Radio Frequency

What Radio Frequency does

Radio Frequency Company, Inc. (RFC), founded in 1946 by Joshua Manwaring and headquartered in a 40,000 sq ft design and manufacturing facility on a 19-acre site in Millis, Massachusetts, is a privately held manufacturer of industrial Radio Frequency (RF) dielectric heating systems marketed under the Macrowave™ brand. The company's technology operates at 40MHz to heat polar water molecules volumetrically throughout material thickness — simultaneously and uniformly rather than via slow surface-to-center conduction — enabling rapid drying, curing, pasteurization, and disinfestation of food products and industrial materials. RFC's systems range from compact batch units with outputs around 30kW to large production systems up to 1,000kW, and more than 3,000 Macrowave systems are in operation globally treating approximately 1.5 billion pounds of food products per annum.

RFC's product portfolio spans four primary lines: Macrowave™ Post-Baking Dryers (Bantam-Series for smaller regional bakeries and pilot lines up to 3,000 lbs/hour, and Ultra-Series for large-scale cookie, cracker, and snack production); Pasteurization Systems (both batch units starting at $150,000 with 12-week delivery and full-scale production lines); General Industry RF Systems for ceramics, textiles, automotive components, medical/technical yarns, and nonwoven materials; and the MacroCare™ three-year preventative maintenance program that generates recurring service revenue. The company also sells preowned equipment and operates an on-site applications laboratory with the OmniTherm™ Simulator for feasibility testing. The go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales only — no channel partners or distributors — supplemented by trade show participation (Food Safety Summit, Petfood Forum) and technical content marketing.

RFC is 100% owned by current management and key employees following a July 2025 buyback of approximately 80% of common stock from legacy majority shareholders. The company reports operating margins north of 40% and a current ratio greater than 4, indicating strong financial health. Certifications across USDA Organic, FDA Clean Label, FSMA, UL, OSHA, FCC, and CE position the technology uniquely for clean-label food processors who cannot use irradiation or chemical treatments. The company serves enterprise customers across baked goods and snack manufacturing, pet food, ceramics, textiles, automotive, medical products, and cannabis remediation.

Name

Radio Frequency

Legal name

Radio Frequency Company, Inc.

Website

https://radiofrequency.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Radio Frequency Company manufactures industrial RF dielectric heating systems under the Macrowave™ brand for food processors (baked goods, snacks, pet food) and industrial manufacturers. Founded in 1946 in Millis, MA, with 3,000+ systems installed globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Millis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Industrial RF Equipment Sales: Sale of industrial RF heating, drying, pasteurization, and disinfestation systems including generators, applicators, and automated handling systems. Equipment ranges from small batch systems at ~$150k to large production systems up to 1000kW output. The company has 3,000+ systems in operation globally.
2. Preowned/Used Equipment: Sale of preowned RF equipment including 40kW dryers and pasteurization systems with various conveyor widths (42-inch, 30-inch, 18-inch), 10kW Macrowave web drying systems, and various SMC preheaters and compression molding preheaters.
3. MacroCare™ Maintenance Program: Preventative maintenance and technical training program. Three-year program includes bi-annual preventative maintenance visits, control software upgrades, complimentary telephone troubleshooting, and spare parts support. Designed to maximize customer ROI and increase system uptime.
4. Installation and Field Service: Turnkey installation supervision and field service for RF systems worldwide. Technical support and spare parts for systems in operation.
5. Feasibility Testing Services: Product trials and process development at RFC's testing laboratory in Millis, MA. Engineers use the Macrowave OmniTherm Simulator to define parameters for heating or drying materials under production conditions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Radio Frequency Company designs, builds, and services Macrowave™ industrial RF (40MHz dielectric) processing systems for the rapid heating, drying, curing, disinfestation, and pasteurization of food products and industrial materials. The portfolio spans Macrowave™ Post-Baking Dryers (Bantam-Series and Ultra-Series) for bakeries and snack producers, Macrowave™ Batch Pasteurization Systems for small-volume and laboratory users, full-scale pasteurization systems for food ingredient and pet food manufacturers, and General Industry RF systems for nonwovens, ceramics, textiles, automotive catalysts, and medical materials. The company also sells preowned equipment, runs the MacroCare™ multi-year preventative maintenance program, and operates an applications testing laboratory using the Macrowave OmniTherm Simulator.

Product overview

Radio Frequency Co. offers the Macrowave™ brand of industrial RF (radio frequency) processing systems as its core product line. The portfolio includes Post-Baking Dryers (Bantam-Series for smaller operations up to 3,000 lbs/hour and Ultra-Series for large-scale production), Batch Pasteurization Systems for small batches and full-scale production, and General Industry RF Systems for nonwoven, ceramic, textile, automotive, and medical applications. The company also sells preowned equipment and offers the MacroCare™ preventative maintenance program. The OmniTherm™ Simulator supports product testing and feasibility studies. All systems utilize RF electromagnetic energy to heat polar water molecules volumetrically throughout material thickness, enabling faster, more uniform, and energy-efficient drying and pasteurization compared to conventional heating methods.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Macrowave™: The company's primary brand for RF heating, drying, pasteurization and disinfestation systems. Used for industrial process heating applications including post-baking dryers, pasteurization systems, and general industry applications.
• Macrowave™ Systems Division
• MacroCare™ Program
• Macrowave™ OmniTherm™ Simulator
• Bantam-Series
• Ultra-Series

