Our Team
Brian Grier- President
Jeff Barth- Vice President
Jonny Love -Director of Supply Chain
MArial Singleton- Administrative Support Coordinator
John Marin-Director of Engineering
Manuel Rodriguez- Plant Supervisor
Jordan Marin- Mechanical Engineer
75 years in the heat treat industry
75 years in the heat treat industry
Richard Mellvelle Smith Sr. enters the industry starting a induction heat treater in Los angeles county Cook Induction Heating Co.
Richard Smith jr. begins to work for the family company. having three daughters in that time.
John Keith Grier married Dick’s eldest daughter and began his career in the industry at Cook Induction. He later co-founded GM Enterprises, growing it into an industry powerhouse
Brian Grier, Keith’s second child, began working for GM in 1984. He eventually left the company to sell heat treat parts out of his garage. In 1998, he went on to found and build Protech Thermal Services
Jeff Barth married Brian’s only daughter and joined Protech Thermal Services in 2012. After nearly 15 years, he launched a sister eCommerce company, HTS®, and assumed leadership of Protech operations in 2025.
Protech’s story
The family's legacy in the heat treat industry began in 1945, when Richard Smith Sr. founded Cook Induction, a heat treating company based in Southern California. Decades later, and two generations on, that legacy expanded significantly when Keith Grier launched GM Enterprises—now recognized as a pivotal force in the vacuum furnace manufacturing market. His eldest son, Brian Grier, joined the venture early on. After several years, Brian branched out to start what would become Protech Thermal Services®. Eventually, Keith joined Brian at Protech, spending the final years of his career and life working side by side with his son.
Continuing the family tradition, Brian is now passing down his knowledge to the next generation just as his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather did before him. His son-in-law, Jeff Barth, has taken up the mantle and is leading the company into its next chapter within the heat treat industry.
“I always treat my employees, customers and even vendors like family. As everyone knows, you can always count on family.”
-Brian grier- Owner