INDUSTRIAL FURNACES INSERTEC S.L.

Their core work

Industrial Furnaces Insertec (IFI) is a Spanish manufacturer of industrial furnaces and high-temperature thermal systems, based in the Basque Country — one of Europe's most concentrated heavy manufacturing regions. Their core business is designing and building furnaces used in metal processing and industrial production, where heat management is both the main cost driver and the main source of waste. In their EU project work, they apply this operational knowledge to two complementary problems: optimizing how energy and materials flow through metal manufacturing plants (MEMAN), and recovering the waste heat that industrial furnaces inevitably generate (ETEKINA). They participate as an industrial end-user and technology validation partner rather than as a research lead.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

IFI's two projects trace a logical progression from the inside out: MEMAN (2015-2018) looked at the manufacturing plant as a whole system — how energy and materials flow through a metal production facility — while ETEKINA (2017-2022) zoomed into a specific technology for capturing the heat that escapes from that system. This suggests a strategic shift from broad process optimization toward proprietary thermal recovery technology, which would directly enhance the value of the furnaces IFI manufactures. The trajectory points toward furnaces that are not just efficient by design but actively recapture waste heat — turning their equipment into an integrated energy recovery asset.

IFI appears to be moving toward integrating heat recovery technology into industrial furnace systems, making them a potential partner for projects targeting industrial decarbonization, energy efficiency mandates, or waste heat utilization in heavy manufacturing.

How they like to work

IFI has participated in both projects as a consortium member rather than a coordinator, consistent with the role of an industrial company providing real-world validation and operational expertise to research-led consortia. With 35 unique partners across just 2 projects, they have engaged with unusually large and diverse consortia — suggesting they are comfortable operating within complex multi-partner structures. They are more likely to contribute industrial testbed access, equipment knowledge, and end-user requirements than to lead scientific or technical work packages.

IFI has built a network of 35 unique partners across 10 countries through only two projects, indicating participation in large international consortia. Their Basque Country location connects them naturally to Spain's dense industrial cluster, but their project footprint extends across a broad European geography.

What sets them apart

IFI occupies a specific and commercially useful position: they are an industrial furnace manufacturer that has invested in understanding energy recovery and process efficiency from the inside — not as an academic exercise but as a business-relevant capability. In EU consortia, this makes them a credible industrial end-user and pilot site for thermal technology, which is exactly the kind of partner that transforms a research project into something with demonstrated real-world applicability. For businesses or researchers working on industrial decarbonization, heat recovery, or metal sector efficiency, IFI offers direct access to the furnace systems where such technologies would actually be deployed.

Highlights from their portfolio

• MEMAN
  IFI's largest project (EUR 442,429) and their entry into EU-funded research, addressing the full energy and material flow challenge across metal manufacturing — a sector where IFI's furnaces are a central piece of the production chain.
• ETEKINA
  A focused industrial technology project applying heat pipe technology to recover thermal energy from high-temperature industrial processes — directly relevant to furnace manufacturers seeking to add energy recovery capability to their product lines.