The Monty’s 50 Largest North American Commercial Heat Treats 2022

Since 1999 “The Monty Heat Treat News” has been publishing annually a list of the largest commercial heat treaters in North America based upon yearly sales, our 2021 list can be found at 50 Largest North American Commercial Heat Treats 2021 | The Monty  Before we get into the list we will make a few points;

  • Rankings are based upon anticipated sales for the calendar year of 2022.
  • While the turmoil of the past two years affected most companies on our list the pain was by no means evenly distributed. Hardest hit were those companies almost exclusively tied to the aerospace industry while firms specializing in the medical industry saw little change and heat treaters related to the firearms business couldn’t keep up with demand.
  • Automotive heat treating has been a roller coaster ride for the past 2 years and the ride isn’t over. Those firms concentrating on this market segment have found sales going from record highs to record lows in just a few months.
  • The oil and gas industry has seen a tremendous upside in 2022 and the result is that there are now more commercial heat treaters in Texas on our list than in 2021.
  • We would estimate that on average most firms see their anticipated sales for 2022 increasing anywhere from 5% to 7 ½%.
  • The vast bulk of companies on this list are privately held which means exact sales figures can be difficult to find. So while we are quite proud of our efforts and consider this list to be the most accurate available anywhere we do not for a second claim that it is 100% correct.
  • Over the years some readers have pointed out that our rankings are not always in line with MTI figures (Metal Treating Institute is the largest organization of commercial heat treaters in North America and they rank their members in each geographic region). We would concur with this for two reasons. The first is that not all commercial heat treaters belong to MTI which “skews” the numbers. Second MTI tracks members in a particular region. For instance Specialty Steel Treating does not rank as the largest in Michigan which is where they are headquartered but when you factor in their facility in CT (a different region for MTI) the overall picture changes.
  • We are always asked where the information for our rankings comes from, a very fair question. The largest on our list, Bodycote is a publicly traded company and sales figure are freely available. Solar Atmospheres, #6 on our list is very open and said that we could post their sales figures,  Most of the companies on this list did share sales figures with us on the basis that they not be printed, a very reasonable request. Further verification came from knowing the number of locations, the physical size of each, number of employees and the processes each offers.
  • We appreciate the help and guidance everybody provided us with.
  • All figures quoted are in US Funds.

#1 Bodycote 

Without a shadow of a doubt UK based Bodycote is the largest North American commercial heat treater and indeed the largest globally. Want to know exactly what the company’s sales are? As a publicly traded company their financial results are easily found at https://www.bodycote.com/

For the purposes of this report we are only looking at Bodycote’s North American sales and operations. The company reported 2021 sales in North American to be $300 million USD, with 72 plants in the USA, 3 in Canada and 4 in Mexico. We are not privy to anticipated sales in 2022, however we would assume there will be some increase.

#2 Aalberts Industries

Aalberts N.V. is a public company with its global HQ in the Netherlands.  For years, Aalberts Surface Technologies has been the second largest commercial heat treater in Europe (previously under the name Hauck). In a relatively short period of time Aalberts went from a small player in the North American commercial heat treat industry to the second largest. This was achieved largely through acquisitions which over the years have included Premier Thermal, Applied Process, Alfe and several others. Incidentally if we put together a list of the largest commercial heat treaters in the world Aalberts would be the second largest.

www.accuratebrazing.com

www.appliedprocess.com

www.ionic-tech.com

www.premierthermal.com

#3 Paulo

Founded in 1943, Paulo is the largest privately held provider of thermal processing and metal finishing solutions in North America. Headquartered in St. Louis, Paulo operates six divisions servicing the Midwest, Great Lakes, and Southeast regions of the United States and northern Mexico. Paulo has been family owned and operated since the beginning, now the fourth generation carry on the business Ben and Pauline Rassieur started 77 years ago. The processes offered by Paulo cover austempering in mesh belt furnaces, Hot Isostatic Pressing, carburizing, nitriding, vacuum, brazing, zinc plating and black oxide to name a few. What makes Paulo unique to some extent is that the company has built in redundancy for most of their processes-if for some reason a process is not available at one particular location it can be quickly and competently shifted to another location.  Paulo: Thermal Processing. Brazing. Heat Treating. Metal Finishing.

