step”according to Ruetsch.Ruetschstated, “AFC-Holcroft is recognized worldwide as a leading manufacturerof atmosphere heat-treatment furnaces. I will be able to supportthe main office in Wixom, Michigan, by servicing customers in Europe,as well as promoting our industrial furnaces with exceptionalprice-performance ratio in various heat treatment processes.” Aspart of this concept, AFC-Holcroft’s UBQ (Universal Batch Quench)family of products has been re-engineered to minimize internationalshipping expense, to maximize global flexibility. AFC-Holcrofthas more than 90 years of thermal processing experience. Thecompany manufactures turnkey heat treating systems for applicationsincluding commercial heat treating, automotive, aerospace, tool anddie, foundry and forging, gear manufacturing, fastener manufacturing,and the wire and cable industry.AFC-Holcroftis one of the world’s largest manufacturers of heat treatingfurnaces. The company has a global reach, with organizations inthe United States, China, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, India, Mexico,Italy, Spain, Romania and Japan, including manufacturing means in manyof these countries.For more information on AFC-Holcroft, contact Tim Josephs at (248) 668-4014.New European Office for AFC-HOLCROFT(February 18 - morning update) - Tied to our previous news item is news of AFC-HOLCROFT opening a new office in Europe:AFC-Holcroft,one of the largest builders of industrial heat treating equipment inthe world, is proud to announce the official opening of a branch officein Boncourt, Switzerland. The office will support sales andreplacement parts activity for the European region of the world,including Russia. Currently, AFC-Holcroft has projects inRussia, Romania, Spain and Italy.MarcRuetsch will be responsible for all European activity, operatingout of the new Swiss office. Ruetsch’s title is Director ofEuropean Operations.Ruetsch,who holds degrees in both Metallurgy and Engineering, has held severalmanagement positions for other large European heat treat equipmentsuppliers throughout his 27 years in the heat treating industry. He had worked with AFC-Holcroft previously as a technology licensee.William Disler, Vice President of Sales and Technology for AFC-Holcroft, explained the decision to open an office in Europe."TheEuropean markets, as well as other regions of the world, are criticalto AFC-Holcroft to allow us to manage the peaks and valleys of ourbusiness more efficiently. With the U.S. dollar currently very weakagainst the Euro, the opportunity to manufacture equipment in NorthAmerica and ship it to Europe is very promising”.Dislercontinued, “Our Boncourt office will serve as a beachhead not only tosupport this current activity but to further expand andpenetrate the European marketplace with our products. We will continue to make adjustments in our organization to support ourglobal activity as we expand our footprint around the world.”Followingthis economic trend, AFC-Holcroft recently finalized an importantagreement with a major European heat treater to supply North Americanbuilt batch equipment into several countries throughoutEurope over the next few years. In addition,AFC-Holcroft’s UBQ (Universal Batch Quench) family of products has beenre-engineered to minimize international shipping expense, to maximizeglobal flexibility in the future. AFC-Holcrofthas more than 90 years of thermal processing experience. Thecompany manufactures turnkey heat treating systems for applicationsincluding commercial heat treating, automotive, aerospace, tool anddie, foundry and forging, gear manufacturing, fastener manufacturing,and the wire and cable industry.AFC-Holcroftis one of the world’s largest manufacturers of heat treatingfurnaces. The company has a global reach, with organizations inthe United States, China, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, India, Mexico,Italy, Spain, Romania and Japan, including manufacturing means in manyof these countries.For more information on AFC-Holcroft, contact Tim Josephs at (248) 668-4014.Ken Hinkley Report - Save This Man!(February 18 - morning update) - HeatTreat News has learned that Ken Hinkley long Heat Treat consultant hastaken up parasailing. Things must be slow in the consultingbusiness leaving him with too much free time. So if anyone needsa good consultant please contact him before he hurts him self.email: sklease@aol.com ALD Technology Breaks 30 Million Euros Worth of Vacuum Carburizers(February 6 - morning update) - Nodoubt atmosphere carburizing is here to stay for many parts, butthere's no denying the fast rise of low-pressure carburizing around theglobe. Today's PR from ALD brings that point home as we learn that theyhave made some rather substantial sales of their systems. Here's theirPR:ALDVacuum Technologies has developed important new heat treatmentprocesses and furnaces over recent years. These technologiesideally achieve the latest requirements of industry via advanced levelsof modern manufacturing. Based on vacuum technology, these processescomply with demands of today and address future process requirements,bringing flexibility, improved product quality, increases inefficiency, distortion control improvements and lower production costs.The comfortable working atmosphere of our systems and theenvironmentally friendly nature of the processes are additionalbenefits of ALD’s technology. Followingthe commercial launch in 2002/2003 and a fully successfulimplementation of the pilot system at Wegener Haertereitechnik inHomburg/Saar, Germany, a great many of our customers have been and arecontinuing to be, convinced of the advantages of the process andfurnace technologies. The success of this furnace concept is based on amodular design, which enables easy adaptation to a variety of processesand products. In addition to the automotive industries like BMW,Getrag or General Motors, the new process technology was alsoeffectually implemented in the Diesel injection and industrialtransmissions markets. Between the years 2003 and 2006, 20furnace systems with more than 100 treatment chambers were installedand commissioned. In2007, ALD has again increased its order intake significantly with 10furnace systems including more than 50 treatment chambers. Thisvolume represents about 35 m € to high ranking customers like ZFSaarbruecken and Getrag Untergruppenbach. Further orders wereclosed with commercial heat treatment centers in Germany, The Far Eastand Mexico. A significant number of letters of intent foradditional projects are supporting the growth well into 2008. Since delivery and commissioning of the ordered furnaces will extendover the next few years, ALD is now working to full capacity. Orders placed with large producers of transmissions provide proof forthe acceptance of ALD’s latest heat treatment technology. Withits representative offices and subsidiaries as well as licensees in theUSA (ALD-Holcroft) and Japan (Daido), ALD is well positioned for salesand services worldwide. Furthermore, ALD operates its own heattreatment service centers in Germany, the USA and Mexico. Ongoingresearch and development activities and the intense collaboration innational and international development projects as well as thetechnical expertise from our own centers are reinforcing ALD’sleadership position in this specific world market.Richard SeemannJanuary 2008 ALDVacuum Technologies in Hanau, Germany, is the globally leading supplierof process technologies, furnaces and services in the field of vacuummetallurgy and vacuum heat treatment. With subsidiaries in the USA,Japan, the UK, Russia, China, Poland and Mexico as well as more than 70representative offices, ALD is a world-wide supplier to industries i.e.power generation, environment, aviation, photo voltaic and automotivesuppliers. For further information please contact: ALD Vacuum Technologies GmbH Barbara Ahrens Sekretariat der Geschäftsführung Tel.: +49.06181. 307-3107 Fax: +49.06181. 307-3320 barbara.ahrens(at)ald-vt.deCHS-Asia Earns ISO9001:2000 Status(February 5 - morning update) - Bignews from David Pickup's and Randy Simmons' controls & furnacescompany, CHS-ASIA. Their team has been growing by leaps and bounds andhas achieved ISO9001 certification. Here's their PR:CHS-ASIA(S) Pte Ltd. a Manufacturer and Supplier of Industrial FurnaceEquipment has reached a significant milestone and is proud to announcethat we are now certified to ISO 9001:2000 by DQS Certification(www.dqs.de). The certification is accredited by the GermanAccreditation Body, Deutscher Akkreditierungs Rat (DAR,www.dar.bam.de). Thecertification of the effectiveness of our Quality Management Systemrecognizes that the policies, practices and procedures of our companycan ensure consistent quality in the equipment and services we provideto our clients. With this certification, our clients can be confidentthat CHS-ASIA is dedicated to maintaining the highest efficiency andresponsiveness in achieving our ultimate goal – guaranteed clientsatisfaction.CHS-ASIA is certified to ISO 9001:2000 for the following scope:1.Design, Fabrication, Assembly, Installation and Commissioning of Industrial Furnaces & Associated Equipment2.After Sales Service of Spare Parts, Servicing and MaintenanceInmaintaining our Quality Management System, CHS-ASIA is committed toconduct semi-annual audits to ensure compliance and to assessinitiatives for continued improvement. Our clients can be confidentthat CHS-ASIA