Z.R.E.
Z.R.E. is an Italian industrial electric heater manufacturer founded in 1962, designing and producing custom band, cartridge, tubular, immersion, and silicone heating elements primarily for plastics processing, with additional applications across HVAC, medical, packaging, food, die casting, and automotive verticals. Since June 2025, Thermowatt (Ariston Group) holds a majority stake.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1962
- HeadquartersSan Gillio, Italy
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Z.R.E. does
Z.R.E. (Zecchi Riscaldatori Elettrici) is an Italian industrial electric heater manufacturer founded in 1962 and headquartered in San Gillio, province of Turin. The company designs and produces a comprehensive portfolio of electric heating elements for industrial applications, including band heaters (brass, steel, and ceramic-insulated variants), cartridge heaters (HOTROD® series), flexible tubular heaters (Hotflex®), armored tubular heaters, immersion heaters, finned air heaters, infrared radiators, and silicone heating elements (OhmMat, Silflex). A distinctive technical capability is the proprietary OhmMat silicone resistive heating material, supported by the ISOCOAT insulating mat (Z.66) which delivers approximately 30% energy savings in cylinder heating applications. Z.R.E. also manufactures temperature control systems including thermocouples, resistance thermometers, and regulators, providing complete thermal management solutions.
The company's core technology is centered on electrical resistance heating with proprietary silicone compounds, and 98% of products are designed, customized, and produced in Z.R.E. laboratories in Italy. Z.R.E. operates production facilities in San Gillio and Leinì (the latter acquired in 2013 from Sacme Spa for armored resistor manufacturing), with approximately 2,000 square meters of additional warehouse capacity added in 2018. The company serves seven primary verticals — plastics processing (primary), civil/HVAC, medical, packaging, food and beverage, die casting, and automotive — with plastics injection molding, extrusion, blow molding, and thermoforming as the dominant application area.
Z.R.E.'s business model is hardware sales of custom-engineered heating components, priced on a quote basis. The company reaches customers through direct sales (phone, email, website contact forms), an international agent network, and active participation in trade fairs including Plast (Milan) and Fakuma (Friedrichshafen). Z.R.E. also operates as the exclusive Italian distributor for Hotset GmbH (Germany), complementing its own product range. In June 2025, Thermowatt (part of Ariston Group) acquired a majority stake, granting Z.R.E. access to Thermowatt's distribution network of 500+ customers in 100+ countries. The company holds ISO 9001:2015 (TÜV SÜD) and ISO 14001:2015 certifications, and maintains CE marking for EU market access.
Z.R.E. firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Z.R.E.
- Legal name
- Z.R.E. s.r.l.
- Website
- https://zresrl.it
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1962
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Z.R.E. is an Italian industrial electric heater manufacturer founded in 1962, designing and producing custom band, cartridge, tubular, immersion, and silicone heating elements primarily for plastics processing, with additional applications across HVAC, medical, packaging, food, die casting, and automotive verticals. Since June 2025, Thermowatt (Ariston Group) holds a majority stake.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Z.R.E. industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Industrial Electric Heaters
- NAICS
- Ventilation, Heating, Air-Conditioning, and Commercial Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturing (3334), Electrical Equipment Manufacturing (33531)
- SIC
- Air-Cond & Warm Air Heatg Equip & Comm & Indl Refrig Equip (3585), Electronic & Other Electrical Equipment (No Computer Equip) (3600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- HVAC Equipment (Heating, Cooling & Air Handling) (IMAHAKAB)
Keywords
Where Z.R.E. is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Gillio
- HQ country
- Italy
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
Z.R.E. business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Electric Heater Manufacturing: Custom design and manufacture of electric heating elements including band heaters, cartridge heaters, tubular heaters, immersion heaters, and infrared radiators. Production entirely carried out in Italy at San Gillio facility.
- Insulating Products: Production and sale of insulating mats (ISOCOAT) and protective casings for plasticizing cylinders that enable significant energy savings for customers.
- Temperature Control Systems: Supply of thermocouples, resistance thermometers, temperature controllers and control units for industrial process temperature management.
- Stock/Ready Products: Ready-to-deliver inventory including nozzle heaters for injection molding machines, cartridge heaters, thermocouples, semi-finished parts for immersion heaters and finned tubular heaters.
- Hotset Agency (Exclusive Italy): Exclusive agency representation for Hotset GMBH German heating products in Italy, complementing the own production range.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
Z.R.E. product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Z.R.E. designs, manufactures and sells industrial electric heating elements and thermal control accessories — including band heaters, cartridge heaters, tubular, immersion and infrared heaters, silicone heating elements, insulating mats, heating cables and temperature regulators — for OEMs and industrial end-users in plastics processing, HVAC, medical, packaging, food & beverage, die casting and automotive sectors. Approximately 85% of revenue is generated through direct sales in Italy and 15% through an international agent and distributor network.
