MEMBER FEATURE
AMC Member Collaboration Combats Equipment Wear Together, Alberta Industrial Heat Treating Inc. (AIHT) and Apollo-Clad Laser Cladding are laser-focused on combatting equipment wear and offering new possibilities of repair for Canadian farmers. The two Edmonton, Alberta-based units of the parent company Apollo Machine and Welding Ltd. (Apollo) have joined forces to develop innovative solutions for wear and corrosion protection that have taken the oil and gas sector by storm. Now, they are offering these same state-of-the-art solutions to agricultural manufacturers. By Paula Schuck
The partners Apollo-Clad Laser Cladding is the laser cladding division of Apollo which has been around for 14 years providing laser materials processing solutions to the oil and gas industry. Apollo-Clad’s main products are laser clad coatings (or overlays) for wear and corrosion protection of drilling components used in oil and gas exploration. The business has expanded into mining, pulp and paper, defense, plastic processing, rail, nuclear, aerospace, and now agriculture. The benefits of laser clad coatings are vast, and Apollo-Clad has made significant investments in automation and process sensing to improve productivity and be cost competitive with existing welding solutions: better performance at a cheaper price. The Apollo-Clad facility currently employs 34 engineers, machinists, grinders, and support staff. Including the other three business divisions, Apollo now has over 200 employees. The business
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Implement Success | Winter 2021
is growing, looking to hire labourers, laser operators, and engineers. Alberta Industrial Heat Treating (AIHT) is the traditional heat treatment division of Apollo. AIHT provides critical heat treatment services including quench and temper,
“Together, Apollo-Clad and AIHT complement each other, offering distinct but related products and services to address issues of wear and corrosion, which are virtually universal.” precipitation hardening, solution annealing, stress relieving, bake outs (hydrogen control for welding), normalizing, and full annealing. AIHT also offers state-of-the-art gas nitriding, gas carburizing, and induction heat treatments to tailor the surface properties of components for
specific customer applications. AIHT is comprised of a team of eight people and is currently looking to hire and train labourers and operators. Henk Vogelaar, Senior Sales Executive at AIHT, says right now business is thriving, and the company has responded by purchasing new equipment to meet the short lead time demands their customers have come to expect. Together, Apollo-Clad and AIHT complement each other, offering distinct but related products and services to address issues of wear and corrosion, which are virtually universal.
The benefits of laser cladding In the last 10 years laser cladding has broken through as a real solution for industrial-scale manufacturing. The process involves using high powered lasers to generate a molten pool. Additional material is added to that pool in either wire or powder form,
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