Abbott Furnace Company received an order for an electrically heated, continuous-belt calcine furnace from a multinational corporation that specializes in producing chemicals and precious metals and operates in more than 30 countries. Abbott Furnace will design, manufacture and install the industrial furnace, which is rated at 1850°F (1010°C) and includes an 18-inch-wide Inconel belt, silicon-carbide muffle and data-acquisition system. It will be delivered in the second quarter of 2020.

Andritz received an order from Hyundai Steel to supply a direct-fired furnace (DFF) for the existing continuous galvanizing line at its Dangjin plant. The scope of supply includes engineering, delivery, supervision of erection work and commissioning. The project will be executed during the fourth quarter of 2020. By replacing the existing direct-fired furnace with an Andritz Selas DFF, current issues such as formation of soot and cracks in the burner nozzle will be eliminated. This modernization will enable Hyundai Steel to produce value-added products for the automotive market.

ALD Vacuum Technologies GmbH will build a heat-treatment services center in China, the company’s fourth such plant worldwide. Officially registered as ALD Thermal Treatment (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., the facility will be equipped with ModulTherm, ALD’s heat-treatment system, and will serve the domestic industry with heat-treatment services. The new production hall will be build next to subsidiary ALD-C&K Vacuum Technologies (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. The start of production is scheduled for autumn of 2020. 

Gasbarre Thermal Processing Systems recently commissioned a precision gas nitriding and ferritic nitrocarburizing (FNC) furnace for a commercial heat-treating company located in the Midwest. The furnace is capable of processing workloads that are 48 inches wide x 72 inches long x 40 inches high and weigh up to 7,000 pounds. It utilizes Super Systems Inc. controls for automatic KN and KC control to AMS 2759/10 and 2759/12 specifications. The furnace is designed to meet AMS 2750E as a Class 2 furnace, which allows it to be used to perform nitrogen tempering and stress relieving.

Abbott Furnace Company received an order for a sintering furnace from a company that specializes in manufacturing ferrous-based, powder-metal components for the automotive, agricultural and industrial markets. The electrically heated, continuous-belt furnace, which is rated at 2150°F, will be delivered in the second quarter of 2020. Abbott Furnace will design, manufacture and install the furnace, which includes the Varicool cooling system. This will be the 36^th furnace Abbott Furnace has supplied to this company.

Onejoon Thermal Solutions acquired Eisenmann Thermal Solutions, which specializes in the development, manufacture and sale of industrial furnaces for the production of various materials. Onejoon Thermal Solutions is a subsidiary of Korea’s Onejoon Co. Ltd., which is a mechanical engineering company that special­izes in the manufacture of furnaces for processing cathode and anode materials in the lithium-ion battery industry. The transfer of business operations will take place on Jan. 15. Both of Eisenmann’s sites in Germany (Böblingen and Bovenden) and all 200 jobs will be retained. Onejoon Thermal Solutions GmbH will be based in Bovenden.

Sandvik acquired privately owned Thermaltek Inc., a manufacturer of high-temperature furnace systems and metallic heating elements based in Concord, N.C. Thermaltek operates out of a 42,000-square-foot facility with approximately 30 employees. According to Sandvik, the acquisition adds strength to its position in industrial heating, a strategically important growth area for our Kanthal division within Sandvik Materials Technology. Thermaltek, which will continue to go to market under its own brand, will be reported as part of the division Kanthal within business area Sandvik Materials Technology.

Whether a component is produced through binder-jet additive manufacturing, metal injection molding or conventional press and sintering, lubricant removal continues to be one of the most common issues in sintering.

In a time of ever-improving technology, the use of e-mail, cellphones and computers are all designed to make us more efficient and productive. However, there is one factor that still remains the most valuable tool in our arsenal of sales tools – our voice.

Gasbarre Products Inc. (Gasbarre) announced that all manufacturing for its Thermal Processing Systems business unit will take place in its 50,000-square-foot facility in St. Marys, Pa., at the end of 2019. In 2011, Gasbarre acquired the J.L. Becker brand of industrial furnace equipment. Over the last eight years, Gasbarre has run parallel manufacturing facilities in Michigan and Pennsylvania for its furnace equipment. Consolidating the manufacturing of its common product lines allows for the most efficient use of its floor space, equipment and manufacturing processes. The company plans to invest in an additional 12,000 square feet of manufacturing space with additional office and conference-room capacity in St. Marys.