Tubular Heaters for Industrial Humidification

Industrial Humidification

We recently received a request for quote from a manufacturer of industrial humidification machinery. They utilize tubular heating elements within their humidifiers and had completely depleted their inventory. The supplier they had been using for decades could not fill their purchase order and expected lead time due to the current supply chain challenges affecting every market segment and level of production. The manufacturer turned to Tempco in the hopes of having their order filled sooner.

Sensing the urgency of the issue, Tempco immediately arranged a conference call that included a staff engineer to review the customer design and performance needs. Tempco observed areas of the heater design that could be improved:

Electrical connection method
Alternate sheath materials for corrosion resistance
Heavier gauge resistance wire for durability and extended heater life

These minor product design improvements addressed several failures that the customer had experienced over the years and significantly reduced their warranty issues. Based on the discussion, Tempco generated a quote while on the call and exceeded the customer’s delivery expectations with a lead time that was less than half of their current supplier’s capabilities.

Tubular Heater

After the first delivery was made, Tempco followed up with the customer. That conversation revealed that they were adding Molex electrical connectors and a mounting flange to the tubular heating elements for their application. We explained that our in-house sheet metal department and machine shop were capable of meeting those added requirements during the tubular heater production. As a result, we were able to help our customer:

eliminate several supply-chain steps
significantly reduce the cost of the final component for their application
provide an installation-ready heater within our standard lead time based on both inventory and the availability of our in-house machine and sheet metal shops

Tempco was able to help this new customer because we specialize in small and mid-size order production of custom electric heaters and heating elements. We anticipate manufacturing trends and carry inventories that exceed industry norms. Our inward focus on vertical integration is strategic in meeting the needs of our customers. For example, Tempco recently invested in new tubular element filling stations. These machines are the key to the production of our high-quality tubular heating elements at a speed and level of automation unmatched in the industry. The filling machines provide several benefits that Tempco customers benefit from including: