Heat Treat News

Heat Treating Mexico/Dana Enco. It is a well known fact that auto and truck components supplier Dana has over the past years moved a great deal of their manufacturing and consequently heat treating to Mexico. One such facility is the Dana Enco facility in Queretaro, Mexico. This is a drive train components facility with almost 1,000 employees and a very impressive heat treating facility consisting of a number of pusher furnaces, batch IQ units with a vacuum carburizing system thrown into the mix. I find it very ironic that most companies move to Mexico to take advantage of the lower labor rates and then you visit a plant such as this and the level of automation is far higher than in a comparable US or Canadian plant. As an example the pusher lines at this plant are highly automated and require just 1 or 2 operators to oversee all the lines and the Induction annealers use 100% robotics. While we are still waiting for some photos of the immaculate heat treat department we can provide the photo below showing the individuals responsible for this operation. March 10/10

Ipsen/Titan Road Show. The banner ad at the top of this page tells you about Ipsen's newest concept, the Titan vacuum furnace. The whole concept is quite novel including the marketing as it includes a travelling road showhttp://www.ipsenusa.com/ipsenusa/roadshow-ok-ks-tx-310.html One of these days I will have to ask the fellows at Ipsen what sort of attendance they get at these stops and how the whole travelling road show concept has worked out. March 10/10

Business Opportunities. Over the years our Business Opportunities section has enabled many individuals in the heat treating industry to find new positions. If you are looking for a position please send us a one or two paragraph description of your background and what you are looking for and we will be more than happy to put it on the site for FREE. If you are a company looking to hire please send us your job description and for $150.00USD/month we will include it in our “Companies Looking to Hire Section”. With a readership of almost 14,000/month you will find the right person for the job! March 10/10

Looking for Mechanical Project Engineers and Application Engineers for multiple opportunities all over the US. Paulo Products has an exciting position for a Technical Sales Engineer. A very experienced Canadian Thermal Process Supervisor with 15 years experience running vacuum carburizing systems and other types of furnaces is looking for a position. Companies are looking to fill these positions; a Metallurgist and a Quality Assurance/Technical Services Manager position. This individual we know personally and he is a very experienced Metallurgist/Materials Engineer who is looking for a job-top notch individual. One of the hardest positions to fill is that of a qualified Heat Treat Salesman but we have a company looking for such a person; Ohio based commercial Heat Treat seeking experienced Sales Professional. American Brazing seeks a Technical Sales Engineer and Bluewater Thermal is currently searching for a Sales Professional to oversee the sales function for the following states. Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Florida. Another company looking to hire has position open for a Calibration Technician.

Heat Treating Mexico/Mattsa. Yesterday we spoke about a commercial heat treater in Mexico by the name of Crio, today we talk about the largest new furnace builder in the country-Mattsa. Located in San Luis Potosi, an industrial city of 1 million people 3 hours north of Mexico city the name Mattsa is an abbreviation of (translated from Spanish) Thermal Treatment Maintenance Inc. Founded almost 30 years ago by Carlos Torres (an ex Surface Combustion employee) the company has grown to be the largest new furnace builder in Mexico to a certain extent by their very close association with AFC-Holcroft in Wixom, Michigan, USA for who the company is a licensee. The firm has roughly 100 employees and about 100,000 square feet under roof, all dedicated to atmosphere furnaces including batch IQ units, pushers, batch annealers, and mesh belt lines. In the photos below you see one example of their work in the form of several large batch furnaces. While they are dedicated to the Mexican market at the end of the day a large part of their production ends up going to the US, Canada and overseas. Furnace manufacturing in Mexico has been just as hard hit as the rest of the world however what I saw when I was there were several almost completed projects with the company preparing for a large new order so at the end of the day business would appear to be reasonably good. My impression overall? I would consider this as professional a set up as any I have seen around the world. March 9/10

Used Equipment Available. Surface Combustion 36” X 72” X 36” Batch IQ Lines. We have available 2 Surface batch IQ lines with working dimensions of 36” X 72” X 36”. Both lines are installed and in good overall condition. We feature these lines today as they have attached what I would consider a very attractive asking price $210,000 USD although the vendor is now saying “best offer” which I would consider an absolutely incredible price. For further details please contact us at victoria@themonty.com March 9/10

