Donovan Heat Treating, Philadelphia, PA

Metal Improvement Paramus, NJ

Rex Heat Treat – Lansdale, PA

Solar Atmospheres – Souderton, PA

Therm-Tech of Waukesha – Waukesha, WI

Let’s face it. Any manufacturing company, large or small, decides for itself whether to do heat treating under its own roof or contract it out to a commer­cial heat treat shop. In any industrial community, you’re likely to find both situations, but today there are more and more factors a manufacturer needs to consider in making that choice.  No longer does the manufacturer who wants to be competitive in a world market have the luxury of considering heat treat operations merely a burden, i.e. a fixed cost. He has the heavy responsibility to look at heat treating as an integral part of the manufacturing process and as a direct, variable cost.  Indeed, it may look quite inviting to have an in-house heat treating operation. Two of the more logical reasons to heat treat in-house have been when there is no commercial heat treater nearby and when the work to be done is so uniform, so repetitive and in such large volume that no one else could do it cheaper, faster or better.  Modern transportation has all but obviated the first reason, now that many commercial shops have customers over a thousand miles away. And the terms “cheaper,” “faster” and “better” are so rhetorically philosophical these days that a book could be written detailing their nuances.

Efficiency

The commercial heat treater’s costs are low. Consider fuel. As an energy intensive business, the heat treat shop enjoys the lowest rates per therm of gas or kilowatt of electricity. A manufac­turer may have to pay two or three times as much. Moreover, a commer­cial shop uses its furnaces 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A manufac­turer, though, seldom can use his equipment continuously, so he suffers serious waste in warmups.  Seldom does the heat treater run a furnace that isn’t fully loaded, The shop serves many customers and can combine jobs of identical composition without sacrificing quality to obtain financial savings.  The commercial shop reduces maintenance costs by keeping its furnaces up to heat, rather than having alternate heating and cooling, which takes its toll on equipment. Also, overhead costs generally are lower for commer­cial heat treaters, often by as much as 50 percent. And finally, administrative costs including personnel and their benefits, training costs and insurance must be considered.

Bread and Butter

Quality is high in a commercial heat treat shop. Because heat treating is the bread and butter of a commercial op­eration, the people employed there must be of the highest caliber and must stay current with new technolo­gies and regulations. Lack of skilled help can result in spoiled work, and in today’s economy this can be costly in materials and reworks. Defects no longer are tolerated.  In the same vein, the owners of commercial heat treats keep up to date on the latest the industry has to offer through membership in the Metal Treating Institute, an organization composed solely of and responsible to heat treat management. Through MTI programs such as total quality management, commercial heat treating firms are able to keep up to date on quality techniques, statisti­cal process control, specifications and standards, and myriad government regulations.  It is this last arena that has become the most complex in recent years and certainly will cause the biggest head-aches for those not informed. Heat treating operations are responsible for meeting more than 30 form-completion deadlines for 12 regulations. With the assistance of its engineering consultant, MTI members are better able to handle this burden, especially as the list of regulations keeps on growing.

Heat treating operations must conform to OSHA’s hazardous commu­nication standard, which dictates that the heat treat operation have a written right-to-know program for employees, mandatory training for new hires and an annual training program for all employees. Then there are regulations for lockout/tagout of equipment, confined space entry, hazardous materials in the laboratory, emergency response and in-plant air quality.  The Environmental Protection Agen­cy has issued regulations regarding used oil, RCRA small quantity gener­ators, underground storage tanks, water treatment/pretreatment and storm water.  All heat treating operations also face the clearly ominous Clean Air Act and its accompanying regulations. And if these are not enough, each state and local government may elect to devel­op its own requirements.  Does a manufacturer need to be bothered with this immense paper-work trail for fear of noncompliance and the possibility of substantial fines, which have just increased seven-fold for violators? The answer is yes—if he wants to be in the heat treating busi­ness.  Heat treating is no longer just a bur­den and a fixed cost. It is a necessary component of the manufacturing process that may not fit into the macro-structure of the manufacturer’s philos­ophy of making the best widget in the marketplace. A careful cost analysis that considers all factors should be performed by any manufacturer either starting an in-house operation or contemplating an additional heat treat line.

It’s just not the same anymore.