#4 Woodworth Heat Treating

The fourth largest North American commercial heat treater on our list is a company which operates 4 facility in two countries and specializes in large volume automotive work. “Woodworth Inc. provides a wide range of heat treatment services through our four facilities. We are currently located in Pontiac, Homer, and Flint, Michigan, as well as Puebla, Mexico. The company operates 40 large furnaces in North America. Woodworth Inc. has installed capacity to run 16 million + rotors per year. (2.2 million Lbs / Day).” Woodworth is similar to many heat treaters on our list in that they are almost exclusively dedicated to the automotive industry, albeit on a very large scale.

http://www.woodworthheattreating.com/index.html

#5 Bluewater Thermal Solutions

“Bluewater Thermal Solutions operates 12 different heat treatment and brazing facilities in the United States and Canada and this makes us one of the largest heat treating and brazing companies in North America. Each location has different capabilities and equipment that allows them to offer specialized different types of processing required by their local markets. Bluewater provides thermal processing and metal joining to over 2,000 customers. In addition to specialty heat treatments and brazing, most of Bluewater’s locations offer traditional heat treatments such as annealing, hardening, carburizing, carbonitriding, vacuum heat treatments, nitriding, nitrocarburizing, normalizing, solution treat and age hardening, stress relieve, and many more.” Bluewater is similar to a few of the companies on this list in that it is owned by a venture capital firm.

#6 Solar Atmospheres

Solar Atmospheres Heat Treating Operations. The Solar Nation heat treating plants includes Souderton PA, Hermitage PA, Fontana CA, and Greenville SC, and have in total 357,000 square feet of plant space. This does not include Solar Manufacturing division which produces vacuum furnaces. Solar recorded 2021 sales of approximately $56 million USD, 2022 sales are expected to increase by 5% to a total of $59 million USD. The company reports strong sales to the aerospace, space, defense, medical petrochemical and electronics industries with very little exposure to the auto industry. The company has a very strong emphasis on vacuum heat treating.  Vacuum Heat Treating and Brazing Services | Solar Atmospheres

 

#7 Braddock Metallurgical

Braddock Metallurgical. Family owned Braddock Metallurgical was founded in 1953 by William Braddock. The company has eight production facilities mainly in the US Southeast, however the company also has a location in NJ and Puerto Rico. Certainly in the growing US Southeast region Braddock is the dominant commercial heat treater. The company is a full service heat treater in that they offer virtually every process available. We are quite confident saying that they are the fourth largest family owned commercial heat treater in North America.

https://www.braddockmt.com/our-history/

#8 Thermal Process Holdings

THERMAL PROCESS HOLDINGS is a dynamic growth company providing critical Metallurgical services to virtually every industrial sector. Our strategy is to provide industry leading thermal services throughout North America from our expanding network of facilities. Currently the company operates 5 locations around the US. 

www.thermalprocessholdings.com

#9 Advanced Heat Treat Corp

“Established in 1981, Advanced Heat Treat Corp. (AHT) is a recognized global leader in providing heat treat services and metallurgical solutions. Between its locations in Alabama, Iowa and Michigan, AHT offers over 20 surface treatments such as UltraGlow® Ion & Gas Nitriding, UltraOx®, Nitrocarburizing, Induction Hardening, Carburizing, Quench & Temper and more.” What makes Advanced such a fascinating company is that it is the creation of Mr. Gary Sharp who started off with the idea that there was a place in the North American heat treating industry for Plasma (Ion Nitriding). Gary started off with a small investment and has never looked back.

www.ahtcorp.com

#10 Parker Trutec

Parker Trutec is a North American subsidiary of Nihon Parkerizing, a world leader in metal improvement technology. The Parker Trutec Group operates 6 facilities in the United States and Mexico which specialize in metal treatments and products that improve the resistance to wear, corrosion and fatigue of metal components. The company offers heat treating processes such as Gas Carburizing, Carbonitriding, Salt Batch Nitriding and Neutral hardening at two of it’s locations, Springfield, Ohio and Guanajuato, Mexico (note all processes are available at both locations). The Ohio location alone has over 20 furnaces. In March of 2022 the company announced that business was good enough to warrant investing $12 million USD in a new facility and additional heat treating equipment. Their business largely relies on the Japanese automotive transplants.