Tygh Outland/Heat Treating Services Unlimited, Inc. HTSU is proud to announce that we are expanding our Midwest Division with the addition of  Tygh Outland. Tygh brings many years of technical experience and expertise to our company.   Tygh will report directly to Ron Empson, Midwest Division Manager as Field Service Engineer and will be working out of Detroit, Michigan.  With this addition to the Midwest Division, we expand our service offerings even further to our existing customers, as well as   Tygh's initial responsibilities will include Pyrometry, Repairs, Projects, Burner Work, Preventive Maintenance and Consulting.  Tygh comes to HTSU from Machine Tool & Gear in Michigan, where he served for 10 years as Heat Treat Specialist/Maintenance Technician.  Tygh was responsible for the overall operation and upkeep of the heat treat and manufacturing equipment.  Prior to Machine Tool & Gear, Tygh was with AFC-Holcroft as Field Supervisor/Service Technician.  His responsibilities included troubleshoot, repair, install and startup of heat treat equipment. We are excited to have Tygh on staff as we continue our efforts to grow the business and expand in new areas.  With Tygh's background and industry reputation, this expansion helps further solidify our market position as a premier service company to the Midwest area and beyond. March 9/10

Solar Atmospheres Announces an Increase of Capacity for Low Pressure Vacuum Carburizing. With the reputation of benefits from low pressure vacuum carburizing increasing in the heat treating industry, Solar Atmospheres is pleased to announce an increase of capacity available to our customers.  The increase is the result of a fourth, low pressure vacuum carburizing system installed on an existing vacuum furnace.  Known as HT-58, the furnace has a working zone dimension of 72”L x 48”W x 40” H, and will be the largest horizontal, 10 bar, vacuum carburizing furnace available at Solar Atmospheres, Inc. The existing furnace was updated with the vacuum carburizing controls as a result of an increased demand for processing larger product than what Solar currently handles.  A particular advantage to the modification is the ability to process larger shafts in the vertical position, resulting in minimal distortion during processing.  A second interest will be the ability to process larger gears and bearings for various markets.  The furnace has a load capacity of 5,000 pounds and will double the weight capacity of the current largest vacuum carburizing furnace at Solar. The furnace is equipped with 10 bar gas quenching, allowing the vacuum carburizing and subsequent gas quenching processes to be performed sequentially.  For parts that require a liquid quench, a post carburizing anneal can be applied to the product.  The benefits of the vacuum carburizing process are uniform case depths over traditional carburizing methods.  This is apparent in the improvement of the ratio of the gear root to pitch case depth and deep, blind hole carburizing penetration.  For parts that are low pressure vacuum carburized and high pressure gas quenched, an addition to these benefits would be minimal distortion (resulting in a reduced amount of post processing machining), the absence of inner granular oxidation, and clean parts that do not require post process washing. With the expectation of the furnace being fully operational by early March 2010, the time to benefit from low pressure vacuum carburizing and high pressure gas quenching is now! Trevor Jones, Solar Atmospheres of Eastern PA., Project Engineer 800-347-3236 www.solaratm.com March 9/10

Heat Treating Mexico/Crio. While it really has not been that long since we at "The Monty" checked out the heat treating industry in Mexico remarkable changes have taken place in a relatively short period of time. Largely (but not entirely) gone are the days of very rough and basic heat treats using antiquated furnaces to be replaced with operations that rival any to be found around the world and this includes both captive and commercial heat treaters. Since we last visited both Bodycote and ALD (commercial heat treating) have set up state of the art commercial operations doing vacuum carburizing to supply GM operations in the country. Another commercial heat treat that compares with virtually any we have seen around the world is Queretaro based CRIO which we visited recently. Located in a heavily industrialized area 2 hours north of Mexico city CRIO started operations in 2004 and unlike 95% of commercial heat treaters around the world started with brand new equipment. Located in a large facility with plenty of room to grow the company has four 36" X 48" X 36" batch IQ furnaces, a large carbottom furnace and within weeks a 500 pound/hour mesh belt line which we understand to be the largest in a commercial shop in Mexico. This means the company has the ability to provide carburizing, carbonitirding, annealing, neutral hardening and stress relieving. I very much regret that I did not take the opportunity to get a picture of the quality control systems but again they compare with any I have seen. Currently the company is ISO 9001 certified, CQI-9, Ford approved and coming possibly as soon as late this year NADCAP. The photos below taken just last week give you the whole story. As previously promised during the course of this week we will also feature a very large captive heat treater (this is the one with the fish pond beside the furnaces-Mexicans really do have their very own sense of style) a new furnace builder and a summary of where the industry now stands in Mexico. March 8/10

GH Electrothermia Purchases Majority Interest in Induction Atmospheres. Rochester NY, March 4, 2010 – GH Electrothermia S. A. (GH), a leading worldwide supplier of induction heating equipment, has purchased a majority interest in Rochester-based Induction Atmospheres (IA). With the completion of  the purchase on February 17, Induction Atmospheres became known as GH Induction Atmospheres. By combining their resources, technology and engineering expertise, both companies expect to increase their induction heating system sales and expand into new markets. “As part of the worldwide GH Group, GH Induction Atmospheres will bring sales, service and production of the highly respected GH product line into the United States," said GH IA General Manager Steve Skewes. “And GH will help us grow internationally by providing sales and service for our turnkey systems in countries such as India, China, Brazil, France, and Argentina.” “GH Induction Atmospheres brings new products and markets to the worldwide GH Group”, said GH Group President José Vicente González. “With their staff and facilities we will be able to effectively deliver our induction heating systems into the United States. This is exactly the type of synergistic relationship we were looking for in a US based company. We are very excited about the future of our companies.” Skewes expects the collaboration to have a positive effect on GH IA's operations. "We'll be hiring immediately in sales, and by the end of the year, we will be manufacturing GH power supplies and smaller systems here in Rochester. Both companies use the same product development design systems, which will simplify the design transfer. This really is one of those rare win-win business scenarios, and we look forward to a long and profitable relationship.” Induction heating is a fast, accurate, and non-contact, method of heating metal that saves manufacturers space, time and money. Recently selected by Industrial Heating Magazine as one of “10 Technologies to Watch” in its January 2009 edition, GH Induction Atmospheres systems provide a very lean, environmentally sound, energy-efficient industrial heating process that reduces fossil fuel consumption. About GH Electrothermia GH Electrothermia S.A., headquartered in Valencia, Spain, is a leading worldwide supplier of induction heating power supplies and systems for industrial heat treating, forging, and many other applications. Since 1961, The GH Group has installed over 3,000 systems in Europe, Asia, and South America. The GH product line focuses primarily on automotive, gear, wire, and tube/pipe heating processes. For more information, please visit http://www.ghe.es/About GH Induction Atmospheres GH Induction Atmospheres, founded in 2002, is a leading manufacturer and system integrator of turnkey induction heating systems for aerospace, medical and energy production applications. The company recently completed an expansion to a 34,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility in Rochester NY. For more information, please visit www.inductionatmospheres.com March 5/10

Heat Treating Mexico. With the rash of foreign manufacturers moving to Mexico in the past few years both captive and commercial heat treating has made enormous strides in just the past few years. For the next few days we are looking at a few different operations and next week we will have a complete summary. For the time being we give you this photo of a top notch commercial operation and will shortly provide a picture of a captive operation which has a real fish pond located not more than 15 feet from their pusher furnaces-absolutely true. March 4/10

Solar Manufacturing/Hartley Sales. Souderton, Pa. -- Solar Manufacturing, Inc. recently formed an agreement with Kelly LeBard, owner of Hartley Sales Corporation to provide sales representation in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.   Hartley Sales Corporation has supplied heat processing equipment to Northwest companies for over 80 years, with offices located in Portland, OR; Seattle, WA; and Boise, ID .  LeBard has 24 years experience representing manufacturers of thermal processing equipment and instrumentation. LeBard graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Seattle Pacific University.   Bill Case, branch manager of Hartley Sales Corporation, will provide outside sales support for Washington and Oregon.  Case has over 30 years of experience with Hartley Sales Corporation.  He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Washington State University.   Solar Manufacturing, Inc. is part of the Solar Atmospheres family of companies. The Solar Companies are progressive leaders in the global thermal processing industry as providers of heat treating services and manufacturers of vacuum heat treating, brazing, nitriding and carburizing furnaces.  To learn more about Solar Manufacturing’s diverse product line, visit their website at www.solarmfg.com. March 4/10

Aalberts Industries. Just the other day the second largest commercial heat treater in Europe, Netherlands based Aalberts Industries released their financial results which are available at http://www.aalberts.nl/ Certainly it appears that the company overall did well however it will take a better man than I to sort through what the results from their heat treating operations looks like. March 4/10

AALBERTS INDUSTRIES: EUR 54.2 MILLION NET PROFIT

- Market position strengthened through focus on additional sales effort and organisational improvements

- Structural cost reductions, working capital management and reduction of net debt by EUR 135 million

- Solid balance sheet ratios: total equity 39.7% of total assets

- Net profit H2 2009 (EUR 35.9 million) clearly better than H1 2009 (EUR 18.3 million)

- Revenue EUR 1,405 million (negative effect of exchange rates EUR 35 million)

- Added-value* margin improved to 58.9% of revenue

- Operating profit before depreciation (EBITDA) EUR 168.8 million (12.0% of revenue)

- Operating profit (EBITA) EUR 98.9 million (7.0% of revenue)

- Net profit EUR 54.2 million; earnings per ordinary share EUR 0.51

- Cash flow from operations EUR 240.5 million, net cash flow EUR 52.2 million

Specialty Heat Treating/Elkhart, Indiana, USA. Just a week ago we announced that commercial heat treater Specialty Heat Treating in Elkhart, Indiana was investing in a second large vacuum carburizing system. The article below which appeared in a local newspaper gives us a few additional details. March 3/10

“ELKHART, Ind. (Feb. 25, 2010) - Heat treating service provider, Specialty Heat Treating, Inc. announced today it will expand its facility here, a move that is estimated to create up to 26 jobs by 2012. The Michigan-based company plans to invest $1.5 million to add a new vacuum furnace to its existing 33,000 square-foot facility in Elkhart County. The new furnace will provide additional capacity to its vacuum heat treating services, a process which enhances the properties of steel in a protective atmosphere. Installation for the new furnace will begin in May with production beginning in August. Established in 1973, Specialty Heat Treating serves manufacturers and machining service providers within the aerospace, automotive, defense, medical products and heavy equipment markets. The company currently employs 12 associates in Elkhart County and plans to begin adding production personnel in May. "In today's economic times, we are happy to say that we are continuing to grow and expand in the communities that we operate," said Paula Smith, Specialty Heat Treating vice president of organizational development. The company is known for processing specialized, high-end components from its three production facilities in Michigan and Indiana. In addition to the new furnace capabilities, the firm also offers vacuum gas quench, gas nitriding, atmosphere and induction processing. Specialty Heat Treating is ISO/TS 16949:2002 and NADCAP certified. The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered Specialty Heat Treating, Inc. up to $270,000 in performance-based tax credits and up to $2,500 in training grants based on the company's job creation plans. The Elkhart County Council has approved additional property tax phase-in at the request of the Economic Development Corporation of Elkhart County. About Specialty Heat Treating; Specialty Heat Treating was founded in 1973 with the objective of providing high-quality, on-time heat treating services for each of its customers. For more information on Specialty Heat Treating, Inc., please visit www.specialtyheat.com .”

