Solar Atmospheres Greenville, SC facility is pleased to announce it has been awarded Parker Aerospace approval. This achievement expands Solar Atmospheres' reach, offering five facilities able to assist customers with Parker Aerospace thermal processing requirements.

Since I have had the privilege of visiting numerous gear plants and research centers in the U.S., as well as 170 in 33 countries, and I closely watch the progression of technology, I wanted to share my observations about some technological advancements. For the purpose of this article, I will focus on three key areas: Robotics, Machine Tools, and Heat Treating.

A major North American aerospace manufacturer has selected Nitrex Vacuum to support its growing production needs, placing an order for a seventh vacuum furnace to expand capacity. This new vertical, large-precision vacuum furnace, built by G-M Enterprises, a Nitrex company, is engineered to meet the stringent demands of aerospace manufacturing, delivering consistent performance and reliability for critical engine components.

ECM USA’s Vincent Lelong presented low pressure carburizing with vacuum furnace technology at Purdue University's School of Materials Engineering undergraduate seminar. This seminar regularly features industry speakers, some of whom are members of the Purdue Heat Treating Consortium. 

As part of its strategy to better serve its North American customers, the SECO/WARWICK Group, the parent company of SECO/VACUUM and SECO/WARWICK USA, has committed to expanding its manufacturing capacity in Pennsylvania by relocating a portion of its manufacturing and a metallurgical lab for vacuum furnaces from its headquarters site in Poland to Crawford County.

Solar Atmospheres’ newest acquisition, Solar Atmospheres of San Diego, is pleased to announce the addition of Chris Constable as their new Vice President of Operations.  Chris brings with him nearly 25 years of Heat Treating experience that includes quality, operations, management, plant safety, business development, and sales. 

NGC Gears, one of the world’s largest wind power gearbox manufacturers, has completed the installation of two additional EndoFlex generators from UPC-Marathon, a Nitrex company, at its new facility in Jinhu, China location. This acquisition brings the total of generator sets to five since 2022, collectively generating an impressive 800 m³/h (22,252 ft3/h) capacity of endothermic gas supplied to carburizing and hardening furnaces used for processing various gear components. The latest installations in February and March of 2024 support the heat-treating operations of the company’s wind energy gearbox production.

Solar Atmospheres, Inc. is pleased to announce its most recent acquisition, Certified Metal Craft (CMC) located in El Cajon (an East County suburb of San Diego). With nearly 55 years of serving the Southern California region, CMC and the Wiederkehr Family have established themselves as a trusted and dependable source of heat treating and brazing services.

Nitrex welcomes the newest member of the Nitrex Turnkey Systems Team: Marcin Krajdocha. Marcin steps into the new role of Technical Sales Manager responsible for Nitriding Systems in the DACH region and the Vacuum furnace product line in Europe.

Solar Atmospheres Greenville, SC facility is pleased to announce it has been awarded Lockheed Martin Space Systems approval. With this approval, now all five Solar Atmospheres facilities are an option for our customers with Lockheed Martin requirements for thermal processing services.