Brazing is unlike other manufacturing processes. Every project has unique characteristics, so one-size-fits-all solutions aren’t an option. Each braze is hands-on, requiring careful planning to ensure reliable, consistent results. In other words, brazing is not a commodity, but a service.

Thermal-Vac has achieved broadly recognized success by envisioning ourselves first and foremost as a service business. For us, exemplary service in the brazing industry involves several important components:

• Investments in engineering expertise. Brazing is a specialized process that is not well understood outside the industry. Even highly sophisticated customers may lack the specific technical knowledge required to optimize component design and materials selection. Thermal-Vac fills the gaps in our customers’ expertise with a team of in-house engineers, all of whom have dedicated their careers to mastering the work we do. Our service begins at the design stage, working with customers to optimize parts for brazing before the parts are fabricated.

• Integrity. When components need to be brazed, it’s typically because the materials involved require it, or because the strength of a brazed joint is crucial for the planned application. The brazing shop has an obligation to maintain tight quality control, with numerous stop points for inspections and re-inspections, to verify that the process is done correctly. When mistakes are made, or results are inadequate, a shop with integrity owns the problem and works with the customer to correct it.

• Front-to-back transparency. Brazing is typically a multi-step process involving numerous specialists. High-quality service requires clear lines of communication between the customer, in-house engineers, and the professionals handling the parts themselves. Just pick up the phone to get a real-time status update: easy, and transparent.

• Going beyond high standards. Our business serves some of the most demanding industries in America. Compliance with high standards, like the aerospace industry’s AS9100 rules, is just the beginning of our commitment to service. Continuous self-reflection and improvement, beyond what the regulations and standards regimes require, distinguishes outstanding service in brazing.

• Finding solutions for customers’ challenges. Service means going the extra mile to build capabilities that customers need to resolve their unique manufacturing challenges. Thermal-Vac has grown over the years by adding capabilities to offer customers a single point of service for processes that are adjacent to brazing—from heat treating and plating to finishing and more. Investing in new areas of business is not without risk, but it’s the right thing to do.

Thermal-Vac is proud of its tradition of service and looks forward to further refining its approach to customer relationships. If your business needs help overcoming brazing challenges, or just needs a reliable partner in heat treating or finishing work, give Thermal-Vac a call today.