Solar Atmospheres Improves Materials Handling With New Building

HERMITAGE, Pa. – Solar Atmospheres of Western PA recently opened a new 15,000 square-foot building that connects its two existing structures and improves its operational flow.

The structure joins its 80,000 square-foot workspace, which houses some of the largest vacuum furnaces in the world, to its 10,000 square-foot NADCAP laboratory, testing building and vacuum oil quenching building.

NADCAP is a global cooperative accreditation program for aerospace engineering, defense and related industries. The acronym stands for National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program.

The new building will create a clear and defined flow of work using a pull/push system, according to a press release from the company.

It will eliminate having incoming and outgoing jobs co-mingled in front of heat-treating equipment. All incoming jobs will now be “pulled” from the new building and completed jobs will be “pushed” back to a designated outbound area.

The new space will also serve as a conduit for transfer of materials from production to final testing.
Its four new loading bays will allow for the loading and unloading of multiple trucks at one time. A drive-through feature will allow all flatbed trucks to load/unload indoors, thus keeping shipping personnel and equipment out of the elements.

“Material handling is now thoughtful and organized throughout our 100,000-plus square-foot facility,” says Wes Hoffman, shipping manager. “The new building has already proven to eliminate wasteful movement of material. This addition has also enhanced our overall safety. Instead of large trucks navigating our entire campus internally, we can now isolate trucks and drivers to the outer perimeter of the property.”

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.