Custom Oxidizer Design & Manufacturing

Kono Kogs, Inc (KKI) designs and builds custom air pollution control equipment, including regenerative thermal oxidizers (RTOs), recuperative thermal oxidizers (TOX), direct fired thermal oxidizers (DTFO/afterburners), catalytic oxidizers, regenerative catalytic oxidizers (RCOs), and VOC concentrators. If your application calls for a new build, we can engineer and manufacture it in-house. If a refurbished oxidizer will meet your compliance requirements and save capital, we’ll tell you.

Custom-engineered for your process

Your process conditions drive the design. KKI engineers work directly with your team to understand airflow, operating temperature, VOC/HAP chemistry, solvent loading, destruction efficiency requirements, facility layout, installation constraints, and future capacity needs. You’ll never get “catalog equipment” with your name on the submittal package. We’ll engineer a new system designed around the way your plant runs.

Built 100% in-house, from fabrication to pre-test

Kono Kogs fabricates custom oxidizer systems at our Green Bay, Wisconsin facility, which gives our team direct control over build quality, schedule, and communication. That same process ownership carries through assembly and pre-testing before shipment, where key sub-systems are checked before the equipment reaches your site. Installation isn’t the time to discover avoidable fit, control, or assembly issues. Pre-testing helps shorten commissioning time and reduce surprises in the field.

Expert installation & commissioning

Our own crews install and commission the systems we build. A named project engineer stays accountable from design through startup, and the installation crew works under that project direction rather than being handed off to a subcontractor network. That structure keeps field decisions closer to the people who designed the equipment. It also gives your plant team a clearer chain of communication for timing, access, safety, and startup details.

KKI’s self-perform model is a deliberate part of how we work, and it’s how we deliver superior oxidizer solutions.

New build or refurbished? We'll tell you which makes more sense

Most oxidizer manufacturers sell new equipment. That means their recommendation usually starts and ends there.

With Kono Kogs the conversation is different, because we built our reputation on refurbished RTOs. That means we've seen the best and worst systems from different OEMs and can apply that knowledge to manufacture the most fitting oxidizer for your application. If your application needs a custom new oxidizer, we can design, fabricate, install, and commission it. If a refurbished unit can meet your compliance needs, reduce lead time, and save significant capital, we’ll recommend that instead. Besides, even our refurbished oxidizers look brand new! Partnering with an OEM who’s also the leading supplier of warrantied refurbished systems is a better way to evaluate your project.

Our custom oxidizers & air pollution equipment in the field

Kono Kogs' new-build and manufactured equipment projects include:

• Custom RTO for food packaging / flexographic printing: KKI designed, fabricated, and installed a 25,000 scfm regenerative thermal oxidizer with structured ceramic media, poppet switching valves, hot gas bypass, and puff capture. The project replaced an older catalytic oxidizer, added capacity for new and existing presses, and gave the customer a system built around high VOC concentrations from modern recirculating printing presses. 
• Custom RTO for packaging printer / laminator lineCustom RTO for packaging printer / laminator line: A packaging printer adding a laminator line needed more oxidizer capacity than its existing systems could provide. KKI built a new two-chamber RTO with structured ceramic media and pneumatic poppet valves, then supplied the ductwork, T-dampers, installation crew, commissioning, parts support, and VOC destruction guarantee.
• Custom RTO for plastics manufacturing / clean-room IPA emissions: A new process line pushed the facility over EPA VOC thresholds and required treatment of isopropyl alcohol from ventilated clean-room exhaust. KKI provided a new two-chamber RTO with structured ceramic media, pneumatic poppet valves, and an optional VOC puff chamber for ≥99% VOC destruction efficiency. 
• New VOC concentrator for automotive coating / high-volume paint-line exhaust: A major automotive manufacturer needed to treat large solvent-laden paint-line airflows without sending the full exhaust volume through a large RTO. KKI manufactured a dual zeolite VOC rotary concentrator system integrated with an RTO, with custom controls, ductwork, valves, installation, commissioning, operator training, and performance testing.

Explore all oxidizer case studies here

How to choose an oxidizer manufacturer

The right manufacturer should be able to explain how they’d design, build, test, install, and support your system before you ask for pricing. Here’s what to look for before investing:

Confirm who designs and builds the equipment

A true OEM designs and fabricates oxidizer systems in-house. Other vendors may engineer the package, source major components from outside fabricators, or represent another manufacturer’s equipment. Those models aren't automatically a problem, but you should know which one you’re working with. Ask where the equipment is fabricated, who owns the drawings, who controls quality, and who’s accountable if site conditions or installation details need to be worked through.

Evaluate their application engineering depth

Undersized oxidizers create compliance risk. Oversized oxidizers waste capital, fuel, and electricity for years. A serious manufacturer should be doing real application engineering: heat and mass balance, VOC/HAP review, destruction efficiency modeling, airflow evaluation, and review of operating profiles. If the vendor is plugging your flow rate into a standard model without asking detailed process questions, keep looking.

Ask specifically about pre-testing & commissioning

The cheapest equipment on paper gets expensive fast if startup drags on. Ask what the vendor tests before shipment, which sub-systems are checked, and how controls are verified. Then ask who handles installation and commissioning. If the manufacturer uses subcontracted field crews, ask how those crews are trained, who supervises them, and whether the OEM’s project engineer stays involved through startup.

Find out whether refurbished is an option

A vendor that only sells new equipment has a financial incentive to sell you new equipment. That doesn’t mean their recommendation is wrong, but it’s not entirely objective. If budget, schedule, or site constraints make a refurbished oxidizer a smart option, the right manufacturer should tell you so. But not all can.

Check references in your industry & process type

Oxidizer applications vary across coatings, chemical processing, food, pharma, semiconductor, printing, packaging, plastics, and automotive manufacturing. The VOC chemistry, exhaust temperature, concentration swings, uptime needs, and installation constraints can be very different from one plant to the next. Ask for references tied to your process type, not just general oxidizer experience. A manufacturer that has solved similar problems before is lower risk.

For a step-by-step guide to the procurement process, see our guide to purchasing a regenerative thermal oxidizer.

Key technologies & applications

Kono Kogs designs, manufactures, refurbishes, and services air pollution control equipment across a range of oxidizer and concentration technologies.

• Regenerative thermal oxidizers (RTO): High-efficiency heat recovery for continuous high-volume processes
• Recuperative Thermal Oxidizers (TOX): Cost-effective for lower-flow or intermittent applications
• Direct Fired Thermal Oxidizers / Afterburners (DTFO): Straightforward solution for high-concentration waste streams
• Catalytic Oxidizers (CATOX): Lower operating temperatures, suitable for specific VOC chemistries
• Regenerative Catalytic Oxidizers (RCO): Combines RTO heat recovery with catalytic destruction efficiency
• VOC Concentrators: Pairs with oxidizers to handle very large volumes of dilute exhaust

Request a custom quote

Fill out the form below and tell us about your process and we’ll recommend the right solution, whether that’s a new build or refurbished system.

Not ready for a quote yet? Bring us your questions: Contact the oxidizer pros at Kono Kogs.