For years, SECO/WARWICK, a manufacturer of industrial furnaces for metal heat treatment, has been implementing innovations, including green technologies. So far, European enterprises have been the main beneficiaries of these solutions, with encouragement for implementation by the European Union.
Since signing the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the USA, this situation is changing. The program, worth USD 369 billion, in practice means, above all, there are now subsidies and tax credits supporting the American renewable energy sector and electromobility development. The SECO/WARWICK Group USA branches offer products which are in line with these industries and the ecological trend.
According to current assumptions, the IRA program will contribute up to a 40 percent reduction in CO₂ emissions compared to 2005 level by the end of this decade. Its most spectacular effect is the increase in investment in the energy and transportation sectors generated by this program in American industry. At the end of November 2022, according to Bloomberg’s calculations, projects worth about USD 26 billion were announced thanks to government preferences.
SECO/WARWICK implements ecological solution for American industry
“We have an ecological approach inscribed in our mission, in which we declare that ‘we create innovative products providing our customers with reliable, safe and pro-ecological solutions for heat treatment and metallurgy.’ The SECO/WARWICK Group’s American companies perfectly understand these market needs, offering innovative and ecological solutions for vacuum, CAB, or aluminum brazing in the Western Hemisphere,” said Sławomir Woźniak, President of the SECO/WARWICK Group’s Management Board.
“On the American market, green vacuum technologies, e.g.: LPC, nitriding and high vacuum fit perfectly into the IRA program. SECO/VACUUM) furnaces work for the energy and aviation industries, contributing to increasing environmental protection. How? Vacuum as a protective and technological atmosphere eliminates the need to use harmful process gases with their subsequent emissions into the environment. These systems shorten carburizing time which reduces costs and energy consumption, offers operational flexibility, and enables work on demand,” according to Piotr Zawistowski, Managing Director of SECO/VACUUM, an American company belonging to the SECO/WARWICK Group.
SECO/WARWICK USA, the SECO/WARWICK Group’s second US company, may also be a beneficiary of the IRA program.
“SECO/WARWICK USA’s business is focused on CAB and aluminum brazing equipment. A well-designed furnace means greater efficiency, and thus lower media consumption. So, ecology also means economy. For the implementations protecting the environment to be accepted, they must also bring real profits. That is why we make sure that the innovation brings benefits in the form of shortening the processes time, greater efficiency, or lower gas consumption. We recently finalized an order for an aluminum manufacturer for a new aluminum melting furnace. The furnace will complete one full cycle in less than 6 hours, four batches per day, yielding a total of 154,000 to 180,000 kg (about 396831.6 lb) per day. This is an impressively high production capacity, and achieving it requires equally impressive low fuel consumption. However, this efficiency is not limited to brand new furnaces. SECO/WARWICK USA can also equip old furnaces from any manufacturer with the latest clean burner technology, heat recovery, loaders, insulation, PLCs and more,” commented Marcus Lord, SECO/WARWICK USA Managing Director.
Among the new investments in the USA, factories related to the production of batteries and electromobility dominate. Japanese corporations including Honda, Toyota and Panasonic, Korean LG and Hyundai, German BMW, Chinese Envision and American Our Next Energy have invested in our technologies. In the photovoltaic sector, our customers include American First Solar, Swiss Meyer Burger Technology, Italian Enel, Korean Hanwha Q Cells and Indian Waaree Energies.
The IRA has the potential to bring a new perspective to American industry, including those states which seemed to have their industrial heyday behind them. This revitalization will occur in the following states: Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania, home to both SECO/VACUUM and SECO/WARWICK USA.
Furnaces that change the face of heavy industry
The innovations implemented at the SECO/WARWICK Group directly related to the manufactured furnaces concerns, among others, ecology. Vacuum furnaces use vacuum (vacuum created by air evacuation) as protective atmosphere for heat treated part surfaces.
For aluminum technologies, an example of an ecological solution is the patented Vortex® technology for aluminum coil annealing utilizing nozzle heating, which reduces processing time by up to 30% compared to other available technologies. The SECO/WARWICK Group is a leader in the implementation of ecological solutions in metal heat treatment systems. We focus on created and traditional green solutions, and an ecological approach that is included in the company’s mission, where the company declares that SECO/WARWICK strives to create innovative products that provide customers with reliable, safe and environmentally friendly solutions for heat treatment and metallurgy.