will continue to provide the high quality services theyhave come to expect well into the future.Webelieve that our decision to become ISO 9001 certified is a proactiveone that not only anticipates the demands of our clients, but alsodemonstrates our commitment to providing quality services to all ourclients.Ever Treat an 11,000 Pound Weldment? Solar Just Did Two(February 1 - morning update) - In the category of "a picture's worth a thousand words" we have the latest from Solar Atmospheres: And here's the story from Solar directly: Solar Atmospheres, Souderton, PA,recently heat treated two 4140 (chromium molybdenum) steel weldments,each weighing 11,000 lbs. Using a 12 foot long horizontal loadingSolar Manufacturing furnace with a 50,000 lb. capacity, Solarnormalized and tempered the weldments to achieve specific yieldstrength, while minimizing distortion, through controlled heating andcooling.The weldment dimensions were, 54 x 34 x84 inches, with section thicknesses ranging from 2 to 6 inches. Theconfiguration required vacuum thermal processing in order to preventstructural cracking. Critical to this goal, Solar strategicallyplaced six workload thermocouples in the various weldments sections. Uniform heat up of the large part was accomplished with strategicallyplanned pre-heat steps, a uniform soak at temperature, and acontrolled 2 bar quench.Tri Kris Fabrication, Lansdale, PA, wasvery pleased with the heat treating and will process more weldmentsof this type at Solar. The part is a component in a large tensiletesting machine that tests braided steel cable for shipbuildingapplications. * * *BobLacockSolarAtmospheres, Marketing800.347.3236x 234jenna@solaratm.comThyssenKrupp Forging Purchased by Sona Group(January 29 - evening update) - Moreand more manufacturing companies are being snatched up lately. Today'snews comes from India's Sona Group, a large manufacturer of steeringsystems, axle components and forgings for automotive applications.It turns out they've just purchased Praezisionsschmiede, ThyssenKrupp'sforging business, which has plants all over Germany and one in Selma,North Carolina. An interesting note is that the sale, which closes anyday now, has an effective date of October 1, 2007.Chrysler Offering $100,000 Buyouts(January 29 - evening update) - Inan effort to trim some 10,000 jobs by April, Chrysler LLC is offeringup buyout deals for up to $100,000. The offers are a combination oflump-sum buyouts and early retirement packages. In all about 19,000workers are being offered the buy-outs with Chrysler wanting 10,000 totake it.Buyoutsare being proposed to workers at the Conner Assembly plant, the DetroitAxle plant, the Mack Avenue Engine I and Engine II plants, Mt. ElliotTool & Dye, the Sterling Stamping plant, the Warren Stamping plant,the Trenton Engine plant and the Sterling Heights test center.Expansion at Overton Gear(January 28 - morning update) - OvertonGear Corp is a custom gear company servicing transportation,construction and wind applications. Based in Addison, IL, Overton hasrecently completed a 10,000 square-foot expansion of their heattreating department.Newadditions to the heat treat include two new carburizers and an 84-inchquench press (probably one of the largest in the world). With the newequipment, Overton can now handle gears up to 90 inches in diameter.Geek Ear-Wear Technology Put to Good Use(January 25 - morning update) - Okay,come on and confess...you've worn one of those little ear decorationsfor talking on your cell phone without a wire, haven't you? Well,believe it or not, all those earpieces worn in the world'sairports have resulted in something truly useful. Thosemicrophone/earphone devices are all based on a wireless technologycalled Bluetooth and that technology is now being used to helpdouble-amputee soldiers walk again. Insteadof transmitting your latest bet on the Giants to your cell phone,Bluetooth is being used to allow replacement legs to communicate witheach other and coordinate walking for soldiers who've literally giventheir legs up for their mission and for their country. Nothing to do with heat treating, but great news as we head into the weekend. Read about it here.Westinghouse Specialty Metal Plant Adds SECO / WARWICK Furnace(January 25 - morning update) - SECO/WARWICKhas landed another furnace order from Westinghouse Specialty Metals inBlairsville, PA. The order is for a new vacuum annealing furnace.Always better reading when the customer's let their names be used forsure.Here's the PR :WestinghouseSpecialty Metals Plant in Blairsville, PA has purchased a High VacuumRetort Annealing Furnace to process zirconium tubes. Westinghouseis increasing their plant capacity to meet the needs of customers inboth China and the United States.TheVacuum Annealing furnace is custom engineered to meet the exceptionallytight uniformity standard of ±5ºF in the 48 inch x 6 inch x 216 inchhot zone. The furnace is rated for 1200ºF and will beequipped with a cold cap High Vacuum diffusion pump. About Westinghouse Specialty Metals PlantWestinghouseElectric Company offers a wide range of nuclear plant products andservices to utilities throughout the world, including fuel, service andmaintenance, instrumentation and control, and advanced nuclear plantdesigns. With headquarters in Monroeville, Pennsylvania – nearPittsburgh – Westinghouse now has operations in twelve states andfourteen countries, with annual sales of approximately US$1.8billion. After designing the world's first commercial pressurizedwater reactor nuclear power plant in Shippingport, Pennsylvania, in1957, Westinghouse and its licensees provided more than 40 percent ofthe world’s 434 operating commercial nuclear plants, the world’slargest installed base of operating plants. Allof this experience places Westinghouse at the forefront of the nuclearindustry. But most importantly, Westinghouse applies its expertise toensure that nuclear power will continue to provide safe, reliable andeconomical electricity without producing carbon emissions or othergreenhouse gases. For more information, visit www.westinghousenuclear.com About SECO/WARWICKSECO/WARWICK’sVacuum Team custom engineered, quality Vacuum Furnaces for mostprocesses including hardening, tempering, annealing, solution heattreating, brazing, sintering, carburizing, carbon/carbon composites,CVD–graphitizing, high pressure quench and degassing. SECO/WARWICK has entered into a Strategic Alliance Agreement withRetech Systems LLC offering advanced technology for VIM, VAR, electronbeam & plasma arc furnaces, along with powder production andenvironmental remediation equipment. Visit the Vacuum Team at http://www.secowarwick.com/vacuum.htmlSECO/WARWICKWorldwide manufactures industrial heat processing equipment includingheat treat furnaces, vacuum furnace technology, atmosphere generatorsand aluminum reverb melting and holding systems. SECO/WARWICKprovides heat treating equipment and services worldwide for customersinvolved with primary aluminum, aluminum recycling, automotive,aerospace, commercial heat treating, HVAC, electronics, lighting,medical equipment, nuclear applications and high temperaturesintering. The globally integrated organization includesSECO/WARWICK Corp. (USA), SECO/WARWICK S.A. (Poland), ELTERMA S.A.(Poland) and SECO/WARWICK Industrial Furnace Co. Ltd. (China). The company has over 700 employees worldwide and is an industry leaderin industrial heat processing equipment and processes. Moreinformation can be found at www.secowarwick.com. ###Press Contact:Beth Ryan, Marketing Communications Director814/332-8437bryan@secowarwick.comCredit Suisse Upgrades Bodycote to "Outperform"(January 24 - morning update) - Somegood news for Bodycote today as Credit Suisse has upgraded their statusfrom "neutral" to "outperform." The downside is that they've cut theirtarget for Bodycote stock from 300 pence to 240 pence. Still, at acurrent trading price of about 160 pence this is good stuff for theworld's largest commercial heat treater and materials testingcompany. Credit Suisse tops it off by saying "Bodycote is the clear global leader in outsourced Heat Treatment."BlackEagle Acquires Rockford Products' Assets(January 24 - morning update) - BlackEaglePartners is a private equity firm that focuses on "turnaround"acquisitions - companies with customers and products that have stumbledinto difficult financial situations. Today we've learned thatBlackEagle has acquired "selected assets" of Rockford Products, thenearly eighty-year-old manufacturer and heat treater in Rockford, IL.Rockford's wares are used in critical suspension applications suchas Ball Studs, Studs, Track Bolts, Ball Pins, etc.Thedetails of the asset purchase aren't entirely known to us but from thesound of it, BlackEagle will retain the profitable stuff, jettison therest, put in a new or partly new management team and try to bringRockford back to profitability.Bodycote Sells Tarzana Property(January 24 - morning update) - Bodycotehas sold a nearly 15,000 square foot facility in Tarzana, CA toColumbia College for $3.5 million. The facility, located at 18600Oxnard St., will be leased back to Bodycote by Columbia College for anundisclosed period of time.SECO/WARWICK's China Venture Earns ISO9001 and Relocates(January 23 - morning update) - SECO/WARWICK'Sjoint venture company in Tianjin (China) has recently obtainedISO9001:2000 status and it looks like they've also relocated theircorporate offices in