Solar Atmospheres Opens Hermitage PA Facility

Solar Atmospheres, specialists in vacuum heat treating and brazing, opened its new facility this past April.  The facility in Hermitage, PA, is strategically located 60 miles from Pittsburgh and Cleveland.

The new facility now offers two new VFS 10 bar furnaces for processing metal parts and assemblies.  Also in place are air and vacuum tempering furnaces.  Soon to arrive is Solar’s new 24 foot long vacuum furnace with hearth capacity of 50,000 lbs.  The 24 foot furnace will be operational in the summer of 2001.  The Hermitage facility is 23,000 square feet and has a 25-ton crane for material handling.  The plant is located on five acres for the possibility of future expansion.

Bob Hill, formally Vice President of Heat Treating at Solar’s Souderton facility, has relocated to oversee and manage the new facility as its President.  Bob Sandora, formally Maintenance Manager in Souderton, is Vice President of Operations at the Hermitage facility.

Bob Hill commenting on the role of the new plant states, “Solar specializes in vacuum heat treating and the new state-of-the-art facility sets new benchmarks for this service.  The new 10 bar furnaces have variable speed motors driving the blowers.  The increased velocity of the gas quenchent coupled with the high pressure will enable us to reach cooling rates which have never been achieved using vacuum technology.”