For large Original Equipment Manufacturers with multiple plants and facilities, or for those startup companies entering into a market with a high growth potential for the product they are manufacturing, choosing heat treating services with the ability and the capacity to keep pace with your needs will be critical.
This is, of course, also important for smaller OEMs, particularly those with new product lines and the potential for significant growth. By choosing a heat treating company with surplus capacity, these companies know they have a partner able to keep up with changing demands.
Services Offered
It will be important to consider the range of heat treating services offered by the company. Many of the smaller shops offer a limited number of heat treatment options as they simply do not have the space or the equipment to complete specialized types of processes.
Look for companies offering all heat treating services you require as an OEM, and any anticipated services for future production requirements. It is easier and lower cost to work with one company as opposed to multiple companies.
Cost
The cost factor with any type of heat treatment will depend on the volume and capacity of the service. Heat treating companies with multiple facilities and high volume production capacity can offer a lower price per unit as they are working with such high volume.
These same companies tend to include a lot of automation and computer-controlled technology on their lines, allowing for precision prepping and treating of the parts and components. This will virtually eliminate waste due to human error and also ensure all parts are produced to very specific standards and tolerances.
Automation also increases the speed of production of parts, which in turn helps customers with regards to turnaround time for orders, even those orders which are large production runs.
