In heat treating, quality and profitability are directly connected to how well you control the process. FNA 2026 has 10 educational tracks over two days. The Process Control & Quality Track on October 13 at Furnaces North America 2026 will give attendees practical insight into improving... Continue Reading
In heat treating, lead time is much more than a number you give a customer when they place an order. It is a reflection of how effectively your operation is running. Lead times touch nearly every part of the business: scheduling, labor utilization, equipment capacity, work-in-process, throughput,... Continue Reading
Very often, employees know what needs to be done, but feel the system is fighting them. When Paul Fitts stepped into the cockpit of a fighter jet at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, he wasn’t dressed for flight. No helmet, no parachute. Just a notebook, a pencil and an... Continue Reading
In today’s business environment, one of the biggest mistakes a leader can make is waiting until an economic shift shows up in their sales numbers before reacting. By then, the shift has already happened. That is why MTI’s Quarterly Economic Forecast Webcast with ITR Economics has... Continue Reading
The heat treating industry is changing quickly. Customers are demanding better performance, tighter specifications, greater consistency, lower costs, and more sustainable processes. Meeting those expectations isn't just about having better furnaces. It also requires understanding what is... Continue Reading
Artificial Intelligence is no longer something coming in the future. It is already changing how companies operate, make decisions, serve customers, develop employees, and compete. The challenge for business leaders isn’t deciding whether AI will impact their company. It’s... Continue Reading
The furnace is no longer just a piece of equipment that heats metal. It is becoming an intelligent production asset that consumes less energy, delivers tighter process control, predicts problems before they occur, and automates work that once depended on operator experience. That evolution will... Continue Reading
Every heat treat leader has experienced it. A question comes up during a production meeting. "What did ITR Economics say about aerospace demand over the next 12 months?" "What's the latest interpretation of this quality requirement?" "What should we inspect first when troubleshooting this... Continue Reading
Manufacturers can use mentorship as a workforce development strategy to address talent gaps. What do you get when you add a U.S. reshoring push to an ongoing industrial labor shortage? Answer: A rapidly growing need for more manufacturing workers. Women comprise more than half of the... Continue Reading
The Metal Treating Institute (MTI) announced last week at its Summer Board Meeting on July 21st the formation of its new ERP Task Force, a strategic initiative designed to help Member companies better understand their shop management system options and successfully navigate one of the most... Continue Reading
Today's heat treating industry is facing more change than at any point in recent memory. Economic uncertainty, workforce challenges, evolving customer expectations, new technical standards, cybersecurity requirements, and the rapid acceleration of artificial intelligence are forcing leaders to... Continue Reading
Every generation of business leaders faces defining moments. Moments when the companies that lean into change pull ahead...and those that hesitate spend years trying to catch up. This is one of those moments. The heat treating industry is entering a decade unlike any we've experienced before.... Continue Reading
