Custom Electric Manufacturing to merge into Kanthal

Published 23 Sep 2020

Custom Electric Manufacturing was acquired by Sweden-based Kanthal in 2018 and will now go to market under the Kanthal brand. The transition will be effective as of January 1, 2021.

Caption Jon Hartmayer, Sales Area Manager NAFTA at KanthalCustom Electric Manufacturing (CEM) will as of January 1, 2021 be fully integrated into Kanthal. According to Jon Hartmayer, Sales Area Manager NAFTA at Kanthal, going to market under the same brand will come with benefits for their customers: “CEM customers will get access to the complete portfolio of Kanthal products and services which means that they will get more done with one supplier. For Kanthal customers it means added resources and a better geographical spread of our service organization.”

The background to the acquisition is that Kanthal has the ambition to strengthen its footprint in the North American market. “CEM is known for providing excellent service and this is a way for us to get closer to the market and being able to serve more customers, faster”, Hartmayer says.

Headquartered in Wixom, Michigan, CEM has been supplying original equipment and replacement heating elements for both electric and gas furnaces for more than 35 years.

Caption Victor Strauss, Vice President and Director of Operations at CEMVictor Strauss, Vice President and Director of Operations at CEM, says that the companies have co-existed for decades, both as competitors and partners. “The business model of CEM has been more about providing services and customized solutions rather than product development. In fact, we’ve often used Kanthal products in our solutions so there was already an overlap. Our design skills and excellent service together with the industry-leading R&D that Kanthal stands for, make a perfect match and will give our customers access to some of the world’s best heating solutions.”

Kanthal and CEM will exhibit at the Furnaces North America 2020 Virtual Trade Show where both Jon Hartmayer and Victor Strauss together with their sales and engineering team will be available to answer questions.

For further information, contact Jon Hartmayer, Sales Area Manager NAFTA, Kanthal, tel: 1-209-728-7971, or Victor Strauss, Vice President and Director of Operations, CEM, tel: 1-248 305-7700.