For nearly four decades, Hanomag Heat Treatment Group has stood as a benchmark of precision, reliability, and innovation in industrial heat treatment. From its origins as a spin-off from the renowned Hanomag Maschinenbau AG in Hannover, the Group has grown into one of Europe’s leading independent providers of advanced thermal and thermochemical processing services. Today, under the leadership of Karsten Seehafer, Business Owner and Managing Director, Hanomag continues to combine deep metallurgical expertise with cutting-edge technology, sustainability, and a forward-looking business philosophy.
Interview with Karsten Seehafer, Business Owner and Managing Director, Hanomag Heat Treatment Group.
A Legacy Forged in Excellence
Could you briefly present the history of Hanomag Heat Treatment Group and the key milestones that have shaped its development?
The Hanomag Heat Treatment Group (Hanomag Lohnhärterei Gruppe) was founded in 1986 as a spin-off from Hanomag Maschinenbau AG in Hannover, Germany. Initially focusing on high-quality heat treatment services, the Group steadily developed into one of Germany’s foremost independent specialists in this field.
Over the years, we achieved several defining milestones. Our geographical expansion began with the establishment of additional facilities in Berlin, Wernigerode, Gevelsberg, Gommern, and other cities, giving us strong national coverage. In 2015, we expanded beyond Germany by opening our first facility in Poland, followed by Austria in 2019, extending our footprint across Central Europe.
The Group diversified further in 2021 with the founding of Hanomag Aluminium Solutions GmbH in Kassel and Baunatal, created to serve the increasing demand for aluminium heat treatment and precision processing. Two years later, in 2023, we strengthened our position through the strategic acquisition of HTU Härtetechnik GmbH, expanding our capacity and expertise.
These developments, along with nearly four decades of continuous innovation, have defined Hanomag as a trusted partner for industries demanding both technological depth and production reliability.
A Decentralized Structure with Centralized Excellence
How has the Group evolved in recent years in terms of production sites and organizational structure?
In recent years, we have significantly expanded our production network, now encompassing around 12–13 sites across Germany, Poland, and Austria. This structure allows us to remain close to our customers, providing faster delivery times, greater flexibility, and enhanced operational resilience.
Organizationally, Hanomag follows a decentralized yet integrated model. Each location contributes specialized expertise—whether in carburizing, nitriding, induction hardening, or aluminium heat treatment—while adhering to unified Group standards for quality, environment, and energy management. The foundation of Hanomag Aluminium Solutions GmbH marked an important structural shift toward dedicated specialization, enabling us to serve specific markets with tailored technologies and highly skilled teams.
This approach reflects our commitment to proximity, specialization, and scalability—principles that define our long-term vision.
Guiding Values and a Clear Mission
What are the core values and mission that guide your operations, and what differentiates Hanomag from other companies in the heat treatment industry?
Hanomag’s overarching mission is to deliver high-quality, efficient, and sustainable heat treatment solutions that meet the demanding requirements of modern industry.
The company’s vision statement emphasizes becoming the market reference in surface technology and component processing for demanding technological fields. This goal is driven by providing efficient and creative solutions for shared success with customers.
- Quality
Focus on QUALITY: Customer satisfaction through consistently excellent results. - Technological Competence
TECHNOLOGICAL COMPETENCE as a key success factor: Applying and continually developing our know-how. - Sustainability
Embracing SUSTAINABILITY: Awareness in resource usage and openness to technological advancement. - Solution-oriented
SOLUTION-ORIENTED: Speaking the language of customers and being partners for efficient and economically aligned models. - Integrity
INTEGRITY as the foundation of our actions: Doing what is right and fulfilling commitments – and communicating about it. - Team spirit
Promoting TEAM SPIRIT: Achieving the best results through cross-functional and cross-location collaboration.
What truly differentiates Hanomag is our comprehensive service offering—from raw material treatment to mechanical processing and coating—combined with our independent position in the market, which grants flexibility and neutrality. Our integration of digital systems throughout production enables transparency, consistency, and long-term reliability.
Technical Breadth Across Materials and Processes
Which specific heat treatment processes does your group offer, and for which materials?
