50th Anniversary of A3ts - MARCH 20, 2019
It is within the framework of the CNAM Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers that the A3TS celebrated its 50th anniversary on Wednesday, March 20th.
Nearly 140 guests attended.
Pierre BRUCHET, in his editorial published in the magazine "Traitements & Matériaux", has resumed the history of the association.
It was in the 1960s that a handful of professionals decided to create the Heat Treatment magazine and then an original structure halfway between a learned society and a professional organization which became the Association Technique de Traitement Thermique (ATTT) in 1969. Even though heat treatments are at the heart of the manufacturing of mechanical parts, the specialists in charge of them were indeed few in number and relatively isolated in their companies run by the mechanics. They felt a strong need to exchange and share their experiences, in a context of rapid technology evaluation.
The Association has been able to adapt to changes in the industry, transforming itself in small steps, while remaining faithful to its fundamentals.
The ATTT was born. Very quickly all those concerned with heat treatment, from the supplier of materials and energy, to the equipment manufacturer, including workshop managers, laboratory managers, technical and research centers, ecosystems before their time, joined the ATTT. From the second year of its existence, the national days (future annual congress) were set up. Regional sections were created in order to allow the organization of local meetings. Several annual meetings were held in Paris and in the provinces, where exchanges were very lively and open.
The topics addressed via surface engineering are increasingly coming together in the field of surface treatment. In 2005, the association will become the Association of Thermal Treatment and Surface Treatment (A3TS) and will integrate all the processes of surface treatment and coating.
How far the association has come in 50 years! The association has been able to adapt to the changes in the industry, to transform itself by small successive touches, while remaining faithful to its fundamentals: people, industry and a passion for technological innovation.
The primary motivation was indeed to promote direct contacts, and even today the organization of events remains the keystone of the A3TS. A3TS members share the conviction that French industry must continue to play a key role in meeting the major challenges of the future by combining a move upmarket, boldness, international ambition, technological innovation and the ability to get all the players in the sector to work together towards the same goal.
Carried by the dynamism, the complementarity and the enthusiasm of its members, A3TS will remain a component of the ecosystem of the materials sector. The challenges that lie ahead are the appropriation of modern communication technologies while maintaining the priority of human contacts, the integration in a resolutely international environment and the enlargement of technological perimeters.
Thematic conferences, conference-debate punctuated the day.
The objective of this anniversary was to review the technology and to discuss the future of materials processing.
A roundtable discussion with : Sabine DENIS (Institut Jean Lamour de Nancy), Olivier DELCOURT (Safran), Gildas Bureau (PSA), Frédéric Meunier (Oerlikon Balzers), Jean-Yves HIHN (Université Franche Comté), raised the factors of evolution of technologies and to draw the tools of competitiveness which allow to answer the needs of the market.
The evening took place in the magnificent Chapel of the CNAM after the visit of the museum in a friendly atmosphere always typical of the association.
