A History of Commitment to High Quality and Integrity
In 1943, the U.S. army helped Prosper P. Powell convert his detached garage, in the North Hill area of Akron, into a mini-heat treating facility for firing pins. Operating in the secrecy of soaped windows and late-night deliveries, with overflow work conducted in the family’s kitchen oven, Powell launched a successful company. Over 80 years, and multiple generations and expansions later, the core values of honesty, integrity, and respect drive all that we do — every client, every job. To this day, Akron Steel Treating is committed to delivering heat treating services with industry leading quality with some of the most rigorous certifications. Now in the fourth generation of ownership, the team at AST continues to build upon an over 80 year legacy of exceptional service in the heat treating industry.
The History of Akron Steel Treating Company
1943: AST born from WWII effort
Prosper Paolucci Powell, a journeyman machinist, blacksmith and welder, has a visit from the Army! Prosper is asked to heat treat firing pins and solve a distortion problem regarding a new “shorter design” firing pin. Army sets up a mini heat treating plant with 220V electricity, a gas line, a salt bath and temper furnaces in the 3-car garage behind the family home in North Akron. Quality prevails and Prosper is asked to do 50,000 more parts from a Michigan heat treater that was distorting the pins. Heat treating is done by “eye” – different colors denote different temperatures. No instruments, no temperature or atmosphere controls. Sparking a part on the grinding wheel can show whether it is high carbon, high hardenability alloy, or low alloy.
1945: WWII Ends and ASTC Moves into New Building
WWII ends and the need for firing pins dwindles. Lots of tools and dies show up during the day while Prosper is at work at Firestone, usually between the screen door and house door for heat treating – there are opportunities literally knocking. His wife, Anna, does tempering in the family’s kitchen oven. Prosper leaves a secure job at Firestone, with almost 20 years of service, to build AST’s first building on High Street with his brick-layer cousin. AST’s business grows along side other post-WWII tool and die shops, machinery and metal working businesses in the “Rubber City” – Akron, Ohio.
1963: The second generation joins AST
Prosper’s oldest son, Ron, gets out of the Army and officially joins the company.
1969: AST’s equipment modernizes
Pack carburizing starts to be replaced with controlled endothermic gas atmosphere generator and sealed integral oil quench “All-Case®” furnace manufactured by Surface Combustion. Open oil tanks are still used for quenching out of box furnaces; high temperature molten salt baths quench into a Martemper bath for distortion control on tools and dies. Shaker hearth furnaces with oil quench are added for continuous fastener heat treating.
1975: AST expands
Prosper builds another new building containing new offices, a metallurgical lab, expanded maintenance department and a room for new vacuum furnaces. AST is now landlocked. Urban renewal means a new name for the street out front – from “High Street” to “South Broadway” and the area is transformed.
1982: AST purchases one of the first vacuum furnaces
New vacuum furnace bright hardening solutions combine with the old brine tanks, molten salt baths, endo atmosphere to oil quench and now nitrogen gas quenching. Prosper requests a “peep hole” in the door of the first vacuum furnace and Surface Combustion obliges.
1984: End of an era and the start of another
Joe A. leaves full time law practice to join Ron in running AST. Prosper retires, leaving his legacy in his son’s hands, after 41 years founding, owning, and operating Akron Steel Treating Company. Joe A. leaves full-time law practice to join his brother, Ron, in running AST.
1990: A new opportunity to grow
Ron and Joe buy Freitag Heat Treating Company on Morgan Avenue. The additional 2.2 acres of land mean AST is not landlocked anymore and Summit Heat Treating Company is formed. Freitag’s Upton automated salt bath heat treating furnace line adds more capacity for brake disc, torque tube, and keys to be heat treated in salt. Open fire box furnaces with oil quench tanks round out the new acquisition.
1991: AST’s founder passes
Prosper passes away at the age of 83 leaving a strong legacy that is upheld by the generations that follow.
2001: Ron Powell retires
Another leadership transition occurs as Ron retires with over 40 years of service to Akron Steel Treating Company. Joe takes over as President as the company enters the 21st century.
2003: The Merger
Akron Steel Treating Company merges with Summit Heat Treating. New additions, including a front office building, are built at Morgan and Grant, AST’s current location. AST earns ISO 9001 Certification!
2004: NADCAP Certification
AST formalizes our high-quality standing with NADCAP certification bolstering the commitment to aerospace heat treating!
2010: Third generation joins leadership
Steve Powell, Ron’s son, is promoted to Vice President of Quality after years of service in production.
2012 & 2013: AST’s leadership grows
Christina Powell Somogye joins AST in 2012 as an engineer before moving into operations management. In 2013, Matthew Moldvay joins the AST team as the V.P. of Sales, with 18 years of induction heat treating experience.
2017: Succession begins
Joe A. starts his next chapter, launching consultancy Integrated Heat Treating Solutions, LLC, building from his years of heat treating experience at AST. IHTS is formed to be an agnostic source of heat treat consulting that more fully integrates the heat treating processes into the lean manufacturing value stream for “better” parts at a total lower cost.
2018: AST third generation of ownership celebrate 75 years!
Akron Steel Treating Company celebrates its 75th year in business. Matthew Moldvay, Steven Powell, and Christina Powell Somogye buy into AST as the third generation ownership team.
2023: Joe 2.0 joins the team
Joe N. Powell joins AST and the ownership team with six years of engineering experience in the tire industry.
2024: Continuing the legacy
Joe A. officially retires, leaving AST to focus on IHTS and his passion projects. Matt is named as AST’s fourth President and Joe N. Powell assumes the role of V.P. of Sales.
