Gasbarre and SOLO Swiss Announce Exclusive Licensing Agreement for North America

Gasbarre Thermal Processing Systems, DuBois, Pennsylvania, and SOLO Swiss SA, Porrentruy, Switzerland, announced an exclusive licensing agreement granting Gasbarre the rights to promote, sell, and manufacture the SOLO ProfiTherm heat treating system in North America. The agreement was announced on January 21, 2026.

The ProfiTherm system features a modular arrangement of bell furnaces and quench tanks with direct, rapid transfer from furnace to quench. The design is positioned as a practical alternative to traditional integral quench batch furnaces, offering a more compact footprint that simplifies installation and reduces plant disruption.

ProfiTherm supports a range of heat treating processes including austempering, marquenching, carburizing, carbonitriding, and neutral hardening. Target applications include captive heat treat departments and commercial shops serving general industry, aerospace, defense, and bearing markets.

The partnership expands Gasbarre’s equipment portfolio and gives North American heat treaters access to SOLO Swiss bell furnace technology that has been widely adopted in Europe.

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One Minute Mentor: Advantages and Limitations of Heat Treatment Simulation

Heat treatment simulation can be a tool for optimization of heat-treatment processes, but at the present this method is still limited. Therefore most HTS is based on rough simplifications of the process. Simplifications can involve the process, number of phases, transformation kinetics, continuums models instead of micro-mechanical models, etc. These simplifications also result in inaccuracies in the calculations.

For more information, click on the link below (subscription required). Then scroll to Figure 16. R Schneider; R. Mesquita; W Schützenhöfer, Distortion in Tool Steels, ASM International, 2014  https://doi.org/10.31399/asm.hb.v04d.a0005980

HAI Romania enhances sustainable extrusion production with Nitrex system

Nitrex, Quebec, announced that it has implemented a new nitriding system at Hammerer Aluminium Industries (HAI) Romania, marking a significant step in advancing the sustainability of aluminum extrusion production. This installation aligns with HAI’s corporate commitment to environmental leadership and operational modernization.

HAI Romania, a subsidiary of Austria-based Hammerer Aluminium Industries, operates a state-of-the-art extrusion plant in Chișineu-Criș, near the Hungarian border. The facility features five extrusion presses, including a recently added 10-inch press, and serves key industries such as automotive, construction, and packaging, with strategic access to both Western and Eastern European markets.

The newly installed Nitrex NX-815 nitriding system replaces the traditional salt bath nitriding process. Unlike its predecessor, which generates environmentally challenging waste, the gas nitriding process offers a sustainable alternative. The system utilizes Nitreg® controlled nitriding and Nitreg®-C ferritic nitrocarburizing technologies, ensuring superior and consistent performance while minimizing environmental impact. With a 3,300-pound load capacity, the furnace is specifically designed for treating extrusion dies.

By adopting Nitreg® technologies, HAI Romania eliminates hazardous waste, reduces energy consumption, and enhances the durability of aluminum extrusion dies. This shift not only supports eco-friendly practices but also optimizes production efficiency by eliminating costly post-finishing operations, contributing to the company’s sustainability and operational goals.

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Harper International Receives Order for Scientific Line for Pitch Carbon Fiber

Harper International, Buffalo, NY, announces that it has been awarded a contract to engineer and manufacture a Scientific Line for the production of Bitumen Pitch Carbon, which will be installed at Alberta Innovates, located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The facility will be operated by InnoTech Alberta, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alberta Innovates. The equipment delivery and start-up services are scheduled for 2025.

This pilot-scale equipment will be used by researchers as part of the Carbon Fibre Grand Challenge launched by Alberta Innovates. The challenge aims to accelerate the development of large-scale production pathways for short and continuous carbon fiber from bitumen-derived feedstocks. Phase III of the competition will allow projects to demonstrate, in a repeatable manner, the ability to manufacture carbon fiber, incorporate it into prototypes, and understand the techno-economics associated with the designed process.

“Harper is pleased to support Alberta Innovates Carbon Fibre Grand Challenge to successfully create an alternative carbon fiber precursor with our customized Scientific Line. Carbon fiber from bitumen-derived precursor will significantly lower the price and have a smaller environmental impact,” says Briana Tom, Harper Sales Engineer.

Harper International is a world leader in thermal processing solutions for advanced materials. This latest contract highlights their commitment to innovation and supporting sustainable advancements in material science.

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Ipsen completes ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accreditation for pyrometry services

Ipsen, Cherry Valley, IL, has successfully achieved ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accreditation for calibrations, enhancing its pyrometry services. This accreditation is particularly significant for customers operating under the National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program (NADCAP) and Aerospace Material Specifications (AMS) 2750G.

A key update in AMS2750G, revised in 2022, mandates that calibration service providers must hold ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accreditation. This requirement encompasses temperature controller calibration, system accuracy testing (SAT), and temperature uniformity surveys (TUS).

