Hardide Coatings, the provider of advanced surface coating technology, has made two key appointments to bolster its team focused on developing tungsten-carbide based engineering solutions.
Ioan Jones takes up the post of laboratory manager and Oliver Jones has been brought in as pre-treatment specialist. The duo will complement the current team of 29 staff, bringing additional metallurgy and chemistry expertise to the company.
As laboratory manager, Ioan will focus on analysis, development and improvement of existing production processes, as well as new procedures and applications for Hardide coatings. Joining from Norma UK, he has an extensive background in metallurgy and has previously held positions with ASAMS Ltd, Aero Engine Controls, and spent thirty years in nuclear research with AWE Aldermaston.
Oliver joins from MacDermid Limited with experience in developing plating processes, following completion of an MSc Chemistry last year. His pre-treatment specialist role at Hardide Coatings will include creating new pre-treatment methods and improving and adapting the existing processes to new types of steel and alloys. Pre-treatment is a vital part of the production route for Hardide coatings.
Hardide plc CEO Philip Kirkham said: “We are pleased to welcome Ioan and Oliver, their skills will be a great addition to the laboratory and they will play an important part in the advancement of our surface engineering offering going forward. Developing our technical team is vital as we expand into new markets and extend the capability of our technology to deliver new applications for our range of coatings.”
Hardide Coatings recently developed an innovative coating for TSP (thermally stable polycrystalline) diamonds to extend the life and improve the performance of drilling tools operating in extremely abrasive environments. The company has also solved the hard chrome plating problem with Hardide-A, which meets the EU and US environmental standards that will soon see toxic hard chrome plating restricted or banned.
