Many reputable industrial oven manufacturers exist in the United States, boasting decades of expertise and experience in materializing innovative custom designs or filling the market with reliable and efficient solutions. The top build quality, precise engineering, and full compliance with the underpinning standards are non-negotiable for anyone who engages in this field, so finding the best among them is an intricate matter.
We’ve hand-picked the ten most successful industrial oven manufacturers based in the US, considering their historic success, their contribution in the field, the complexity of the solutions they offer, and their proven record in customer satisfaction. Without further ado, here are the top ten American industrial oven manufacturers.
1. Despatch Industrial Ovens
Despatch is a premium-quality industrial oven manufacturer and a respected industry innovator and pioneer that has driven the technological developments in the field since its inception. The company has been making ovens since 1902, so their experience in the field is extensive. The world’s top manufacturers trust Despatch ovens to deliver the uniform and repeatable thermal processing required for critical components to operate flawlessly and ensure reliable product performance.
Despatch offers a wide range of specialized ovens, including:
Despatch’s ovens typically exceed process requirements for even the most demanding customer needs. The quality of its ovens is second to none. Known for its exceptional quality and rigorous manufacturing standards, Despatch provides ovens for a wide variety of applications such as curing, drying, sterilizing, annealing, aging, heat treating, and burn-in and testing. With industrial applications remaining the epicenter of the brand’s focus, Despatch manufactures ovens designed from the ground up to meet regulatory requirements, comply with applicable employee safety standards, and robust enough to withstand the harshest conditions.
A focused commitment to the electronics, healthcare, materials, transportation, and industrial markets has enabled Despatch to become experts in these industries. The company also serves integrated technology for the emerging solar and carbon fiber markets. Manufacturers worldwide recognize Despatch as the best in class for short lead times, on-time delivery, and world-class service.
To support its ovens, Despatch offers an online store, parts and repair, installation and training, and industrial oven selection guide, and a support center that includes tips and FAQs to help companies troubleshoot common oven problems. Its network of certified service representatives provides technical support and service to Despatch customers worldwide.
Headquarters:
8860 207th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55044
Website: www.despatch.com
Phone: 952-469-5424
Toll-free: 1-800-726-0110
2. LEWCO
LEWCO is an internationally known industrial oven manufacturer offering batch, conveyor, drum, hotbox, and field-assembled ovens. The company has been prolific in developing innovative designs and building its reputation for quality over the past couple of decades. Located in north-central Ohio, Lewco’s 165,000 square foot facility houses a full professional staff of sales, engineering, and skilled trade personnel and the most modern metal manufacturing equipment available.
In addition to the ovens mentioned above, Lewco provides the following equipment:
- Tote Ovens
- Drum Heating Tunnels
- Field Assembly Ovens (large)
- High-Temperature Furnaces
- Custom Equipment
LEWCO specializes in two major product lines: industrial ovens and unit handling conveyors. The company has had satisfied customers in the military, aerospace, and automotive industries. That underscores its ability to deliver tailor-made solutions that are highly effective and efficient. With help from a vast array of standard product designs, Lewco can customize industrial ovens and conveyors to meet specific customer requirements, thereby providing a custom solution cost-effectively. Located in north-central Ohio, Lewco features a 165,000 square foot facility that houses a professional staff of sales, engineering, and skilled trade personnel.
Lewco uses the most modern metal manufacturing equipment available, including state of the art solid modeling design software and CAD/CAM processes such as CNC laser cutting tools, CNC press brake, CNC turret punch, CNC sawing, CNC mill, and robotic welding in manufacturing its products. Industrial ovens and unit handling conveyor. It strives to provide quality products on time and at a competitive price. Lewco is a world-class ISO 9001 certified company.
Headquarters:
706 Lane Street
Sandusky, OH 44870
Website: www.lewcoinc.com
Phone: 419-625-4014
3. Thermcraft
Thermcraft specializes in oven and thermal processing equipment products manufacturing with an international clientele in mind. Its products cover the entire temperature spectrum, meeting even the most exacting requirements. Established in 1971, Thermcraft is constantly expanding its manufacturing capabilities and investing in modernizing and extending its facilities and R&D center. This effort has enabled the firm to offer customized ovens when required, featuring minor electrical or size alterations to significant design changes.
