AFC-Holcroft LLC and ALD Vacuum Technologies GmbH officially established its joint venture company, ALD-Holcroft Vacuum Technologies Co. Inc., after successfully selling equipment in North America to companies such as Specialty Steel Treating, Visteon, Stackpole and Dana.

AFC-Holcroft LLC (Wixom, Mich.; http://www.alf-holcroft.com) and ALD Vacuum Technologies GmbH (Hanau, Germany; http://www.ald-vt.de) officially established its joint venture company, ALD-Holcroft Vacuum Technologies Co. Inc., after successfully selling equipment in North America to companies such as Specialty Steel Treating, Visteon, Stackpole and Dana. AFC-Holcorft and ALD agreed to combine their resources in July 2003 to provide ALD's advanced heat treatment technology in the North American market to process fuel injectors, transmission and axle parts and other precision components. The newly established joint venture will market, service and support ModulTherm® technology to the North American market. In addition to vacuum carburizing equipment, it will offer conventional carburizers equipped with high pressure gas quenching as well as retrofitting of existing furnaces. The joint venture also will have the capability of prototype development of new parts as well as developing processes for existing parts in its technology centers.