PRE-heat Inc

10/30/2026

The Hidden Energy Opportunity in Manufacturing

Manufacturers invest millions in automation, lighting upgrades, controls, and process improvements to reduce operating costs and improve efficiency.

Those investments matter.

But one of the largest energy-saving opportunities may already be leaving the facility through the exhaust stack.

Every day, manufacturers pay to heat ovens, dryers, thermal oxidizers, and other production processes. After that heat has done its job, a significant portion is often exhausted to the atmosphere.

In many facilities, heated air is leaving the building while fresh air is simultaneously being brought in and heated from scratch.

The result? Companies may be paying for the same energy twice.
That's why waste heat recovery continues to gain attention as one of the most practical ways to reduce fuel consumption and improve sustainability performance.

By capturing heat from exhaust air and transferring it to incoming make-up air or process air, manufacturers can:

- Lower energy costs
- Reduce natural gas consumption
- Increase overall process efficiency
- Support sustainability and decarbonization goals

The strongest opportunities are typically found in facilities with:

- High operating hours
- Elevated exhaust temperatures
- Large airflow volumes
- Significant heating demands

The reality is that many plants don't have an energy generation problem. They have an energy retention problem.

Before investing in the next efficiency project, it may be worth asking a simple question:

How much valuable energy is leaving the facility every day?

The answer could reveal one of the largest untapped opportunities for cost savings and operational improvement.

Let's Start a Conversation

Where is heat leaving your facility today?

🔹 Ovens
🔹 Dryers
🔹 Thermal Oxidizers (RTOs)
🔹 Process Exhaust Systems
🔹 Make-Up Air Units

Share your thoughts in the comments or send me a message. You may be surprised by how much value is hiding in your exhaust stream.

10/29/2026

Where Heat Recovery Delivers the Fastest ROI in Manufacturing

As energy costs rise and sustainability goals become more important, many manufacturers are overlooking one of the most valuable resources already available in their facilities: waste heat.

Every day, industrial processes discharge heated air through exhaust systems, thermal oxidizers, dryers, and ventilation equipment. In many cases, that energy has already been paid for but is simply released into the atmosphere.

The good news? Heat recovery systems can capture that energy and put it back to work.

Where the Biggest Opportunities Exist

1. Process Exhaust Systems

Industrial ovens, curing systems, paint lines, food processing equipment, and other process exhaust streams often operate continuously, making them ideal candidates for heat recovery.
Why it works:

- High operating hours
- Elevated temperatures
- Large airflow volumes

2. Thermal Oxidizers & RTOs

Thermal Oxidizers and RTOs are essential for emissions control, but they also generate significant recoverable energy. Captured heat can be used to preheat makeup air, reduce natural gas consumption, and improve overall plant efficiency.

3. Industrial Dryers

Drying operations in food, dairy, paper, wood products, and other industries are among the most energy-intensive processes in manufacturing. Recovering heat from exhaust air can significantly reduce operating costs.

4. Make-Up Air Systems

Facilities continuously replacing exhausted air often spend thousands heating incoming fresh air. Heat recovery helps reduce fuel usage, lower winter heating costs, and improve sustainability performance.

What Makes a Heat Recovery Project Successful?

The best opportunities typically share three characteristics:

- High operating hours
- High exhaust temperatures
- Large airflow volumes

When all three exist, payback periods are often much shorter than expected.

Where is heat leaving your facility today, and how much of it could be recovered?

Ovens • Dryers • RTOs • Process Exhaust • Make-Up Air Systems

HeatRecovery

10/23/2026

WEEE 2026: Energy Efficiency Continues to Move from Cost Center to Competitive Advantage

In addition to exhibiting, we had the opportunity to present on practical heat recovery strategies for industrial energy efficiency and decarbonization.

Yesterday at WEEE 2026 in Madison, one message came through loud and clear:

Energy efficiency is no longer just about reducing utility costs.

It's about improving competitiveness, strengthening resilience, supporting sustainability goals, and maximizing the value of every unit of energy consumed.

For manufacturers, that creates significant opportunities to look beyond traditional efficiency measures and examine where energy is being lost throughout their operations.

