Gary Duncan

What Gary Duncan does

Gary Duncan Ltd is a UK-based, privately held manufacturer and supplier of electrical heating elements and temperature control equipment, founded in 1979 and operating under the legal entity Gary Duncan Merchanting Limited. The company is headquartered in Wimborne, Dorset (Unit 12 Kingfisher Park, Collingwood Road, West Moors), with manufacturing carried out through a wholly-owned operating subsidiary, G.D.M Manufacturing Ltd., located in Bromyard, Herefordshire. It primarily serves the plastics processing and packaging manufacturing industries in the UK and Ireland, with secondary exposure to broader engineering sectors internationally.

The product portfolio centers on industrial heater bands — nozzle, barrel, plate, cast, cartridge and coil heaters — manufactured in mica, ceramic, aluminium and bronze materials, with customization as the central technical capability. This core is complemented by thermocouples and resistance probes, analogue-to-programmable temperature controllers, pressure sensors, insulation jackets, heated hoses, hot air welding tools, plugs and sockets, cables, and a recently added line of low-pressure cooling fans for extrusion applications. Products are engineered to customer specifications, positioning the company as a bespoke industrial heating supplier rather than a volume catalog vendor.

The business operates on a direct B2B sales model with no public pricing, supported by a regional field sales team covering five UK & Ireland territories and providing on-site technical support. There is no external investment, parent company, or public listing; the company is led by Managing Director Gary Coates and Sales Director John Eccles, with a headcount in the 11–50 range. Three technology partnerships with European heating element manufacturers (HS Heizelemente, Graeff, Freek Heaters) provide access to complementary product technology, but no AI capabilities, APIs, software products or data-driven offerings are present in the portfolio.

Name

Gary Duncan

Legal name

Gary Duncan Merchanting Limited

Website

https://garyduncan.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Gary Duncan Ltd is a UK-based manufacturer and supplier of bespoke electrical heating elements and temperature control equipment, primarily serving plastics processing and packaging manufacturers in the UK and Ireland through direct regional sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Heating Equipment

NAICS

Heating Equipment (except Warm Air Furnaces) Manufacturing (333414), Automatic Environmental Control Manufacturing for Residential, Commercial, and Appliance Use (334512)

SIC

Electronic Components & Accessories (3670), Electronic & Other Electrical Equipment (No Computer Equip) (3600)

akta.pro primary industry

Thermal Management Components (Heat sinks, TIMs, fans/blowers, thermal pads) (IMAGAJAL)

Keywords

• Industrial heating elements
• Temperature control equipment
• Heater bands
• Thermocouples and sensors
• Plastics processing heaters

Headquarters

HQ city

Wimborne

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Gary Duncan manufactures and supplies electrical heating elements and temperature control equipment for industrial use. The portfolio spans heater bands (Nozzle, Barrel, Plate, Cast, Cartridge, Coil heaters), temperature measurement and control products (thermocouples, controllers, pressure sensors), and accessories including insulation jackets, heated hoses, hot air tools, plugs and sockets, cables, and cooling fans, sold primarily to plastics processing, packaging, and broader engineering sector customers in the UK and Ireland.