Beijing. Here's the full scoop for thoseinterested:SECO/WARWICK(Tianjin) Industrial Furnace Co., LTD has completed a successfulyear in their first year of operation having increasing both sales andstaff along with earning ISO9001:2000 certification. According to Jeff Boswell, SECO/WARWICK Group President, “We arepleased at the tremendous success that SECO/WARWICK Tianjin hasachieved this year, particularly demonstrating their commitment tomeeting global quality standards by completing the ISO9001certification process.” CompanyPresident Jing Heng Li commented, “We are proud to have earnedthis world standard measurement for quality management that assures ourcustomers that they can have confidence in SECO/WARWICK Tianjinto supply equipment and services with exceptional quality and value asa Chinese owned and operated company.”ISO 9001 CertificationSECO/WARWICK(Tianjin) Industrial Furnace Co., LTD earned ISO9001:2000 certificationon December 18, 2007 for their quality management system, audited byCNAS Management Systems. The company achieved certification inless that a year after the joint agreement was signed in December 2006.SECO/WARWICK (Tianjin) provides Chinese customers with advanced globaltechnology, but manufactured with Chinese components and labor thatmeet both Chinese and global quality standards.Chinese Operations and StaffTianjinTheTianjin location currently employs approximately 100 people. Thecompany was established in 1992 and occupies a 22,062 square meter lotlocated north of the Tianjing City Industrial area near Bao Hai inMainland China. The company currently employs a complete staffincluding administrative, engineering and manufacturing functions,experienced in all aspects of equipment design, manufacturing andservice. SECO/WARWICK (Tianjin) Industrial Furnace Co. Ltd.Beisunzhuang VillageJinwei Road, Beichen District,Tianjin,China 300402Phone +86-22-86853179 Fax +86-22-86850027info@secowarwick.com.cnwww.secowarwick.com.cnBeijingSECO/WARWICKcontinues to operate a Beijing Representative Office that wasestablished in 1994, however inquiries may be directed to Tianjin. OnJanuary 1, the office was moved but the contact information remains thesame. The new address is:SECO/WARWICK Beijing Representative Office522 Room, Zhenlong Dasha, No.9 Building Dongluoyuan, Fengtai District, Beijing, China 100075Tel: 010-68032526Fax: 010-68032235Contact Person: Chen, Da-Peng - Senior EngineerBodycote Shares Take Another Hit (January 22 - morning update) - TheLondon stock exchange "FOOTSIE" took a real beating last week,especially in the manufacturing sector. Overall it was the exchange'sworst day since the 9/11 attacks.Heat treating giant, Bodycote saw about a 6% drop in its share pricealone dropping below 150 p for the first time in years. They've climbedback up a bit this week to around 154 but are way off their high of 327from about 10 months ago. Experts in the UK cite the recent poor economic news in the US and expectations of worse news to come. Let's hope they're wrong.Two New Solar Car Bottoms Ordered (January 17 - afternoon update) - We'veheard from many customers that the US recession is for real and peopleare starting to worry...that didn't stop Solar Manufacturing fromlanding a very nice order from V.S.M.P.O Salda in Russia. Nice work!Here's the PR:Souderton,PA – A contract has been signed for Two (2) Large Car Bottom vacuumfurnaces for shipment to V.S.M.P.O. Salda, Russia. The totalorder value with shipment and installation will approach US$7,000,000. The furnaces will heat treat, anneal, and high vacuumdegas titanium and titanium alloys like V.S.M.P.O. grade 5553 for thenew Boeing 787 Dreamliner and other aircraft or relatedapplications. The furnace design is based on US Patent NO.6,936,792 B2 specifically covering the critical hot zone and car bottomdesign which features under hearth heating zones. The identicalfurnace hot zones are 24’ deep x 84” diameter with work load capacityto 50,000 lbs. each. Operating temperature is to 2400°F and highvacuum to 10-5 torr with two 35” Varian high vacuum diffusion pumps perfurnace. Each furnace is powered with a one megawatt dry typephase angle controlled Magnetic Specialty Inc. five zone power supplyand Honeywell micro processor based pyrometer controllers. APC-based data acquisition system backed by redundant Eurotherm dataacquisition instrumentation is provided for thermal work monitoring andorder processing input and retrieval. For additional informationcontact Richard A. Jones, Solar’s International Sales Manager. Selas Signs H.E.A.T. Network as Midwest (USA) Rep(January 16 - evening update) - Selasis, of course, a long time player in the heat industry - premixsystems, furnaces, blender valves, flow meters, burners, etc. - andthey have a new group supporting their stuff in the Midwest sectino ofthe US. Here's the PR:Montgomeryville,PA -Selas Heat Technology Co. LLC today announced an agreement withHeat Equipment and Technology, Inc. (H.E.A.T.) to represent the companyin the states of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, and West Virginia.In addition to H.E.A.T.’s headquarters in Cincinnati, the firm alsomaintains offices in Cleveland, Columbus and Detroit.H.E.A.T.Inc. has been providing solutions and equipment for thermal processingfor over 30 years. From single components such as temperature controlsand gas pressure regulators to complete industrial burner systems,H.E.A.T. Inc. has the product range and experience to help improve thecombustion performance of Selas’ current and future customers. Inaddition to product sales, H.E.A.T. will also offer installationassistance and field service of Selas products as well.Revitalizedand committed to growth, Selas Heat Technology Company LLC has beendedicated to providing quality heat technology solutions since 1896. Inthat time, Selas has served the advanced thermal processing needs oftens of thousands of customers, providing radiant and low NOx burners,combustion gas mixers, gas blender valves, flame arrestors andblowouts, BTU monitors and controls, flow meters, heat processingfurnaces, and much more. Selas delivers heat technology solutions tothe glass, steel, non-ferrous metals, chemical, petrochemical,automotive, and plastics industries with the highest quality products,customer service and aftermarket support.Formore information, contact Van Mai, Marketing Manager, Selas HeatTechnology Company LLC., 130 Keystone Drive, Montgomeryville, PA 18936.• Tel: 800-523-6500 • Fax: 215-646-3536• E-mail: sales@selas.com • Website: www.selas.comCurtis-Wright Lands Boeing Laser Peening Contract(January 14 - morning update) - Whilenot a traditional heat treating procedure, laser peening is an up ancoming technology for improving the fatigue resistance of metals usinglasers to impart layers of residual compressive stress into the metal.In this case the laser peening technology originated a LawrenceLivermore National Laboratory and was commercialized by Curtis-Wright.They will install this technology on a production cell inside theBoeing Frederickson (WA) plant to be used on curved wing sections ofthe new 747-8. This is Boeing's latest 747 incarnation and offersimproved aerodynamics and lower operating costs over the lastgeneration (747-400). New Order for Solar Manufacturing(January 11 - morning update) - Theother heat treat news sites had the inside edge on this one overHeatTreatNews.com on this one, but, since it's a "we sold something" PRthat actually names the customer, we're happy to run it however late itmay be:Souderton,PA –- Solar Manufacturing Inc. announces the receipt of an order fortwo duplicate vacuum furnaces from Pratt and Whitney, East Hartford,Conn., for a combined value just under $1,000,000 US. Thesefurnaces will be used in the final heat treatment process of turbineblades for jet engines.Thefurnace hot zones have a 38” diameter, a 40” depth, a hearth capacityof 1500 lbs., and operate to 2500F. Hot zone construction is astandard Solar Manufacturing design with 360 degree internal circularlow watt density graphite band heating elements and insulated with fourlayers of high purity graphite felt mounted on a 304SS supportingring. High vacuum performance is into the 10-6 Torr range with aVarian 16” diffusion pump and backed with a Stokes 150 cfm / Stokes2000 cfm mechanical pumps. The fully automatic digital controlsystem utilizes an Allen Bradley SCL 5/06 64K PLC and Panelviewoperator interface with a Honeywell UDC 3500 temperature controller andDPR250 on control panel recorder. The furnaces will be networkedto a central communication center via an ethernet hub.Accordingto Peter Reh, Vice President of Sales, this is the first order Solarhas received from a prime jet engine manufacturer though Solar hasreceived orders for similar vacuum furnaces from second tiersuppliers. Reh further states the furnaces will be fullyinstalled and started up by Solar as a complete turn key installation.SolarManufacturing designs and manufactures vacuum heat treating and brazingfurnaces. To learn more about their diverse product line, contactPeter Reh, Vice President of Sales, at 267-384-5040 orpkr@solarmfg.com. More information can also be found onwww.solarmfg.com. $2,500 for a Brand New Car? Go to India(January 11 - morning update) - TataMotors has just released the "Nano" - the world's cheapest car. Thisthing apparently has room for 5 people (5 small people), gets 50miles per gallon and meets