Friedr. Freek GmbH

What Friedr. Freek GmbH does

Friedr. Freek GmbH is a German family-owned manufacturer of electric heating elements, headquartered in Menden/Sauerland, Germany, founded in 1950 and owned by the Kaiser family (Wolfgang and Stefan Kaiser). The company operates with approximately 60 employees and serves industrial B2B customers, with primary exposure to plastics injection moulding and packaging machinery OEMs whose hot runner systems integrate Freek components. Secondary segments include medical and laboratory engineering, aerospace, and residential/comfort heating.

The product portfolio spans cartridge heaters, HotMicroCoil nozzle heaters (in continuous production since 1994), infrared heaters — including the Herschel 3D heat flux mapping system co-developed with Ceramicx and Trinity College Dublin — tubular heaters, flexible heaters, flat heating elements, heating bands, drum heaters, industrial ovens, and associated controllers and sensors. Core proprietary technology includes a patented slit heat-conducting sleeve heat transfer system; the company has also absorbed aerospace-grade heating technology via the acquisition of BF Goodrich Rosemount's plastics business.

The business operates a custom design-and-manufacture B2B model with quote-based pricing, achieving €9 million in revenue in 2018 — the eighth consecutive year of all-time-high sales. Distribution combines direct field sales presence at major trade fairs (K Show in Düsseldorf, Chinaplas in Shanghai, NPE in the USA) with an eight-partner cooperation network and dedicated distribution partners in China (Shenzhen Quanxin), Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, and the USA. Premium positioning is reflected in the customer base, which includes hot runner system manufacturers such as Otto Hofstetter AG, and in long-running strategic relationships such as the 25-plus-year partnership with Ceramicx Ireland.

Name

Friedr. Freek GmbH

Legal name

Friedr. Freek GmbH

Website

https://freek-heaters.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1950

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Friedr. Freek GmbH is a German family-owned manufacturer of electric heating elements founded in 1950, serving plastics injection moulding and packaging OEMs worldwide with cartridge heaters, HotMicroCoil nozzle heaters, infrared heaters, and tubular heating solutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Electric Heating Elements

NAICS

Heating Equipment (except Warm Air Furnaces) Manufacturing (333414), Industrial Process Furnace and Oven Manufacturing (333994)

SIC

Electronic & Other Electrical Equipment (No Computer Equip) (3600), Industrial Process Furnaces & Ovens (3567)

akta.pro primary industry

Heat Exchangers & Thermal Transfer Equipment (IMAHAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Boilers, Furnaces & Process Heating Equipment (IMAHAKAD), Heat Transfer Equipment (Heat Exchangers, Boilers, Condensers) (IMAHAEAC)

Keywords

• Industrial electric heating elements
• Cartridge heaters
• Hot runner nozzle heaters
• Infrared heating solutions
• Temperature control systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Menden

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Electric Heating Elements Sales: Manufacture and sale of industrial electric heating elements including cartridge heaters, HotMicroCoils, tubular heaters, infrared heaters, and accessories. Custom design and manufacturing services. Revenue reached €9 million in 2018.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Friedr. Freek GmbH manufactures and sells industrial electric heating elements, including cartridge heaters, HotMicroCoil nozzle heating elements, infrared heaters, tubular heaters, flexible heaters, heating bands, and related temperature control and sensor accessories. The company serves plastics injection molding, packaging machinery, metal processing, and laboratory/medical equipment customers with both standardized and customized heating solutions.

Product overview

Friedr. Freek GmbH is a German manufacturer of electric heating elements founded in 1950, offering a comprehensive portfolio of industrial heating solutions. The product lineup centers on cartridge heaters, HotMicroCoil heating elements for hot runner systems, infrared heaters (in partnership with Ceramicx), flexible heaters, tubular heaters, heating bands, and temperature control systems. The company provides both standardized products and customized solutions for the plastics/packaging, automotive, aerospace, and general industrial sectors. Supporting products include thermo sensors, controllers, drum/container heaters, industrial ovens, open wire heating elements, and accessories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HotMicroCoil: Product line of micro coil heating elements including nozzle heating elements, coil heaters, and surface heating elements
• ComfortSun

