A European-based multi-national supplier of forgings for the automotive industry has brought their heat treatment process in-house by investing in an AFC-Holcroft automated non-atmosphere batch heat treatment line to be delivered to an American facility located in the Midwest.
The customer worked with AFC-Holcroft to prove return on investment for buying their own equipment, which was recently installed and commissioned in the Midwest. The equipment will be used to process raw forgings that will undergo normalizing, tempering, stress relieving and a quench and temper process.
To secure the order, AFC-Holcroft needed to prove to the customer the return on investment. This was accomplished thru meetings in the U.S. and abroad, calculations of costs, visits to customer sites, analysis of production schedules, testing of parts, etc.
“Our customer was very thorough in their consideration of new heat treatment equipment,” said Ron Graham, Sales Engineer for AFC-Holcroft. “They were currently outsourcing their heat treatment and needed to ensure that the new equipment met all of the requirements for their various processes. AFC-Holcroft's Sales, Applications and Engineering groups all engaged in the process to validate that we were providing the optimal solution to meet their needs.”
The equipment consists of five direct fired, non-atmosphere batch heat treating furnaces, with automation provided by a SCADA system for a fully automated process.
About AFC-Holcroft:
Founded in 1916, AFC-Holcroft, is the US market leader in the production of industrial furnace equipment for ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The company manufactures turn-key heat treating systems for applications including commercial heat treating, bearings, automotive, aerospace, mining, aluminum heat treatment, gear manufacturing, fastener manufacturing, and alternative energy industries.
Headquartered in Wixom, Michigan, AFC-Holcroft operates its own subsidiaries in China and Switzerland and has a global presence through a network of partners located in Australia, Brasil, China, India, Mexico, Poland and Spain.
AFC-Holcroft was recently acquired by AICHELIN Group located in Mödling, Austria. AICHELIN Group - with its manufacturing companies AICHELIN, EMA Indutec, SAFED, BOSIO and Noxmat - is a leading provider of high-quality plants and systems for heat treatment solutions as industrial furnaces, induction hardening plants and industrial gas burner systems. With 1,100 employees globally, it is among the top 3 heat treatment companies worldwide.
For more information, contact media@afc-holcroft.com.