Nitrex Heat Treating Services, Saint-Laurent, Quebec, announces a new plant investment aimed at expanding its commercial heat treat facility located in Aurora, just west of Chicago. The production expansion will add a fourth building on the property to house a new low-pressure carburizing (LPC) system and secondary heat-treating equipment.
The new ECM vacuum carburizing furnace with oil quench capabilities will help meet growing demand from makers of high-end critical parts within the automotive, aerospace, and tooling industries. The 20-bar dual-chamber furnace has a workload size of 40 x 24 x 28 inches, and a load capacity of 1500 pounds.
Nitrex will break ground on the new building on July 20, which will connect to an existing structure, Building 3. According to Bill Walter, Facility Manager of Nitrex Aurora, the construction project will be completed in January 2021, and production on the LPC furnace is expected to begin in April 2021. The expansion will increase the production footprint by 11,000 square feet, a prerequisite to support current demand as well as future growth. Once this building is completed, the total floor space will be over 50,000 square feet.
