Without effective thermal protection, it would not be possible to use our household appliances safely. Because wherever electricity flows, excessive heat can quickly build up. And in the worst case scenario, this can lead to a fire, for example if a hairdryer overheats. But how can such heat protection be implemented in practice? Thermik Gerätebau GmbH has been providing an answer to this question for decades with its innovative PTC thermistors, which seem to have won over the market.
Anyone who uses electrical appliances such as a mixer or kitchen ventilation probably doesn’t think about issues such as heat generation. And they don’t have to, because manufacturers have already done this and installed solutions for overheating protection. Practically every appliance therefore has thermal protectors. On average, there are around 50 of them in every household. It is therefore an important product that manufacturers such as BOSCH, Kärcher and ebm-papst install in their appliances in their millions. From the manufacturer’s point of view, these components also represent a cost factor, which must be limited just as much as the temperatures. Thermik wants to help them do this with the latest generation of PTC thermistors and customised products.
PTC thermistors fulfil an important function
Thermal protectors are components that implement the thermal protection that is vital for household appliances. Thermik is therefore active in an industry that is directly related to consumer safety. And the company is aware of this responsibility. After all, the failure of even a single PTC thermistors could have fatal consequences for the user. This perhaps explains why Thermik is still tirelessly researching how to improve its own products 55 years after it was founded. Aspects such as reliability, performance and miniaturisation are at the forefront of this. But what exactly does a thermal protector do?
PTC thermistors are basically sensors with temperature-dependent resistors. PTC thermistors is another name for them. The decisive feature is the positive temperature coefficient. If the temperatures are low, the PTC thermistor conducts better. At high temperatures, however, the electrical current is clearly limited. And this is exactly what matters when the heat development of household appliances gets out of hand.
What sounds like a simple function in principle is linked to a number of detailed problems in practice. For example, is the component small enough to be installed in a specific device? Are the costs low enough so that the product can still be offered at a competitive price? Thermik adapts to the various customer requirements and aims to supply each thermal protector with a suitable cut to size. And this concept seems to be working, as the figures published by the company show. Over three billion Thermik thermal protectors are in use worldwide.
Things didn’t always run so smoothly
Thermik’s company history shows that great entrepreneurial success in the present day does not always have to be the result of linear development. In fact, the company found itself in an existential crisis at the beginning of the 2000s. Following disputes within the company management and the departure of Marcel P. Hofsaess, Thermik focussed too much on products from the past and neglected research. It was only when the son of founder Peter Hofsaess managed to skilfully return to the helm of the company in 2006 that growth picked up again. The secret to the success of the company, which has been in existence since 1968, can be summarised simply: Innovation. Marcel P. Hofsaess inherits his father’s inventive spirit and is responsible for a large number of patent applications. They help Thermik to stay one step ahead of the competition. Or, as Marcel P. Hofsaess puts it: “Protecting innovation through patents and industrial property rights also gives Thermik a technological edge over others.”
The strengths in development drive the business
With its PTC thermistors, Thermik contributes to consumer safety while at the same time helping its customers to remain competitive. This is achieved, for example, through exclusive developments that are customised to the respective requirements. Thermik therefore does not offer off-the-shelf products, but instead responds to individual customer needs. This makes it possible, for example, to better adapt to the respective production processes or to increase the performance of the thermal protectors. It is worthwhile for customers to agree a specification sheet with such customised developments. This is because the life cycles of the resulting products are very long at 20 years.
However, this does not mean that all developments at Thermik are made exclusively for a specific customer. The company also conducts research on a broad basis, which repeatedly leads to innovations that can be realised in exciting products. One of the strengths of the company’s own PTC thermistors is their high temperature sensitivity and the low mass of the components. This is also a key distinguishing feature compared to competing products on the market.
PTC thermistors: a product with many areas of application
Thermik focuses on the quality of its PTC thermistors. Independent scientific laboratories such as the Fraunhofer Institute repeatedly confirm this in comparative tests. Marcel P. Hofsaess proudly points out that the company performs better than the competition “and by a wide margin”. One of the special features of Thermik is that in the event of a complaint, every single affected component ends up on the Managing Director’s desk. However, there are not many, as the company explains.
There are many possible applications for PTC thermistors of such high quality. These include practically all areas in which digital temperature measurement is required. The food and aerospace industries and manufacturers in the automotive sector, for example, are interested in Thermik’s products. PTC thermistors can be found in ovens, fire detectors and industrial and medical electronics. In addition to switching off the load circuit, these components are also useful for electronic analyses.
Energy transition hardly conceivable without PTC thermistors
For a company like Thermik, the course was always clearly set for growth. From the end of the 1970s, the company built up a Europe-wide sales network, and a production plant was set up in the USA in 1984. With the founding of Thermik Thüringen GmbH, Thermik became the first West German medium-sized company in the East even before reunification. The company establishes further production plants in Malaysia, for example. By now, at the latest, it is possible to speak of a globally active medium-sized company. In 1998, the company presents the world’s first thermal protectors in which all work steps are fully automated. To this day, Thermik has repeatedly succeeded in winning important innovation awards such as the TOP 100. But what could growth look like in the future and where could new demand for PTC thermistors arise? The answer lies in the energy and mobility transition.
This is because electric motors, wind turbines, charging stations and solar panels are also dependent on effective overheating protection. They all play an important role in the transformation of the economy and society towards a state in which CO2 emissions and the burning of fossil fuels play a lesser role and may eventually no longer play a role. This opens up immense opportunities for a company like Thermik. After all, environmental technologies play a role worldwide.
In principle, we are dealing with a large number of technologies that are at risk of overheating in the field of renewable energies and e-mobility. Heat pumps or systems in hydrogen production are all dependent on effective temperature protection. Thermik sees it as a challenge to supply the necessary components and to be able to react appropriately to the increase in demand. The company is already focussing on this today. Exciting topics include, battery monitoring, robotics and the protection of systems for the production of circuit boards and semiconductors. With its business model based strictly on innovation, Thermik appears to be well positioned for this.