safety and emissions standards. It does notcome with air conditioning (you need the deluxe version for that) or apassenger side mirror and only has one windshield wiper, but, for$2,500 what do you expect?The Nano is for India only at the moment but Tata plans to export eventually.Ipsen Growing, Adding Staff(January 9 - morning update) - Lookslike recently combined Ipsen, Inc. is doing quite well these days.According to their latest release they added 12 people to their NorthAmerican operations in the last quarter of 2007 and had one of theirbest years ever. Here's the full PR:Dueto strong customer demand and a positive outlook, Ipsen, Inc added 12new hires to its North American team in the fourth quarter of 2007. Theengineering and production departments were both expanded by four eachwhile the remaining talent is assigned to qualitycontrol, purchasing and aftermarket services. Ipsen’s HR Manager JohnMenne stated, “Adding a balanced mix of experienced and entry levelpositions at the Rockford (IL) and Souderton (PA) sites assures that wecan deliver high performance for years to come.” Menne added, “We aretaking initiatives now to re-launch a revitalized Ipsen internshipprogram in the first half of 2008 to ensure that we also train theexperts of tomorrow.”Ipsen,Inc. finished 2007 withnext Chairman of its Board of Directors outlined as follows (read it on their site here):Bodycote International plc, the specialist thermal processing andtesting services company, is pleased to announce the appointment ofAlan Thomson as a non-executive director and Deputy Chairman witheffect from 1 December 2007. Alan Thomson, who was previously GroupFinance Director of Smiths Group, will take up the position of Chairmanof Bodycote at the conclusion of the next annual general meeting on 30April 2008 in place of James Wallace who has already stated hisintention to step down from the board.Alan is also a non-executive director of Johnson Matthey plc(Chairman of the Audit Committee), Cross Match Technologies Inc.(Senior Independent Director) and Alstom SA (non-executive director,supervisory board) and served as a non-executive director at Laporteplc from 1996 to 2001.Alan, aged 61, began his career at Arthur Andersen and qualified asa chartered accountant before moving to Price Waterhouse as an auditmanager. He spent 7 years in France and the US with RockwellInternational as finance director of the electronics division beforereturning to the UK to serve as finance director for their automotivecomponents business. In 1982, he joined Raychem as finance director oftheir materials science business, following which he joined Courtauldsin 1984 as financial controller of Courtaulds Textiles and subsequentlywas appointed finance director for Courtaulds Coatings. In 1992 he became Finance Director at the Rugby Group plc beforebeing appointed Group Finance Director of Smiths Group plc from 1995until he retired in 2006. Alan Thomson also serves on the council ofthe Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland where he is chairmanof the Technical Policy BoardCommenting on thther.Tigers Route Buckeyes(January 8 - morning update) - LSUcame out a bit shaky and looked like they weren't up for the game earlyon, but then their secondary turned on that SEC speed, shut downOhio State's passing game and it was all over. Final score 38-24 (but it wasn't really that close after the second quarter).Congratsto the Tigers who played an excellent game all around - strong D,strong offense and almost no penalties. Now if we could just get thesegames to finish before midnight!Read all about the game here.Chrysler Rumors(January 7 - morning update) - The rumors over Chrysler have become so numerous that even CNN & Money Magazine did a story on it (click hereto read). Suffice it to say that while Cerberus (Chrysler new owners)maintains that Chrysler is doing well and exceeding its targets in manyareas, others are saying that things are more messed up than ever andthat an eventual merger with Ford is in the cards.G-M Vacuum Furnace Start-up(January 7 - morning update) - Ifyou're interested in reading about the start-up of a new,bottom-loading vacuum furnace at an undisclosed site, head on over to Industrial Heating's Industry News page.CMC Impact Metals-Youngstown Receives ISO9001 Registration(January 7 - morning update) - Looks like CMC Impact Metals (formerly Allegheny Heat Treating) got its ISO9001 status:CMCImpact Metals, formerly known as Allegheny Heat Treating, recentlyreceived ISO-9001 registration for its Youngstown, Ohio facility. The Youngstown facility had no findings at its registration audit whichwas conducted by SRI Quality System Registrar. CMCImpact Metals was established in 1979 in Chicora, Pennsylvania. It is now part of the Commercial Metals Company and has facilities inOhio, Pennsylvania, and Alabama. CMC Impact Metals heat treatslong products including special bar quality (SBQ) rounds and structuralflats, plate, and shapes. It serves the needs of various steelusing markets including steel service centers, truck trailer and otherOEMs, oilfield equipment, and military.TheChicora, PA, facility has been ISO 9001 registered since 2004. Efforts are now underway to implement ISO at the recently openedfacility in Pell City, Alabama.Welcome to 2008 - Go Buckeyes!(January 7 - morning update) - Well,after a nice long break we're back. We'd like to say it was relaxing -and it times it truly was - but a full house of relatives and manymeals prepared has us looking down the road for the next real vacation.Anyway, 2008 is here and so is another year of HeatTreatNews.com. Don'tforget to tune in tonight to watch The Ohio State University Buckeyestrounce some school from Louisiana! Our neighbor played ball at LSU soI have to give him hell.Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays(December 21 - morning update) - We'reupon that time of year when most of the world takes a deep breath,relaxes and then embarks on travel, homecomings, visitingrelatives, house guests, large feasts and a bit too much drinking. If any big news breaks in the next week we'll be sure to put it up here, but it's likely to be a quiet one.Thanks to all our readers and contributors. Have a wonderful holiday and great new year!Luce Is Metroplex's Most Valuable Asset for Bodycote - Editorial by Randy Simmons(December 20 - morning update) - Bynow everyone has heard about Bodycote's acquisition of Metroplex HeatTreat. Today we have an editorial by Randy Simmons who has spent manydays (and a few nights) at Metroplex dating back to his days runningMarathon's service department. From the sound of it, Jerry Luce and thethings he can bring to Bodycote's corporate culture, are what Randysees has the most important aspect of this recent acquisition byBodycote. Read on:Bodycote/Metroplex Dallas Fort WorthMetroplex was founded in 1982 by Jerry Luce with one small batch line and analarm clock. Jerry worked a day time job and heat treated at night usingthe alarm clock to wake him up when it was time to move the load. Overthe years Jerry has grown Metroplex to the largest shop I have ever beeninside and I have been in shops all over the world.His sound business philosophies were very instrumental in his success. Jerry treated every employee, customer and supplier like family. At leasttwice a week he brought in lunch for the entire shop, gave out good bonusesand even sent Texas Christmas hams to suppliers and customers. The listof things that Jerry has done for his Company and the locally community isway too long to mention. Long admiring his style I have personallyadapted many of his ideals in how CHS Asia is run and hope one day tobe just as successful. I thank Jerry for all the help he has given meover the years and wish him all the best in the future.During the same time period Bodycote purchased two Hinderliter plants onein Dallas and one in Fort Worth from Mr. John Hubbard who later became theCEO of Bodycote International. A few years later Bodycote purchasedLindberg Commercial Heat Treatment which also had a shop in the DallasArea. This gave them 3 commercial shops in the Area. Later they sold theLindberg shop back to the former owner Mr. John Fussell (Jerry Luce’scousin) and closed down the Dallas facility. Doing the math this broughtthem from 3 shops in Dallas/Ft Worth back down to one shop. Recently theyhave purchased Metroplex Heat Treat from Jerry Luce and are now back up totwo shops.One can only wonder why Bodycote would get rid of two shops and then turnaround a purchase another all in the same area. Was it part of thecorporate strategy? Maybe Bodycote realized what a true talent and truebusiness visionary Jerry Luce is and wanted to capitalize on his skills. Quite possibly buying him out was the only way forward for them in theDallas Fort Worth area. There is no doubt that he will be a great assetand teacher for the Bodycote management staff.Kind RegardsRandy SimmonsManaging DirectorCHS Asia Thailand Co. Ltdwww.CHS-Asia.comRandy@CHS-Asia.comBodycote Share Price Stumbles(December 19 - morning update) - Inthe UK this is the time when many publicly traded companies release"trading updates" before they go silent in preparation for releasingreal numbers later. So what happens when the world's largest commercialheat treater releases a trading statement that says their year with be "within the range of market forecasts" and that profit has grown15%? Well their share