What CIM-Tech does

CIM-Tech is a privately held engineering and design services firm founded in May 2006 and headquartered in Valparaiso, Indiana. The firm specializes in ironmaking and blast furnace applications and serves primarily enterprise customers in steel manufacturing — including U.S. Steel, Nucor, ArcelorMittal, Cleveland-Cliffs, Steel Dynamics, SunCoke, and Alton Steel — alongside selected customers in automotive (Ford), aluminum (Jupiter Aluminum), copper (Hussey Copper), foundry (Waupaca), refractory supply (Allied Mineral Products), and food processing. Headcount is in the 11-50 range, and the leadership team combines over 450 years of engineering and design experience, anchored by co-founder Rudy Tolkamp (34 years), Director of Business Development Andrew Layne (25 years, joined 2024), and Office Manager Kelly Boynak (30 years).

The company's product surface is built around five core service lines: (1) Ironmaking Services, covering blast furnace design, process optimization, maintenance, upgrades, and environmental compliance; (2) 3D Scanning Services, providing sub-millimeter point-cloud capture and scan-to-CAD modeling with outputs compatible with SolidWorks; (3) Combustion Atmosphere Optimization Systems, anchored by the proprietary ZoloScan2(TM) multi-point laser-based diagnostics platform that measures temperature, O2, CO, and H2O in real time and is documented to reduce furnace fuel use by 5-10%; (4) Refractory Design & Supply, combining in-house 2D/3D FEM with material supply (graphite, silicon carbide, high alumina) for blast furnace linings, runners, and troughs; and (5) Water-Cooled System Design, integrating 3D piping with thermal analysis for industrial cooling solutions. Underlying technologies include Finite Element Analysis (FEM), Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), thermal modeling, and laser-based combustion sensing.

CIM-Tech operates a sales-led, consultative go-to-market model. Customers initiate engagement via website consultation forms or direct phone calls; a three-step process moves from consultation and site assessment, to engineer/project manager assignment, to a customized proposal. Revenue is generated through professional services engagements and the supply of engineered refractory products on a project-by-project basis; no SaaS, subscription, or disclosed pricing is in evidence. Marketing is website-centric with no identified social media or paid channels. Geographic scope is described as Midwestern U.S. with international project work, and the firm operates as a going concern with no evidence of outside institutional ownership, acquisitions, or public-company activity.

Name

CIM-Tech

Legal name

CIM-Tech

Website

https://cim-techsvc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CIM-Tech is a privately held Valparaiso, Indiana engineering and design firm founded in 2006 that delivers ironmaking, blast furnace, 3D scanning, combustion diagnostics, refractory, and water-cooled system services to enterprise steel, metals, and industrial customers in the U.S. and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Engineering Services

NAICS

Engineering Services (541330), Industrial Design Services (541420)

SIC

Industrial Process Furnaces & Ovens (3567), Instruments For Meas & Testing Of Electricity & Elec Signals (3825)

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial & Process Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) Steelmaking (Incl. DRI/HBI-Based) (IMAKABAB), Systems Engineering & Technical Program Management (BPAHAIAI)

Keywords

• Industrial engineering services
• Blast furnace design
• Refractory design supply
• 3D scanning services
• Combustion atmosphere optimization

Headquarters

HQ city

Valparaiso

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Engineering and Design Services: CIM-Tech generates revenue through professional engineering and design consulting services. Services include ironmaking/blast furnace applications, 3D scanning, atmosphere optimization, refractory design and supply, and water-cooled system design. The company provides both consulting/project-based services and supply of engineered products (refractory materials). Revenue appears project-based with custom proposals tailored to client needs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

CIM-Tech is an industrial engineering and design services firm specializing in ironmaking and blast furnace applications. The firm delivers five core service lines: ironmaking engineering (blast furnace design, process optimization, maintenance), 3D scanning and reverse engineering (sub-millimeter accuracy CAD models), combustion atmosphere optimization (proprietary systems reducing furnace fuel use by 5-10%), refractory design and supply (blast furnace linings using FEM), and water-cooled system design (thermal analysis-integrated cooling solutions). Services are delivered as customized project-based engineering engagements to enterprise industrial clients.

Product overview

CIM-Tech offers a portfolio of specialized engineering and design services for the ironmaking and industrial sectors, comprised of five core service offerings: Ironmaking Services (blast furnace applications and optimization), 3D Scanning Services (reverse engineering and as-built documentation), Combustion Atmosphere Optimization Systems (including the ZoloScan2(TM) proprietary diagnostics platform), Refractory Design & Supply (blast furnace linings and high-temperature material systems), and Water Cooled System Design (thermal analysis and cooling solutions). These services are delivered as standalone professional engineering offerings rather than a unified software platform, serving clients nationally and internationally in steelmaking, food processing, municipalities, automotive, and power generation industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ironmaking Services Comprehensive blast furnace solutions including design, engineering, process optimization, maintenance, upgrades, and environmental compliance services for the iron and steel industry.
• 3D Scanning Services Advanced 3D scanning that converts existing structures into precise 3D CAD models for reverse engineering, quality control, as-built documentation, and design/prototyping applications. Achieves sub-millimeter accuracy with files compatible with SolidWorks and standard CAD software.
• Combustion Atmosphere Optimization Systems

Quantifiable outcome

• Fuel use reduction of 5% to 10% through combustion atmosphere optimization systems
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Allied Mineral Products: Refractory manufacturer and engineering partner serving steel and iron producers. Already an existing CIM-Tech partner and a relevant comparable given overlapping refractory design and ironmaking customer base.
• Midrex Technologies: Specializes in direct reduced iron (DRI) technology and ironmaking plant engineering, including process optimization and equipment supply. Directly overlaps with CIM-Tech's ironmaking/blast furnace engineering scope, especially for clients like Nu-Iron.
• Resco Products (formerly HarbisonWalker International): Refractory products manufacturer and installer serving steel, iron, aluminum, and other heavy industries. Comparable through CIM-Tech's refractory design and supply capability, including blast furnace linings and runner systems.
• Tenova: Engineering and technology provider for metals and mining industries, offering process optimization, refractory solutions, and combustion systems. Comparable as a multi-disciplinary industrial engineering peer serving similar end markets.
• Hatch: Global engineering consultancy with a dedicated ironmaking, steel, and metals practice offering design, process optimization, and commissioning services. Highly comparable to CIM-Tech's ironmaking/refractory focus, though considerably larger in scale and geographic reach.

Broad incumbents

• SMS group: Large global supplier of metallurgical plant and equipment, including ironmaking, steelmaking, and rolling mill technology. Overlaps with CIM-Tech's ironmaking service offerings but at much larger scope, including equipment manufacturing.
• Fives Group: Industrial engineering group with a metals division providing combustion, reheating furnace, and process equipment technologies. Comparable through CIM-Tech's atmosphere optimization, water-cooled system design, and furnace engineering offerings.
• KBR: Global engineering and government services firm with an industrial process and energy practice including metals and refining. Broader incumbent that delivers process engineering, consulting, and program management analogous to CIM-Tech's services.
• Primetals Technologies: Major metals industry engineering and equipment supplier covering ironmaking, steelmaking, and continuous casting. A broader incumbent that competes for large-scale ironmaking projects alongside CIM-Tech's specialized services.
• Danieli: Italian-based global engineering and equipment supplier for the steel industry, providing plant design, process technology, and commissioning. Comparable as an end-to-end metals engineering player though at significantly larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cim-tech-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 CIM-Tech