Thermcraft is a leading international manufacturer of high-quality thermal processing equipment. Its industrial ovens include:
- Finishing ovens
- Drawer ovens
- Multi-door recirculating ovens
- Table top-shelf ovens
- Vertical split ovens
- Normalizing ovens
- Paint baking ovens
Thermcraft also produces express-line laboratory and production furnaces, transparent tube furnaces, vacuum formed ceramic fiber heaters, and cast heaters, as well as heater coils, air heaters, kilns, semiconductor diffusion heaters. Thermcraft’s product categories range from standard designs to fully customized solutions. Lewco’s also provides parts and service. Lewco’s conveyors, meanwhile, are built specifically to the customer’s specifications. This approach allows Lewco to provide equipment that is exactly as needed with short lead times.
Founded in 1971, Thermcraft is known as a high-quality manufacturer that provides exceptional customer service. The company competes globally with help from its state-of-the-art facility with 3600 square feet of office space and another 70,000 square feet of manufacturing space. Its fully staffed engineering and manufacturing departments can customize products to meet each customer’s specific requirements—whether it’s an electrical change, a size variation, or a complete product design. Its target markets for ovens include automotive, government, medical, OEM, pharmaceutical, semiconductor, and research, and university industries.
Headquarters:
3950 Overdale Rd.
Winston Salem, NC 27107
Website: thermcraftinc.com
Phone: 336-784-4800
4. Precision Quincy
As the name suggests, Precision Quincy is an industrial oven manufacturer that focuses on precision engineering. This approach translates to ultimate performance combined with incomparable efficiency. Established over 70 years ago, Precision Quincy is among the leaders in industrial oven manufacturing, offering state-of-the-art equipment and software. The firm’s engineering teams are devotees of the “perfect fit” mentality, so they are not focused so much on ready solutions but rather on custom creations.
Precision Quincy’s takes an innovative approach to designing and manufacturing industrial ovens. Its product line includes:
- Batch ovens and furnaces
- Walk-in ovens
- Drum heating ovens
- Powder coating ovens
- Laboratory ovens
- Truck in ovens
- Cabinet ovens
- Glass & heat soaking ovens
PQ offers ovens for just about any type of industrial process. Known for the quality of its products, PQ offers viable solutions in a wide variety of industries, including automotive, aerospace, medical, industrial finishing, oil and gas, and manufacturing, as well as railroad, rubber, PFT coating, and heat treating. Typical industrial oven applications include curing, drying, pre-heat, annealing ovens, as well as sintering, powder coating, composite, stress-relieving, and post-curing ovens. PQ also provides industrial oven repair, retrofit, and rebuild services.
The PQ brand has been associated with industrial oven innovation since 1943. By the early 1970s, the company was a leading manufacturer of industrial ovens for the automotive, aerospace, finishing, and heat-treating industries. Its manufacturing capabilities include state-of-the-art software solutions, which link the company’s customers to its design capabilities. These solutions are linked directly to production on the company’s manufacturing floor. Precision Quincy is a brand of industrial oven designed, engineered, manufactured, and serviced by Western Thermal Processing, LLC.
Headquarters:
483 Gardner Street
South Beloit, IL 61080
Website: www.pqovens.com
Phone: 302-602-8738
5. Grieve
Grieve has been making industrial ovens and furnaces since it was founded in 1949. Its mission has remained the same since its inception—to provide top-of-the-line industrial equipment to the global marketplace. Its engineering teams manufacture standard and custom ovens and furnaces that comply with the latest safety regulations, using state-of-the-art equipment and software. While its history of making high-quality industrial heat-treating ovens for every industry is recognized globally. Grieve’s products last for generations and are the choice of many US-based plants, including Toyota, CAT, 3M, United 3M, and Matrix Coatings.
Committed to providing high-quality industrial ovens and furnaces that meet and exceed its customer’s requirements. Its product line includes the following types of ovens:
- Walk-in ovens
- Shelf loading ovens
- Truck loading ovens
- Bench ovens
- Laboratory ovens
- Heat treating furnaces
- Continuous ovens
- Inert atmosphere ovens
- Cleanroom ovens
- Top loading ovens
Grieve also provides custom ovens and furnaces engineered specifically for a company’s worksite environment and application specifications. Plus, it provides replacement parts for its ovens and furnaces. Its highly skilled staff never stops innovating as it works to expand its offerings, improve its technology and processes, and orient its products to customer needs.
