It doesn’t matter if you’ve been reading Industrial Heating for three decades or three years, there is one thing you should know: July is our annual Buyers Guide issue.

The recent staging of the Bright World of Metals, which consists of GIFA, METEC, Thermprocess and Newcast, confirmed its position at the world’s most important international platform for the metallurgy and casting sectors. Numerous investments, spontaneous business deals and lively discussions characterized the dynamic atmosphere in the 12 halls of the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Advanced Heat Treat Corp. (AHT) announced building expansions at its Monroe, Mich., and Waterloo, Iowa, locations. The extra space will enable AHT to add more equipment and services. The Michigan site is expanding its pit, which will allow for two additional nitriding units. AHT Burton, referred to by the street name because there are two locations in Waterloo, is adding additional square footage onto its building. The expansion will allow for additional equipment and services to be added. The expansions are expected to be complete by mid-summer.

It’s hard to believe it all started in a garage.

When you think of U.S.-based thermal-processing providers, one of the names that immediately comes to mind is Paulo.

In what is becoming an annual April tradition, we’ll take a look at some significant industry events.

Metlab isn’t your typical commercial heat treater. Founded in 1928 as a manufacturer of aluminum spars for biplanes, the company is credited with the patent for the first drop-bottom gantry furnace.

Atmosphere thermal processing improves the properties of fabricated metals. Operations include annealing, brazing, sintering (for powdered metals, metal injection molding and additive manufacturing) and glass or ceramic-to-metal sealing.

Wisconsin Oven Corp. shipped an electrically heated horizontal-quench solution-treat system to an aerospace-industry supplier. The system has a maximum oven operating temperature of 1200°F and work-zone dimensions measuring 5 feet, 4 inches wide x 5 feet, 6 inches long x 5 feet, 4 inches high (above the rollers). It was designed to heat a 565-pound gross load, consisting of a mixture of aluminum and steel, to 1000°F, provide a soak at temperature and then quickly move the load into a quench tank.

Aluminum manufactured products of various sizes have been steadily replacing steel in industrial designs such as automobiles, airplanes, appliances and many more applications due to the light weight and flexibility of aluminum.