In many facilities, valuable thermal energy is still being exhausted from:

• Process exhaust systems

• Drying operations

• Boilers and steam systems

• Ovens and thermal processing equipment

• HVAC exhaust streams

At PRE-heat, we continue to see waste heat recovery as one of the most overlooked opportunities for improving facility performance while reducing fuel consumption and emissions.

A big thank you to the Wisconsin Association of Energy Engineers (WAEE) for hosting another excellent event and creating an environment where energy professionals can share ideas, challenges, and solutions.

What do you think will have the biggest impact on industrial energy efficiency over the next five years: waste heat recovery, electrification, AI-driven optimization, or something else?

10/23/2026

PACK EXPO 2026: The Biggest Efficiency Opportunity Might Already Be in Your Facility

The biggest efficiency opportunity at PACK EXPO Chicago wasn't necessarily a new piece of equipment.

It may already exist inside your facility.

One theme came up repeatedly in conversations across food processing, packaging, printing, converting, and chemical manufacturing:

- Rising energy costs
- Pressure to improve margins
- Sustainability goals
- Aging thermal systems

Many manufacturers are searching for ways to increase efficiency, yet valuable thermal energy continues to leave facilities every day through ovens, dryers, thermal oxidizers, boilers, and other process equipment.
That energy has already been paid for, yet much of it leaves the facility unused.

The question is whether it's being used to its full potential.

For many facilities, waste heat recovery represents one of the largest untapped efficiency opportunities because it allows thermal energy that would otherwise be exhausted to be captured and reused throughout the process, helping reduce:

✅ Natural gas consumption
✅ Operating costs
✅ Carbon emissions

PACK EXPO showcased incredible advances in automation and process optimization, but some of the most impactful efficiency improvements come from recovering energy that's already being generated.

Where do you think manufacturers are losing the greatest amount of recoverable energy today: ovens, dryers, thermal oxidizers, boilers, or somewhere else?

10/14/2026

AI Is Driving a Data Center Boom. Are We Wasting the Heat It Creates?

As I learn more about the growth of AI infrastructure, I'm becoming convinced that heat recovery will play a much larger role in the future of sustainable computing.

AI, cloud computing, and digital infrastructure are expanding rapidly, and so is the energy required to support them.

But there's an opportunity many organizations overlook:

Nearly every watt consumed by a server eventually becomes heat.

Historically, that heat has been treated as waste and expelled into the atmosphere. Today, innovative companies and communities are finding ways to recover that energy and put it to work.

In Finland, a large-scale heat recovery project is being developed to capture excess heat from data centers and distribute it through district heating networks. The goal is to transform a traditional waste stream into a valuable energy resource.

The implications are significant:

✅ Lower energy costs

✅ Reduced carbon emissions

✅ Improved overall system efficiency

✅ New opportunities for community energy partnerships

As data center construction accelerates worldwide, the question shouldn't be whether these facilities generate excess heat.

The question should be:

How much value are we leaving on the table by not recovering it?

At PRE-heat, we see waste heat as a resource, not a byproduct. As energy costs rise and sustainability goals become more aggressive, heat recovery will continue moving from "nice to have" to a strategic advantage.

At PRE-heat, we're helping manufacturers and facility operators uncover opportunities to turn waste heat into usable energy.

If you'd like to explore what's possible in your facility, let's connect.

10/09/2026

Join the PRE-heat Team

PRE-heat designs and manufactures industrial heat exchangers that help customers recover waste heat, improve energy efficiency, and reduce operating costs.

Our fabrication and welding teams play a critical role in building the equipment that supports these customer solutions.

We are looking for skilled individuals who take pride in quality craftsmanship, teamwork, and continuous improvement.

HIRING SKILLED FABRICATOR WELDERS

What You'll Do

• MIG and TIG weld in all positions on industrial heat exchanger components, meeting specifications and quality standards

• Fabricate and assemble metal structures and components

• Read and interpret blueprints, weld symbols, and written and verbal instructions

• Work with fabricators, engineers, and quality staff to build it right the first time

• Follow safety procedures and help keep the shop clean and safe

Search for jobs hiring in your area using ZipRecruiter's job search engine - the best way to find a job. Find jobs hiring near you and apply with just 1 click.