Smart Skim. We welcome our newest advertiser, “Smart Skim” whose banner ad appears below. For my money Smart Skim has the most proven system in the industry for removing quench oil from wash tanks along with a host of other products for capturing oil and contaminants from industrial fluids. For questions I would suggest you contact our good friend Mark Kluis mark@smartskim.com March 3/10

Heat Treatment of Windmill Gears. As the growth of wind energy continues you know darn well we are going to be hearing a lot more stories such as the one below. This appeared in the New Zealand Herald recently http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10629436 and below we have a short exert. Heat treating of large windmill gears is becoming big business and as this involves long cycle times and precise control the potential for mistakes is large. March 3/10

“Last August, Windflow Technologies advised that design changes would be required for its two-bladed WF500 turbine to be a recognised design standard under the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Class 1A Type Certification. A fundamental refit of those turbines could cost up to $24 million. Problems in six turbines have occurred where an incorrect heat treatment process with cast gears has made them prone to cracking, incorrect oil filters may allow manufacturing debris to enter the gearboxes and some overheating of generator assemblies has occurred during sustained periods at high output, Windfarms said in its statement today. Repairs for these faults have been carried out under warranty by Windflow Technologies, but have contributed to significant downtime for a number of turbines.”

Heat Treat Industry Salaries. I would imagine it is basic human curiosity that we all wonder from time to time what our peers and associates actually earn. Today with the help of Jim McNeal of International Search Partners (ISP) we can provide you with some insight. Jim is the only recruiter that we know of that specializes in the North American heat treating industry; he has been at it many years and knows his stuff. Today he gives us a salary range for different positions at Furnace and Oven Manufacturers. To Jim’s comments we will add a couple of our own. I agree 100% with Jim’s observations about Field Service Engineers, they are very well paid and in my opinion deserve every penny that they make; spending your life travelling is hard work, very little fun and unhealthy to boot. As far as Sales Engineers go I am a very firm proponent of a largely commission based pay structure. Want more income-work harder. Jim can be reached at 619-465-9621, jamesm@ispards.com. Jim’s next article will be about salaries in the commercial heat treating industry. March 2/10

“OEM’s (Furnace and Oven Manufacturers): (I did not include VP level and above as those positions will vary widely depending upon the Company. Of course, the positions described below are generic but this should be a fairly representative view in 2010.)

Project Engineers (Both Mechanical and Electrical): These are typically degreed individuals who not only do Project Management; they are the Project lead for design. Electrical engineers will generally not be the lead on a single project but will spread them selves out over several. These folks can get anywhere from 60-80K and 99% of the time are Exempt, meaning salaried positions. 

Designers, Draftsman, Detailers (Both Mechanical and Electrical): These are typically non-degreed individuals who are the backbone of every Furnace/Oven Manufacturer. They are typically Non-exempt (Hourly) and can get anywhere between $15/hour on up to $30+ per hour.

Application Engineers: These positions can also be called Proposal engineers, Estimators, Inside Sales engineers etc. Bottom line is that these are the people who put together the quotes that go out to prospective customers. Granted, a lot of times the actual Salesman does this but a wise Company will have this function done in-house and allow the Sales Engineer to be out in the Field doing what they do best, SELLING. Application engineers can make $50K at the low end on up to 70K+ for really good ones. Unfortunately, when things slow down, these folks are often the first to go.

Field Service Engineers: I am not talking about people who work in the Shop; I am talking about that strange and unusual breed (sorry guys) that live on the Road and love it, doing installations and start-ups all over the World. These guys are non-exempt and live on OT and Per Diem. Good ones can often make over $100K in total compensation but all are in the $20-25/Hour range which demonstrates how much OT they work. Good ones are the most easily placed position in our industry. 

Sales engineers: Two types of compensations plans are prevalent. One type of plan is salary only, commensurate with experience. Generally speaking, I have seen salary only plans with OEM’s who have a very technical product, 99% of the time custom designed, with a long sales cycle. This seems to work well for both parties. The Sales Engineer gets a base salary with some sort of bonus plan based on individual/company performance; the OEM gets a dedicated Sales Engineer with a relatively fixed cost. The other type of plan is salary plus commission. The theory behind this type of plan is that in order to face rejection on a daily basis, the carrot of commission needs to be out there to motivate the sales person and reward producers. Again, generally speaking, I have seen this type of plan with OEM’s who manufacture a product that can be sold without a lot of custom design needed i.e. a standard product line. As a straight commission sales person till I opened my own Firm, I have strong opinions on the subject of commission but the subject is certainly open to debate. So, if you hire a salary only Sales Engineer, expect to pay a base salary of 70K+ plus car allowance/company car/mileage. If there is a commission involved, the salary may be as low as 50K + car allowance/company car/mileage.”