price plummets!I'llnever understand it, but I guess the markets expected Bodycote to growprofits more than 15% in spite of a weakening dollar, high energy costsand the nickel fiasco we saw over much of the last year.As it stands today Bodycote's share price has dropped about 25% over the last year and stands at 178 pence today.U.S. Trade Deficit Drops to Lowest in Two Years(December 18 - morning update) - Lookslike that weak dollar is finally having an impact on imports andexports. According to the U.S. Commerce Department, the trade deficitfell about 5.5% (to about $179 billion) during the July-Septemberquarter. That's the lowest quarterly trade deficit since 2007.Hopefully the start of a trend for US manufacturers.New Manufacturing Engineer at Marathon Monitors(December 18 - morning update) - Hoton the heels of Marathon's release yesterday that they'd hired a formerSSI guy comes today's PR that they have a new manufacturing engineer.Sounds like he's a machinist turned engineer which can't be bad. Here'sthe PR:West Chester, OH (13 December 2007) Marathon Monitors Inc., a memberof United Process Controls, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr.Justin Clark to the position of Manufacturing Engineer at its West Chester,Ohio manufacturing facility.Clark comes to Marathon with an impressive background in machining,design, manufacturing and programming. He started off as a CNC machinistwhile completing his degree in Tooling and Machining. Currently, he iscompleting his BS in MET at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Clark is askilled CAD/CAM/CAE designer and has primary responsibility fordocumenting the designs and manufacturing processes at Marathon."Justin s skills and hands-on experience will allow Marathon to continuedelivering and developing the best products. His participation in our qualityprograms and customer support department will insure that he is, first andforemost, focused on providing the best value to our customers," saidMarathon Director of Engineering, Paul Barker. Clark s responsibilities include implementation of new Quality Systems forMarathon and UPC, design and manufacturing documentation andmanagement for the production and development of the current and nextgeneration oxygen sensors.Marathon Monitors Inc. is a leading supplier of heat treating and combustioncontrol systems with service and support subsidiaries in both Beijing andShanghai. As part of United Process Controls, Marathon products are sold,supported and serviced world-wide and integrate seamlessly with productsfrom UPC's member companies. www.marathonsensors.com - www.group-upc.com.George Demary Joins Marathon Monitors(December 17 - morning update) - Lookslike SSI's 9200 Product Manager has left the company and landed over atMarathon Monitors - what's that, about four miles away? Here's the PR: WestChester, OH (12 December 2007) – Marathon Monitors Inc., a member ofUnited Process Controls, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr.George Demary to the position of Quality Systems Specialist at its WestChester, Ohio manufacturing facility.Demaryjoins Marathon after serving as Product Manager for the 9000 SeriesInstruments at Super Systems Inc. in Cincinnati where he was key in thedevelopment, deployment and service of the 9000 series instruments usedin their heat treating controls products. Priorto his three years improving the 9000 series, Demary was responsiblefor electronic systems on the F-16 flight line at Shaw Air Force Basein South Carolina. His assignment to this critical role for the flightline underscores his problem-solving abilities."Georgebrings a wealth of experience in supporting critical systems underpressure as well as a customer-focused approach to field support," saidMarathon President, Eric Boltz. Demary’sresponsibilities include development of new Quality Systems forMarathon and UPC both on-site at the nine UPC worldwide locations aswell as technical field-service and customer support.MarathonMonitors Inc. is a leading supplier of heat treating and combustioncontrol systems with service and support subsidiaries in both Beijingand Shanghai. As part of United Process Controls, Marathon products aresold, supported and serviced world-wide and integrate seamlessly withproducts from UPC's member companies. www.marathonsensors.com -www.group-upc.com.Bodycote Acquires Metroplex Heat Treat (Texas, USA)(December 16 - evening update) - Thoughthere is no official press release from Bodycote, word on the street isthat they've acquired Jerry Luce's company in Arlington, Texas,Metroplex Heat Treat.Thisadds substantial capacity to Bodycote's already large heat treatingcapacity in Texas. Remember that Bodycote's CEO, John Hubbard, whileoriginally from a small town in Ohio, grew to prominence in theindustry with his heat treating company Hinderliter Heat Treat inTexas. Hinderliter was purchase by Bodycote in 1996 and Hubbardcontinued on to running all of Bodycote North America and then all ofBodycote.HeatTreatNews.com is Back(December 16 - evening update) - Afteran unplanned absence, HeatTreatNews.com is back up and reporting. Lookfor a slew of new articles this week including a full update of ourarchives.Ashby Buys Into Bodycote(November 28 - morning update) - Wejust reported on Bodycote's rather large stock price tumble after UBSdowngraded their recommendation on Bodycote from "hold" to "sell." Wellone major investor and investment adviser, Credit Suisse AssetManagement's co-head of UK equities Graham Ashby, thinks quitedifferently from UBS and is steering funds to mid and small caps attheir relatively "bargain" prices today. Ashby recently bought intoBodycote at 220p per share. Click here to read more. Furnace Finders Launches New Used Equipment Web Site(November 28 - morning update) - Pretty much anyone who has shopped used furnaces in North America knows Furnace Finders. Word today is that they, in team with HTFPonline.com, have developed a new site to sell new and used furnace parts. Thesite is still a bit of a work in progress with several sections stillunder development, but they've got parts up there with photos and all.Great idea for sure. Here's their PR:Conyers,GA. (November 27, 2007). Furnace Finders Incorporated (FFI), a supplierof pre-owned and reconditioned heat treating furnaces, has entered intoan agreement with HTFPonline.com toprovide for the sale new and used heat treating furnace parts.HTFPonline.com, developed in collaboration with FFI, will becontinually expanded to offer a broad base of furnace parts for manybrands and types of furnaces. In addition, HTFPonline.com, allowsvisitors to request parts that are not currently shown or listed on thewebsite. Future features will also allow users to advertise parts thatare surplus to their needs.FurnaceFinders has developed an incredible surplus of new and used parts overthe last 30 years and the HTFPonline.com website will provide the heattreating industry a source for often “hard-to find” parts at reasonableprices.Beijing Heat Treat Show(November 28 - morning update) - Whilewe in the US were celebrating our Thanksgiving holiday, a whole heap offolks were talking heat treating over in Beijing, China. Apparentlythere were lots of US folks there too (having Beijing Roast Duckinstead of Turkey no doubt) and many rumors have leaked out about somesignificant personnel changes in the industry - retirements andresignations, etc. We'll let you know about those after we confirm them.Onebit of news we have confirmed is that Super Systems Inc.'s DamianBratcher has announced to trade show attendees that SSI will soon beproducing probes in China for sale at under 5000 RMB ($672 US).Here are some shots from the show.Thefirst shot is of the PowerMax booth. PowerMax is a fast-rising furnacemanufacturer outside of Shanghai and also the AFC-Holcroft licensee inChina: The second photo is of US controls company Super Systems Inc.'s booth who stated they will soon be producing probes in China: Thenext three shots are from the MMI-China booth where they wereexhibiting the wares of the United Process Controls companies:Process-Electronic, Marathon Sensors, Furnace Control Corp, WaukeeEngineering and Nitrex Metal:   And finally, here is a shot of the Aichelin Furnaces booth: Metalex 2007 - South East Asia Heat Treatment Show(November 27 - morning update) - Wegot a nice write-up from Randy Simmons of CHS-Asia last week. Herecently attended Southeast Asia's largest heat treatment show. What'sinteresting is how few western companies have a presence at theseshows. It really reinforces how much the industry needs global playersto ensure quality support to the big players around the world.Here's his write-up complete with photos:Metalex 2007 isSouth East Asia’s largest annual Heat Treat and Automationexhibition with over 250,000 visitors coming to the four day event. This year was very different as only a few western companies wereexhibiting, less than 5 percent down from nearly 20 percent at lastyears show. Indoctoheat was the only American heat treat equipmentmanufacturer at the show with sales and service offices all over theworld they are truly a global player. They had a seminar hosted byIndoctheat employees from 8 different countries bringing the latesttechnology from around the world.The main playersat the show were from Japan, China, Korea and Taiwan all of which areonly a short distance away and on nearly the same time