08/31/2026

Built on Trust, Driven by Teamwork, Powered by People

At PRE-heat, our people are the foundation of everything we do.

As a family-owned company, we've built our culture around the values that matter most: trust, respect, accountability, and teamwork. Every member of our team plays a vital role in helping customers solve complex thermal and heat transfer challenges.

From engineering and project management to fabrication, service, and customer support, our employees bring decades of experience, innovation, and dedication to every project.

More importantly, they bring a shared commitment to treating customers, partners, and one another like family.

We take pride in fostering an environment where collaboration thrives, ideas are welcomed, and success is celebrated together. The result is a team that is passionate about delivering exceptional solutions and building lasting relationships.

Get to know the people behind PRE-heat and discover the expertise, values, and commitment that drive our success every day.

Visit our Company page: https://www.pre-heat.com/company/

We design and deliver equipment that saves energy and exceeds your performance and quality expectations.

07/24/2026

PRE-heat was at the ribbon cutting ceremony at Fresh Meals On Wheels of Sheboygan County, Inc. yesterday for their new Willow Creek Preserve Overlook.

We are honored to support an organization that has been making a difference in our community since 1970, providing home-delivered meals, wellness checks, and meaningful social connections for seniors, individuals with disabilities, and homebound residents throughout Sheboygan County.

Congratulations to the entire Fresh Meals On Wheels team on this exciting addition and for the incredible impact you continue to make every day.

If you're curious to see how our donated pieces turned out from this year's JUNE-A-PALOOZA, check out the photos below! A special thank you to the talented artists whose creativity and dedication brought these pieces to life. We are grateful to have been a small part of such a wonderful community effort.

07/22/2026

Celebrating 40 Years of PRE-Heat

Today, PRE-Heat is proud to celebrate our annual employee cookout and recognize a remarkable milestone 40 years of serving our customers and communities.

As we reflect on the past four decades, we are filled with gratitude for the people who have made this journey possible. We extend our heartfelt thanks to our dedicated employees, loyal customers, trusted partners, and suppliers who have contributed to the success of PRE-Heat over the years.

As a second-generation, family-owned American manufacturer, we remain committed to the values that have guided us since day one: hard work, integrity, quality craftsmanship, and treating people with respect. These Midwest values are at the heart of everything we do and continue to shape the way we serve our customers and support one another as a team.

We are especially proud that our products are designed and manufactured in the USA, supporting American jobs and delivering the quality and reliability our customers have come to expect for 40 years.

While today is an opportunity to celebrate our history, it is also an opportunity to look ahead. Through innovation, dedication, and strong relationships, we are excited about the future and the opportunities that lie before us.

Thank you for being part of the PRE-Heat family. Here's to the next 40 years of American manufacturing excellence, Midwest values, and continued success together.

07/14/2026

The People Behind PRE-heat

At PRE-heat, we build more than heat exchangers.

We build solutions to some of industry's toughest thermal challenges and that starts with our people.

Every custom heat recovery system we design, fabricate, and deliver is the result of collaboration between engineering, manufacturing, project management, sales, and customer support teams. From initial concept to final installation, every project reflects the knowledge, craftsmanship, and dedication of the people behind it.

What makes PRE-heat special isn't just our products. It's our culture.

✅ Problem-solving over shortcuts
✅ Quality over compromise
✅ Continuous improvement
✅ Customer-focused innovation
✅ A commitment to doing things the right way

For more than 40 years, we've helped manufacturers recover energy, improve efficiency, and lower operating costs. That success is built on the expertise and hard work of our team members who show up every day ready to tackle new challenges.

Whether it's designing a custom heat exchanger, fabricating complex components, supporting customers, or developing innovative heat recovery solutions, every employee plays a role in our success.

We're proud of the work we do, but we're even more proud of the people who make it possible.

Thank you to the entire PRE-heat team for your dedication, craftsmanship, and commitment to excellence.