www.parkertrutec.com

#11 Dowa Thermotech

Globally Japan based Dowa Thermotech is one of the largest commercial heat treaters in the world so it is no surprise that it also ranks as one of the largest in North America. Their facilities in San Luis Potosi, Mexico and Bowling Green, Ohio are both dedicated to servicing the Japanese automakers which means that they largely “fly under the radar” and don’t usually appear on lists of commercial heat treaters. The company almost exclusively uses furnace built in Japan.

https://www.dowa.co.jp/thermo-tech/en/about-tht/global/mexico.html

#12 Rex Heat Treat

Rex Heat Treat is a family owned-and-operated business that began the year of 1938 in Pennsylvania making it one of the oldest commercial heat treats in North America.  In its beginning, Rex Heat Treat supported the United States military efforts during World War II. Since then, Rex has also managed heat treating plants in Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. Through a combined 190,000 square feet, between the Alabama and Pennsylvania facilities, Rex Heat Treat is able to effectively serve industries, such as Mining and Drilling, Energy, Aerospace and Defense, and Transportation. With the installation of the world’s largest Vertical Vacuum Oil Quenching Furnace, Rex Heat Treat is primed for continued growth.

https://www.rexht.com/

#13 Nitrex

Nitrex is a world leader in heat treating solutions with a unique integrated products portfolio composed of three divisions: Nitrex Turnkey Systems, United Process Controls and Heat Treating Services. Its Heat Treating Services division is an international full-service commercial heat–treatment solutions provider. With over 35 years in heat–treating, 9 locations in the U.S., China, Canada, Mexico and Europe, over 4000 unique processes, 18,000 lab test results and a team of skilled metallurgists, engineers and heat treaters, Nitrex is a solutions provider capable of going beyond traditional heat–treating services. Serving North American customers from its locations in Chicago-IL, Franklin-IN, Mason-MI, Las Vegas-NV, Montreal-Canada, and Queretaro-Mexico, Nitrex has established long term relationships with an array of OEMs, Tier 1s and end-users. While world-renowned for its nitriding expertise, Nitrex also provides a full suite of state-of-the-art vacuum, atmosphere, and LPC solutions to its many customers and will continue to expand its global footprint through 2020 and 2021.

www.nitrex.com

#14 Heat Treating Services Corporation of America (HTS)

Based in Pontiac, Michigan HTS is a privately owned commercial heat treater founded in 1978.Being in Michigan the company is heavily involved in the auto industry and the Hynes family have done a tremendous job of guiding the company through the ups and downs of the last few years. HTS has 4 plants in Michigan and serves the ferrous metal industries with thermal process and clean capabilities, which exceed sixty-four (64) million pounds per month. In total HTS had over 200,000 square feet under roof and 250 employees.

https://www.htsmi.com/about

#15 Stack Metallurgical

Stack Metallurgical Group consists of four sites strategically located throughout the Pacific Northwest.  Stack specializes in advanced heat treating, aluminum anodizing and painting, and hot isostatic press (HIP) services. With a rich history dating back to 1946, Stack has become a trusted partner to demanding clients in industries such as aerospace, power generation, precision cutlery, oil and gas, and general industrial.  Stack has been privately held by the Ederer family since 1974.  Over the last 46 years, the business has grown and expanded into new markets.  The most recent expansion, Stack HIP, was launched earlier last  year in Albany, Oregon.

www.stackmet.com

#16 ThermTech Inc

ThermTech in Waukesha, Wisconsin is a privately held commercial heat-treating company that offers a wide range of services to a diverse and discerning set of customers. It was founded in 1982 by Charles Wiberg and remains a family owned business under the guidance of Mary Springer and her brother Steve Wiberg. We would consider ThermTech to be a full service shop in that it offers most commercially available heat treat processes.  

https://www.thermtech.net/

#17 ALD Heat Treat Services

ALD Heat Treat Services is considered to be one of the premier heat treat organizations in the world specializing in distortion control through its specialization in Low Pressure Carburizing (LPC) and High Pressure Gas Quenching (HPGQ). ALD Vacuum Technologies GmbH., operates two facilities in North America; each ideally located in the manufacturing heartland of the United States and Mexico. ALD Thermal Treatment, Inc., located in Port Huron, MI, opened in 2006 and the sister plant in Ramos Arizpe, Coah. (Mexico), launched in 2008, have both earned the prestigious General Motors Supplier Quality Excellence Award for six consecutive years. ALD is proud to note that they are the only outside heat treat facilities in the GM supply base who can claim this honor. ALD also operates another state of the art facility in Saxony, Germany and are on track for a fourth facility in Suzhou China in early 2021.