We offer an exceptionally broad portfolio covering both steel and aluminium.
For steel, our services include:
- Case Hardening/Carburizing – producing a hard, wear-resistant surface with a tough core, ideal for gears and shafts.
- Induction Hardening – for selective surface hardening of axles and complex shapes.
- Nitriding (gas or plasma) – for tool steels and alloys requiring high hardness and wear resistance with minimal distortion.
- Quenching and Tempering, Stress Relieving, and several types of Annealing – to achieve optimal strength, toughness, or machinability.
For aluminium, we deliver:
- Solution Heat Treatment and Aging – to enhance mechanical, electrical, and corrosion properties across all aluminium alloys.
- Annealing – to restore formability after cold working.
- High-tech cooling technology – designed to minimize distortion and maximize dimensional accuracy.
This comprehensive process range enables us to serve multiple industrial domains with consistent precision and repeatability.
Integrated Pre- and Post-Processing Capabilities
To what extent do you integrate pre- and post-treatment processes in your facilities?
We provide a fully integrated value-added chain around heat treatment. Our pre-treatment services include shot blasting, surface cleaning, masking, and custom fixturing to control distortion. The post-treatment stage covers straightening, machining, grinding, and both non-destructive (NDT) and destructive testing—hardness, tensile, and metallographic inspections—all in accordance with customer specifications.
We also provide surface finishing, coating, and assembly. This one-stop approach helps customers reduce logistics complexity, handling steps, and overall lead times, ensuring consistent quality from start to finish.
Digitalization and Process Transparency
How do you ensure digital process traceability and quality monitoring?
Digitalization is central to our quality philosophy. Each component or batch is tracked through an integrated Manufacturing Execution System (MES). This system logs every furnace parameter—temperature, atmosphere, time—while maintaining barcode or QR-based identification for each part.
All data are automatically stored for audit trails, certification, and statistical analysis. Integration with our ERP ensures seamless planning and reporting, while digital process sheets (ELAM) guide operators step by step to minimize human error. Alarm systems and interlocks maintain compliance and safety. This digital infrastructure supports ISO 9001 and IATF 16949 standards, providing customers full transparency and traceability throughout the production cycle.
Innovation, Energy Efficiency, and Sustainability
Could you share some of the most recent innovations or investments introduced to enhance efficiency, quality, or energy performance?
Innovation is an ongoing process at Hanomag. We have invested heavily in energy-efficient furnaces equipped with regenerative burners and advanced insulation to reduce consumption.
We are testing AI-based process optimization tools that analyze thermal cycles to improve consistency and minimize distortion. Our Digital Twin Technology allows us to simulate heat treatment behavior for complex geometries, ensuring repeatable quality.
We have expanded our plasma nitriding capacity to meet growing demand for high-surface-quality treatments with lower emissions, and we are increasingly integrating green energy sources and zero-emission quenching media into production. These efforts reflect our strategy of combining technical innovation with environmental responsibility.
Client Sectors and Global Collaboration
What industries and sectors are your main customer base?
Our customer base primarily includes the automotive, industrial machinery, and electrical engineering sectors, with growing activity in renewable energy applications. We serve both OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, offering tailored solutions for critical components.
Do you cooperate with international OEMs or participate in export projects beyond Germany?
Yes, we work closely with international OEMs and their global supply networks. While we do not export products directly, many of the treated components we process are integrated into assemblies that are exported worldwide. Through this, Hanomag plays an indirect yet crucial role in global value chains.
How do you select your key suppliers and technology partners?
Supplier selection is based on technical competence, innovation potential, reliability, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability. We value long-term relationships, particularly in R&D collaboration, and place strong emphasis on ISO-based quality and environmental compliance. Strategic partnerships are essential for mutual growth and shared innovation.
Competitive Advantages in a Changing Industry
In your view, what is the strongest competitive advantage of Hanomag Heat Treatment Group?
Our greatest strength lies in the combination of technical excellence, vertical integration, and customer proximity. We have decades of expertise across steel and aluminium treatment, and our vertically integrated service—from pre-processing to logistics—provides a true turnkey experience. Our digital traceability systems and sustainability programs further enhance our reliability and adaptability. In essence, Hanomag stands out as a technologically advanced, flexible, and environmentally conscious partner.
