Introduction
True Temper Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ames True Temper, Camp Hill, Pa., the leading lawn & garden tool business in the U.S. The primary products are spades, shovels, forks, rakes, scrapers and other cultivators for lawn and garden, agricultural and contractor use. The company’s solid socket shovel mill is the only solid forged mill in the corporation.
Aims and Objectives
The aim of the project was to switch the type of raw material used to manufacture shovels and spades from carbon steel to boron steel. The low carbon content of this steel in contrast to the steel presently used would enable it to be quenched in water rather than oil. This would allow the elimination of quench oil and substitute it with a closed loop water quench, and would also eliminate the need for a tempering oven with its associated energy use.
It is estimated that a substantial net savings per annum could be realised by removing the existing heat treatment system, through the reduction of labour and variable overhead costs, energy costs, waste disposal costs and maintenance and environmental compliance/monitoring costs.
Results
The project was successfully developed and piloted. However it was decided at a corporate level not to proceed with the plant scale implementation of the project.
