“Our Mission is to exceed our customer’s expectations in quality, delivery, and cost through continuous improvement and customer interaction.”
Our Story
About Universal Heat Treating & Black Oxiding – A Cleveland Heat Treating Company Serving Northeast Ohio Since 1965
Universal Heat Treating (Est. 1965) | Universal Black Oxiding (Est. 1990)
Universal Heat Treating was founded in 1965 by Richard L. Walter. It originated as a salt bath heat treater specializing in tool steel. UHT was originally located on Addison Road in Cleveland until 1976 when it moved to its current location, 3878 E. 93rd Street. Ernie D’Amato, Richard’s son in law, started in 1977 as plant manager and purchased the company in 1987. He was CEO of the company until 2019 when he sold the company to his son Mike D’Amato.
Michael D’Amato joined UHT in 2009 from Key Bank and Pakmode Publications which he was a co-founder. He has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Eastern Michigan University.
In 1980 UHT, to meet customer demand, expanded its plant by 6,000 square feet. The newly added space was used to house our new Surface Combustion atmospheric equipment. This allowed us to diversify our operations to include carburizing, carbonitriding and atmosphere alloy hardening.
In 1990 came the edition of our sister company Universal Black Oxiding which is now under the Universal Heat Treating brand. The new company was formed to improve our customer’s turnaround time for parts that needed both heat treat and black oxide.
In 1990, we added a vacuum furnace to the plant in order to heat treat tool steel in a controlled atmosphere. The controlled atmosphere allowed for the tool steel to have a cleaner finish after the heat treat process.
Our most recent expansion came in 1999, when we added 8,000 square feet to the plant. This was mainly used to house our shipping and receiving department. Along with the 8,000 square feet we also added a fleet of trucks to the mix. The new fleet allowed us to expand our footprint and save our customers time and money with our new pick-up and delivery services.
Our Team
Our vision is to be the leader in metallurgy in northeast Ohio through our people, partnerships and performance.

Mike D’Amato
President
President

Ernie D’Amato
CEO
CEO

James Brooks
Plant Manager
Plant Manager

Dan Rayha
Quality Manager
Quality Manager

Bryce Pechak
Quality inspector/Production Manager
Quality inspector/Production Manager

Rick Bentley
Maintenance Manager
Maintenance Manager

Nancy Levinsky
Accounting
Accounting

Marc Terrell
1st Shift Foreman
1st Shift Foreman

Jessie Sanders
2nd Shift Foreman
2nd Shift Foreman

Alan Gist
3rd Shift Foreman
3rd Shift Foreman
Contact Us
Cleveland Heat Treating Services from Universal Heat Treating & Black Oxiding ~ Our Vision Is To Be The Leader In Metallurgy In Northeast Ohio Through Our People, Partnerships & Performance.
SALES/MARKETING
MICHAEL D’AMATO
Phone: 216.641.2000
Toll Free: 800.966.5057
Email: mdamato21@gmail.com
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