The history of Wärmebehandlung Klingnau AG began in 1941, when the company was founded as an internal heat treatment department of ABB Schweiz AG (then BBC) in Baden. Over the years, the company has steadily developed. In 1972, the first Ipsen vacuum furnace was purchased for brazing and annealing gas turbines. Just two years later, in 1974, the product range was expanded to include the nitrocarburizing process, known as Tenifer treatment.
In 1990, the company began annealing aluminum compressor wheels. Five years later, in 1995, a significant milestone followed: collaboration with the first external customer, Rota Yokogawa. This development continued in 1999, when Alstom acquired ABB's gas turbine business and began a collaboration. In the same year, a new Codere furnace was purchased, the nitrocarburizing process was transferred to a gas furnace for environmental and quality reasons, and the annealing process for aluminum compressor wheels was partially automated.
The year 2000 brought major changes: The company relocated to Klingnau, the Tenifer bath was sold, and a new furnace was acquired. Growth continued in the following years. In 2003, a Rohde protective gas system with probe control was installed, shafts for ABB turbochargers were nitrocarburized for the first time, and Siegfried Vögele took over as managing director. In 2006, the company invested in a fully automated machine for annealing and hardening aluminum compressor wheels, as well as in a large Brinell hardness testing system. At the same time, the Klingnau location was expanded with an additional hall. Two years later, in 2008, the foundation for an in-house measuring laboratory was laid with the purchase of a 3D microscope and a tensile testing system.
In 2013, the company introduced 100 percent quality control, including test certificates according to Standard 3.1 and approval processes for compressor wheels. One year later, Nordic Capital acquired ABB's Full Service business unit, and the company was renamed Quant. In 2015, the measurement laboratory was expanded to include a crack detection system.
Another significant turning point occurred in 2016, when Siegfried Vögele, along with two other entrepreneurs, acquired the company through a management buyout. At the same time, the company received its current name: Wärmebehandlung Klingnau AG.
In 2018, the company launched an energy project to reduce CO₂ emissions in collaboration with the company Durena AG. The following year, a new vacuum furnace, the Seco Warwick Braze Furnace, was commissioned, and the water recooling system was converted to an environmentally friendly system with Jaeggi hybrid coolers.
In 2023, another vacuum furnace, the Seco Warwick Vector, was finally commissioned. This year also saw a change in management: Dimitri Sprung took over as CEO of the company.
