As new approaches to energy-efficient furnace operation are met with heightened interest by a diverse customer base, Ipsen has reported healthy sales, especially of continuous heat treatment systems, with specialized heat treatment systems defying the overall trend. Ipsen is pleased to report a rising demand in the combined 2011 and 2012 fiscal years. Expected turnover for the construction of continuous furnaces alone is expected to surpass a total of €25 million ($33 million), with a consistent upward trend.

Ipsen furnaces, which are well suited to the hardening of steel for highly specialized applications, such as drive train or axle construction, have been in especially high demand ever since Ipsen further expanded its industry leadership position in the area of energy optimization. Ipsen offers complete and comprehensive advice to its customers on all applications of heat treatment technology and process engineering, focusing on traditional technologies including:

•Gas carburizing
•Nitro carburizing (now with the new HydroNit-Sensor technology)
•Free choice of process gases, including use of synthetic gases
•Free hardening in a one- or two-stage oil quench bath
•Hardening in a multiple-stage hardening press
•Increasing use of mass-flow controllers to control the composition of the process gases

The consultation services offered by Ipsen’s process engineers are more important than ever, thanks to Ipsen’s ability to provide various furnace designs, such as rotary hearth and pusher furnaces with one- to three-track layouts. These consultations, which often lead directly to the procurement of a customized furnace, are available to the most diverse customer groups in Europe, India, China and the United States. As one experienced heat treatment engineer explained: “At other companies, the plant construction people do the consultation looking at the construction plans. At Ipsen, the process engineers come out and take your production plan, as well as the materials flow, into account all at the same time. That’s a huge advantage.”

Ipsen’s pusher furnaces offer a continuous throughput of parts under a protective gas atmosphere. They are tried and tested for a wide range of applications. The sturdy construction of Ipsen furnaces makes them particularly suitable for heavy workloads. Ipsen delivers one- and multi-track furnaces for a wide range of requirements. The distinguishing feature of both construction designs is their great production flexibility.

Currently, four large, two-track, pusher-type furnaces are being produced, assembled and delivered to customers in the United States. At the same time, other models are under development for new applications.