Germany’s StrikoWestofen Group, a manufacturer of industrial furnaces, opened a new business unit dedicated to heat treating. The move was made possible by the May 2016 takeover of the employees of BPR-Engineering from Rheda-Wiedenbrück, which immediately made the heat treatment of cast aluminum parts one of StrikoWestofen’s core competencies. The new employees cover a wide range of responsibilities, from the development of hardware and software to the commissioning and approval of systems. According to StrikoWestofen, it was a logical step to expand its portfolio by adding a heat-treatment business unit.