Bodycote installed two new UBQ integral-quench batch furnaces and support equipment in its Silao, Mexico, plant. The complete line of AFC-Holcroft equipment now consists of four UBQ furnaces with top cool, four UBT temper furnaces, one UBTN nitrogen temper, two UBW universal batch washers, a UBTC double-ended push bar car, four scissor lift tables, 10 load tables and an EZ-9000 endothermic generator. The new equipment is scheduled to be ready for production Sept. 1, 2010.
In 2009, Bodycote finalized an agreement with AFC-Holcroft that will provide a common batch-furnace platform for Bodycote facilities in 27 countries around the world. The objective of the agreement is to allow for consistency throughout the multitude of commercial heat-treatment plants that Bodycote operates globally, while minimizing investment costs for new equipment.