zone. Whencompanies in South East Asia are asked why they prefer to purchaseequipment from these countries the most common answers are:When we are working the west is sleeping, when we sleeping they are working and we lose too much time. They do not have direct employee service support 8 am to 5 pm local time, only a rep that is of little to no help. No spare parts stocked locally thus increasing down time. Operation and Service manuals are not in the Native language. Shipping cost is more than double.South East Asia is the future “Landof Opportunities” and companies wanting to take advantage of theseopportunities need to localize. CHS Asia has done well in the regionas we are located in South East Asia with offices in Thailand,Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. My advice to anyone wanting toleverage the opportunities available is to locate a good localizationcompany that understands the rule of engagement. I would recommendwww.ultimate-g.comemail: consult@ultimate-g.comas they are western speaking Engineers that have lived in the regionfor years. They provide the full range of localization service fromlanguage translation, employment recruitment, parts sourcing all theway to setting up a manufacturing base. We use them from time totime when we get stuck on an issue. Tao Sheng Nian (owner) Nanjing Nianda Furances one of the world largest. Geof Fielding (Aussie) Doug Brown (US)and Andrew Keep (Ausie) Bodycote Share Price Falters(November 27 - morning update) - Thisnews came out on the financial pages a few days ago, but hasn't beenreported on any of the industry web sites/blogs. Basically UBSfinancial, citing the slowing US economy and a "deterioratingmacroeconomic environment," downgraded Bodycote's stock from "hold" to"sell."Bodycote is far from the only company affected as the entire sector has been downgraded.Global Heat Treat Summit Tours Ipsen - Sees New TurboTreater Technology(November 14 - morning update) - Forthose who hadn't heard, this week was the "Global Heat Treat Summit" inthe Rosemont, IL area and, as part of that summit, attendees wereinvited to tour the newly-part-managment-owned Ipsen facility and seetheir just-released new TurboTreater technology. Here's the PR andphoto: 11/14/07(Rockford,IL.) – Attendees at the Global Heat Treat Summit in Rosemont, IL weregiven the opportunity to be the first to see the new TurboTreater®technology unveiled at Ipsen’s Open House on November 9th at theirRockford Showroom. The social event consisted of product presentationson the new technology by Ipsen’s team of experts and an informativeplant tour. The TurboTreater® boasts many new features, which promotesimplicity of maintenance, speed of assembly, and ease of automation.The new technology has a proven procedure for changing out the Hot Zonein less than 60 minutes. Patrick McKenna from Nevada Heat Treat was oneof the guests at the open house and stated that he was impressed withIpsen’s ability to combine a clean modern appearance with improvementsthat deliver measurable benefits to the user.New Shareholder Base for Ipsen(November 9 - morning update) - Wejust learned that Quadriga Capital and Ipsen's Management team haveacquired a 100% interest in the Ipsen Group and is making expansioncapital available to the Group. Wethink the ownership stake of Ipsen's management team is just as excitingas the investment. Nothing to motivate a team better than owning apiece! Sounds like great news for Ipsen. Here's the PR:Press releaseThe Ipsen Group has a new shareholder base - Quadriga Capital and management acquire 100 percent - Expansion capital made available to the Ipsen Group - Application made to the cartel authorities for approvalFrankfurton Main/Kleve, 8th November 2007. Together with the Ipsenmanagement team Quadriga Capital has acquired all of the shares of the Ipsengroup of companies from the Elster Group of Luxembourg. The parties concerned have agreed to maintain confidentiality inrespect of the purchase price. Execution of the transaction issubject to approval by the cartel authorities.QuadrigaCapital specializes in private equity solutions, in particular forsmall and medium-sized companies, and is one of the leading investmentcompanies in this field.TheIpsen Group, Kleve (Germany), will continue its successful developmentwith a new shareholder base. Ipsen is the world’s leadingmanufacturer of automated heat-treatment furnaces; Hauzer, Venlo(Netherlands) – Ipsen’s wholly owned subsidiary- is the world’s marketleader in coating systems for wear-resistant surfaces.Thenew shareholder base provides the Ipsen Group with the idealprerequisites needed for further expanding the worldwide marketleadership it enjoys in its segment as well as its productportfolio. The company currently employs some 900 personnel atits sites in Germany, the Netherlands, China, India, and the USA andgenerated turnover of around EUR 170 million last year.“Togetherwith our new shareholders we will be able to engage in activities suchas making strong investments in the important growth markets of e.g.Eastern Europe and Asia and in doing so considerably expand our marketleadership”, said Dr. Hendrik Grobler, Chairman of the Ipsen ManagementBoard.Dr.Andreas Fendel, Partner of Quadriga Capital: “Ipsen has the optimumprerequisites for benefiting from its outstanding opportunities. In this respect, Quadriga Capital will make sufficient capitalavailable and support Ipsen with its network of contacts, in particularin Eastern Europe, respectively Russia, as well as in Asia.”Morethan almost any other company the Ipsen Group has played a major rolein setting the course for developments in the heat treatmentsector. Heat treatment is a key, extremely cost-efficient methodof achieving huge improvements in the structural conditions and thusthe load-bearing capacity of metals- in particular steel andtitanium. The company’s pioneering technology has ensured ongoingmarket innovations for over 50 years.The company’s sales are concentrated in the medical technology, wind energy generation, aviation and food industry sectors.Ipsen’scustomers include companies from the automotive, aviation and aerospacesectors, as well as tooling and mechanical engineering, medicaltechnology and commercial heat treating plants.Further information on the group of companies can be found at:www.ipsen.de;www.quadriga-capital.de;www.elster.comAbout Quadriga Capital:QuadrigaCapital is an investment company which specializes in private equitysolutions for small and medium-sized companies. The companyfocuses on succession solutions, corporate spin offs, expansionfinancing and financial support of strategic realignments. It hasbeen making commercial investments in Germany, Switzerland, Austria andthe Benelux countries for over 20 years and in Russia for over 10years. Limited partners are institutional investors such asinternational pension funds and insurance companies.Solar Sells a Furnace(November 9 - morning update) - Newstoday that Solar Manufacturing won an order for a furnace. The PRsays it's to a medical tubing manufacturer in Eastern PA, but no names.The medical tubing manufacturers in Eastern PA that we can locate arequite numerous so we can't really speculate. Read all about it over onIndustrial Heating's site here.Maxon to be Acquired by Honeywell(November 7 - morning update) - Todate, most of the burner manufacturers in North America have had that"family-owned" feel based on their roots (most were family owned at onetime or another and some notable ones still are). WellMaxon Corp. has left those ranks to join industry heavyweightHoneywell. You can read the details over on Industrial Heating's site here.Can-Eng Ownership Change(November 7 - morning update) - Can-EngFurnaces has been sold to its president and a gentleman named G. JohnKrediet. We don't know that name from the HT business, but it appearshe is the former Chairman of TB Wood's, the 150 year old powertransmissions components manufacturer. Krediet was a director whostepped up to Chairman when long-time Chairman, Thomas C. Foley steppeddown to become the US Ambassador to Ireland in 2006. Earlierthis year Krediet handled the sale of TB Wood's to Altra Holdings Inc.From what we can tell Krediet did not go with the company to Altra.Anyway, here's the PR:Mr.Wally Bamford, the former Chairman of Can-Eng Furnaces, is pleased toannounce the sale of the business to Mr. G. John Krediet and thecurrent President of Can-Eng Furnaces, Mr. Alan Van Geyn. Mr. Bamfordwill remain with the company by serving on its advisory board. Themanagement team of the company will remain unchanged. Mr. Van Geyn hasbeen with the company since 1994, and has served as its president since2005. Under Mr. Van Geyn’s leadership, Can-Eng Furnaces will continueto focus on long-term growth and profitability in the internationalthermal processing equipment marketplace. Moving forward, Can-EngFurnaces will operate under the new name, Can-Eng FurnacesInternational Ltd.Establishedin 1964, CAN-ENG Furnaces has grown to become a leading designer andmanufacturer of industrial thermal processing equipment for ferrous andnon-ferrous metals. Can-Eng product lines include: Continuous Mesh BeltFurnace Systems, Batch Integral Quench Furnace Systems, ContinuousSteel Bar Heat Treatment Systems, Basketless Heat Treatment Systems,Nonferrous T4, T5, T6, T7 Heat Treatment Systems, a SCADA system,Process Enhancement Technology (PET TM ) and a wide