Terms and Conditions

General Terms and Conditions for Contract Heat Treatment

These terms and conditions govern all heat treatment services provided by TriboTec to its clients.

I. General Terms

I.1 Place of Performance, Jurisdiction and Applicable Law

The place of performance and jurisdiction for all services, deliveries and payments is the location of the Contractor's place of business. However, the Contractor is also entitled to bring legal action before the courts having jurisdiction over the Client's registered office.

The contract is governed by the law of the Federal Republic of Germany. The application of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) of 11 April 1980 is excluded.

I.2 Conclusion and Performance of the Contract

The Contractor's offers are non-binding. All orders received become binding only upon receipt of the order confirmation or upon their execution. Clause II.2 remains unaffected.

The Contractor is entitled to reject orders placed by the Client - including those issued under existing contracts - and to refuse performance of accepted orders if it becomes apparent that its claim to payment would be jeopardized by the Client's insufficient financial capacity. This is particularly the case where the Client's creditworthiness is rated as high risk by Allianz Trade or another credit insurer or through any other credit assessment, and/or where the insured amount made available to the Contractor by its trade credit insurer to cover claims against the Client would be exceeded upon acceptance of the order, and/or where the retention for any bad debt loss regarding the Client is increased by the trade credit insurer by more than 10 percentage points compared to the retention applicable at the time of acceptance, following acceptance of the order.

The Contractor is entitled to terminate orders without notice for good cause. Good cause exists in particular where, after acceptance of the order, it becomes apparent that the claim to payment would be jeopardized by the Client's insufficient financial capacity - the provisions of the preceding paragraph apply accordingly - and the Client, despite being requested to do so, fails to credibly demonstrate its financial capacity within a reasonable period.

§ 321 of the German Civil Code (BGB) and other statutory rights to refuse performance or to retention remain unaffected.

Orders are executed only on the basis of these terms and conditions. Standard purchasing conditions and other terms and conditions of the Client are not recognized, even if not expressly objected to. The contracting parties shall promptly confirm oral agreements individually in writing.

I.3 Force Majeure and Other Unforeseeable Events

Force majeure, labor disputes, riots, acts of war, terrorist attacks, official measures, epidemics, power supply interruptions and other unforeseeable, unavoidable and serious events release the contracting parties from their performance obligations for the duration of the disruption and to the extent of its effect. This also applies if such events occur at a time when the affected contracting party is in default, unless the default was caused intentionally or through gross negligence.

The contracting parties are obliged, to the extent reasonable, to promptly provide the necessary information and to adapt their obligations to the changed circumstances in good faith.

I.4 Pricing

I.5 Payment

I.6 Lien

II. Execution and Delivery Terms

II.1 Client's Information

Every workpiece handed over for heat treatment must be accompanied by an order or delivery note containing at least the following information:

Description, quantity, net weight, value of the parts and type of packaging
Material grade (standard designation or steel grade and steel manufacturer)
The desired heat treatment, in particular: for carburizing, the required carburizing depth with limiting carbon content (e.g. CD 0.35 = 0.8+0.4 mm); for case hardening or carbonitriding, the specified case hardening depth (CHD) with the limiting hardness and desired surface hardness (e.g. CHD550 HV1 = 0.8+0.4 mm, surface hardness = 57+6 HRC); for quenching and tempering, the required hardness according to Brinell or Vickers (tested on the surface unless otherwise agreed); for hardening, the desired testing method according to Vickers or Rockwell with the required hardness value (e.g. 57+6 HRC or 600+150 HV10); for nitriding, the desired nitriding hardness depth (NHD) or treatment duration (e.g. NHD = 0.2+0.2 mm or 20 hours); for nitrocarburizing, the compound layer thickness (CLT) or treatment duration (e.g. CLT = 10+10 μm or 2 hours); for surface hardening, the required surface hardening depth (SHD) with desired surface hardness (e.g. SHD500 = 1.2+1.0 mm, surface hardness = 57+6 HRC) and the location of the area to be hardened
Information on the desired test method, testing body and test load in accordance with the currently applicable technical standards
Information on the intended future use and, in particular, any safety-relevance of the component
Further information or specifications required for the success of the treatment in accordance with the currently applicable technical standards

Where partial hardening is required, drawings must be enclosed showing precisely which areas are to be hardened or must remain soft. If similar workpieces are made from different steel melts, this must be indicated. Likewise, special requirements regarding dimensional accuracy or surface condition must be noted on the delivery documents. The Client must specifically draw attention to welded or soldered workpieces and those containing hollow bodies. All materials used in the component must be specified.

The Contractor checks the Client's information for content and completeness to the best of its knowledge. If there are concerns regarding the successful outcome of the heat treatment, the Contractor will inform the Client.

The Client undertakes to deliver the workpieces in a condition suitable for treatment (free of scale, oils, grease, wax or cooling lubricants).

