United Process Controls

What United Process Controls does

United Process Controls (UPC-Marathon) is the process and flow control instrumentation division of Nitrex, designing and manufacturing probes, controllers, analyzers, flow meters, gas generators, gas-mixing equipment, and combustion-optimization systems for industrial heat-treatment operators. Headquartered in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, the company was founded in 2012 and operates with 101-250 employees under the Nitrex corporate umbrella, distributing its products globally through a direct enterprise field-sales motion with a Request-for-Quote (RFQ) process.

The product portfolio comprises 44 items across eight categories, anchored by proprietary solid-zirconia oxygen probes (A² Probe), carbon probes designed for high-carbon and saturation-burn-off use cases (CARBONSEER, CARBONSEER XS), hydrogen analyzers for nitriding and nitrocarburizing (H2SMART, SGS), the Protherm family of programmable process controllers (legacy Protherm 50 through next-generation Protherm-Q), rugged Flo-Meter / Flo-Tronic Plus / FurnaceMeter / VersaMeter flow measurement and control platforms, endothermic and exothermic gas generators (DAGen, EndoFlex, ExoFlex), and supporting software including Protherm 9800 MES and the AI-enabled Qmulus platform. Multiple product brands (CARBONSEER, PROTHERM, H2SMART, SGS, Flo-Meter, Oxyfire, Qmulus AI, and others) are registered trademarks, several are described as industry-standard, and a number of flow products are explicitly designed to satisfy NFPA and EN746 standards.

The business model is anchored in hardware sales of process instrumentation and gas-generation systems to industrial furnace operators, supplemented by flow-meter calibration services (Flocal field calibration kits) and recurring software access. Revenue mechanics are not publicly disclosed; pricing is handled via RFQ only, consistent with engineered-to-order enterprise sales. Customers span industrial heat-treating operations (carburizing, nitriding, annealing, hardening, tempering, sintering), metallurgical facilities, and vacuum-furnace operators across the global heat-processing industries. The company is privately held, with no reported fundraising and one disclosed acquisition (Atmosphere Engineering, March 2018).

Name

United Process Controls

Legal name

Nitrex

Website

https://group-upc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

United Process Controls (UPC-Marathon) designs and manufactures process and flow control instrumentation — probes, controllers, analyzers, flow meters, gas generators, and combustion-optimization systems — for industrial heat-treating operators worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Heat Treatment Instrumentation

NAICS

Heating Equipment (except Warm Air Furnaces) Manufacturing (333414), Industrial Gas Manufacturing (32512)

SIC

Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)

akta.pro primary industry

Boilers, Furnaces & Process Heating Equipment (IMAHAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

On-Site Gas Generation Systems (IMAEACAJ), Heat Treatment & Thermal Processing Furnaces (Hardening, Annealing, Induction) (IMAHADAI)

Keywords

• Heat treatment instrumentation
• Industrial process controls
• Furnace atmosphere monitoring
• Combustion optimization systems
• Flow measurement equipment

Headquarters

HQ city

Oak Creek

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Hardware Product Sales: Sale of process control instruments including probes, analyzers, controllers, flow meters, gas generators and combustion optimization equipment for industrial heat treatment applications
2. Flow Meter Calibration Services: Calibration services for flow meter equipment including Flocal field calibration kits

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

United Process Controls (UPC-Marathon) supplies process and flow control instrumentation for industrial heat treatment, including oxygen/carbon/hydrogen probes, programmable process controllers, gas flow meters and controllers, atmosphere analyzers, gas generators, gas mixing systems, and combustion optimization equipment used to monitor and control furnace atmospheres in metal processing operations. Products are integrated into the broader Nitrex heat treatment furnace portfolio and are sold to industrial operators running carburizing, nitriding, annealing, hardening, tempering, sintering, and vacuum furnace processes.

Product overview

United Process Controls (UPC-Marathon) is the process and flow control products division under Nitrex, offering 44 industrial products across 8 categories for heat treatment and metal processing industries. The portfolio spans probes (9 types including A² Probe, CARBONSEER series, and QuickSilver for atmosphere monitoring), controllers (7 types including Protherm series from legacy Protherm 50 to next-generation Protherm-Q, ActivePLC, and Oxymit 2™ for process control), flow meters and controllers (10 types including Flo-Meter™, Flo-Tronic Plus™, FurnaceMeter™, and VersaMeter™ for fluid measurement), analyzers (5 types including H2SMART™, SGS™, and FurnaceDoctor® for process analysis), gas generators (4 types including DAGen, EndoFlex, ExoFlex, and EndoInjector for atmosphere generation), gas mixing equipment (3 types including Gas Mixor, Gas Mixing Panels, and RCV Plus™), combustion optimization solutions (Oxyfire™ and Oxymit2™), and production software (Qmulus AI for surface treatment™ and Protherm 9800 MES). The product ecosystem provides comprehensive process control from atmosphere generation through monitoring, control, and optimization for industrial furnace operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• A² Probe

Quantifiable outcome

• UPC-Marathon combustion solutions significantly lower fuel consumption

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature14 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Bodycote: World's largest commercial heat-treatment services provider; not a direct instrumentation competitor but a major buyer/end-user of heat-treatment process control technology and a barometer for industrial heat-treat demand.
• Nitrex: Parent/corporate umbrella that also sells turnkey nitriding, vacuum and coating furnaces globally — overlapping with UPC's heat-treatment customer base and serving as both parent and distribution channel.
• Watlow: Major supplier of industrial heaters, temperature sensors and process controllers — competes in the thermal process control market with broader product breadth and a larger commercial footprint.
• Endress+Hauser: Global leader in industrial process instrumentation (flow, level, pressure, gas analysis) — a potential substitute vendor offering general-purpose oxygen, gas and flow measurement for industrial furnace operators.

Direct peers

• Solar Manufacturing: Designs and builds vacuum heat-treatment furnaces for aerospace, defense and medical applications — a comparable peer in vacuum furnace technology used in precision heat treatment.
• Harper International: Manufacturer of thermal processing systems for advanced materials including carbon fiber, ceramics and battery materials — overlaps in high-temperature furnace/process engineering expertise.
• Surface Combustion: US-based industrial furnace maker focused on heat treatment, brazing and atmosphere processing — a long-standing peer in the thermal-processing equipment market.
• Ipsen: Global manufacturer of industrial heat-treatment furnaces (vacuum, atmosphere, ceramic) serving aerospace, automotive and medical markets — directly comparable in end markets and complementary in the heat-treatment ecosystem.
• SECO/WARWICK: Supplier of heat-treatment furnaces and metallurgy equipment worldwide, including atmosphere and vacuum furnaces — competes in the same industrial heat-treating value chain and serves overlapping customers.

Others

• Linde Gas: Industrial gas supplier producing atmosphere gases used in heat treatment — an adjacent ecosystem participant whose gas-generation offering overlaps with UPC's DAGen/EndoFlex/ExoFlex atmosphere generators.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCjPWOZAnmLTUOElFNi-QSTg
• Facebookfacebook.com/Nitrex.Worldwide
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nitrex

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about United Process Controls