Product overview

Gary Duncan is a UK-based manufacturer and supplier of electrical heating elements and temperature control equipment, primarily serving the plastics and packaging industries. The company operates as a single unified product portfolio focused on industrial heating solutions. The core offering comprises various types of heater bands (Nozzle Heaters, Barrel Heaters, Plate Heaters, Cast Heaters, Cartridge Heaters, Coil Heaters) which form the primary product line. These are complemented by temperature measurement and control products (Thermocouples, Temperature Controllers, Pressure Sensors), accessories (Plugs & Sockets, Cables & Sundries, Cooling Fans, Heated Hoses, Hot Air Tools, Insulation Jackets), and supplementary items under Additional Products. The products work together as an integrated heating and temperature control system for industrial applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Nozzle Heaters Wide range of high quality Nozzle Heater Bands ranging from a Low Cost option up to a fully sealed design, used by plastics processing and manufacturing customers.
• Barrel Heaters Bespoke Mica and Ceramic Heater Bands for industrial barrel heating applications in plastics processing and other manufacturing sectors.
• Plate Heaters Complete range of Mica Plate Heaters manufactured in flat, L form, U form, or frame configurations for industrial heating applications.
• Cast Heaters Custom-made Cast Heaters in Aluminium or Bronze, produced to virtually any shape or configuration for industrial customers.
• Cartridge Heaters Comprehensive range of Cartridge Heaters available in almost any size and loading for industrial heating applications.
• Coil Heaters Extensive range of Coil Heaters usually coiled to customers' specifications for industrial heating applications.
• Thermocouples Specialist-manufactured variety of sizes and designs of Thermocouples and Resistance probes for temperature measurement in industrial applications.
• Temperature Controllers Range of Temperature Controllers starting from simple analogue to programmable units for industrial temperature control applications.
• Insulation Jackets Tailor-made Insulation Jackets designed to save energy and improve productivity on industrial equipment.
• Pressure Sensors Complete range of Pressure Transducer and Pressure Transmitter sensors for industrial pressure measurement applications.
• Heated Hoses Wide range of heated hoses used to heat plastic, glue, oil, grease, wax, and other materials in industrial processes.
• Hot Air Tools Various models and configurations of hot air welding tools, including accessories, for industrial fabrication and welding applications.
• Plugs & Sockets Comprehensive range of plugs and sockets for use with Heaters and Thermocouples, available with ceramic, silicone rubber, or plastic inserts.
• Cables & Sundries Variety of cables, eyelets, and sundries for use with Heaters and Thermocouples in industrial installations.
• Cooling Fans Wide range of single or double entry low-pressure Klein cooling fans designed for use on extrusion lines, particularly in heater/cooler assemblies, with airflow volumes from 100 to 1600 m3/hr and capability to handle hot air up to 400C in continuous operation.
• Additional Products Supplementary products including Ceramic Emitters, Quartz Elements, Flexible Tubular Elements, and Silicone Heaters for specialised industrial heating applications.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature12 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Chromalox: Chromalox (part of Spirax Group) manufactures industrial heating elements, temperature sensors, and process heating solutions across commercial, industrial, and military markets. Directly overlaps with Gary Duncan's cartridge, band, and strip heater lines while serving much larger customers globally.
• Watlow Electric Manufacturing Company: Watlow is the largest global manufacturer of industrial heaters, thermocouples, and temperature controllers, serving plastics, packaging, semiconductor, medical, and process industries. Closest comparable to Gary Duncan in product category but with vastly broader portfolio, global footprint, and R&D resources.
• OMEGA Engineering: OMEGA Engineering (now part of Dwyer) supplies temperature measurement, heaters, sensors, and process control instrumentation across industrial and laboratory markets. Comparable to Gary Duncan's thermocouple, resistance probe, pressure sensor, and controller product lines but with a vastly broader catalogue.

Direct peers

• Backer Hotwatt: Backer Hotwatt manufactures cartridge heaters, band heaters, strip heaters, and related temperature sensing products for industrial and plastics applications. Comparable to Gary Duncan in both product mix and end-market emphasis on plastics and packaging OEMs.
• Hotset Heizpatronen und Heizleiter GmbH: Hotset is a German manufacturer of cartridge heaters, nozzle heaters, band heaters, and hot runner system heating for the plastics processing industry. It directly mirrors Gary Duncan's plastics-industry focus and heater-band product mix and is geographically adjacent as one of the German partners in the network.
• Freek Heaters: Freek Heaters is a Dutch/German manufacturer of bespoke industrial heating elements for plastics processing. Identified as a Gary Duncan partner, but operates independently as a comparable bespoke heating manufacturer serving similar European plastics and packaging customers.
• Tempco Electric Heater Corporation: Tempco is a US-based custom manufacturer of industrial electric heating elements, temperature sensors, and controls serving plastics, packaging, medical, and process industries. Closely mirrors Gary Duncan's bespoke manufacturing model across heaters, thermocouples, and controllers.
• Tutco Farnam Custom Products: Tutco manufactures custom electric heating elements and assemblies for industrial and OEM customers, with strong focus on plastics processing equipment. Direct overlap with Gary Duncan's band heater and custom aluminium/bronze cast heater offering.
• Graeff GmbH: Graeff is a German specialist in industrial heating elements and temperature sensor technology for the plastics processing industry. Listed as a Gary Duncan partner but is independently a closely-comparable bespoke heater manufacturer in the European plastics heating market.
• HS Heizelemente GmbH: HS Heizelemente is a German manufacturer of industrial heating elements including cartridge, band, and strip heaters. It is named as a Gary Duncan partner but is independently a direct competitor in the European plastics heating market with overlapping product range.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gary-duncan-merchanting-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Gary Duncan