Aichelin and vacuum furnaces

So, the situation on the market is getting more complicated for us. Aichelin has delivered a new vacuum furnace for 10 bar, dimensions 600×900 mm, 1000 kg charge to Bodycote Finland. Nothing against it, I just feel a little bitter about it. My history is tied to the company SAFED from Délemont. When Pascal Membrez was going on a well-deserved rest, he sold SAFED to Aichelin. And how did it turn out?

Zdroj: https://themonty.com/aichelin-and-bodycote/?no_cache=1

I wrote about it on my blog back in 2022. I went on a climbing expedition to the Swiss Jura and on the way back I visited my old friend Freddy Hannig, head of sales at SAFED. Nothing was left of SAFED. The hall was divided into plots and rented to local private individuals. Everything that SAFED developed ended up with Aichelin. It reminds me a bit of the wild privatization in our country and the end of Poldi Kladno or Pilsen Steel. For me, SAFED was a label of quality.

Oh no, the world has gone completely crazy at the moment. I thought that the basis of business is diversification. This is how we will all do everything ….

But that’s not all, soon we will be under even more pressure. Chinese furnaces from SAMT and Shen Li, from Shanghai PowerMax Furnace Corporation and Andy Chen, licensed from AFC-Holcroft, or FULCRUM and Thomas Kreuzaler. But in the end, Thomas is the only one I forgive, after all, he is the godfather of my daughter Mia Marli and I appreciate that very much.

Jiří Stanislav

March 12,  2025