About Us
Our Promise
Backer Marathon is the industry leader in production speed, and reliable, quality heaters for plastics and packaging, serving OEMs with durable, customized solutions for unique heating needs. Backer Marathon designs, manufactures, and stocks industrial-grade heating elements and temperature sensors.
OEMs in the plastics and packaging industries rely on our vast and customizable product lines for their diverse heating needs. Even industries as niche as golf utilize our heating technology expertise to craft the precision heat needed for manufacturing golf balls.
Our loyal customers have come to know that we anticipate their needs because we actively search for solutions. This is reflected in our advanced quality planning (AQP) lens focused on all that we do. It allows us to be nimble, congruent, and efficient with processes and production. We and our customers benefit from this lean, lessons-learned perspective for each new—or existing—project we successfully execute.
Our History
Marathon Heater, Inc. began in 1996 with three employees and one product: cartridge heaters. Our commitment to customer service and engineering brought rapid growth. In 2002, we were selected by Inc. Magazine as one of the 500 fastest growing privately held companies in the United States.
Backer Marathon manufactures high-quality industrial heaters, along with other heating elements, for the overseas market. Heaters include:
- Swaged, Non-Swaged and Square Cartridge Heaters
- Mica and Starflex Band Heaters
- Mica, Ceramic, and Starflex Strip Heaters
- Silicone Rubber Heaters
- Air Heaters
- Coil Heaters
- Box Heaters
- Flexible Tubular Heaters
Backer Marathon grew to employ over 160 people, situated in our 40,000-square-foot headquarters in Texas. In April 2015, Marathon Heater, Inc. was consolidated into NIBE, an international heating technology company based out of Sweden. Marathon continues to run our operations and provide service for our customers under the name Backer Marathon, Inc.
Through the NIBE acquisition, Backer Marathon joined various sister companies that now comprise the Backer North America Group. The combined business divisions employ approximately 2,200 people with headquarters in Texas, Tennessee, and Mexico. With over 100 years of experience in heating component technologies, the Backer Group forms collaborative partnerships with customers to resolve all heating challenges and new product development needs through engineer design, testing, and value-added capabilities.
Backer North America is a division of the public Swedish company NIBE AB, which is one of the largest electric heating solution providers in the world. With approximately USD $1.5 billion in sales, 9,000 employees, and 70 companies across four continents, NIBE has been growing and expanding steadily to become the global leader in heating technology since 1952.
We share the common goal of proudly meeting customer needs with our sister companies, which include:
NIBE Element Railway Solutions
Our Future … Together
We believe in hard work, creative engineering, and excellent customer service. Whether you need one piece or one thousand, Backer Marathon is committed to providing you with exactly what you need when you need it. As we innovate and lead the industry with unparalleled engineering and customer service, we look forward to helping you continue to grow with us. Contact us today to discuss your next project—we’d love to help you succeed.