Grieve’s unique end-to-end design and manufacturing process enables it to produce ovens and furnaces to the most exacting specifications and standards. Every oven that’s shipped is thoroughly vetted and inspected—from complete paint coverage to gasket fit, door hinge alignment, wire bundling neatness, shelf and accessory item counting, and everything in between. They also get a rigorous inspection by the company’s management staff before crated and shipped. Every oven and furnace is performance tested. When a customer gets a Grieve oven, it’s safe, secure, well-built, and ready to be assembled.
Headquarters:
500 Hart Road
Round Lake, IL 60073-2898
Website: www.grievecorp.com
Phone: 847-546-8225
6. JPW
JPW Industrial Ovens & Furnaces is an internationally known Pennsylvania-based manufacturer of standard and custom industrial ovens. The firm strives to provide products that are safe, versatile, dependable, and cost-effective and that were made according to the specific needs and technical specifications of a customer. Its success is driven by the creativity and innovation of JPW’s design and manufacturing teams, which have helped the company build an international reputation in the field.
Types of industrial ovens JPW manufactures include the following:
- Cabinet
- Continuous process
- Heat treating
- Laboratory
- Walk-in
- Bench
- Inert atmosphere
- Vertical lift door
JPW’s extensive experience in producing industrial ovens and furnaces enables it to produce custom ovens designed to fit a customer’s needs in terms of application, temperature, usage requirements, size, and capacity. It builds each of its ovens to a company’s specific voltage requirements, reducing heat-up time and boosting performance and efficiency. It also builds its ovens with standard horizontal airflow, reducing cold spots and producing an even airflow across the chamber. Plus, JPW UL lists every control enclosure on every oven.
JPW has more than a century of experience serving industrial markets with innovative oven and furnace products, design solutions, and exceptional customer service. Its skill at uncovering unique solutions and crafting products to fit a customer’s needs at competitive prices is unmatched in the industry. It ships complete products to a job site and guides its customers through an installation process that they manage, saving customers time and money. JPW’s attention to detail gives customers peace of mind for operation, safety, and repair.
Headquarters:
6080 State Route 14
Trout Run, PA 17771
Website: www.jpwdesign.com
Phone: 570-995-5025
7. TPS
TPS (Thermal Products Solutions) is an industry-leading North American producer of test chambers, drying ovens, industrial ovens, and lab furnaces. The company offers meticulously designed models and fully customized solutions, while it also maintains an impressive inventory of refurbished products. Its industrial ovens are ideal for a wide range of applications and configurations to meet virtually any thermal processing requirement. Its product brands include Blue M, Gruenberg, Lindberg/MPH, Wisconsin Oven, and Baker Furnaces.
Below are some of the industrial ovens TPS features in its product line:
- Curing oven
- Conveyor ovens
- Batch ovens
- Epoxy curing ovens
- Composite curing ovens
- Drying ovens
- Composite curing ovens
- Dehydrogenation ovens
TPS also produces environmental test chambers and walk-in rooms, stability test chambers, granulation dryers, lab animal science chambers, dry heat sterilizers, vacuum chambers, and custom industrial chambers. TPS’s key markets include defense, aerospace, electronics, biotech, and medical, pharmaceutical. Its markets also include lab animal science, energy, transportation, communications, commercial heat treating, die casting, agriculture, and materials processing.
TPS’s products are recognized globally for their quality and reliability. The company offers its Gruenberg and Blue M ovens for composite drying, pharmaceutical granulation drying, and hardening synthetic materials. The superior airflow and temperature capabilities help ensure uniform moisture removal, while a range of models with HEPA filtration, NFPA 86 Class B, and inert atmosphere features help customers meet the most demanding industry requirements and safety standards.
The company’s industrial sterilizers and dehydrogenation ovens ensure pharmaceutical products and medical devices that meet the strictest requirements. Extreme uniformity, dry heat sterilization, inert atmosphere, HEPA filtration, and short cycle times are just a few of the benefits of TPS sterilizers. We also have the capabilities to produce completely custom ovens and sterilizers to meet your exact processing needs. TPS also can produce completely custom ovens and sterilizers to meet a company’s precise processing requirements.
