Industry News


Industry Mourns Passing of Jason Hitchings


Jason W. Hitchings, 52, passed away on Monday, July


27th, 2020. Jason was active in the future metal casters of America,


and was general manager of Comanche Technologies, LLC. He was also active in both in the American Foundry Society and the Investment Casting Institute. Comanche filter products are manufactured by AMETEK


foundry products, and Comanche Technologies provided marketing and technical service to AMETEK.


Cleveland Tool and Machine Has New Owners


Blasch Introduces New Silicon Carbide Material Blasch Precision Ceramics, Inc. is an expanding


Albany-based manufacturing company specialized in ceramic technology. With recent developments in our materials, we are pleased to introduce our latest generation of OXYTRONTM


– Oxide Bonded Silicon Carbide:


OXYTRON 015XDII. OXYTRON 015XDII is designed for outstanding


thermal shock, corrosion and wear resistance coupled with excellent non-wetting characteristics for nonferrous metallurgical applications. Blasch processing techniques offer the market-leading ability to create very intricate and precise shapes. This combination of characteristics make OXYTRON 015XDII a material unlike any other material on the market. “015XDII offers a novel material to the marketplace,”


commented Keith DeCarlo, Ph. D., Vice President of Technology at Blasch. “The microstructure is engineered in such a way that a continuous/ dendritic silicon carbide phase is present throughout the product; which offers very high resistance to mechanical erosion/ wear (ASTM C704 test <2.4cc loss) while still providing outstanding resistance to thermal shock and chemical corrosion.” This material can be a solution in many processes


On May 15, Cleveland Tool and Machine was purchased


by John and Julia Bortan. John is a native Clevelander and earned degrees in Engineering and Finance from The University of Akron. He has spent the last 13 years working for Parker Hannifin, in various assignments in US locations. He moved his family to Cleveland from Tampa, Florida. John has served as the General Manager of Cleveland Tool and Machine prior to the purchase. John’s wife, Julia, is a CPA and has specialized in International Tax Accounting and will serve as the financial controller. The current management will remain in place with Doug


Neece staying on as Vice President. John says, “I am looking forward to getting to meet more of the people within the industry and will continue to support the Investment Casting Institute.” Cleveland Tool and Machine is a global supplier of wax


and ceramic injection machines along with associated goods and services for the investment casting industry. Cleveland Tool and Machine also announced moving to a newly remodeled facility in September of 2020: 4717 Hinckley Industrial Parkway Cleveland, OH 44109


50 ❘ September 2020 ®


across many markets. It will allow users to achieve more efficiencies such as longer run times, less scrap, less maintenance and cleaner end products. “We are excited about the possibilities of this material,”


commented William Russell, Blasch Precision Ceramics Vice President of Sales and Business Development. “Our process allows for almost limitless geometric capabilities, and to combine that with the properties of OXYTRON 015XDII gives us the ability to solve many problems that our customers have.”


About Blasch Precision Ceramics Founded in 1979, Blasch Precision Ceramics, an Albany- based manufacturer, provides innovative solutions for the world’s toughest refractory applications. Blasch produces premium quality net shape refractory ceramic shapes and systems for a variety of manufacturing and process industries throughout the world, including aerospace metal processing, chemical processing, petrochemical refining, power generation, non-ferrous metal processing, industrial process heating, mining, minerals processing, cement and wear.


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