II.2 Delivery Time

The delivery time begins once the contracting parties have clarified the order and the Client has fulfilled all requirements. For process-related reasons, the delivery time is only approximate and is extended appropriately - even within a delivery delay - upon the occurrence of unforeseeable obstacles that the Contractor could not avert with the diligence reasonably required under the circumstances.

Unforeseeable obstacles include, in particular, any necessary multiple treatments that were not initially apparent, defective and/or untimely deliveries by the Contractor's suppliers (unless the Contractor is responsible for this), as well as serious disruptions within its own operations that occur through no fault of its own, e.g. due to accidents or malfunctions of machinery and equipment. Clause I.3 remains unaffected.

If the Contractor foresees that it will be unable to meet the delivery time, it will promptly notify the Client, state the reasons and, if possible, provide a new delivery date.

II.3 Passing of Risk

Unless otherwise agreed, the goods for heat treatment are to be delivered by the Client at its own cost and risk and collected upon completion.

Goods for heat treatment stored at the Contractor's premises are not covered by any property insurance of the Contractor unless specifically agreed otherwise in an individual case. It is recommended that the Client clarify insurance coverage, including co-insurance of any damage relating to useful heat, with its own insurer.

Risk passes to the Client upon handover to the carrier or freight forwarder or upon commencement of storage, but at the latest upon leaving the factory or warehouse - even if the Contractor has undertaken delivery and collection using its own vehicle fleet.

II.4 Inspections

Before leaving the hardening plant, the heat-treated goods are inspected to the extent customary in the industry and, where applicable, in accordance with the Client's specifications. Further tests and analyses are carried out only on the basis of special agreements.

Before further use, the Client shall ensure that the heat-treated goods meet the requirements. The necessary inspections or other activities are carried out for this purpose. With regard to the heat treatment to be performed, the Client bears responsibility for the manufacture of the workpieces in accordance with the state of the art, for the accuracy and completeness of the required information pursuant to Clause II.1, and for a heat treatment specification suited to the intended future use.

II.5 Insufficient Heat Treatment

Following placement of the order, the desired heat treatment is carried out as a service with the necessary care and suitable means, based on the information provided pursuant to Clause II.1. In doing so, the Contractor complies with official requirements and the applicable statutory provisions of the European Union (EU) and the Federal Republic of Germany, insofar as relevant, including:

the REACH Regulation (Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006)
the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Substances Ordinance (ElektroStoffV)
the End-of-Life Vehicles Ordinance (AltfahrzeugV)
the Packaging Act (VerpackG)

each as the respective German implementation of the corresponding EU directives.

Success of the heat treatment, the achievement of a particular property, suitability for a particular use, or the achievement of particular results - e.g. with regard to freedom from distortion or cracking, surface hardness, hardenability, through-hardening, platability or similar - is not owed, in particular due to the possibility of differing hardenability of the material used, hidden defects, unfavorable shape, or possible changes made during the preceding work process. Shrinkage that customarily and process-inherently occurs to a reasonable extent during the hardening of mass-produced articles and small parts likewise does not give rise to any claims for defects. Where the Contractor carries out straightening work at the Client's request, it likewise assumes no liability for any breakage that may occur in the process, nor for the successful application of insulating agents against carburization or nitriding.

If the heat treatment is not successful, the agreed remuneration is nevertheless payable. Complaints must be notified promptly in writing. Any necessary follow-up treatments are carried out in consultation with the Client and, unless otherwise agreed, are invoiced separately.

The Client's claims for follow-up treatment or damages due to any culpable breach of contractual obligations by the Contractor remain unaffected.

Where, exceptionally, a contract-for-work service was ordered in an individual case, the limitation period for claims for defects is 12 months from the passing of risk, unless the law mandatorily prescribes longer periods.

II.6 Liability

Unless otherwise stated below, any other and further-reaching claims of the Client are excluded. This applies in particular to claims for damages arising from breach of obligations under the contractual relationship and from tort. The Contractor is not liable for lost profit or other financial losses of the Client. Nor is it liable for damages arising from a treatment that it proposed and that was approved by the Client.

The above limitations of liability do not apply in cases of intent, gross negligence on the part of the Contractor's legal representatives or executive employees, or culpable breach of material contractual obligations. In the event of culpable breach of material contractual obligations, the Contractor is liable - except in cases of intent or gross negligence on the part of its legal representatives or executive employees - only for the typical, reasonably foreseeable damage.

The limitations of liability likewise do not apply in cases where liability is mandatory under the German Product Liability Act for personal injury or damage to privately used property caused by defects in the products supplied. Nor do they apply in the event of injury to life, body or health, or in the absence of warranted characteristics or a guaranteed condition, where and to the extent that the warranty or guarantee was specifically intended to protect the Client against damage not occurring to the heat-treated goods themselves.

To the extent that the Contractor's liability is excluded or limited, this also applies to the personal liability of its employees, staff, legal representatives and vicarious agents. The statutory provisions on the burden of proof remain unaffected by this.

II.7 Partnership Clause

Effective date: 16 May 2025