We are the solution for superior quality vacuum heat treating services, with a strong international presence and worldwide operation which includes furnace sales and furnace equipment servicing offered by our world-renowned ALD affiliates. Our Quality System, automation controls, Research & Development Team, in-house Laboratory, and other internal processes are robust and second to none. We are IATF 16949, AS9100, and ISO 9001 Certified, and we are also ISO 27001 and ISO 14001 compliant. We are currently seeking NADCAP certification and look forward to servicing the Aerospace Community with the highest degree of quality and precision available in the market today. Our processes minimize the distortion of precision manufactured components, such as the gears and thin walled parts found in major automotive (trucks and off-road vehicles), energy and aerospace applications. Often, our customers can reduce or totally eliminate post heat treat processing resulting in total part cost optimization.

www.ald.com

#18 Flame Metals

Privately owned Flame Metals was founded in 1985 and operates out of a 102,000 square foot facility with over 100 employees working 7 days a week in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area. Focus is on the General Industrial Markets-Off Highway, Construction, Marine, Outdoor Recreational, Agricultural, Mining and Wind Energy. With eleven integral quench furnaces (9000 lb max capacity) and two pit furnaces (25,000 lb capacity), the company is best known for its ability to process large critical components. Additional capabilities include continuous processing, vacuum, salt bath nitriding, neutral salt, induction, aluminum and car bottom. Home – Flame Metals Processing Corporation

#19 FPM Heat Treating

Founded in 1979 FPM has two locations in the US Midwest, Elk Grove Village, IL and Cherry Valley IL. FPM has the capability to offer most heat treating processes including Through hardening, Carburizing, Carbonitriding, FNC and Nitriding, from a variety of furnaces including batch IQ furnaces, mesh belt, vacuum and salt bath. The company has NADCAP approval along with CQI-9.

https://www.fpmht.com/.

#20 Continental Heat Treating

Nadcap approved Continental Heat Treating is an aerospace approved heat treating company located in Santa Fe Springs, California. Established in 1957 in Downey, CA the company moved to their current location in Santa Fe Springs in 1969 where it has grown and prospered under the leadership of Mr. Jim Stull.

https://www.continentalht.com/

#21 Specialty Heat Treating, Houston

Specialty Heat Treat, Inc. is a family owned business and was founded in 1993 by Tom Moore in Houston, TX. SHT operates a 100,000 square foot facility on 9 acres and has grown to 42 furnaces up to 25’ in length. Like all heat treaters in Texas the company’s fortunes are closely tied to the oil and gas industries. Due to the upturn in those industries Speciality is seeing substantial growth these days.

www.specialtyheattreat.com

#22 Hansen Balk

Since 1955, Hansen/Balk in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA has built a reputation as a state-of-the-art provider of steel heat-treating services. Our 85,000-square-foot facility features a full cohort of best-in-class batch vacuum and batch atmosphere furnaces, capable of processing orders of all sizes. We offer a variety of services, but are best known for the breadth and depth of our vacuum heat-treating capabilities-including high-pressure quenching up to 15 Bar-as well as unique services such as cryogenic treating, flame hardening and induction heat-treating services. We adhere to the most technologically advanced heat-treating methods with modern equipment to ensure your parts meet the required specifications-from hardness tolerance to surface finishes. We also bring customers a deep well of metallurgical knowledge, formed over six decades of work on millions of parts.

https://hansenbalk.com/ 

#23 East Carolina Metal Treating

East Carolina Metal Treating was founded in 1976. Through a commitment to continual improvement and reinvestment, ECMT has garnered a reputation for providing high quality service with great turnaround and the best customer service.  ECMT has a state-of-the-art metallurgical lab and maintains Nadcap, ISO 9001, AS9100, and Appendix B certifications with the goal of achieving the automotive certification – IATF 16949.