Headquarters:
2821 Old Route 15
New Columbia, PA 17856
Website: www.thermalproductsolutions.com
Phone: 800-586-2473
8. Wisconsin Oven
The “Wisconsin Oven Corporation” is a respected industry leader that has been around for 40 years. Known for the quality of its products, the company manufactures batch, walk-in, conveyor, and laboratory ovens for clients in the energy, automotive, composites, aerospace, finishing, foundry, pharmaceutical, and military industries. The company’s standard and custom industrial ovens are used in various applications, from heat treating, finishing, and drying to curing, ore-heating, and stress relieving. Wisconsin Oven prides itself on providing what the firm calls “the WOW” experience to its customers.
Located in East Troy, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Oven has been designing, engineering, and manufacturing industrial ovens and other heating equipment since 1973. Its industrial ovens include the following items:
- Batch ovens
- Express batch ovens
- Conveyor ovens
- Laboratory ovens
- Walk-in ovens
- Composite curing ovens
- Belt conveyor ovens
- Chain conveyor ovens
- Enhanced duty walk-in ovens
- Aluminum age ovens
Wisconsin also designs and manufactures pollution control equipment for industrial ovens. Its thermal incinerators oxidize fumes from industrial ovens, eliminating contaminants, such as smoke, solvents, and paint fumes. These are processed through a fume incinerator to eliminate volatile organic compounds. Wisconsin’s fume incinerators offer flow capacities of 200 to 20,000 SCFM and destructive efficiencies up to 99%, as defined by EPA test method 25A.
Wisconsin’s primary manufacturing operations and various subsidiaries and divisions are housed in its complex of buildings located in the East Troy Business Park. Its highly knowledgeable and highly skilled design and production teams can meet the most stringent standards for industrial equipment. Wisconsin Oven is owned by Thermal Product Solutions (“TPS”), a leading American manufacturer of custom industrial ovens used for heat treating, finishing, drying, curing, manufacturing automation, and process control applications.
Headquarters:
2675 Main Street
East Troy, WI 53120
Website: www.wisoven.com
Phone: 262-642-3938
9. Infrared Heating Technologies
Infrared Heating Technologies (IHT) is an internationally recognized manufacturer of industrial ovens, furnaces, and heaters. Based in East Tennessee, the company operates a state-of-the-art testing and manufacturing facility. Those capabilities enable it to produce technologically advanced solutions for an international clientele. IHT also manufactures industrial heaters and control systems. Plus, IHT offers complete turn-key solutions to your specific set of process requirements. IHT has the expertise and experience to design, engineer, and manufacture standard and custom industrial ovens.
IHT’s industrial ovens cover a wide range of applications. It manufactures the following ovens:
- Annealing
- Drying
- Curing
- Hardening
- Tempering
- Aluminum pre-heating
- Composite curing
- Powder coating
- Stress relieving
IHT serves a wide range of industries, including aerospace, aluminum, automotive, ceramics, coatings, composites, and energy. The company also serves the finishing foundry, glass, heat treating, laboratory, medical, paper, and general manufacturing industries. IHT also produces custom industrial oven systems to a customer’s exact specifications. Plus, it offers trial runs for a customer’s parts to determine the best thermal source and type of heating system for your product.
IHT works closely with customers, from original concept through production and installation, to create industrial equipment that fits their needs. Its production capabilities include full sheet metal and structural metal fabrication, machining, welding, painting, electrical panel fabrication, CAD design, and test facilities. That allows them to produce a wide range of industrial heaters, ovens, and furnaces to exacting standards for both national and international customers.
Headquarters:
2010 HWY 58, Suite 2120
Oak Ridge, TN 37830
Website: www.infraredheating.com
Phone: 865-535-0050
10. Epcon Industrial Systems
Epcon Industrial Systems is a leading industrial oven producer that has been around since 1977. It’s grown from a one-person operation to a large corporation, with complete on-site manufacturing facilities. Epcon is a global leader in developing new and innovative air pollution control technology and industrial heating equipment, with nearly 4,000 completed systems worldwide. Epcon also specializes in custom designing and manufacturing pre-engineered and pre-tested air pollution control systems.
Epcon manufactures high-quality industrial equipment that exceeds customer expectations. Its product line includes the following equipment:
- Air pollution control
- Finishing systems
- Specialty systems
- Industrial furnaces
- Batch ovens and furnaces
- Conveyor ovens
- Continuous ovens
- Industrial ovens
Applications for Epson’s ovens include aging, baking, drying, curing, finishing, heat treating, hardening, and pre-heating. Epcon builds its ovens to comply with NFPA86 requirements and OSHA standards.
