Young Metallurgical Consulting may be a new company, but it’s already making a difference in the heat-treating community with a “let me show you” approach to training.

John Young started the company in early 2016 soon after a friend had installed an integral-quench (IQ) furnace in a manufacturing facility. Once the furnace was in operation, the question became, “I own a heat treat furnace, now what am I supposed to do with it?” Enter Young, who was asked to work with the company and teach them the basics of operating a heat-treat line.

Young started at the beginning with austenite, martensite, critical temperatures, soak times and the theory of carbon potential and atmosphere control. He also covered safety, rack and fixture systems, and how to maximize productivity utilizing split loads. Effective and efficient scheduling was discussed as was how to prevent quality issues when changing between various process cycles. Young and the company also worked on proper sample preparation and hardness testing.

As you could expect, Young is no stranger to the heat-treat industry. He has held a variety of roles in a long, distinguished career, including blast furnace engineer, quality manager, general manager, sales representative and president. 

As a quality manager, he was responsible for training furnace operators in basic metallurgy and inspection techniques. As a general manager, he directed a 50-person operation that processed fasteners for the auto industry. Young represented heat treaters in maintaining and increasing sales volume. And he was president of a company with a 25-member heat-treat department that provided services to the auto, heavy truck and railroad industries. 

It goes without saying that Young’s vast expertise is what makes his company successful. The focus of Young Metallurgical Consulting, which is based in West Bloomfield, Mich., is hands-on shop floor training. There are numerous video programs and printed materials available that are beneficial, but – as Young is quick to point out – “When we learned to walk, it was very helpful to have someone hold your hand and lead the way.”

Young Metallurgical Consulting provides individualized training to personnel who are new to the heat-treating industry. Young is also an Adjunct Professor of Metallurgy at Macomb Community College, so he can provide more advanced training as the personnel gains proficiency. One of his main points of focus is customer service, which is a very significant part of being a successful heat treater. Customers want to send parts tomorrow and have them ready yesterday. Young has learned how to get customers involved so that they are part of the solution and not the problem.

Other services provided by Young Metallurgical Consulting include: production scheduling; sample preparation and hardness testing; and quality procedures, control plans, written plans and CQI-9 compliance.

Young Metallurgical Consulting is a one-man personalized training service and anticipates remaining that way moving forward. The company’s mission is simple. “We will work with your staff to teach the day-to-day processes necessary to manage and improve your organization. Your employees will learn the aspects of heat treating that are not taught in a classroom and can only be gained through direct, hands-on experience.