Servicing the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions, the company has grown into a 45,000 square foot facility located just outside of downtown Raleigh, and ECMT’s second location, Virginia Metal Treating, has recently constructed a 20,000 square foot facility in Lynchburg, VA with room to grow!  ECMT offers a full range of heat-treating services including Vacuum, Batch IQ, Nitriding/FNC, Induction, Cryogenics, Salt bath hardening with austempering and marquenching, Stress Relieving, Age Hardening, as well as Black Oxide. ECMT partners with the best equipment manufacturers to provide repeatable quality results for our diversified customer base. East Carolina Metal Treating, Inc. – Let us take the heat…so you don’t have to. (ecmtinc.com

#24 Metex Heat Treating

Metex Heat Treating Ltd. In 1983, Metex Heat Treating Ltd. was founded by Mr. Surjit Bawa to serve the heat treating needs of the manufacturing industry in the Greater Toronto, Canada Area. Since that time Metex has grown into the largest commercial heat treater in Canada and the company services customers as far as Montreal, Cleveland and Michigan. We specialize in Continuous and Batch Neutral Hardening, Carburizing, and Carbonitriding. We also have 10 state of the art induction hardening systems.

https://metexht.com/

#25 Accurate Steel Treating

Accurate Steel Treating was founded in 1962 on a strong commitment to quality and customer service. In 1989, Accurate Steel Treating was acquired by a new management team and embarked on a carefully planned expansion program. During the next 25 years, new processes and equipment were added to keep pace with growing demand including high-pressure gas quench vacuum heat-treating, precision carburizing, and ion nitriding. In 2012, management decided, along with encouragement from several key customers, to enter the Aerospace market to be better diversified and capitalize on the many opportunities developing in this sector.

Today, Accurate Steel Treating continues to be the fastest growing commercial aerospace heat treat service provider in the western US. We are AQS AC7004 certified and accredited by Nadcap for a wide range of thermal processes and support services, including vacuum & atmosphere hardening, gas carburizing, ion & gas nitriding, stress relieving, annealing, aging, pre & post cleaning, oil, salt, water & polymer quench mediums, titanium processing, straightening and metallurgical evaluations. The transformation to a full service Aerospace Heat Treat provider accelerated in 2014 when we achieved our first Nadcap accreditation, we have since accomplished many milestones that we are proud of. Accurate is a privately held company with Mr. Chris Hall, President.

#26 Industrial Steel Treating, Jackson, Michigan

Industrial Steel Treating Company (IST) began operations in Jackson, Michigan in 1943, initially servicing the growing tool and die industry in mid-Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. The company is owned and run by the Levy family and operates out of a 350,000 square foot location in Jackson, Michigan. Two separate, across-the-street facilities house production, prototype sample and warehouse-inventory management capabilities. IST offers gas nitriding, carbonitriding, induction hardening and several other processes.

https://www.indstl.com/

#27 Specialty Steel Treating, Michigan, CT

Specialty Steel Treating, founded 1956, has been performing precision heat treating for more than 60 years. The privately held company has 4 locations in the US, three in the Detroit, Michigan area and one in Connecticut. While Specialty is located in the auto capital of the world it has broadened its customer base over the years and now has a very strong presence in the aerospace and bearing industries.

www.sst.net

#28 Lake City Heat Treating, Warsaw, Indiana

Lake City Heat Treating in Warsaw, Indiana is part of a very small select group in that for years the company has offered Hot Isostatic Pressing which only a handful of companies can say. With roughly 13 vacuum furnaces and 3 “Hip” Vessels the company focuses on the medical and aerospace industries. Major shareholder is Mr. Bill Davis. Lake City has made our news section several times over the years, each time when the company was making a new equipment investment.

https://lakecityheattreating.com/

#29 Century Sun Metal Treating, Traverse City, Michigan

You would not expect to find one of the largest commercial heat treaters in North America in Northern Michigan, however such is the case with Century Sun Metal Treating which for over 30 years have been offering heat treating services in Traverse City, Michigan. Century Sun has a great deal of vacuum and plasma nitriding capacity which they use to service a wide variety of industries. In 2021 the company was acquired by Hillcrest Investment Partners, LLC, a private investment group.

