Tempco Blog articles

Special dry coolers, when electrical safety becomes a part of the design

24/10/2025

Tempco has been recently working on several projects involving the construction of custom-designed dry coolers. A special attention is in particular paid to ensure the compliance with the electrical safety regulations for this type of cooling device. In this case, electrical safety becomes an integral part of the dry cooler design.

Air exchangers – or dry coolers – are often seen as ‘simple’ devices: a finned coil with fans that ensure heat dissipation. In fact, getting closer to the actual needs of the systems, requirements immediately emerge that make these systems anything but standard.

Image showing a system with free coolers for heat dissipation in industrial production.

A key issue are electrical and ventilation regulations, which vary depending on the type of industry and geographical area of destination:

  • explosive environments, which require ATEX fans;
  • applications subject to IN METRO regulations, internationally;
  • UL compliance requirements, required for North American markets.

These are all situations in which the dry cooler can no longer be considered a standard product, but rather a custom project, designed for the specific needs of the customer and the process.

Tempco’s versatility lies precisely here: a flexible approach that allows us to integrate special fans and motors, complying with various regulations and ensuring maximum operational safety. Because behind what appears to be ‘just a fan’, in reality lies the key to ensure operations of an entire system safely, reliably, and compliant with industry regulations.

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The importance of rolls preheating in steel rolling processes

17/10/2025

In steel rolling processes, temperature plays a fundamental role in the quality of the finished product and the efficiency of the entire plant. An often overlooked, yet crucial, aspect is preheating the rolls before starting the rolling process. Tempco manufactures electric heating units specifically designed for this application, ensuring optimal performance and longer component life.

Immagine illustrativa del processo di laminazione dell'acciaio dove è fondametale il presiscaldamento dei rulli
Why preheat rolling rolls?

  1. Thermal shock reduction. Rolling rolls are subject to rapid temperature changes when they come into contact with the red-hot metal. Adequate preheating reduces thermal stress, preventing cracks, deformations, and premature wear.
  2. Increased dimensional stability. Temperature variations affect the expansion of the rolls, potentially causing misalignment and defects in the rolled product. Maintaining the rolls at a uniform temperature before starting the lamination process ensures more precise rolling and reduces production waste.
  3. Product surface quality. A roll with uneven temperature can cause imperfections on the surface of rolled steel, such as marks or waviness. Preheating ensures more uniform contact and a high-quality finishing.
  4. Optimized energy efficiency. Without preheating, the initial contact between the cold roll and the hot metal leads to heat dissipation and increased energy requirements to maintain the suitable operating temperatures. Preheating units reduce this heat loss, improving process efficiency.

Immagine che mostra una centralina di riscaldamento per il preriscaldamento dei rulli nella laminazione dell'acciaio

Tempco Solutions: Electric Heating Units
Tempco designs and manufactures electric heating units specifically for preheating rolling mill rolls.
These systems offer:

  • Precise temperature control, with automated adjustment
  • Uniform heat distribution, avoiding temperature differences along the roll
  • Reduced start-up times, increasing plant productivity
  • Compact and efficient design, with customized solutions based on customer needs

The adoption of Tempco control units therefore represents a strategic investment for rolling mills aiming to improve reliability, product quality, and operational sustainability.

Immagine che mostra le connessioni in una centralina di riscaldamento per preriscaldamento dei rulli nella laminazione dell'acciaio

 

Steel, rolling, rollers, finishing, solid temperature, temperature control, automation, reliability, steel industry, heating, preheating, heating units, Tempco, surface quality, dimensional stability, energy efficiency, energy saving, operational efficiency,

Illustrative image of the steel rolling process where preheating of the rolls is essential.

Image showing a heating unit for preheating the rolls in steel rolling.
Image showing the connections in a heating unit for preheating the rolls in steel rolling.

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Conching and thermoregulation to perfect chocolate’s flavor

10/10/2025

If chocolate had a soul, it would be shaped during conching. In chocolate processing, conching is a central and crucial step in imparting character and distinctiveness to the quality of the finished product. Here, as in other processing steps, a precise temperature regulation is essential.

This process is a slow, steady dance, in which the cocoa mass is processed at temperatures between 50 and 70°C for hours or days. During conching, heat and constant movement help remove volatile acids, which are responsible for unwanted flavors, and further refine the texture. During this step, thermoregulation units are essential for maintaining a uniform and stable temperature throughout the process, avoiding fluctuations that could compromise the final result.

Immagine che illustra la fase di concaggio del cioccolato, dove le centraline di termoregolazione mantengono il livello di calore necessario a determinare l'anima e il gusto del prodotto finale

Precise temperature control also optimizes processing time and ensures that the chocolate develops that rounded, complex flavor we love so much. Chocolate conching is therefore another crucial step in ensuring the excellent quality, balanced aroma, and irresistible texture of the final product.