Cavan Cardenas, Ipsen’s calibration and pyrometry coordinator, emphasized the importance of this certification: “Obtaining this lab certification reassures our customers of our capability to accurately conduct these tests. It’s crucial for us to verify the precision of our calibration equipment to provide superior support to our clients.”

Ipsen has appointed a dedicated technician for its Calibrations Lab, located at the Vacuum Technology Excellence Center in Cherry Valley, IL. This addition strengthens the company’s commitment to providing advanced calibration solutions.

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Three from Aalberts Surface Technologies included in this years 40 under 40

Aalberts Technologies, Livonia, announced today that Angella Sell, Connor Montgomery, and Chris Pietszak are members of Heat Treat Today’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2023. The Heat Treat Today 40 Under 40 award recognizes rising leaders in the heat treat community who are giving their time, talent, and education to make the industry a great place to work.

Angella Sell, Research & Development Engineer, is a proven leader, having chaired the ASM Detroit Chapter from June 2020 to June 2021. In 2022 Angella received the ASM Detroit Chapter President’s Award for her leadership role during the challenging pandemic years. Angella is the vice-chair of the AFS Cast Iron Research Committee and will assume the role of chair in May 2024. 

Connor Montgomery, Oshkosh Plant Manager, is focused on hiring and retention practices as well on effective communications. Connor is leading major efforts to improve flow, efficiency, and throughput in the Oshkosh plant. He has introduced the use of modern lean tools such as 5S, FIFO, and Supermarkets to reduce unproductive manhours. He is actively involved in the reduction of additional waste within plant processing. 

Chris Pietszak, Quality Manager, is focsed on the implementation of and support of ISO, IATF, and Nadcap as well as CQI-9 compliance. He is a trained ISO and IATF auditor and an MTI YES Program graduate. Chris played an important role implementing the quality systems during the start-up of the Fort Smith facility. 

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One Minute Mentor: Fluidized Bed

A fluid bed results when a gas is passed upward through a bed of small solid particles at a rate fast enough to lift these particles and to create turbulence. This motion of particles, which are usually made of aluminum oxide or silica oxide, is similar to that of a fluid, which can be seen schematically in the figure.

When gas is forced upward through small holes in a supporting plate, two forces meet to raise the particles: the buoyancy of the gas and the retarding force known as aerodynamic drag. Objects to be heat treated are immersed directly into the bed of particles.

For more information, click on the link below (subscription required). Then scroll to Figure 7.

R Schneider; R. Mesquita; W Schützenhöfer, Distortion in Tool Steels, ASM International, 2014, https://doi.org/10.31399/asm.hb.v04d.a0005958

Ipsen ships Turbo Treater vacuum furnace to commercial heat treater in Mexico

Ipsen, Tainan City, Taiwan, has shipped a vacuum furnace to Tratamientos Termicos Avanzados (TTA) in Mexico. Translated to “Advanced Heat Treatments,” TTA is a leader in plasma nitriding services for steel. They serve many industries and boast a clientele that includes John Deere, Caterpillar and Nissan.

Looking to expand their capabilities by adding vacuum processing to their commercial heat-treating business, they chose an Ipsen Turbo2Treater for its process flexibility. The new furnace has a work zone size of 24” x 24” x 36”, 1,600 lb. weight capacity, 2,400 °F maximum operating temperature, and quench pressure up to 12 bar. It will mainly be used for hardening tool steels but can easily be adapted to meet new customers’ needs.

TTA chose Ipsen for their ability to lead them in the right direction to grow their business.

https://ipsenglobal.com/knowledge-center/ipsen-ships-vacuum-furnace-to-heat-treater-in-mexico/

One Minute Mentor: Controlled Atmosphere Furnace Equipment

Heat treatment of tool steels usually requires high flexibility combined with small lots of parts. Seal quench furnaces, executed with a single heating chamber, meet this demand. Figure 5 shows a typical schematic of a single-chamber furnace, executed with a pre-chamber, which is used both for loading and unloading and also for oil quenching or gas cooling. Another execution is shown in Fig. 6, where the load is fed directly into the heating chamber (left side in the drawing). In this case the load is transported through the furnace and received after oil quenching on the right-hand side.

For more information, click on the link below (subscription required). Then scroll to Figure 5.

R Schneider; R. Mesquita; W Schützenhöfer, Distortion in Tool Steels, ASM International, 2014, https://doi.org/10.31399/asm.hb.v04d.a0005958

Processing of nano-reinforced aluminum hybrid metal matrix composites and the effect of post-heat treatment: a review

A review from the School of Engineering and Technology, India, describes the increasing demand for cutting-edge materials with a high strength-to-weight ratio and economic considerations. Lightweight materials such as aluminum (Al) and its alloys are attractive, but some properties such as low thermal stability and high wear rate limit the application of aluminum alloys (AA) to some extent. Many researchers have developed various composites to get around these restrictions and increase the performance of aluminum and its alloy. Metal matrix composites (MMCs) with nanoparticles have revealed greater mechanical and tribological properties compared with micron-sized reinforcements. This review summarizes the latest developments in this field.

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