#30 Thermal Vac, Orange, California

Founded in 1985 by Steve Driscol and based in Orange, CA, Thermal-Vac Technology now has two locations, the first in CA, the second brand new facility in Arizona. The company offers brazing, heat treating and finishing much of it destined for the  aerospace industry. The company continues to be privately held and is run by Steve Driscol’s son and daughter. With almost 100 employees it is one of the larger heat treats on the US west coast.

https://www.thermalvac.com/

#31 Texas Heat Treating

Texas Heat Treating offers a wide range of heat treatments, testing and support services, operating 24 hours a day and seven days a week. CEO C.H. “Buddy” Crossley started Texas Heat Treating in 1977 as a small company in a 6,000 square foot shop. Today, the company has expanded to two large facilities, the first in Round Rock, Texas, and the newest plant in Fort Worth, Texas. It is run by Buster Crossley and features batch heat treating equipment including IQ’s, pit furnaces, vacuum furnaces and nitriding systems.

www.texasheattreating.com

#32 Thermetco, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Thermetco located near Montreal, Quebec, Canada is the second Canadian commercial heat treater on our list. Thermetco is a second generation heat treat founded by Mr. Andre Houle. The firm has over 150 employees, 4 locations and offers Carburizing, Vacuum Hardening, Austempering, Plasma Nitridng and Carbonitriding. Thermetco has seen tremendous growth over the past several years which includes acquiring two competitors, a new location and a number of new furnaces.  It is ranked as the second largest in Canada.

Home – Thermetco

#33 Lone Star Heat Treating Houston, Texas

Founded in 1945 Lone Star is one of the older commercial heat treats in the USA. As far as we know the company has always been owned and run by the Van Dorfy family, the current President is Mike Van Dorfy, Jr. Like all heat treaters in Texas, Lone Star’s business is based upon the oil and gas industries although the company has diversified to some extent over the years. Lone Star offers induction hardening, atmosphere carburizing, deep hole drilling and vertical heat treating.

Home (lsht.com)

#34 ETSA, Mexico

ETSA Group, Mexico; Founded in 1979, Especialidades Termicas, S.A (ETSA Group) is one of the two largest commercial heat treaters in Mexico with 350 employees spread over 6 locations,  Guadalajara, Celaya, Aguascalientes, San Juan del Rio and Mexico City. In actual number of furnaces the company has 6 vacuum furnaces, 4 nitrocarburizing units, 20 batch IQ’s, 3 mesh belt lines, 2 large pit carburizers, 4 bell type for annealing and 1 austemper line. ETSA is a family owned business and the current CEO is Mr. Mario Fabian Mendez son of the founder of the company. The company also has an entire division dedicated to rebuilding and installing furnaces.

https://www.especialidadestermicas.com/

#35 Byron Products, Fairfield, Ohio

​Founded in 1982 by Mark Byron in a 1 car garage, Mark has grown Byron into a very significant player in the Thermal Processing Industry in North America. The NADCAP approved company offers brazing, heat treating, welding and coatings all with a strong emphasis on the aerospace industry. Byron excels in the heat treating of stainless steel and high temperature aerospace alloys. The company operates out of 2 facilities in Ohio.

https://www.byronproducts.com/

#36 Sun Steel Treating South Lyon, Michigan

Since 1958, Sun Steel Treating has specialized in providing our customers exceptional quality, expertise, and timeliness. Whether it’s hardening alloys, carbon steels, tool steels or high speed specialty steels, our engineers know the precise metallurgical processes to apply. In 1981, Sun Steel Treating pioneered the use of plasma Nitriding as a viable surface hardening treatment.  Sun Steel Treating has Trade-marked and registered this process as Ionitriding®.  Sun Steel Treating has also pioneered combining the benefits of Ionitriding® and Steam Treating to develop IonWear®. Sun Steel is privately owned by Mr. Jim McGuirk and operates out of large facility close to Detroit, Michigan. The company concentrates on two areas, vacuum heat treating and Plasma Nitriding.