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PCHE heat exchangers for the energy transition market

03/10/2025

MicroChannel Devices, Tempco’s partner for PCHE printed circuit heat exchangers projects, was a guest at the Venice Film Festival in early September, where CEO Alessandro Vaiarelli spoke about the company’s founding. In particular, Vaiarelli offered a virtuous example of sustainability storytelling at the event ‘Energy and digital transition towards smart and sustainable cities’.

The green transition and energy efficiency are key themes underlying MicroChannel Devices’ technological offering, making the company an iconic example of the ongoing shift toward sustainable innovation paradigms for the future of everyone – companies, manufacturing, and communities.

As CEO Alessandro Vaiarelli explains, MicroChannel Devices is an innovative SME founded in 2020 as a spin-off and evolution of the family business STV, leveraging the expertise and experience built over 60 years in the automotive and electronics sectors. Vaiarelli then lucidly illustrates how Italian companies can regenerate themselves by investing in innovation, which in the case of MicroChannel Devices meant specializing in the development and production of microchanneled devices that find their ideal application in the energy transition market.

Specifically, thanks to the valuable synergy and collaboration with Tempco, the company produces PCHE exchangers (printed circuit heat exchangers) using innovative technologies such as diffusion bonding, or solid-state welding, which produces a heat transfer pack with extremely high structural strength, and a process called chemical etching, a photochemical etching technique similar to that used in electronics for chip production. This process in particular allows for the creation of heat transfer circuits with extremely high thermal transfer efficiency, with highly customized layouts and the possibility of building exchangers even in multi-stream mode.

The characteristics offered by these innovative plate heat exchangers make them the ideal technological solution for all new applications in the hydrogen supply chain, in nuclear energy with fourth-generation Small Modular Reactors, as well as for cold plates in direct-to-chip liquid cooling for data centers that will serve future artificial intelligence applications, as well as in the oil & gas and LNG sectors.

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Chillers at -20°C for custom reactors thermoregulation in pharmaceutical industry

26/09/2025

Tempco recently completed a project that makes us particularly proud: we recently delivered and successfully started up two 120 kW water-cooled chillers for a leading pharmaceutical company.

These refrigerating units operate at -20° C, ensuring temperature control of the reactors used in the production of active ingredients. This is a critical application requiring reliability, precision, and operational continuity.

The project was completed in record time: four months from order confirmation to delivery, with commissioning that was achieved smoothly. This result further confirms the Tempco team’s commitment to supporting the pharmaceutical industry with customized, efficient, and reliable solutions.

The image shows a typical reactor in the pharmaceutical industry, for which Tempco has built two chillers operating at -20°C for the production of active ingredients.

 

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IPE, new website for thermoregulation services and technologies specialist

19/09/2025

Tempco is pleased to present the new website for IPE, a company based in Pedrengo (Italian province of Bergamo), with which Tempco has enjoyed a long-standing partnership dating back over 20 years. I.P.E. Assistenza Service is a company specializing in the production and installation of thermoregulations units, providing cutting-edge components and technologies such as centrifugal and peripheral pumps, plate heat exchangers, shell and tube exchangers, and finned heat exchangers, electric heaters, and a variety of temperature control and thermoregulation instruments.

Thanks to a team of professionals with extensive experience in temperature control and thermoregulation applications in the process industry, the company also provides highly qualified technical support services, consulting on the best temperature control solutions for individual needs, spare parts sales, repairs, customization, and retrofitting of systems and machinery.

Immagine che ripropone la schermata di home page del nuovo sito di IPE, società di Tempco che realizza impianti di termoregolazione e offre assistenza e service
The strong synergy built and developed over many years of close collaboration has led to acquisition of IPE by Tempco, in order to ensure an even more efficient service and increasingly timely and personalized consulting for companies with their temperature control applications, pursuing maximum energy and process efficiency in every industrial sector.

We invite you to discover all of IPE’s services and offerings on the company’s revamped website, at https://ipe.tempco.it/.

 

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Thermoregulation in chocolate refining

12/09/2025

Thermoregulation in chocolate production is crucial and requires great care throughout all stages of the process. After discussing the cocoa bean roasting stage, the next step involves processing the cocoa mass to make it smooth and uniform, a phase that is also called refining.

The refining step is essentially a massage for the chocolate, intended to make it velvety on the palate. During this stage, the cocoa mass is finely ground, reducing the particles to microscopic size to eliminate graininess. To do this, it is essential to keep the mass at a constant temperature, around 50°C, which facilitates processing and reduces viscosity.

Image showing the chocolate refining phase, where thermoregulation is crucial.

During this crucial stage of chocolate processing, thermoregulation units ensure the right amount of heat is applied without overheating the product, which could otherwise lose its precious organoleptic properties. Furthermore, precise temperature regulation helps improve machinery efficiency, reducing energy consumption and production times. It is at this stage that the chocolate begins to take shape, promising unique goodness and consistent quality.

