Simonetta Stella –
Trattamenti Termici Toscani is a young Italian company with a solid know-how. It was founded in 1992 in Tuscany and is specializing in thermal treatment sector, an area where it offers complete service for various application sectors, from precision mechanics to automation.
An idea, a lively entrepreneurial spirit and the wish to create a highly specialized company: these are the drivers that in 1992 led Roberto Ermini, a ten-year experienced professional, to found Trattamenti Termici Toscani. «I wanted to create a company that did not exist in the Tuscany area, specialized in induction hardening and able to meet any customer requirement on that specific processing – said the manager –My innate entrepreneurship and the desire to exploit my experience in thermal treatments sector, where I have always worked, were my strengths for starting».
Flexibility and efficiency
One of the elements which characterized Trattamenti Termici Toscani from its origins is to be a company with as flexible as possible structure, dynamic and timely thanks to a punctual organization, an innovative production led by experienced team and efficient management. «The activity is carried out in a wide and modern building of about 2,000 square meters with suitable areas for moving pieces of important dimensions. Work is structured on two shifts where there is always a shift supervisor and two specialized workers–explained the Managing Director–From its foundation and up to today, TTT has continuously changed: there is more personnel, we have perfected the processing systems, improved logistics and pursued total quality guaranteed by ISO 9000 certification». All this is possible thanks to the use of technologically advanced systems implemented in collaboration with construction companies, actively participating in the machines’ design in order to obtain all required solutions for being faster and more competitive. «We offer an all-round service on all types of thermal treatments, superficial finishes and consulting, having cooperated with qualified companies of the sector for years» specified the manager. TTT is not only specializing in induction hardening, but it also implements other important works such as hardening followed by tempering, case hardening, carbonitriding, nitriding, normalizing and annealing. «Our processes are mostly destined to the following sectors: precision mechanics, oil-hydraulics, transmission units, earthmoving, building, packaging and automatic machines» said Ermini. On a business level, our company is organized at national level to manage orders directly. « Until 2008 our turnover had an increasing trend year after year. Unfortunately after 2008 things have changed, the international crisis has reduced our turnover – continued the expert– However, compared with our competitors, we have limited our losses by widening our business in other areas and sectors». The strategy followed by the company in order to cope with the difficulties of the markets, has been to open up to new sectors: «Personally I traveled all over the country, looking for new customers and/or still unexploited market niches– said Ermini who looks ahead–In the next two years, we will focus on competiveness also because it is what our customers ask us: quality, innovation and automation. In order to achieve these results, we will focus on total automation of some systems, on our personnel’s continuous training and maximum commitment to achieve our targets».
Technologies and quality control
The strength of the Tuscan company is to be highly specialized in one typology of thermal treatment: continuous research for quality has led the company to hardening sophistication through induction heating allowing it to meet any request in the sector of precision mechanics. The peculiarity of this approach is to give the finished product wear-resistance and toughness which is impossible to obtain with other processing. Trattamenti Termici Toscani is equipped with rotating table machines with four and eight mandrels to temper both “single pieces” and “double pieces” with 1 mm minimum diameter to 400 mm maximum diameter. In addition, it also has a system able to perform details in perimeter induction hardening up to max 1000 mm; tooth induction hardening on gears up to max 1000 mm; induction cut tempering between tail-stocks up to 1500 mm maximum length. The company also has a horizontal system for linear induction hardening up to max 2000 mm. For completion, there are two electrical furnaces for annealing and stretching the processed pieces. The company is structured to work both small lots and entire orders guaranteeing the same results and absolute repeatability both among processed particulars and lot after lot even after a long lapse of time. «All our works are tested by the shift supervisor who prepares a certificate for the final customer. This procedure is managed by a customized telematic system which interfaces production with accounting; everything is stored in our central server and is available to the customer for years. This solution guarantees constant and immediate availability of any treated lot» underlined Ermini. The company is equipped with metallurgical laboratory for non-destructive tests of heated particulars. Hardness tests of all types are carried out, including micro-hardness tests using a microdurometer equipped with a digital camera and software for the automatic detection of micro-hardness. In addition, there are other digital and analogical durometers (two of which are portable) for the detection of hardness both on steel and aluminum particulars. For the validation of tempering deepness, two trimmers are available (both at numerical and manual control) for the section of any tempered piece. Any implemented particular is tested according to the technical specifications of the customer. In order to offer complete support, Trattamenti Termici Toscani has developed a standard procedure perfected according to the customer’s requests, for packaging treated particulars, and offers a transport service with daily collection and delivery of materials in central and northern Italy thanks to FSM srl, the new logistics company founded by Ermini. «Maximum care, quick delivery times and price competitiveness are the flagships of our way of working» concluded the manager.
Roberto Ermini, founder of the Italian company Trattamenti Termici Toscani.