The Metal Treating Institute is the largest network of commercial heat treaters in the world servicing the specialization and capacity needs of the manufacturing community.  Members of our network have every quality certification known to heat treating and perform virtually every process.  If you would like to submit a confidential request for quote on any project to our network, you may do so at no charge on our very efficient quoting section of our site located on the left hand menu.

If you have any questions regarding the MTI Network of Heat Treaters, contact our offices at 904-249-0448 or info@callmti.com.

Manufacturers are being forced to make radical changes in how they approach their business model so they are able to compete within the economic conditions and worldwide competition.

Heat Treating is one of the most labor, energy and capital intensive parts of the manufacturing process.   It usually requires large expensive furnaces and equipment to be in operation for a minimal amount of output compared to a commercial heat treater.

The volatile energy markets and ever increasing task of dealing with finding quality employees and providing adequate benefits have become increasingly difficult for most manufacturers.  Training is another whole issue challenging manufacturers.

All these issues add up to … INCREASING COSTS, HEADACHES, STRESS LEVELS and LOWER PROFITS.

Today, more than ever, someone in manufacturing faces the dilemma of “How will I accomplish this work in the least time with the least investment to get the best return?”  A highly specialized job might require new expertise and equipment, or it might even be more of the same kind of work that’s been done for years, but exceeds current capacity.

Meeting manufacturing’s needs for unique applications and varying demands creates stress on departments and headaches for managers.  Having to scramble to find new equipment for special/new applications, acquiring expertise to handle a new requirement, building capacity of the organization that won’t be needed later, or even the stress of an extraordinary amount of overtime for the staff to meet are all difficult.

A Strategic Partnership with Metal Treating Institute’s world wide membership makes perfect business sense.  MTI provides a consistent track record of success and capabilities to handle unique, or burdensome, requirements can be just what a Heat Treating Department Manager needs to reduce stress and boost profitability.  Trusted, competent organizations that respond to needs above and beyond the everyday needs can be extremely valuable strategic partners of a manufacturer.  Not only can they do some jobs with more expertise, higher quality and at a faster speed, they can even do it for less money.  By using the existing capacity of an outsourced Heat Treater, the knowledge and experience of their engineering and metallurgist team and a highly skilled labor force, the Heat Treating Manager can eliminate many of his or her headaches and provide a greater level of support to the manufacturing operations.

The Metal Treating Institute, the World’s Largest Network of Commercial Heat Treaters, offers manufacturers the ULTIMATE COST CUTTING measures through outsourcing.  MTI member heat treaters specialize in reducing costs per unit and increasing profit margins for manufacturers while keeping quality at very high levels and errors rates to a minimum.

Through expanded capacity, expertise and focus on training, MTI commercial heat treaters pursue a number of key elements to ensure they are prepared to meet your needs:

MTI members have achieved virtually every major certification including ISO 9000, NADCAP, CQI-9 and QS 9000.  There is no process or metal that is too challenging for an MTI member.

MTI members are engaged in the top heat treating executive management training program, the Y.E.S. Program facilitated by The Corps Group.  The Corps Group trains top Fortune 500 companies on the model of how to develop high performing and leadership to engage action.  MTI members have graduated over 120 top managers from this intense and engaging training program over the last 4 years, proving their commitment of top expertise in serving manufacturers

MTI member companies are a part of the MTI Online Academy, the industry’s premier online training site.  Every month, MTI graduates numerous employees from its Heat Treat Specialist Certificate Program.   This program certifies an individual has taken over 60 hours of heat treat training on the Academy and has completed over 12 consecutive months of on-the-job training.

MTI members are committed to offering manufacturers expertise in metallurgy, research and development as well as line personnel.

Through outsourcing, manufacturers gain an entire technical team that allows more freedom to focus on the two areas that will drive your future growth:  Marketing Strategy and the Customer.

Don’t let the economy run your operation into the ground.  It’s time to take a fresh new look at outsourcing.   It’s simple… Outsourcing Reduces Costs, Reduces Stress, Increases Focus on Customer, and Increases Profits.

If you would like more information on the MTI Network of Commercial Heat Treaters, you can contact Tom Morrison, MTI CEO at 904-249-0448 or search our network at www.callmti.com.