Challenges and Industry Transformation
What are the main challenges currently facing the heat treatment industry?
The sector faces multiple concurrent pressures. First, rising energy costs affect margins, driving the need for energy-efficient equipment and smarter controls. Second, tightening environmental regulations—including CO₂ emissions, VOC limits, and waste heat recovery—require major investments. Third, the push toward decarbonization means offering lower-emission processes and renewable energy solutions.
Beyond that, we face labor shortages in metallurgical and process engineering, which we address through in-house training and apprenticeships. Digital transformation also poses challenges, as customers increasingly demand real-time data integration. Finally, supply chain instability calls for diversification and localization. Each challenge also presents an opportunity to innovate, become leaner, and deliver more sustainable value to customers.
Resilience Through Global Turbulence
How did global events in recent years affect your business, and what measures did you take to adapt?
The last few years—marked by the pandemic, geopolitical tensions, and energy crises—tested our resilience. During the COVID-19 pandemic, demand from automotive and industrial sectors declined sharply. We responded with flexible shift models, short-time work, and strict hygiene protocols to protect our people.
Facing supply chain disruptions, we increased buffer stocks, diversified suppliers, and reinforced local partnerships. The energy crisis of 2022 accelerated our investments in furnace modernization, load management, and renewable energy.
In an era of geopolitical instability, we observed a growing trend toward localization and near-shoring—an area where Hanomag’s European footprint offers a distinct advantage.
Finally, we leveraged the situation to boost digitalization, enabling remote audits, advanced customer reporting, and upgraded quality systems. These actions allowed us not only to maintain stability but to emerge more agile and future-ready.
Strategic Vision for Growth
What are your medium- and long-term plans regarding new technologies, capacity expansion, sustainability, or international growth?
Our strategic roadmap revolves around technology, capacity, and sustainability. We are expanding AI-driven process control, predictive maintenance, and low-distortion technologies. Industry 4.0 initiatives, including real-time analytics and smart automation, are being implemented across sites.
We plan to increase capacity in high-growth sectors such as aluminium components for e-mobility, and to expand our nitriding and induction hardening capabilities. Sustainability remains central—through electrification of heating systems, renewable power adoption, and comprehensive heat recovery.
Internationally, we aim to strengthen our European network through strategic partnerships and selective acquisitions, while exploring cooperation with overseas OEMs. Our long-term ambition is to position Hanomag as a climate-friendly, digitally integrated, and customer-centric leader in industrial thermal processing.
Flagship Projects and Achievements
Do you have flagship projects or references you would like to highlight?
Indeed, several projects reflect our innovation and precision:
1. Lightweight Automotive Components – Aluminium Heat Treatment for E-Mobility
For a Tier-1 supplier, we provide fully automated solution heat treatment and artificial aging of aluminium suspension and chassis parts for electric vehicles. The line features robotic handling, real-time furnace control, and integrated hardness testing—all with full IATF 16949 compliance.
2. Plasma Nitriding of Tooling Components
For a global tooling manufacturer, we perform plasma nitriding of H11 and H13 tool steels for hot forming tools. The process ensures controlled layer thickness, minimal distortion, and a compound-free zone below 10 μm, with integrated pre- and post-cleaning.
3. Gearbox Components – High-Volume Carburizing and Hardening
For a leading powertrain OEM, we carry out continuous carburizing and hardening with precise case-depth control. MES-controlled production, integrated straightening, and SPC-based zero-defect policy define this project’s success.
Commitment to the Future
Are there any additional points you would like to emphasize for our international readership?
We take pride in representing the values of German engineering excellence and European industrial reliability. While our operations are based in Germany, Poland, and Austria, our reach extends globally through OEM cooperation.
Our philosophy centers on precision, innovation, and sustainability—the three pillars that will guide us as we continue to evolve in the decades ahead. Hanomag is more than a service provider; it is a trusted partner helping industries shape a more efficient and sustainable future.
