Profile: Kepston Ltd. offers sub contract furnace brazing on mild steel & stainless steel assemblies including nickel brazing and bright annealing of various materials including stainless steel. We are registered under ISO 9001:2000. Annealing is commonly used to soften materials, minimise residual stresses, improve machinability and increase ductility. Some annealing requires only minutes at temperature whilst others can be prolonged soak times with controlled cooling rates from high temperatures. Solution annealing is applied commonly to austenitic stainless steels, typically between 1010 & 1150°C. With unstabilised grades, the treatment is followed by fast cooling. It is applied as a softening process during manufacture or to optimise corrosion resistance & often it is used to de magnetise the material after it has been work hardened.