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PCHE exchangers for green energy transition at Gastech 2025 in Milan

04/09/2025

Tempco will be participating with Microchannel Devices at Gastech 2025, taking place from September 9th to 12th at Fiera Milano, where we will showcase our PCHE exchangers technology for hydrogen value chain applications and other innovative clean energy solutions.

Gastech is the leading international event dedicated to natural gas, hydrogen, carbon capture, and energy transition technologies. The four-day event will bring together 50,000 energy professionals from over 150 countries, showcasing the latest innovations and cutting-edge technology solutions from over 1,000 exhibitors and 1,000 industry experts. All this to create a dynamic ecosystem focused on green innovation and energy sustainability.

Immagine illustrativa della partecipazione di Tempco e Microchannel Devices alla Gastech 2025 di Milano

Microchannel Devices, along with Tempco, will showcase its PCHE heat exchangers solutions, designed for high-efficiency applications in critical environments. The unique diffusion bonding manufacturing process allows these exchangers to offer excellent resistance to extreme temperatures and pressures. The chemical etching method used to create the heat exchange circuits on the exchanger’s plates allows for highly efficient heat transfer solutions customized to specific process requirements, including multi-stream operation for interstage cooling.

At the Microchannel Devices booth, it will be also possible to discover a scale model of the PCHE exchanger built for Rosetti Marino, the first example of a PCHE exchanger designed for lethal service in the oil and gas sector, already installed on an offshore platform.

Image showing the PCHE exchanger made by Tempco and Microchannel Devices for Rosetti Marino in lethal service for the oil and gas sector.

Tempco looks forward to seeing you at Gastech in Milan, at the Microchannel Devices booth in Hall 18, space I110, to illustrate all the potential and advantages offered by PCHE exchangers for high-performance applications in the fields of green energy, advanced thermal engineering, and integration into future oil and gas systems.

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Static relays VD remote switches in thermoregulation units

25/07/2025

Let’s speak about static relays VS remote switches, that is, the control of equipments using static relays instead of remote switches. This is a typical application that we employ on our Tempco thermoregulation units in order to control the resistors, which are the heating components.

That’s because, as already explained in the past, to have a very fine and accurate thermoregulation is very important for a variety of industrial sectors, ensuring a very precise intervention set-point on determined industrial production processes. Whether this processes are related to pharma, plastics and rubber, test benches, and in general, industrial sectors requiring a very accurate control of the temperature set-point.

In the past, it was common to employ remote switches to turn on and off the heating resistors. But remote switches, being electromechanical components, have some limits due to the fact that there are some electromechanical contacts responsible for turning on and off the power of the resistors, involving therefore a series of on and off cycles.

These on and off cycles generate a wear of the contacts and on the medium-long term the breakage and failure on the remote switch of the resistors.

This problem can then be solved by using static relays which are electric relays that do not have electromechanical contacts and therefore with no wear issues and allowing very quick on and off cycles, with no wear or idle time, thus providing a very accurate control of the temperature.

We employ them as a standard solution on diathermic oil thermoregulating units which involve very high temperature levels. But with their actual low cost, this is a solution that we employ also on lower power units, where all in all even a remote control switch or a relay could be sufficient. But a static relay offer some advantages in terms of safety and temperature regulation precision that really are undeniable.

 

 

 

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Thermoregulation in cocoa bean roasting

18/07/2025

We’ve previously discussed the importance of heat management and the use of thermoregulation units in chocolate production. This fascinating and thermally sensitive production process involves a multitude of chocolate processing steps that require precise and accurate temperature control to achieve a high-quality product.

The overall production starts with the roasting process, the first step in transforming cocoa beans into chocolate. It’s during this crucial phase that the product’s characteristic aromas develop, when the beans are heated to temperatures between 110 and 160°C. This is a highly delicate step, as each cocoa variety requires very specific temperatures to fully release its aromatic potential without burning.

Illustrative image of the importance of temperature control and Tempco thermoregulation in the cocoa bean roasting phase, the first step in chocolate production.

This is where Tempco‘s temperature control units are employed, ensuring precise temperature control, preventing sudden changes that could ruin the product and compromise the entire manufacturing process. Furthermore, maintaining a stable temperature throughout the roasting phase helps preserve the cocoa’s nutritional and organoleptic properties. Perfect roasting, enabled by precise temperature control, is the foundation for creating high-quality chocolate that can compete on the market.

We will soon dedicate further articles to the subsequent phases, and the temperature control applications required for the refining, conching, tempering, and shaping with final cooling, respectively.

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TEMPCO researches and develops systems and solutions for cooling, heating, control temperature and heat exchange in different industrial processes.

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