Nevada Heat Treating prepares to double its capacity

A Mound House company won expansion incentives from the Nevada Commission on Economic Development for plans to nearly double its capacity.

Nevada Heat Treating, the primary supplier of metallurgical processes for manufacturing companies in northern Nevada, will double the amount of industrial space it leases to 30,000 square feet and add six employees to its present workforce of seven.

"The new business is coming from our good customers," says Rich Penrose, president of Nevada Heat Treating, Inc.

Pat McKenna, general manager, says the company doesn't have any competition in Nevada. Recent accreditation by the National Aerospace and Defense Contractors accreditation, he says, could lead to further work.

The new jobs will pay an average wage of $16.16. Positions run across the board, says McKenna, including apprentices and experienced heat treaters, office manager and business development rep. It will also make a capital investment of over $1 million.

"We expect to continue to grow," says Penrose. "Manufacturing is growing in northern Nevada and we're here to support it."

Nevada Heat Treating has a California division, California Brazing. With a combined total of 40 employees in the two operations, Penrose says he expects sales to top $10 million in 2006. The company management set up shop in Mound House in 2002 after purchasing the assets of a previous owner.

On surface, metal fabrication may seem like blue-collar work, but science and engineering is hidden in these businesses, says Penrose. Heat-treating changes the properties of metal. It makes it stronger, but sometimes softer, to form it. Processes at Nevada Heat Treating dip to 300 degrees below zero and blaze to 2,400 degrees Fahrenheit.

"There's engineering and chemistry and metallurgy involved," Penrose says. "We may help our customers figure out how to best use the product."