Products and services

• Macrowave™ RF Processing Systems Industrial radio frequency (RF) processing systems using 40MHz dielectric heating to rapidly heat, dry, cure, disinfest, and pasteurize food products and industrial materials volumetrically throughout material thickness. For food processors, ceramics, textile, nonwoven, automotive, and medical manufacturers.
• Macrowave™ Post-Baking Dryers RF post-baking dryers integrated with new or existing oven lines in biscuit, cracker, and snack food production to eliminate final drying requirements from the oven, increase throughput, and improve moisture, color, and uniformity.
• Bantam-Series Macrowave™ Post-Baking Dryers Air-cooled RF post-baking dryers for smaller regional bakeries, pilot R&D lines, and lower-throughput SKUs producing up to 3,000 lbs/hour; no external plant cooling or heavy electrical drops required.
• Ultra-Series Macrowave™ Post-Baking Dryers Large-scale RF post-baking dryers for high-throughput cookie, cracker, and snack food production lines, enabling increased oven band speeds by removing the final drying requirement from the end of the oven.
• Macrowave™ Batch Pasteurization System Compact, air-cooled small-batch RF pasteurization system with fiber-optic temperature monitoring, large 36\" x 32\" RF applicator area, and programmable treatment cycles; intended for research institutions, laboratories, and low-throughput producers.
• Pasteurization Systems Fully integrated Macrowave RF pasteurization and disinfestation systems for food ingredients and finished goods (human and animal food), validated as a Critical Control Point Kill Step under FSMA and treating hundreds of millions to 1.5 billion pounds of products annually.
• General Industry RF Systems Macrowave RF heating and drying systems for non-food industrial applications including nonwoven webs, hydrophilic foams, ceramic greenware, textile/technical yarns, automotive catalytic converter and DPF substrates, and water-based coatings/inks/adhesives, as well as medical-waste sterilization.
• 240kW Nonwoven Batting Dryer with Vacuum Assisted Curing Zone 240kW RF drying system for nonwoven battings and hydrophilic foam webs with a vacuum-assisted curing zone to address thermally insulative material challenges and deliver uniform moisture content.
• RFC Model 5500 Batch Pasteurization System for Cannabis Model 5500 small-batch RF pasteurization system for microbial remediation of cannabis flowers with ~100 lbs/hour throughput, preserving terpenes and cannabinoids and preventing decarboxylation; intended for cultivators and remediation labs facing state-mandated microbial testing.
• Preowned Equipment Secondary-market Macrowave RF dryers, pasteurization systems, web drying systems, and SMC preheaters available for budget-constrained or lower-throughput buyers; conveyor widths including 42-inch, 30-inch, and 18-inch.
• MacroCare™ Program Three-year preventative maintenance and technical training program for Macrowave RF system owners, covering bi-annual on-site service, control software upgrades, spare parts, complimentary telephone troubleshooting, and OSHA RF-emission safety surveys.
• Macrowave™ OmniTherm™ Simulator (Testing Services) Hybrid RF/convection test rig (up to 30kW at 40MHz) used for product trials and process development at the RFC testing laboratory in Millis, MA; supports feasibility studies and scale-up parameter definition prior to equipment purchase.
• Non-Contact RF Dryer for Medical/Technical Yarns Non-contact RF dryer for medical and technical yarns and textiles, drying aqueous impregnations at line speeds up to 1,000 feet per minute without solids migration or surface crusting; also supports antimicrobial impregnation drying.

Quantifiable outcome

• Baking lines can increase throughput by up to 30%
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• GEA Group: Large German industrial food processing and separation equipment maker with spray drying, pasteurization, and thermal processing lines — serves many of the same dairy, baking, and ingredient customers as RFC.
• Heat and Control: US manufacturer of integrated food processing and packaging systems for snacks, baked goods, and prepared foods — an established incumbent offering industrial drying and baking lines to the same enterprise customers as RFC.
• Tetra Pak: Swiss-Swedish multinational providing food processing, packaging, and thermal pasteurization systems for dairy and prepared foods — competes with RFC's pasteurization offering as part of a much wider processing portfolio.
• Bühler Group: Global Swiss industrial food processing equipment giant with broad drying, baking, and extrusion capabilities — competes indirectly as a broader portfolio supplier to the same bakery, snack, and grain processors RFC serves.

Direct peers

• Sairem: French maker of industrial microwave and radio-frequency processing equipment for food pasteurization, ceramics, and materials — most direct head-to-head competitor in industrial RF heating systems.
• Ferrite Microwave Technologies: US-based manufacturer of industrial microwave and RF heating systems for food processing, drying, and pasteurization — competes with RFC in similar throughput bands and end markets.
• Pavan: Italian food processing equipment specialist (now integrated with Bühler Group) producing industrial drying lines for pasta, cereals, and snack foods — overlapping target customers and bakery/snack use cases as RFC's Post-Baking Dryers.
• Stalam S.p.A. Italian manufacturer of industrial RF drying equipment for textile, food, and paper applications; directly competes with RFC's Macrowave systems using similar dielectric heating at industrial scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Radio Frequency