Product overview
Z.R.E. (Zecchi Riscaldatori Elettrici) is an Italian industrial electric heater manufacturer founded in 1962, producing a comprehensive portfolio of heating solutions for various sectors including plastics processing, industrial processes, medical, packaging, food, and automotive. The product range includes: (1) Band heaters for nozzles and cylinders in brass/steel/ceramic variants (Z.11, Z.15, Z.17, Z.19, Z.20, Z.122), (2) Mica and ceramic insulated band/flat heaters (Z.32, Z.37, Z.41, Z.45), (3) Cartridge heaters - HOTROD® series with high/medium/low power variants (Z.81), (4) Flexible tubular heaters - Hotflex® (Z.73) and armored tubular heaters (Z.72), (5) Immersion heaters for liquids (Z.71), (6) Air finned heaters/batteries (Z.75), (7) Infrared radiators (Z.91, Z.92, Z.93), (8) Silicone heating elements including OhmMat flexible heaters, (9) Temperature control systems including thermocouples, resistance thermometers, and control units, (10) Insulating mattresses (ISOCOAT Z.66) for energy savings up to 30%, (11) Protective cases for plasticizing cylinders (Isoair Z.69), (12) Heating cables (Z.105), and (13) accessories including connections, plugs, and cables. The company operates as both a manufacturer and exclusive Italian agent for Hotset GmbH products.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Z.R.E. Band Heaters (nozzle, mica-insulated, ceramic-insulated and specialised variants) Cylindrical electric heaters clamped onto the nozzles, cylinders and manifolds of plastic-injection moulding machines to provide precise, high-temperature heat. Available in mica-insulated, ceramic-insulated, tubular, finned and nozzle-band variants. Designed for plastics OEMs and moulders.
- HOTROD Z.81 Cartridge Heaters High-watt-density electric cartridge heaters designed for localised heating in moulds, dies, hot-melt adhesive equipment, packaging machinery and industrial platens. Suitable for plastics, packaging and general industrial applications.
- Hotflex Z.73 Flexible Tubular Heaters Flexible tubular heating elements that can be shaped to conform to irregular surfaces such as injection-moulding manifolds, hot-runner systems and industrial pipework. Used in plastics processing and general industrial applications.
- Armored Tubular Heaters Z.72 Rigid tubular heaters with stainless-steel armouring for direct immersion in liquids or contact heating of metal surfaces. Used in plastics, food & beverage, chemical and general industrial applications.
- Hotspring Z.51 Spiral Heaters Spiral-wound heating elements designed to be inserted into hot-runner manifolds, plasticising cylinders and die-cast dies for internal heating. Targeted at plastics processing and die casting.
- Immersion Heaters Z.71 Electric immersion heaters designed to be installed directly into tanks containing water, oils or chemical solutions for industrial process heating. Used in food & beverage, chemical, HVAC and industrial washing applications.
- Finned Heaters / Heating Batteries Z.75 Heater batteries combining tubular elements with metal fins to increase surface area for air-heating applications, including HVAC systems, industrial drying ovens and air curtains.
- Infrared Radiators Z.91 / Z.92 / Z.93 Infrared heating radiators available in short-, medium- and fast-medium-wave variants for surface heating, drying, curing, paint finishing and thermoforming applications across packaging, plastics, automotive and general industry.
- Silflex Z.103 Silicone Heating Elements Flexible silicone-encapsulated heating mats and elements used where uniform, low-profile surface heating is required, including medical devices, laboratory equipment, packaging machinery and battery warming.
- OhmMat Silicone Heating Mats Mat-format silicone heating elements providing uniform surface heat for medical, laboratory, packaging and industrial process-heating applications.
- ISOCOAT Z.66 Insulating Mats High-temperature insulating mats used in combination with band heaters and nozzles to reduce heat loss and improve energy efficiency in plastic-injection moulding machines.
- Isoair Z.69 Protective Casings Protective metal casings for band heaters and nozzles, designed to shield the heating elements from contamination, mechanical damage and accidental contact in injection-moulding environments.
- Heatflex Z.109 Electrically Heated Tubes Electrically heated tubes used to keep process fluids, molten polymers or other media at temperature along pipelines, in chemical, plastics, food & beverage and chemical-processing plants.
- Heating Cables Z.105 Flexible heating cables used for pipe trace heating, anti-condensation and anti-freeze protection in industrial, HVAC and process-piping applications.
- Die Casting Heating Elements Specialised electric heating elements engineered for die-casting machines and dies, including manifold, nozzle and die-stack heaters designed for the high thermal loads of non-ferrous metal casting.
- Temperature Control Units and Regulators Digital temperature control units and regulators — including PID controllers — designed to regulate the power delivered to Z.R.E. electric heaters in injection moulding, packaging and other industrial processes.
