Heat Treating Market Analysis, Competitive Landscape and Forecast 2030

Heat Treating Market Growth & Trends

The global heat treating market size is expected to reach USD 136.25 billion by 2030, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. It is expected to expand at a CAGR of 3.4% from 2023 to 2030. The growing automotive industry and the rising demand for heat-processed metals and alloys in industrial activities and the construction industry are expected to boost the demand over the forecast period.

Heat Treating Market Segmentation

Grand View Research has segmented the global heat treating market based on material, process, equipment, application, and region:

Based on the Material Insights, the market is segmented into Steel, Cast Iron and Others.

• Steel led the market and accounted for over 80.1% share of the global revenue in 2022. Growing demand for heat-treated steel parts in the construction industry, especially in the U.S., China, and India, is expected to propel the demand for heat treating for steel over the forecast period. Steel is undergone heat treating to obtain certain mechanical properties including strength, wear properties, and surface hardness. Controlled heating and cooling of steel structures improve machining and formability, along with recovering grain size. The aforementioned advantages of heat treating in steel are likely to boost the demand for heat treating for steel.
• The cast iron segment is estimated to expand at a CAGR of 3.1% from 2023 to 2030, in terms of revenue. Key factors driving the industry include increasing demand for pipe fittings, electrical fittings, machine parts, and hardware due to several advantages of heat-treated cast iron, which include the prevention of rust and hardening.
• The other materials include aluminum, copper, and brass. Growing demand for lightweight aluminum products with high strength due to their ability to bend and superior machinability. Moreover, the manufacturers of aerospace components are focusing on the use of heat-treated alumina as they eliminate the cost of forging.

Based on the Process Insights, the market is segmented into Hardening & Tempering, Case Hardening, Annealing, Normalizing, Others.

• The case hardening segment led the industry and accounted for over 27.8% share of the global revenue in 2022. The demand for case hardening in automotive is expected to remain in electric vehicles for constant velocity joints (CVJ). Moreover, increasing infrastructural development in railways is expected to positively impact the segment growth.
• The annealing heat treating segment is estimated to expand at a CAGR of 4.0% from 2023 to 2030, in terms of revenue. Key factors that are responsible for driving the industry include an increase in demand for various annealing processes such as soft annealing, coarse-graining annealing, and stress relieving in the automotive, semiconductors, and construction industries.
• Normalizing is similar to annealing; it involves heating the metal at a temperature much above the critical temperature and then air cooled. This results in uniform carbide distribution of the metal, which improves the fatigue and wear resistance of the metal and the end product. The increase in demand for carbon and low alloyed steels in body panels, tin plates, and wire products is expected to boost the demand for normalizing heat treatment.
• Other processes include vacuum heat treatment, thermal processes, and case hardening processes such as nitriding, laser beam hardening, and others. This segment is also expected to grow at a healthy rate on account of the growing use of newer and special processes due to technological advancements and the growing need for greener technologies.

Based on the Equipment Insights, the market is segmented into Fuel-fired Furnace, Electrically Heated Furnace and Others.

• Electrically heated furnaces led the industry and accounted for over 46.0% share of the global revenue in 2022. High operational efficiency achieved using an electrically heated furnace and higher environmental sustainability as compared to conventional fuel-fired systems is expected to propel the demand for electrically heated furnaces over the forecast period. Electrically heated furnaces have easy installation and automated temperature control that improves operational efficiency. Moreover, the implementation of high-end technology ensures temperature uniformity and the ability to perform high-temperature operations. Growing demand for environmentally friendly technology is expected to propel the industry growth of electrically-heated furnaces over the next few years.
• Other equipment such as induction furnace and plasma heated furnace is estimated to expand at a CAGR of 3.2% from 2023 to 2030, in terms of revenue. Key factors that are responsible for driving the industry include energy-efficient, easy to clean, fast, and well-controlled melting process. Low cost as compared to electrically-heated furnaces had led to a high preference for fuel-fired furnaces among the industry players. However, unstable fuel prices and emissions of greenhouse gas have restrained the growth of conventional fuel-fired furnace. The demand for natural gas-fired furnaces from developing economies is likely to boost the segment growth.

Based on the Applications Insights, the market is segmented into Automotive, Aerospace, Metalworking, Machine, Construction, Others.

• The automotive segment led this industry and accounted for over 33.5% share of the global revenue in 2022 on account of the growing EV industry and the increasing demand for greener technologies, which can deliver energy-efficient heat treating. Moreover, new and advanced equipment required for EVs is expected to propel industry growth.
• The aerospace segment is expected to expand at a lucrative CAGR of 4.4% over the forecast period owing to the increase in demand for this process for several aerospace components such as spacecraft and satellites. Supportive government policies such as the implementation of FDI in the aerospace and defense sectors fueled the entry of foreign manufacturers through public and private partnerships boosting the industry growth.
• Construction is one of the key applications where steel structures used in construction such as beams, columns, and grills routinely undergo this process. Increasing government expenditure on key infrastructure projects in Asia Pacific is expected to drive the construction application segment over the forecast period.

Heat Treating Regional Outlook

• North America
• Europe
• Asia Pacific
• Central & South America
• Middle East and Africa (MEA)

Key Companies Profile & Market Share Insights

COVID-19 has prompted market participants to take steps to secure their future. Implementing automation to ensure uniformity in their operations and boost production and efficiency is one of them. Furthermore, increasing demand for customizations is expected to transform the conventional processes.

Some of the prominent players operating in the global heat treating market include,

• Bluewater Thermal Solutions LLC
• American Metal Treating Inc.
• East-Lind Heat Treat Inc.
• General Metal Heat Treating, Inc.
• Shanghai Heat Treatment Co. Ltd.
• Pacific Metallurgical, Inc.
• Nabertherm GmbH
• Unitherm Engineers Limited
• SECO/WARWICK Allied Pvt. Ltd.
• Triad Engineers

Order a free sample PDF of the Heat Treating Market Intelligence Study, published by Grand View Research.