United Process Controls and Nitrex Metal nc. Kick Off USA Technology Seminar."Following the successful technology seminar in Mexico in December 2009, United Process Controls (UPC), Nitrex Metal Inc. and Alphametric Vacuum Inc. will kick off a USA tour in the Carolinas this March. This one-day intensive technology seminar aims to make new product and technology information accessible to users of process control, instrumentation and automation solutions in heat treatment. It is primarily for shop and manufacturing personnel and engineers who are seeking information and insight into process optimization and compliance to quality standards of specifications such as AMS 27xx series, CQI-9, and NADCAP.

Sessions will focus on the practical application of instruments and technology for nitriding, nitrocarburizing, and carburizing processes as well as specification compliance. Presentations on a variety of control solutions will also include live demonstrations and exercises on modern heat treat equipment from oxygen sensors, to infrared analyzers, flow meters and process controllers.

The South Carolina event will convene in Greenville on March 23rd at the Courtyard Marriott hotel, and in Concord/Charlotte, NC on March 25th at the Hampton Inn. Pre-registration is required to guarantee that there are sufficient seats at each seminar for all attendees. For more information, please go to http://www.group-upc.com/mf/eng_mf/seminar/upc_seminar.htm." March 2/10

Where Are They Now/Dan Valentino.  Dan Valentino, formerly VP of Sales for Bluewater Thermal (commercial heat treating) parted ways with the company in late 2009. Experienced sales people are always in high demand and Dan recently landed a job as Sales Manager for Interlake Industries in Willoughby, Ohio-a stamping and fabricating company. While it is relatively unusual for individuals to leave the heat treating industry Dan is one of the few who made it out alive. March 1/10

Eutectic Resources/Brazil, Indiana, USA. The recession has hurt a lot of companies over the past almost 2 years with a number falling victim to business conditions. Unfortunately commercial heat treater Eutectic Resources was one of these with the equipment being auctioned off February 25/2010. I have always had very mixed feelings about auctions; in some cases I scratch my head in puzzlement at the ridiculous prices buyers will pay, in other cases the equipment goes for a fraction of it’s real value. In the case of Eutectic the company had some very desirable items including a top notch GM Enterprises 2 bar vacuum furnace and a very impressive aluminum drop bottom oven. We have been told that attendance was excellent with over 200 potential buyers, both used equipment dealers and end users. Again our understanding was that the GM furnace sold to an end user, a commercial heat treater in Fairfield, Ohio for $172,500 USD and the drop bottom for a little over $70,000. I would consider these numbers reasonable but certainly too some extent lower than the actual value. Again auctions are a crap shoot both from the buyer’s side and the sellers. March 1/10

Thailand Automotive Industry. The only reason this news item is of interest to heat treaters is the commercial and captive heat treating angle. One of the names you will see below is Australian James Beeson of Kulthorn Metal Products who is a lifelong heat treater and who runs the captive heat treating department of Kulthorn. March 1/10

"Thailand's Automotive Industry is a very large and growing market with Toyota, GM, Ford, Isuzu, Volvo, Honda, BMW, Magnate Automotive and Tata all manufacturing locally.  Because of this Thailand formed an Automotive Focus Group that meets on a monthly basis and includes everyone from Commerical Heat Treaters, Car Makers, Shipping Companies, Parts Suppliers, New/Used Equipment Dealers and other related companies.  On February 18 the 2010 general election was held for this year's Board Members and the photo of the new board is below.  Please note the 8th member George Stramp TRW is not in the photo.  If you have an interest in joining this group contact Uli Kaiser uli@interstar-technology.com. Photo Left to right: Uli Kaiser  Interstar, Peera Thaweechart  DHL, Maurice Bromley Managing Director DoveBid, Mike Diamente Managing Director Dana Spicer, Alain Deurwaerder Managing Director Katoen Natie, Ray d'Silva Managing Director Bosch Chassis, James Beeson Kulthorn Metal Products Co Ltd  Technical Advisor"