- Thermocouples and Resistance Thermometers Thermocouples and resistance thermometers (PT100-type sensors) supplied with Z.R.E. heaters and connected to the company's regulators for closed-loop process temperature control.
Quantifiable outcome
- 30% reduction in electricity consumption for cylinder heating using ISOCOAT insulating mats
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Z.R.E.
Customer profileSegments7 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Z.R.E. technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Z.R.E. partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Hotset GMBHcoreZ.R.E. is the exclusive agent for Hotset GMBH (German manufacturer) in Italy. Hotset products complement Z.R.E.'s own production range, providing spiral heaters (Hotspring) and other heating solutions to Italian customers through Z.R.E.'s distribution network.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Z.R.E. competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Omega Engineering:
- Chromalox: Chromalox is a long-established US manufacturer of industrial electric heating, temperature control and heat trace solutions for process industries including plastics, chemicals, oil & gas, and HVAC. Overlaps with Z.R.E.'s full product range (band, cartridge, immersion, tubular heaters) but serves a broader industrial base globally.
- Tutco Heating Solutions Group: Tutco is a US-based global manufacturer of open coil, tubular and flexible heating elements for industrial, medical, food service and process applications. Comparable product technology to Z.R.E.'s tubular and silicone heater lines, but at substantially larger scale and broader industry exposure.
- Watlow Electric Manufacturing: Watlow is a large US-based global manufacturer of industrial heaters, temperature sensors, controllers and thermal systems serving plastics, semiconductor, medical, energy and process industries. Directly comparable to Z.R.E. on product category (band, cartridge, tubular heaters) and end-market breadth, but at substantially greater scale.
Direct peers
- Durex Industries: Durex Industries manufactures electric heating elements, temperature sensors, and integrated thermal systems for industrial and OEM applications including plastics, food, medical and packaging. Similar mid-sized specialty manufacturer profile to Z.R.E. with comparable custom engineering focus.
- Tempco Electric Heater Corporation: Tempco is a US manufacturer of industrial electric heating elements including band heaters, cartridge heaters, strip heaters, and immersion heaters serving plastics, packaging, food processing and HVAC. Comparable scale and product breadth to Z.R.E. with similar customization-focused business model.
- Backer Hotwatt: Backer Hotwatt manufactures cartridge heaters, band heaters, immersion heaters and flexible heating elements for industrial OEMs, with strong presence in plastics, packaging, medical and food processing. Highly comparable to Z.R.E.'s core product mix and vertical segmentation.
- Hotset Heizpatronen und Heizelemente: Hotset GmbH is a German manufacturer of heating elements, cartridge heaters and hot runner systems for plastics processing and industrial applications. Most direct comparable to Z.R.E. on product portfolio and customer base; Hotset is also Z.R.E.'s channel partner (exclusive Italian agency), making it both competitor and collaborator.
- Friedr. Freek GmbH: Friedr. Freek is a German manufacturer of high-performance heating elements, including band heaters, tubular heaters and special designs for plastics machinery and industrial applications. Most direct European competitor to Z.R.E. on plastics industry band and cartridge heaters.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Z.R.E. social profiles
Digital presenceZ.R.E. compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Z.R.E. financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Z.R.E. leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Z.R.E. funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Z.R.E. M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Z.R.E.
What does Z.R.E. do?
Z.R.E. designs, manufactures and sells industrial electric heating elements and thermal control accessories — including band heaters, cartridge heaters, tubular, immersion and infrared heaters, silicone heating elements, insulating mats, heating cables and temperature regulators — for OEMs and industrial end-users in plastics processing, HVAC, medical, packaging, food & beverage, die casting and automotive sectors. Approximately 85% of revenue is generated through direct sales in Italy and 15% through an international agent and distributor network.
Is Z.R.E. a public or private company?
Z.R.E. is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Z.R.E. founded?
Z.R.E. was founded in 1962. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Z.R.E. based?
Z.R.E. is headquartered in San Gillio, Italy, in the Europe region.
How does Z.R.E. make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Electric Heater Manufacturing is the primary driver. The others are insulating Products, temperature Control Systems, stock/Ready Products and hotset Agency (Exclusive Italy).
Who are Z.R.E.'s main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Omega Engineering, Chromalox, Tutco Heating Solutions Group and Watlow Electric Manufacturing. Direct peers are Durex Industries, Tempco Electric Heater Corporation, Backer Hotwatt, Hotset Heizpatronen und Heizelemente and Friedr. Freek GmbH.
Does Z.R.E. have an API?
No public API is recorded for Z.R.E..
What industry is Z.R.E. in?
Z.R.E.'s product category is Industrial Electric Heaters. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAHAKAB, HVAC Equipment (Heating, Cooling & Air Handling). Its NAICS code is 3334 and its SIC code is 3585.