History of the company
From Frankfurt out into the big, wide world -
highlights from the history of Durferrit
After being part of Degussa AG for well over half a century, in 1997 Durferrit was transferred to HEF. The purpose of this transfer was to use the product lines of both companies to establish a strong foothold on the market.
The roots, however, of Durferrit go back to the middle of the 1920s. At that time, Mr. Hermann Schlosser senior, went on a trip to America and while there he saw work being done on cyanide-bearing melts for making the surfaces of automotive parts wear resistant. He brought this knowledge back to Germany with him, and in 1925 the Durferrit Department was set up to do research work on the application of this technology in that field.
In 1928 "Durferrit GmbH für Glüh- und Härtetechnik" was founded. This company was not only engaged in the development of processes for the manufacture of hardening salts, but also set up its own furnace building department.
Many of the heat treating processes in common use today have their origins in research work done by Durferrit. With the development of suitable activators, the Durferrit C 3 / C 5 carburizing baths began their triumphal march around the world. A broadening of the product range led to the development of the Ceconstant® range of baths, followed by the regenerable, environment-compatible Durofer® process, which uses non-cyanide base salts and the Cecontrol® regenerator. The economic benefits possible in pack carburizing by using carburizing granulates KG6 and KG30 several times were discovered by Durferrit engineers. At the beginning of the 1930s Durferrit already had a broad range of products, which also included annealing and tempering salts.
To meet the demands of the market, salts for treating high speed steel, Durferrit Carboneutral® for example, were developed, followed in 1949 by the Semperneutral® baths, now known worldwide, which ensures the heating through of high speed steel takes place without decarburization.
To keep pace with the rapid developments in the aviation industry, a completely new field of application was ventured upon. This was the solution annealing of light metals using saltpetre-bearing salt melts, a process which has maintained its position right up to the present day in the aviation and aerospace industries. Because of their temperature stability, the Kärcher type furnaces used for carrying out the process are also indispensable in hightech applications.
To meet the growing needs with regard to wear and corrosion resistance, as well as the enhancement of the fatigue strength, great efforts were devoted to the development and launching of the TENIFER® process, which is also known worldwide under the trade names of TUFFTRIDE® and MELONITE®. This nitrocarburizing process has undergone continuous development with regard to its regenerability and ecology, and from year-to-year the number of applications is increasing on all 5 continents.
In addition to the processes already mentioned, Durferrit also supplies a complete range of salts for special processes such as, Boriding for example, and salts for the thermochemical cleaning of metals and ceramics.
Because of the excellent customer care service and the extreme purity of the salts, for many years Durferrit has led the market as a top supplier of heat transfer salts (HTS) used in hightech chemical plants.
Due to the use of the most modern plant technology for salt bath vulcanization, combined with Rubbercure® salts, the requirements of this segment of the market are also completely catered for. The more environment-conscious our customers are becoming, the greater the demand water-soluble products.
Licence partnerships, patent applications in Germany and other countries, and the protection of registered trade marks are clear indications of Durferrit's outstanding position in a market requiring modern customer-oriented heat treatment processes. Agents in all 5 continents ensure that our customers receive the best possible support.
The market demands modern environment-compatible salt bath technology. Durferrit supplies the customized solutions.
© Durferrit GmbH, Industriestrasse 3, 68169 Mannheim
Tel.: +49 (0) 621 32224-0, Fax: +49 (0) 621 32224-809
E-Mail: info@hef-durferrit.com