Products and services

• Cartridge Heaters Cylindrical heating elements with stainless steel tube, ceramic core, heating wire, and magnesium oxide filling. Includes High-Density (up to 50 W/cm² surface watt density), Medium-Density (Spiral), Low Voltage, and Square variants. Used in plastic injection molding, hot runner systems, packaging machinery, and general industrial heating.
• HotMicroCoil Heating Elements Miniature coil heating elements for hot runner systems in plastic injection molding, including MicroCoils (nozzle heating elements), HotCoils (coil heaters), HotMicroCoil surface heating elements, and HotMicroCoil nozzle heaters. Developed through the EUCOPET R&D network.
• Infrared Heaters Infrared heating solutions including Long Wave Ceramic Infrared Emitters, Medium Wave Quartz Emitters, Short Wave Quartz Emitters, and ComfortSun for indoor and outdoor use. Offered in partnership with Ceramicx Ireland.
• Flexible Heaters (up to 200°C) Conformable heating solutions for applications up to 200°C, including Silicone Heaters, Kapton (Polyimide) Heaters, and Polyester Heaters.
• Flat Heating Elements (over 200°C) High-temperature flat heating elements for applications above 200°C, including Mica Insulated (Strip) Heaters and Ceramic Insulated (Band) Heaters.
• Tubular Heaters Versatile tubular heating elements including Flexible Tubular Heaters (BASE-flex, NICKEL-flex), Round Tubular Heaters, Screw-in Tubular Heaters, Finned Heaters, and Cast-in Heaters. BASE-flex square stainless steel variants offer up to 80% bigger heat emitting area than round sections.
• Heating Bands Band-style heaters including UGL Heating Bands (stainless steel), MICAPLAST Heating Bands, KERAPLAST Ceramic Heating Bands, and Motor Standstill Heaters (Nomex Band Heaters).
• Drum Heaters and Container Heaters Specialized heating solutions for drums and industrial containers to heat liquids and viscous materials.
• Industrial Ovens Custom-built industrial infrared ovens and heating systems for various manufacturing processes, provided in partnership with Ceramicx Ireland.
• Thermo Sensors Temperature measurement products including Thermocouples (TC), Resistance Sensors (RS), and Infrared Sensors (handheld devices).
• Controllers Temperature control systems including JC-Series Controlling System, Solid State Relay, Stationary Controller Unit, and Multi Channel Control Unit.
• Open Wire Heating Elements Open wire heating elements for laundry dryers, cross flow fans, radial blowers, and special heating cross designs.
• Accessories Supporting components including Leads, Protection Sleeves, Terminal Blocks, and Cut-Outs/Thermal Fuses for heating element installations.
• ComfortSun Infrared comfort heating products for indoor and outdoor use, targeting residential and commercial space heating applications.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 80% bigger heat emitting area with square BASE-flex tubular heaters compared to round sections
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Shenzhen Quanxin Industrial Equipment Co., Ltd.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2018Distributor for China since 2018. Handles sales and distribution of Freek heating elements in the Chinese market.
• Ceramicx Ireland Ltd.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner25+ year cooperation starting with EUCOPET R&D network. Joint infrared solutions business, shared K-show booth, joint R&D on Herschel 3D heat flux mapping system with Trinity College Dublin. Offers complete infrared systems including control and conveyor technology.
• AMARC srlcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerItalian partner company near Milan producing cast-in tubular heating elements for over 20 years. Strategic partnership for cast-in heaters for the packaging industry.
• Amptec Industrial Heating Pte LtdminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistributor for Singapore and Malaysia.
• Hangzhou Strong Technologies Co., Ltd (Heatek)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistributor in China (Hangzhou).
• Koufu Engineering Co., Ltd.minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistributor in Japan.
• Kurval BVminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistributor in the Netherlands.
• P.P.H.U. Trans-West GmbH Sp.zo.o.minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistributor in Poland.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hotset Heizpatrone: Hotset is a Germany-based manufacturer of cartridge heaters, hot runner heating elements, and industrial temperature control solutions. It directly competes with Freek in cartridge heaters and HotMicroCoil-style nozzle heating elements for the plastics injection moulding market.
• Watlow Electric Manufacturing: Watlow is one of the largest global manufacturers of industrial electric heating elements, thermal systems, and temperature sensors for plastics, packaging, semiconductor, medical, and aerospace customers. It is a direct competitor to Freek across cartridge heaters, tubular heaters, and custom thermal solutions serving OEMs.
• Tutco Heating Solutions Group: Tutco designs and manufactures industrial electric heating elements and assemblies for OEMs in appliance, medical, semiconductor, and process industries. It competes with Freek in custom-engineered heating solutions and OEM design-in projects.
• Durex Industries: Durex Industries is a US manufacturer of custom electric heating elements including cartridge, band, tubular, and flexible heaters for industrial OEM customers. It is comparable to Freek in custom-engineered heating solutions serving plastics, medical, and packaging markets.
• Tempco Electric Heater Corporation: Tempco manufactures industrial electric heating elements including cartridge heaters, band heaters, flexible heaters, and tubular heaters. It serves plastics, packaging, food processing, and general industrial markets, overlapping directly with Freek's product portfolio.
• Backer Hotwatt: Backer Hotwatt is a US-based manufacturer of cartridge heaters, band heaters, strip heaters, and tubular heating elements for industrial OEMs. It is a direct peer in standardized and custom electric heating elements serving plastics, packaging, medical, and general industrial customers.
• Vulcanic: Vulcanic is a France-based manufacturer of industrial electric heating elements, process heating systems, and thermal solutions for plastics, packaging, and chemical industries. It directly competes with Freek in process heating equipment and OEM heating element supply.
• Elmatic (ETH Heizelemente): Elmatic is a Swiss/European manufacturer of cartridge heaters, tubular heaters, and flexible heating elements with a focus on plastics processing and industrial OEM customers. It is a European direct competitor to Freek in cartridge and tubular heating.
• Chromalox (Spirax-Sarco Engineering plc): Chromalox, now part of Spirax Group, manufactures industrial electric heaters, heating elements, and thermal solutions for process industries including plastics, chemicals, oil & gas, and power generation. It competes head-to-head with Freek in process heating elements and commercial/industrial heat transfer equipment.

Emerging players

• Günther Heisskanaltechnik: Günther is a German specialist in hot runner systems and temperature-control technology for plastic injection moulding, with deep overlap with Freek's HotMicroCoil customer base. It is comparable as an adjacent heating/thermal-systems specialist within the same plastics OEM ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/friedr-freek-gmbh

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 Friedr. Freek GmbH