Bodycote 2009 Preliminary Results. At the risk of repeating ourselves the financial results for Bodycote, one of the world’s largest commercial heat treaters and the only truly global heat treater are always of a great deal of interest as they provide possibly the best look at how commercial heat treating is doing around the world. Yesterday, February 25th the company announced their 2009 preliminary results. The highlights are below and the full results are available at http://www.bodycote.com/. February 26/10

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

• Revenue from continuing operations decreased by 21.1% to £435.4m (2008: £551.8m)

• Headline operating profit(1) from continuing operations of £8.0m (2008: £71.2m)

• Operating loss (after exceptional charges of £58.2m) from continuing operations of £50.2m (2008: loss of £51.7m after exceptional charges of £122.9m)

• Headline profit before tax(1) of £3.7m (2008: £67.6m)

• Loss before tax of £54.5m (2008: loss of £55.3m)

• Positive headline operating cash flow(2) (before the impact of restructuring) of £34.7m (2008: £63.1m)

• Basic headline earnings per share(3) from continuing operations of 0.4p (2008: 17.5p)

• Basic earnings per share, after exceptional charges, decreased to a loss of 27.0p. (2008: earnings of 48.2p, including discontinued operations)

• Net debt at year end of £85.5m (2008: £64.7m)

• Final dividend maintained, giving unchanged 8.3p dividend for the year

OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

• Cost reduction programme delivered structural savings of £30m in 2009 - will increase to £43m in 2010

• Operational reshaping nearing completion, with 25 facilities closed – 7% of capacity eliminated

• New strategy defined with a market focused business structure – Aerospace, Defence & Energy (ADE) and Automotive & General Industrial (AGI)

• Enhanced focus on cash flow

Commenting on the results, Stephen Harris, Chief Executive said:
“2009 was a year of transition for Bodycote, with a major cost reduction programme implemented, a new strategy defined and the Group reshaped accordingly. End markets were very challenging with sharply lower volumes, the impact of which was addressed by significant cost reductions. We delivered a headline operating profit for the full year, more than offsetting the losses incurred in the first half. Many of our automotive and general industrial markets have already started to recover but we do not expect the aerospace, defence and energy markets to strengthen until later in 2010. The pace of recovery remains uncertain and potentially uneven. We anticipate that full recovery in demand may take several years. This notwithstanding, we enter 2010 with a reshaped business and renewed vigour.”

Aerobraze Cincinnati Promotes Joe Hetzer to Director of Manufacturing. Wall Colmonoy is pleased to inform that Joe Hetzer has been promoted to Director of Manufacturing for Aerobraze, Cincinnati. Joe previously held the title of Engineering Manager where he did an outstanding job, especially with Rolls Royce contracts, leading successful qualifications for the RR250 diffuser program. Joe has over 23 years of experience working in the Aerospace Industry. He attended Colerain High Trade School for advanced machining and tool design, and continued his education at Cincinnati State in Manufacturing Engineering.  Joe worked on the Pratt & Whitney Joint Strike Fighter program, developing blades, vanes and shrouds from concept to production. He is also a major contributor in developing multi-axis EDM drilling machines from concept to world-leading technology. Joe’s new responsibilities will include directing and monitoring production and sales, creating innovative ways of manufacturing Aerospace hardware, team building, and establishing goals. Reporting to Joe will be personnel in the manufacturing departments at Aerobraze Cincinnati. For more information on Aerobraze visit http://www.wallcolmonoy.com/locations/cinci.html

Wall Colmonoy Hires Accounting Manager. Wall Colmonoy is pleased to inform you that Daria Johnson has joined Wall Colmonoy Corporation as Accounting Manager, reporting to the Vice President of Finance & Administration. Daria holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and Masters Degree in Finance from Walsh College. Daria has over 25 years experience in Accounting, most recently serving as Controller for a gauge, cable, and adapter manufacturer for the heavy truck and military industries. She has a strong background in cost accounting, and experience in the implementation of various accounting systems. Her responsibilities will include streamlining and strengthening internal control and reporting systems.  February 26/10