Epcon combines deep technical knowledge and experience with its advanced manufacturing resources to ensure that its industrial products meet a customer’s most unique and stringent requirements. Epcon provides its customers with the highest quality of industrial equipment, from batch scale equipment to automated conveyorized solutions. It also provides engineering and design services, parts, services, rebuilds, and retrofits.
Epson’s industries include automotive, petrochemical, metal finishing, coil coating, printing, and composite materials, as well as semiconductor, aerospace, pharmaceutical, food processing, pulp and paper, and continuous web processing. The company has provided ovens and furnaces worldwide, including the People’s Republic of China, Singapore, England, Germany, France, Saudi Arabia, several countries in South America, Mexico, Scotland, Italy, and Canada.
Headquarters:
17777 I-45 South
Conroe, TX 77385
Website: www.epconlp.com
Phone: 936-273-3300
Choosing an Industrial Oven Supplier
Industrial ovens are critical equipment in many manufacturing processes. Manufacturers use them to decontaminate medical devices and instruments, sterilize laboratory equipment, burn off excess chemicals from pills, and burn-in testing materials. Plus, they use them to age, temper, anneal, and treat metal. The key is finding the right industrial oven for your application. But first, you need to choose the right supplier for your oven supplier. That’s easier said than done.
Below are some critical steps to take in finding the right industrial oven supplier for your applications:
1. Create a checklist of oven manufacturers
One of the most critical steps in finding a supplier is to create a general list of industrial oven manufacturers. The list of companies above can get you started. Review the companies on your list one by one to create a shortlist. Eventually, you’ll want to narrow your shortlist down to a couple of companies before deciding which is suitable for you. Taking a systematic approach to choosing a supplier pays off.
2. Check a company’s reputation in the marketplace.
Checking the supplier’s reputation in the marketplace gives you another view of the company. What are they known for in the industry—technical expertise, product quality, customer service? If they’ve worked with companies where you have a contact, check with him or her to see what their experience was with the company’s products. You may also want to check with the editors of the leading trade magazines. They often have a handle on who’s who in an industry.
3. Check each company’s experience and expertise
You should create a checklist of what you want to see in an industrial supplier before reviewing companies. Experience and expertise are critical. Look for suppliers with in-depth experience and expertise in your industry and with your type of application. You also want a supplier with in-depth experience and expertise producing ovens for your specifications, requirements, and applications. Knowing the exact specifications of your application and production environment is a good idea before reviewing suppliers.
4. Review QC Procedures and Processes
Also, look at a company’s quality control procedures. Do they follow critical safety and QC guidelines? If you need an oven for medical device applications, do they meet standards like ISO 9001, ISO 13485, and ISO 14001? Do their ovens deliver uniform and repeatable thermal processing required for critical operation? Do their ovens deliver invariable, uniform, repeatable temperatures? Do they provide the gradual ramp rates essential to your processing needs?
5. Review the company’s manufacturing capabilities
In addition, check their manufacturing capabilities to gauge what care they put into producing ovens, like CAD/CAM and state-of-the-art modeling software. Do the company’s products have the reputation of exceeding process requirements for even the most exacting customer needs? Do they provide installation and training? How about service and warranty programs, parts and repair? How is its technical support? Does the company provide troubleshooting tips and tutorials to help resolve common problems? Do they offer trial runs for parts to determine the best thermal source and heating system for your product?
These are just some of the considerations you’ll be wrestling with when choosing a supplier for your industrial oven.
Finding the right manufacturer for your industrial oven is essential. The search should never be rushed or overlooked. When you’re finally manufacturer-ready and excited to start bringing your ideas into physical form, it can be easy to hurry to production before properly vetting manufacturers first. Resist that temptation. Instead, take some time to do your due diligence. It will pay off in the long run.
Types of Heat Processing
Manufacturers use industrial ovens to apply heat to a material to generate a desired condition or required property. So, a critical step in selecting an industrial oven is defining your application’s heat processing requirements. Three critical steps of heat processing include:
- Heating the material to a specific temperature
- Holding that temperature for a certain time
- Cooling the material based on prescribed methods (optional)
Industrial ovens heat materials to temperatures of less than 1000°F (537.78 C°). Industrial furnaces heat materials to temperatures greater than 1000°F. (537.78 C°). Despatch also provides industrial cleaning systems.
Types of Industrial Ovens
|
|
