Material and Equipment in Heat Treatment 2023

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So the conference is over and we can recap. It will probably not be received well, but the professional side of the conference, like last year, was far behind the previous level. It almost seems as if no one takes our field seriously anymore. And so, even though the whole world is leaning towards energy savings, the carbon footprint, hydrogen as the fuel of the future, new and better insulation, new materials, additive technologies, the transformation of the automotive industry, the rocket rise of aircraft production, there was peace here.

Although some of the lectures were related to the above topics, if I were still active in the field as I once was, I really wouldn’t have chosen where to go.

If I were a detailer, I would estimate the heat treatment market in CZ and SK to be around CZK 5 billion, both in the commercial sector and in the sector of in-house (captive) heat treatment plants. If energy consumption amounts to roughly 10% of turnover, we have an amount of CZK 500 million, which we spend on the purchase of gas or electricity for our equipment. Is it still bearable, where are our cost limits? What devices will we need to have to survive this energy crisis? Will ovens have an energy label like an ordinary refrigerator has today? Will we have to have hydrogen furnaces or will it be necessary to have our own energy source?

Many questions, few answers. And so, the best moments of the whole conference were meeting familiar faces, mostly surprised that I’m still alive. And also, when Pavel Stolař came up with the idea of founding a university of the fourth age for the 70+ group, I was delighted. Finally, something for me, not only for young students… but they were completely absent from the conference this year.

My meeting with the new vice-president of Bodycote for CZ, Mr. Lee Borsberry, was also pleasant. Great impression after the first meeting. We’ll see how he handles the new challenges. There are so many of them…

II was also surprised by another heat treatment pioneer, Tonda Policar. Even though he is already a clean pensioner, with all the ailments that this role brings, he came to pat me on the back. I appreciate it very much, he was one of the pioneers of our industry, which somehow everyone misses now, including me. And of course, I cannot fail to mention the Novák family from Pardubice or Ota Prikner, they are people I really like and respect very much.

And the others? Lots of nice familiar faces, but not everyone is comfortable with my new triple role. I have my own professional life, as independent as possible, I am in charge of selling ECM and TAV furnaces, and on top of that there is my background at Bodycote which makes me a competitor in their eyes, even though I have not been there for 5 long years. And I’m not even talking about my role in Galvamet, that’s a long description of why I think there is such a thing as “character” in Wallachia.

Those who have already freed themselves from this point of view, our relations with them are exactly as they should be between friends. And the rest? I have long since become accustomed to the fact that professional life and private life must be strictly separated. And so, my group of friends remains untouched by this pettiness.

So maybe see you again in a year, even if at my age it can already be taken as unnatural optimism. After all, I was at the first conference sometime in 1987. So, it’s been a whole 36 years that we’ve been living more or less together…

Jiří Stanislav

November 23, 2023

Lecture “Heat treatment of large dies for GIGA factory in TAV Vacuum Furnaces”