About Tempco

Tempco Electric Heater Corporation was founded in August 1972 by Fermin Adames, Sr.

Established in Schiller Park, Illinois, Tempco began with three employees who manufactured and processed orders in a space of approximately 1500 square feet.

The first catalog totaled 24 pages with product details for three products – low-density cartridge heaters, hi-density cartridge heaters, and mica-insulated band heaters.

In 1973, Tempco moved to a larger facility in Franklin Park, Illinois.

We also expanded our product lines and published the catalog with an additional ten pages of product information.

Between 1975 and 1980, Tempco published three new catalogs and attended our first National Plastics Exposition Trade Show that is held every three years.

Additionally, we moved back to Schiller Park into a larger facility. With the additional space, Fermin was able to look to the future and plan for the expansion of Tempco’s manufacturing capabilities.

Tempco received its first product patent in 1979 for our Hi-Density Cartridge Heaters.

Today, we manufacture many variations of Hi-Density cartridge heaters including Immersion Heaters, Pennybottom Heaters, Heaters in Metric Sizes and Miniature Cartridge Heaters.

We custom-design specific application cartridge heaters and offer the Terminator Program – lead terminations and heater options for stock heater substrates with expedited shipping.

Fermin Sr. established Tempco Mexico in Mexico City in November 1981.

Today, Tempco Mexico carries all of the products that we manufacture: electric heating elements, temperature sensors and temperature control products.

In 1982, Tempco’s first full-service, nonferrous foundry and in-house machine shop were set up to manufacture aluminum and bronze cast-in heaters used heavily in the plastics industry. Today, our extensive line of cast-in heaters includes Band Heaters, Circulation Heaters, Cross Head Die Heaters, L-shaped Barrel Heaters, Platen Die Heaters, Ring Heaters and Thermo-Platens.

We also expanded our product lines to a 134-page catalog.

In 1983, Tempco purchased two 18-station filling machines, one 8-station rolling mill, one 12-station rolling mill and a coil welding machine and began producing Tubular Heaters in-house.

Also, the foundry established the sand operation to manufacture cast-in heaters with sand molds.
Our first annealing furnace was purchased the following year.

Fermin Sr. worked diligently to purchase property in Wood Dale, Illinois, and to have it zoned for manufacturing. In 1987, ground was broken to build our current world headquarters consisting of 130,000 square feet at 607 North Central Avenue.

Today it houses most of our product lines as well as 80% of our office staff.

The following year, Tempco expanded our product lines to a 292-page catalog.

Tempco purchased another heater company, Thermel, and began manufacturing Ceramic E-mitters at that facility.

Ceramic Infrared Heaters are durable and long-lasting heaters with options that include curved- or flat-face, solid or insulated, metamorphing color to indicate heater is in operation, and multiple industry-standard sizes.

Fermin Adames, Sr. was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young (Arthur Young & Company at the time), a distinguished Chicago accounting firm.

“Fermin Adames, president of Tempco Electric Heater Corp. of Wood Dale, won the Big Eight accounting firm’s ‘minority entrepreneur’ of the year award.”

To celebrate 25 years in business, Tempco held a party at the Field Museum in Chicago.
The first modern version of the “Visionary Solutions Catalog” was published, expanding our product lines to 672 pages.

In 1998, a second manufacturing facility and office of approximately 44,000 square feet was built across the street from the current building. Plant II was designed to house the Ceramic Infrared department and Temperature Sensors that require temperature and humidity control.

Tempco applied for and was granted a patent for our Cast Aluminum Motor Housing and Base with Integral Liquid Cool Capabilities.

It is used for medium to large horsepower electric motors in industrial applications.

Space in Plant II was utilized to establish the Silicone Rubber Heater department in-house.
The versatility of these flexible heaters has made them one of our most popular product lines across multiple industries for countless applications including freeze protection, 3D printer components, image processing, medical and scientific equipment components and food warming equipment.

In 2005, our product lines expanded to an 864-page catalog.

In 2006, Tempco purchased our first Waterjet. Initially used to cut silicone rubber foam material, Tempco explored other uses for it and began cutting custom sheet metal and plate parts as well as ceramic wool insulation, rubber gaskets and control panels.

Tempco received ISO 9001:2008 certification — a quality management system and standard trusted worldwide. This effort included documenting manufacturing procedures, recording employee job descriptions and establishing documentation protocol. Today, we remain current with ISO 9001:2015 certification.

For Christmas, the production managers gave a stone statue of an American Bald Eagle to Fermin Sr. The Eagle represents courage and strength — characteristics Fermin exemplified in his life.

The Groundhog’s Day blizzard that hit Chicagoland in 2011 temporarily shut down Tempco for two days. Over a span of three days, upwards of 20 inches of snow fell and visibility was low. Along with high winds, there was thunder and lightning.

Snow had to be cleared away from the building because of how high it had drifted during the storm.

Employees worked together diligently to make sure the building was safe to re-open.

In January 2012, Tempco’s founder, Fermin Adames, Sr., passed away suddenly.

As Fermin Alan, his son, stepped into the role of company president, Tempco celebrated 40 years in business.

With Fermin’s leadership we continued moving forward, starting with attendance at the National Plastics Exposition (NPE) in Orlando, Florida — the first time the trade show was held anywhere but McCormick Place in Chicago since 1971.

We published a 40th anniversary edition of the “Visionary Solutions Catalog,” expanding our product lines to 960 pages.

This is the most comprehensive catalog Tempco has published with over 100 distinct product lines. It includes additional product specifications, the latest product options and an extensive collection of custom product examples.

In January 2018, Tempco launched a new website to serve our customers better. It features simpler navigation, a site-wide search function, request for quote forms and product specifications straight out of the catalog.

Our blog was launched the following year. We are excited to bring you stories about Tempco, product technical data and case studies demonstrating our real-world industrial application solutions.

When the world shut down in early spring of 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Tempco stayed open and fully operational to fulfill the needs of the essential industries that we serve. We manufacture products used for medical devices, medical supplies, food service, transportation, additive manufacturing and energy.

Despite the many challenges of the pandemic, Tempco employees worked together to raise money to support the local Bensenville and Wood Dale Food Pantry.

We proudly celebrated 50 years in business with over 500 employees in attendance.
We experienced a record growth of nearly 30% year-over-year in 2022. Our business strategy of domestic production, vertical integration and using local suppliers has continued to sustain us during a challenging year.

We have continued to invest in our people, processes and machinery with an eye towards the future and continued service to industry.