array of customfurnaces solutions. Can-Eng also offers a comprehensive After-marketSupport Team delivering system upgrades, technical support and sparepartsTimken Declares 342nd Consecutive Dividend for Shareholders(November 2 - morning update) - It's always nice to see U.S. manufacturers doing well around the world so here's a brief news bit along those lines:CANTON,Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 2, 2007--The board of directors of TheTimken Company (NYSE:TKR) today declared a quarterly cash dividend of17 cents per share. The dividend is payable on Dec. 4, 2007, toshareholders of record as of Nov. 16, 2007. It will be the 342ndconsecutive dividend paid on the common stock of the company.Delphi Joint Venture in China(November 2 - afternoon update) - Lookslike Delphi is pushing into more markets in China with this recentannouncement of a JV to make seat belts for China and Europe:Beijing, China — Today Delphi Corporation and Beijing AutomotiveIndustry Holding Company Ltd. (BAIC) celebrated the opening of theirjoint venture which manufactures seat belts.Located in Changping District, Beijing, the Beijing DelphiAutomotive Safety Products Co., Ltd., manufacturing facility has 1,800square meters of floor space.. The joint venture started production two months ago for customers inthe China market and has secured future production contracts in theEuropean markets.The cooperation between Delphi and BAIC addresses growingmarket demand for safety products in China and throughout Asia,according to Beth Schwarting, Safety Systems product business unitexecutive at Delphi Electronics & Safety Division. "This jointventure will allow Delphi to leverage our innovative safetytechnologies and lean manufacturing expertise with BAIC's Chinamanufacturing presence to build a foundation for growth," she stated. "This cooperation is an important development for the auto partsindustry in Beijing. The adding of a safety products plant to theportfolio of Beijing's auto industry is a significant contribution tothe construction of auto parts platform, and to complete the autoindustry chain in Beijing," said BAIC's deputy general manager and headof the Parts & Components Group, Guo Xinmin. "BAIC has several OEMswithin its organization, and by collaborating with Delphi and othermultinational companies, BAIC expects to strengthen its competitivenessand brand image in the China market. We are confident that thiscooperation will be a win-win for BAIC and Delphi."The joint venture will enable Delphi and BAIC to moreeffectively serve the rapidly developing Asia Pacific market and tosupport global customers with operations in Asia Pacific and otherregions."The Delphi/BAIC business venture will help Delphi support thegrowth in safety related products in China and other regions," saidDaniel Salmons, Asia/Pacific managing director for Delphi Electronics& Safety Division. "We are very excited to team with BAIC toprovide quality products and services for our global customers."The China market for safety related products is expected tocontinue to grow rapidly since Chinese regulators are calling forenhanced safety features for all vehicles. In 2005, rear seat beltswere made a standardized feature for light-duty passenger vehicles andChina is implementing light commercial vehicle requirements that followEuropean guidelines. Delphi Corporation is a world leader in mobile electronics andtransportation components and systems technology. For more than 100years, Delphi has had a proven track record innovating automotivetechnology such as the first production of airbags. Delphi started operation in China in 1993. Today Delphi's investment inChina has reached more than US$500 million, and the company has set up17 legal entities in China.Pioneering the auto industry in Beijing 50 years ago, BAIC nowhas grown into an industry group with capacity ranging from vehiclemanufacturing, vehicle equipping to asset management. BAIC boastsstrong competitive edge in vehicles and auto parts manufacturing, withfour OEMs under its organizational structure: BAIC Foton, BeijingHyundai, Beijing Benz-Dymler Chrysler and Beijing Automotive Co., Ltd. For more information about Delphi (PINKSHEETS: DPHIQ), visit www.delphi.com.For more information about BAIC, visit www.bqkgdjw.com.More Chrysler Cuts(November 2 - afternoon update) - Ontop of the 13,000 layoffs announced in February, Chrysler will shedanother 12,000 jobs starting yesterday. The breakdown will beapproximately 10,000 hourly jobs and 2,000 salaried.Inaddition to cutting jobs, Chrysler stated plans to ax a number ofvehicle models including the Magnum wagon, Pacifica crossover andCrossfire sports coupe. Newmodels to be added include the Dodge Journey crossover and DodgeChallenger sports car, along with two new hybrid models, the ChryslerAspen and Dodge Durango.Bodycote - New Chairman(October 31 - morning update) - Bodycote has selected their next Chairman of its Board of Directors outlined as follows (read it on their site here):Bodycote International plc, the specialist thermal processing andtesting services company, is pleased to announce the appointment ofAlan Thomson as a non-executive director and Deputy Chairman witheffect from 1 December 2007. Alan Thomson, who was previously GroupFinance Director of Smiths Group, will take up the position of Chairmanof Bodycote at the conclusion of the next annual general meeting on 30April 2008 in place of James Wallace who has already stated hisintention to step down from the board.Alan is also a non-executive director of Johnson Matthey plc(Chairman of the Audit Committee), Cross Match Technologies Inc.(Senior Independent Director) and Alstom SA (non-executive director,supervisory board) and served as a non-executive director at Laporteplc from 1996 to 2001.Alan, aged 61, began his career at Arthur Andersen and qualified asa chartered accountant before moving to Price Waterhouse as an auditmanager. He spent 7 years in France and the US with RockwellInternational as finance director of the electronics division beforereturning to the UK to serve as finance director for their automotivecomponents business. In 1982, he joined Raychem as finance director oftheir materials science business, following which he joined Courtauldsin 1984 as financial controller of Courtaulds Textiles and subsequentlywas appointed finance director for Courtaulds Coatings. In 1992 he became Finance Director at the Rugby Group plc beforebeing appointed Group Finance Director of Smiths Group plc from 1995until he retired in 2006. Alan Thomson also serves on the council ofthe Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland where he is chairmanof the Technical Policy BoardCommenting on the appointment, Chief Executive, John Hubbard, said;“I am delighted to welcome Alan Thomson to the Bodycote Board. Hewill bring a wealth of sector, financial and investor relationsexperience to the Board’s deliberations.”Rolled Alloys Acquires Super Alloys(October 31 - morning update) - Mostof us think of heat resistant alloys when we see the name "RolledAlloys," but it looks like they're moving into more exotic stuff withthis recent acquisition. Read all about it over on Industrial Heating's site.Can-Eng Installs a Heat Treating System(October 31 - morning update) - Yeah,we know, not our favorite type of PR since the customer apparently hadto be anonymous. Anyway, Can-Eng recently installed a T-6 heat treatingsystem that doubles the capacity of a "tier-one manufacturer" - namenot disclosed. Notan overly surprising PR since Can-Eng is in the business of sellingheat treating systems and has long been a leader in roller-hearthfurnaces (that's what this one is).Travel Week - Combustion Articles(October 23 - morning update) - Newswill be a bit hit and miss this week as we're abroad playing thattrains planes and automobiles game in lands where English isn't thenorm. We'll do our best to keep the news coming nonetheless.Todaywe have links to a couple articles on Industrial Heating's site.Everyone is looking for increased efficiencies these days so IH's tworecent articles on Combustion Efficiency are timely:Optimizing Combustion ControlsROI Analysis of Combustion Control for Gas-Fired Heat-Treating FurnacesMore MMI-China / United Process Controls(October 19 - morning update) - Finally we have a couple parting shots from the Nanjing Heat Treatment Congress (China) this week. The first shows MMI Vice President Yvonne Boltz and MMI-China General Manager Yakun Liu giving a presentation on the newly formed United Process Controls (FCC/MMI/Nitrex/Process-Electronic/Waukee):  Thesecond shot shows the "congress" which is made up of technical peoplefrom universities, research institutes and businesses throughout China: Bohler International GmbH (Austria) Gets Nod for Indian Subsidiary(October 19 - morning update) - India'sFinance Minister, P. Chidambaram, has approved 14 Foreign DirectInvestment proposals amounting to Rs. 1257.31 crore, including an11-crore investment from Bohler International GmbH, an Austrian steelfirm.Bohler plans to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary forwholesale cash and carry trading of ores and metals, stocking,distribution, cutting, machining and heat treating of special steelsand wholesale cash and carry of special steels. No word as to what"special steels" mean or if high temp alloys might be in the mix.MMI-China / United Process Controls(October 17 - evening update) - Marathon's China subsidiary was a driving force behind their winning the Ohio Exporter of the Year Award. Byhaving a fully-staffed field service team and local service center theywere actually able to take a good share of the Chinese sensors/controlsmarket with goods produced in Ohio. With the development of UnitedProcess Controls (FCC/Marathon/Nitrex/PE/Waukee) it looks like the twooffices in China are about to get a whole lot busier!Today we have a shot of the MMI/MMI-China/UPC team in Beijing: Houghton (Quenchants) Sold to New York Private Equity Firm(October 16 - afternoon update) - Houghtonis probably one of the best known names in quenchants (oil andsynthetic) for heat treating. Today we have word that they have beensold to a private equity firm out of New York. Here's the news:Houghton International Inc.,a Valley Forge maker of industrial fluids and chemical-managementservices, announced that it had entered into an agreement to merge witha newly formed affiliate of AEA Investors L.L.C., a New Yorkprivate-equity investor. Financial terms were not disclosed. In itsannouncement, Houghton said that it did not anticipate any immediatechanges in its facilities, employment or range of product and serviceofferings, and that all of the members of senior management wereexpected to continue on with the company. The merger agreement issubject to approval by closely held Houghton's shareholders. VFS Selling Stong After Integration into Ipsen(October 16 - morning update) - Oneof our pet peeves - and we know we're not alone - are press releasesthat say so-and-so sold something without saying to whom it wassold. Wevastly prefer PRs that talk about who bought what since we already knowthe guys selling stuff are in the business of selling stuff - that'swhat they do!Sotoday's PR is a good one. Not only is the VFS furnace line sellingwell, they're actually selling to customers who let them talk aboutit. (Noteto buyers: let the guys brag about selling you stuff with your name inthe PR - you'll get better support for the life of the product sinceyou're a public reference!). Anyway,VFS has a great product range so it's no surprise at all that they'rethriving within the Ipsen organization. Here's the PR:Souderton,PA. – VFS vacuum furnaces, aftermarket components and serviceareapproaching record bookings this year. This solid performance stemsfrom a loyal customerbase combined with the most extensive sales andservice network in North America. “The strength and depth of the VFSbrand team in Souderton, PA has been a critical part of this success.We have increased the staffing in Souderton by nearly 20% since thestart of 2007 to ensure that we continue to meet our customercommitments” stated Geoffrey Somary, COO, at Ipsen, Inc.StandardAero recently purchased a VFS model HEQ-3826-2 vacuum furnace. Thisfurnace is an outstanding performer and an exceptional value. RayRomesburg of Standard Aero said,“Your dedication and support throughoutthe project allowed us to commission the furnace in just 14 weeks afterthe contract was awarded.”CircleCity Heat Treating (CCHT) recently invested in VFS vacuum furnacetechnology to expand its current production. Today, CCHT boasts 5 VFSfurnaces, including the most recent addition, an HIQ-7472 2 bar vacuumfurnace which can process up to 5000 lbs in a 48" W x 48"H x 72" longwork zone. Circle City Heat Treating has grown by providing qualityheat treating services, attention to customer’s needs, and reliablecustomer service. The VFS team is proud to be supporting Circle Cityfor the last 25 years.TheVFS brand aftermarket business continues to flourish as well. TheSouderton shop has been on pace to ship more than 10 new highefficiency hot zones per month. New facility investments include agraphite machining center to enable same day shipment for many criticalspare parts. “Our customers expect quality and speed, and we deliver”,stated Gary Whetstone from the aftermarket parts sales department.VAC AERO Launches New Web Site(October 15 - morning update) - The folks at VAC AERO have launched a new "information-driven" web site for their customers. Here's their PR:OAKVILLE, Ontario, (October 15, 2007)- VAC AERO launched a new informational website and monthly newsletterto promote its furnace products and metallurgical services and toprovide metallurgists with pertinent information relevant to theirneeds. “Heat treating and surface engineering is a complex subject soour aim is to deliver as much easy to find and easy to understandinformation as possible,” says Alan Charky, marketing andcommunications director at VAC AERO International. “Asa vacuum heat treating pioneer for aerospace and high-techapplications, we’re really working hard to share information based ondecades of experience in metallurgical services and furnacemanufacturing,” continues Alan. “The new visually engaging website usesa web-based technology that allows any of our division managers toupload news and information to our site daily from their desktop sothat we can provide our customers and industry with a broad scope ofvaluable information on a continual basis,” concludes Alan. About VAC AERO International Inc.Apioneer in vacuum heat treating since 1959, VAC AERO Internationaloffers heat treating and coating services and manufactures furnaces forspecialized applications to aerospace and high-tech industriesworldwide. A strong foundation of knowledge and experience incommercial heat treating has provided VAC AERO with a keenunderstanding of the design and performance of furnace equipmentsystems and components to meet its end-users’ stringent requirementsfor reliability, productivity and cost efficiency. VAC AERO operatesproduction facilities in Canada, Poland and India and is represented byagents in North America, Europe and Asia. Recent Hiatus(October 15 - morning update) - After a nice and rejuvinating break, HeatTreatNews.com is back to work this week. Stay tuned.CHS-Asia Getting into the Jewelry Business?(October 5 - morning update) - Wegot a nice note from Randy Simmons (partner in CHS-Asia and formerMarathon Monitors Service Manager) this week. Looks like CHS Asia ismoving into the Gold Jewelry business. Here's his note:"CHSAsia sells its first furnace into the Gold Jewelry business to AbbyThailand located in Chang Mia District. Interesting that Jewelry,Gems and many items get heat treat with similar processes asmetal. This small unit is an Age Harding furnace withNitrogen/Hydrogen atmosphere. It was manufactured tested anddelivered in 2 week. We were so excited about the chance to interthis market we sent our best team of quality inspectors.Inspectingthe outside of the furnace is lovely Ms. Prim CHS Office Manager andinspecting the inside is Tony Blair (Left) and Jenna Bush (Right) CHSHeat Treat Hounds?"Here are some shots of the furnace and CHS Heat Treat Hounds:  Ipsen Order from Schmolz + Bickenbach, Queretaro, Mexico(October 5 - morning update) - Queretarois becoming a real hotbed for heat treating in Mexico and this latestPR from Ipsen brings that point home. Here's the PR:IpsenInc. announces receipt of a contract from Schmolz + Bickenbach Mexico,S.A. de C.V. forheat processing equipment for a new commercial heattreatment facility to be built in Queretaro,Mexico. The scope of supplyincludes two (2) TurboTreater 12 bar high pressure quenchvacuumfurnaces, a vacuum tempering furnace, temper furnace with cryosystem, temper furnace withnitriding, parts washer and supportequipment including buffer tanks and water cooling system.The equipmentcontrol systems will be integrated with an Adminstration ManagementSystem.Mr.Helmut Freitag, Managing Director of Schmolz + Bickenbach Mexico, S.A.de C.V. said thatthis new facility will be the most advanced commercialheat treatment center in Mexico. Additionally, Mr. Freitag stated thatthe decision to purchase Ipsen was made due to thecombination ofIpsen’s industry leading technology and their strong service presencein Mexico.Accordingto Geoffrey Somary, COO of Ipsen, the systems will be fully operated atIpsen prior toshipment, creating a benchmark which assures years ofrepeatable performance.The new heat treatment center will be operational in the third quarter of 2008.For further questions, contact:Ipsen, Inc.Junell FosnowEmail: junell.fosnow@ipsenusa.comProfessor Rick Sisson Elected President of ASM Heat Treat Society(October 5 - morning update) - Anyonewho has spent any time in the research end of heat treating knows ofProfessor Sisson from WPI and his work in heat treat processese. Wellthe good doctor is now ASM's new president of the its Heat TreatingSociety (HTS). Here's the PR: "WORCESTER,Mass. - Richard D. Sisson Jr., George F. Fuller Professor of MechanicalEngineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and director ofthe university's Manufacturing and Materials Engineering programs, hasbeen elected president of the ASM Heat Treating Society (HTS), anaffiliate society of ASM International, The Materials InformationSociety.Afellow and past trustee of ASM International, Sisson will serve atwo-year term as president of HTS, the world's leading network ofcaptive and commercial heat treaters, equipment manufacturers,researchers, and technicians. With roots dating back to 1913, when ASMwas founded as the Steel Treaters Club, HTS was organized in 1994 toserve as a clearinghouse for heat treating information, which isdistributed through conferences, semin | |