#37 Pinson Valley Heat Treat, Pinson, Alabama

Pinson Valley is owned and run by the Hendry family and is now in its third generation. Founded in 1970 the company has a very unique mix of capabilities including vacuum heat treating, atmosphere and some very interesting and unique tip up style furnaces.

#38 Voestalpine AG

Voestalpine AG is an Austrian steel-based technology and capital goods group based in Linz, Austria. With over 30 locations around the world offering heat treating the company would rank as one of the larger commercial heat treaters in the world. While their heat treating operations in North America are relatively modest compared with their global footprint they do operate two very impressive facilities in North America, one in Canada and one in Mexico. Their heat treat operations are both captive heat treating of their own products and commercial heat treating. This photo shows their Canadian facility.

https://www.voestalpine.com/group/en/

#39 Southwest Metal Treating Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Southwest Metal Treating Corp., (SWMT) Heat Treating Texas – Southwest Metal Treating is a family owned commercial heat treater in business for over 40 years run by Mr. Ryan Fussell. The company is full service in that it offers most heat treating processes including but not limited to; vacuum heat treating, carburizing, nitro carburizing, flame hardening, normalizing, stress relieving and Plasma Nitriding. Plasma Nitriding is a relatively new addition to the company in that it was added just a year ago. The company operates out of a 50,000 square foot facility located on 7 acres.

#40 Applied Thermal Technologies, Warsaw, Indiana

Applied Thermal is our second company based in Warsaw, Indiana to make our list of the 50 largest commercial heat treaters in North America. Like many of the companies on this list it is a family owned and run business started by Mickey Bradican-this is how the company describes themselves;  “Applied Thermal Technologies Inc. is a metal processing company specializing in bright vacuum heat treating and brazing of stainless steel and exotic alloys. Founded in 1992 to service the medical and specialty products industries in Northern Indiana and has grown to over 30,000ft² with international sales. Our specialty furnaces feature temperatures to 2800°F, levels to 10-6 Torr, all metal hot zones and extremely rapid cooling.” Applied Thermal is NADCAP approved and works very closely with with the aerospace and medical industries.

https://www.appliedthermaltechnologies.com/

#41 Vac Aero, Canada

Vac Aero is our third and final Canadian heat treater to make our list this year. VAC AERO International provides heat treating and brazing of advanced materials for the aerospace and other high technology industries.  Specializing in vacuum processing, VAC AERO holds numerous heat treating and quality system approvals from prime manufacturers, with AS9100 and NADCAP accredited plants strategically located within the Toronto to Montreal aerospace manufacturing corridor of Canada.  The Oakville, Ontario operation is one of North America’s largest subcontract heat treaters of aircraft landing gear components while the St Laurent, Quebec operation is focused primarily on gas turbine engine and airframe component. The company also has a division, Vac Aero Furnace Manufacturing which builds vacuum furnaces.

https://vacaero.com/www.vac-aero.com

#42 American Steel Treating

Founded in 1989 by three Surface Combustion employees including the current owner and CEO, Mr. Roy Waits, American Steel Treating is located in Perrysburg, Ohio. While the company offers most types of heat treating covering a variety of industries we tend to think of them for high volume automotive work processed through a number of pusher furnaces. The company operates out of a 300,000 square foot facility close to Toledo, Ohio.

American Steel Treating | Steel Treatment | Perrysburg, OH

#43 Metal Finishing Company, Wichita, Kansas

Making our list of the “Largest Commercial Heat Treaters in North America” for the second time is “Metal Finishing Company” based in Wichita, Kansas, USD who bill themselves as the largest family-owned aerospace processing company in North America. This third generation company, formed in 1940 has a total of 9 locations in the US and Mexico, two of which are dedicated to heat treating, one for aluminum parts and the second for “hard metals”. Processes offered include Hot Forming, Straightening, Tempering, Normalizing, Annealing, Carburizing, and Carbo-Nitriding as well as Aluminum Solution Furnaces and aging ovens. This is in addition to the company’s plating, coating and NDT offerings.

