As secretary of The Contract Heat Treatment Association (the U.K.’s equivalent of MTI) and editor of its Hotline newsletter, I take a keen interest in upcoming global events that promise to expand our industry’s knowledge base and capabilities. I note that (on our side of the pond) these are proliferating, and this year’s program of conferences/exhibitions in Europe offers much.

A relative newcomer in this context is the recently formed Global Heat Treatment Network, which encompasses “hands-on heat treatment professionals” (global-heat-treatment-network.com/en). From an ambitious schedule of forthcoming worldwide conferences/exhibitions listed on their website, April 21-22 sees them stage the European Vacuum Carburizing Summit 2015 in Wroclaw, Poland (www.vacuum-carburizing-summit.com/homepage).

The Polish event will be combined with the 2nd CE European Heat Treatment Forum & Expo on April 21-23 (www.heat-treatment-forum.pl/homepage). The first forum, in 2014, attracted over 200 participants and 30 booths with 43 exhibiting companies. Both conferences will be translated simultaneously.

The International Federation for Heat Treatment and Surface Engineering (IFHTSE) has held regular congresses worldwide, with greater emphasis on academic research, during the last 40 years. The venue for this year’s English-language 22nd IFHTSE Congress is Venice, Italy, in conjunction with the 2015 European Conference on Heat Treatment on May 20-22.

Association de Traitement Thermique et de Traitement de Surface (A3TS) is the organizer of France’s annual heat-treatment event. A3TS 2015, its 42nd congress on heat treatment and surface engineering, is scheduled for June 2-4 in Zénith Saint-Etienne (www.a3ts.org).

Thermprocess, one of Germany’s two major heat-treatment events, occurs every four years. Thermprocess 2015, on June 16-20 in Düsseldorf, will be the “11th International Trade Fair and Symposium for Thermo Process Technology” (www.thermprocess-online.com). The event attracted over 7,900 visitors and 305 exhibitors from 30 countries in 2011. Along with the Industrial Heating Equipment Association (IHEA), Industrial Heating is involved in promoting North American participation (www.ihea.org/event/Thermprocess2015).

September offers three European events. Held annually, Russia’s only international exhibition of thermal equipment and technologies takes place in Moscow. The ninth Heat Treatment 2015 is slated for Sept. 15-17 (www.htexporus.com). Spain looks forward to its Heat Treatment Congress in Bilbao on Sept. 16 (www.metalspain.com/TT.htm). On Sept. 23-25, meanwhile, the role of heat treatment and other manufacturing factors will be debated at the 5th International Conference on Distortion Engineering in Bremen, Germany.

Shakespeare’s hometown hosts the first national event encompassing heat treatment in England in over 10 years. The Contract Heat Treatment Association (CHTA) will be partnering with the Surface Engineering Association and Wolfson Heat Treatment Centre in co-sponsoring the Surface Engineering & Heat Treatment Industry Conference in Stratford-upon-Avon, on Oct. 16-17. This will be immediately preceded in nearby Birmingham by the 80th Understanding Heat Treatment, Wolfson’s long-established industry-acclaimed course on Oct. 13-15.

The top spot for the number of international heat-treatment events this year goes to Germany. Moved recently from Wiesbaden to a new home in Cologne, that country’s other major get-together is the annual HärtereiKongress. The 71st such heat-treatment congress, HK 2015, is set for Oct. 28-30 (www.hk-awt.de). With almost 190 exhibitors and a three-day conference (featuring German/English translation), HK 2014 drew a reported attendance of about 2,500.

Finally, with the support of IFHTSE, heat treatment and surface engineering for tribological performance will be a major theme of BALTMATTRIB 2015, the 24th international Baltic conference in Tallinn, Estonia, on Nov. 5-6.

If I have overlooked any forthcoming conferences/exhibitions in Europe, please let me know at mail@chta.co.uk. For readers contemplating a break, a heat-treater’s sabbatical that takes place in Venice and Stratford-upon-Avon can’t be bad.