The Sousa Corp.

Founded in 1963 by Norman Sousa Sr., the Sousa Corp is a commercial and aerospace business providing quality heat treating services for over 50 years. What started out as a small heat treat shop in West Hartford, CT. that mainly performed hardening and pack carburizing has grown in size and capabilities ever since. As the business grew, Norm Sr. increased the size of the facility and purchased new equipment.

Norman Sousa Jr. purchased the business from his father in 1994 and has been instrumental in growing, and modernizing the business. In 2012 The Sousa Corp moved to a much larger, more modern facility in Newington, CT. With the extra room to grow, they immediately increased capacity. They now offer a variety of thermal processes on a wide range of ferrous and non-ferrous materials.

Today the business is run by Norm Jr. and his three children. They proudly carry on the tradition of their father & grandfather by embracing his values of quality, integrity and customer service. The Sousa Corp. continues to grow and expand their capacity and capabilities.

COMPANY HISTORY

he Sousa Corp. was founded in 1963 when Norman W. Sousa Sr. purchased the assets of The Bennett Metal Treating Company. 'Bennett Metal' was founded by Mr. Bennett about 1903. Mr. Bennett was a one armed blacksmith and the company operated in one of the Goodwin Pottery buildings. Pack carburizing, oil fired furnaces and oil tempers were standard practice through WWII and into the sixties. Norman began working there in 1947 for then owner John German. Mr. Bennett had sold and reopened a shop in New Jersey. Soon Norman had learned the trade and was manager for the new owners, Frederick H. Waterhouse, William J. Luby and Joseph B. Burns. As absentee owners they realized they didn't have control of their investment and decided to sell. Norman had convinced them in 1954 to buy a Dow integral quench furnace and the modernization began. A C.I. Hayes bright hardening furnace was purchased in 1963 and the oil fired carburizing furnaces gave way to two L&N Homocarb furnaces. Norm Jr. joined the company in 1971 and in the late 70's a new addition was put on and a second larger Dow integral quench furnace and Dow tempers were added. Two vacuum furnaces, a black oxide line, a Cincinnati Sub Zero freezer, a metallurgical lab with a Tukon Microhardness tester and a Kevex X-Ray spectrometer round out the equipment upgrades. Recently a Wilson 2000, NIST capable hardness tester with loadcell and electronic depth measurement and SPC capabilities was installed.

The Sousa Corp and its predecessors have been processing commercial, military and aircraft parts for nearly 100 years. We look forward to continued growth in services and capabilities to serve our customers better as manufacturing changes at an ever increasing rate.