What makes attending Heat Treat 2021 an important activity for heat treaters?
ASM Heat Treat 2021 is one of the premier events globally for the heat-treating and thermal-processing community. It’s a combination of great technical programming and a very attractive exposition to meet and greet customers and suppliers along with wonderful networking events to re-establish those business and personal relationships that have been put on hold for the last year.
What can attendees expect at this year’s Heat Treat show?
In addition to our long-standing co-location with AGMA’s Motion + Power Technology Expo (MPTE), we are excited to be co-locating with ASM’s NEW Annual Meeting, “International Materials, Applications, and Technologies (IMAT)” Conference and Expo. The co-location with IMAT 2021 will provide access to additional exhibitors and more than 300 technical presentations on a wide variety of materials-related topics. Heat Treat conference registration includes full access to IMAT 2021.
What new events and activities should attendees look for compared to previous shows?
The main difference from past shows is the new co-location with IMAT. We are really excited to see this co-location come to fruition after years of planning. In addition, we have added a new student competition, the “HTS Strong Bar Competition,” which will feature student teams from 11 universities. Additional activities on the show floor include Solutions Center Presentations, Welcome Reception with Exhibitors, and the Fluxtrol Student Research Competition. And, of course, one of our most popular events will be the “Heat is On” networking event at the Anheuser Busch Biergarten.
What kind of technical presentations should attendees keep an eye out for?
The Heat Treat technical committee did a great job ensuring that the latest research and development is included for a high level of technical content on a wide variety of important topics, including atmosphere technology, additive manufacturing, Internet of Things, nitriding, vacuum technology, applied technology, quenching and cooling, etc. In addition, we will have two featured keynote presentations: The first keynote session will be joint with IMAT, “Opportunities in the Electrical Vehicle World” with speakers from Ford and Tesla. The second, thought-provoking presentation, “Ferrous Metallurgy and Heat Treatment are NOT Dead!” will feature Dr. Kathy Hayrynen, vice president of R&D with Applied Process.
Did COVID force you to re-think how Heat Treat 2021 was planned? How so?
There’s no doubt that COVID has presented our ASM events team with unique challenges while organizing the conference/expo. However, the staff continues to closely monitor all federal, state, and local guidelines. We are confident that we can safely come together and are taking all appropriate measures to ensure a healthy and successful in-person conference and expo. I am definitely looking forward to a return to face-to-face conferences and getting back to business.
What are you most excited about?
We are most excited about a face-to-face conference. I’m sure most of us have participated in a couple of virtual events, which have been very well organized. But honestly, there’s nothing like meeting and interacting with your colleagues from the industry in a face-to-face environment like ASM Heat Treat 2021. The various boards, committees, and memberships have all worked extremely hard in planning the event, and we certainly look forward to a successful conference and expo.
MORE INFO www.asminternational.org/web/heat-treat