#44 Zion Industries

Zion Industries based in Ohio is rather unique in that it is part of a very select group of commercial heat treaters, a group which focuses on Induction Heat Treating. “Zion Industries is an induction heat treating company that has been an industry leader since its founding in 1977. We provide high quality both in heat treating services and handling equipment for induction heating applications. Zion, like so many others, strives for excellence in service and quality. What distinguishes us is our primary motivation: Excellence that brings glory to God. We care about our customers, and are committed to the services we provide. Our goal is to meet the outsourcing needs of the manufacturing industry by delivering unmatched customer service and enhancing value for all stakeholders. Today Zion’s 100+ employees serve customers nationwide with facilities in Ohio, North Carolina and Michigan. We also serve clients from Pennsylvania (PA), Indiana (IN), Tennessee (TN), and Kentucky (KY).”

#45 Winston Heat Treating, Dayton, Ohio

In 1959 Winston Heat Treating was formed to service the local tool & die market. Since then the company has always focused on moving forward with new technologies and in the 1970’s the firm became a real pioneer in vacuum hear treating which resulted in Winston becoming one of the first to achieve both ISO and NADCAP status. Like so many on this list this is a family owned business with David Reger acting as President and his father John remaining very active. We have watched Winston grow and more importantly invest and it is a fine example of a modern commercial heat treater.

Dayton, Ohio Heat Treating | Winston Heat Treating (winstonht.com)

#46 Metallurgical Processing Company, Warren, Michigan

Metallurgical Processing Company, Warren, Michigan.  Located in Warren, Michigan, USA Metallurgical Processing in Warren, Michigan, USA has been in business since 1954. Being located next door to Detroit it is absolutely no surprise that the company is almost exclusively dedicated to the auto industry. To take it one step further the company almost exclusively runs batch IQ furnaces offering processes such at carburizing, nitrocarburizing, carbonitriding and Ferritic Nitrocarburizing. Under the direction of long time heat treaters Jeff Pyne and Kevin Brown the company has been thriving over the past number of years.

MPC, Metallurgical Proccessing Company, Engineered Heat Treating (metallurgicalprocessing.com)

#47 Akron Steel Treating, Akron, Ohio

The history of Akron Steel Treating in Akron, Ohio makes for fascinating reading. In 1943, the U.S. army helped Prosper P. Powell convert his garage at 654 Glenwood Avenue in the North Hill area of Akron into a mini-heat treating facility for firing pins. Operating in the secrecy of soaped windows and late-night deliveries, with overflow work conducted in the family’s kitchen oven, Powell launched a successful company. When World War Two was over Prosper asked the US government when they wanted the furnaces back. The answer was “they are yours now” and thus one of the oldest commercial heat treaters in the USA was born. Akron is still a family owned business and offers a very wide variety of heat treating.

#48 Euclid Heat Treating, Euclid, Ohio

​As are so many commercial heat treaters in North America, Euclid Heat Treat is another family owned business in this case the Vanas family. “The Monty Team” has had the opportunity to visit this facility a number of times over the years and have always been impressed with the variety of processes the company offers. “The Euclid Heat Treating Company was established in 1946 in a garage building at 1408 E. 222nd St. with salt furnaces and open fired furnaces. Since our inception we have expanded to include endothermic atmosphere furnaces, an entire building devoted to induction hardening, an array of vacuum furnaces including a vacuum oil quench and two 10 bar vacuum furnaces, pit furnaces, nitriding equipment and much more.”

#49 Hi TechMetal Group (HTG)

Since 1943 Hi TechMetal Group (HTG) has been one of the largest commercial heat treaters in the Ohio, USA area. The firm has several locations in the Cleveland, Ohio area which offer Induction Hardening, Brazing, Vacuum Hardening and Brazing amongst other processes. President is Mr. Cole Coe, son in law of the founder Mr. Terry Profugi. The company recently took over the customer base of another local heat treat who suffered a devastating fire recently, this will certainly have a positive effect on the firm’s sales.

#50 Contour Hardening, Indianapolis, Indiana

Contour Hardening, Indianapolis, Indiana. Contour was established in 1986 with the goal of providing a cost-effective solution to difficult heat treatment applications-specifically induction hardening systems. However the company is also known as a substantial commercial heat treater. Contour is located in Indianapolis, Indiana with a second location in Sialo, Mexico. While primarily known for their Induction hardening expertise Contour also offers gas nitriding and Nitrocarburizing.