You could say brothers Frank and Gene Clark followed their father’s lead. 

Wade Clark, who had a long and distinguished career in the heat-treating industry, inspired his sons to enter the field. But instead of working in the heat-treat department of a manufacturer or for a commercial heat treater, the brothers opted to forge their own path.

At the time that I started working on the background for this article, I thought, “I wonder what Wikipedia says about steam?” According to Wikipedia, steam is water in the gas phase commonly formed by boiling or evaporating water. Steam and the steam engine played a central role in the Industrial Revolution, with the modern steam engines generating more than 80% of the world’s electricity.

2020 has been quite the year for in-person meetings, with almost all being cancelled nationwide since April. Every association has had to adjust, innovate and create an alternative learning and networking experience for their industry.

It would be easy to refer to Salto Heat Treating as the “new kid on the block.” Just a couple of months old, the company is northern Ontario’s first fully automated commercial heat-treating facility.

Winston Heat Treating officially started up in 1967, but its roots go back a little further.

Bodycote will open a new heat-treatment facility in Elgin, Ill. The purpose-built facility, which is scheduled to be operational in June 2020, has been designed as a replacement for Bodycote’s aging plant in Melrose Park, Ill. It will support manufacturing supply chains in the Midwest region. The Melrose Park facility will be closed once the transfer of customers’ work has been completed. According to Bodycote, the investment allows it to expand capacity and improve its ability to deliver high-quality heat-treatment capabilities.

Dependable Metal Treating is observing a milestone anniversary in 2020. It should be quite a celebration because the company has come a long way in a relatively short period of time.

Baker Furnace developed an incineration solution for infectious medical waste. As more and more people are treated for COVID-19, the amount of infectious waste produced will continue to increase. The company manufactured a medical waste incinerator that uses temperatures in excess of 1832°F (1000°C) to eliminate infectious pathogens and reduce waste.

Thermal Product Solutions (TPS) is working with hospitals to prove the efficacy of its Gruenberg product line for dry heat sterilization on PPE and N95 masks for reuse. Tests at a research hospital show positive results in the dry heat sterilization of masks, face shields, gowns and other PPE, with minimal deterioration of the material. During the process, masks were heated to a specified temperature for a calculated period of time that resulted in sterilization of the material. After the sterilization process, fit tests were performed on the masks that passed filtration efficacy, structural integrity and mask fit.

Established way back in 1932, Rochester Steel Treating Works initially served tool-and-die shops with open hearth, coal-fired furnaces. A lot has changed since then.