Fred W. Gartner Jr. Part 4 of 4

"Another mechanical marvel from this engineering prodigy evolved from a challenge of sorts. Fred was told by several engineers and chemists that it would be impossible to fabricate parts from spray material, especially an alloy mix. Not being one to turn down a challenge, Fred once again immersed himself in research and development. Nash Compressor had a problem with wear sleeves that wore on both I.D. and O.D. from chemical erosion. The physical stresses on the stainless steel material were extreme and relegated the sleeves to a very short life expectancy. Fred's idea was to combine Hastalloy C (70%) and stainless steel (30%) for a new SS/Hastalloy oxide. Using a plasma gun to spray onto a carbon steel mandrel, the new oxide material was then fused into fabricated sleeves up to 1/4" thick. The sleeves were machineable with a Rockwell hardness value of 60. These sleeves not only worked, but significantly extended operational time over the original wear sleeves. 

Fred W. Gartner, Jr.'s induction into the Thermal Spray Hall of Fame is long overdue. Fred lived thermal spraying. His dedicated and unwavering support for the thermal spray industry was evident in his deeds. Fred was an original founding member of MSC (ITSA) and charter member throughout his life. He served two terms as MSC Chairman and never missed a meeting. 

The greatest compliment for such a devotee of this industry would be to place him in the Hall of Fame where he belongs. Fred W. Gartner, Jr. was a true pioneer in every sense of the word. It is a seemingly small gesture, but may be the ultimate honor for one of the industries truly great visionaries. We owe him that much. Fred would be proud."

This concludes the reprint of the speech by Scott Goodspeed at the acceptance of Fred W. Gartner, Jr. for this award in 2004. We hope that it has given you an insight into the sprit of Fred.

Fred W. Gartner Jr. Part 2 of 4

Continuing from our last post, Fred has begun working with the military and other defense contractors.

The United States Navy and Air Force were diligently seeking potential improvements to their in-flight, missile launch platforms. Existing launch mechanisms included base materials that could not withstand the extreme temperature variations and friction experienced from high altitude and missile firing. Consequently, the launch shoots were not reusable and required expensive maintenance and replacement. Working extensively at Kelley Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, Fred invested extensive amounts of time and personal funds testing ceramic coatings on the missile tubes. Various ceramic rods, manufactured by the Coors Company and supplied to Gartner by Mogul Corporation, were experimented with yielding variable results. Ultimately, the best alloy was selected and F. W. Gartner assisted the Department of Defense in saving significant tax dollars by providing a reusable, recyclable missile launch platform. After a formal request by individuals working with him at the air base, Fred reluctantly devoted enough time away from his beloved research to write a paper based on this project, which was published in a Metallizing Service Contractors publication, the precursor to ITSA. The paper was widely accepted and reflected state-of-the-art technology at the time. Always striving to be on the cutting edge of technology, Mr. Gartner would often purchase unproven equipment that in his opinion, showed promise. He would tinker, modify, test and re-test, usually using personal funds. The result, more often than not, was equipment (especially guns) that produced coatings of improved quality, bonding and durability. He also worked tirelessly assisting manufacturers and suppliers in the development of powders, wires and rods. The only thing missing was an extended industry base and clientele to utilize this "new" technology.

FRED W. GARTNER, Jr., (Setting the Course for Innovation). Part 1 of 4

Many in the Thermal Spray Industry and the Houston business community know the history of F.W. Gartner and the significant individuals that have set and continued our course as an innovator and market leading company through the decades. We want to share their stories with you to give insight into their and our vision as we continue pioneering surface engineering technologies. Fred W. Gartner Jr. was one of those individuals. The speech written by Scott Goodspeed for Fred's induction into the T.S.S. Thermal Spray Hall of Fame, is illustrative of Fred's formative development of the culture of innovation for F.W. Gartner. This will be the first of four post.

"Until his death in September of 1993, Fred W. Gartner, Jr. championed the cause of thermal spraying with indefatigable fervor. From the moment his life began, he seemed destined to become one of the true pioneers of the thermal spray industry.

Following his father's lead, Fred began his tenure at F. W. Gartner at the impressionable age of five. His father wasted no time in preparing his son as the future President of the new family business. He may not have realized it at the time, but his contributions to thermal spraying in the Southwest was already being fashioned by his father's hands. It would take approximately four decades before thermal spraying was added to the corporate resume.

Upon his father's passing in late 1953, Fred, Jr. assumed command of F. W. Gartner in early spring of 1954 as the second generation President. His father had prepared him well. Fred was well on his way to becoming a respected businessman in his own right. His entrepreneurial spirit, coupled with a keen business savvy, helped Fred expand his company into several different industries. One such industry was thermal spraying.

Not long after Fred became President, F. W. Gartner Company began exploring a new, largely experimental industry known as Thermal Spraying. After purchasing his first wire gun in 1954, most efforts centered around combustion wire systems initially; however, it wasn't long until Fred had his employees learning about advanced systems such as Rokide®. It was after his proficiency with this new ceramic rod spray system that Fred began working with the United States Department of Defense."

Machining and Grinding Photos are Up!

Check out our new media page covering "Machining and Grinding". This gives a very good cross section of quality photos of the different processes that are carried out at F.W. Gartner. Our machining and grinding capacity is primarily used on the pre and post, prep and finishing of the thermal spray and laser clad coatings we apply. We do however, also fully manufacture from client drawings or from a part that has been made into a drawing by measuring it with our C.M.M. machine and processing through our C.A.D. system. 

Laser Cladding and Plasma Spraying Photos

We've got the new photos of laser cladding and plasma spraying up on the media page. I hope to be able to add some more Plasma photos in the near future that show the O.D. (Outside Diameter) robotic spraying that is also common. We'll have additions to the general spray and process area next week as well as the first of the video shots. If you interested in more of the nitty gritty of the laser process have a look on our website at http://www.fwgts.com/fwgts_prodserv_qa_laser.htm. Until then, have a great weekend and enjoy the fall if you live in that part of the country where it has begun.