First, who Tormec is — and what an alternative means here
Tormec today trades as Tormec Group Dtall (legal name DTALL Machinery S.L.), founded in 1996, with machines developed and built in Castellar del Vallès near Barcelona and a second office in Dietikon, Switzerland. It is privately held with no group parent disclosed. Two housekeeping points for buyers: the company’s old tormec.com domain has lapsed and now points to an unrelated sewing-machine firm, so the live site is tormec.de; and although Tormec markets Swiss quality standards, the factory is Spanish. Neither is a criticism, but both matter when you are checking who you are buying from and where parts ship from.
Tormec is independent, so every other spiral machine maker is a genuine alternative: Spiro (Lindab group, with Spiral-Helix as its US plant), Lockformer (Mestek Machinery, USA), the export-tier makers and Taokron.
Why buyers look for an alternative (none of which is a knock on Tormec)
- No published throughput. Tormec publishes diameter and thickness ranges but not ducts-per-hour figures. Buyers sizing a shift want a guaranteed output at their diameters, which Spiro publishes and which any vendor can be asked to guarantee in writing.
- Heavy gauge and large diameter. The Tube-Former tops out at 1.2 mm galvanised and Ø1600 mm. Mining ventilation, industrial exhaust and jacketing above that need a 2020-class machine (2.0 mm, Ø2500 mm), which Tormec does not list.
- Service distance outside Europe. Sixty countries is a wide footprint for a mid-sized maker, but the partner list is not published. A buyer in Australia, the Gulf or South-East Asia asks where the nearest forming head and engineer are.
- Capital budget for a second or part-time machine. A shop adding overflow spiral capacity often shops the export tier for the same 1602 envelope.
- One vendor for round and rectangular. Tormec sells rectangular lines and cutting too, but a buyer equipping a whole shop compares full-line vendors on one commissioning team and one PLC family.
The alternatives, by tier
The table is the short version; the notes below explain each tier. Ranges are what each maker publishes for its standard machines.
| Alternative / tier | Where it’s from | Published spiral range | Tier |
|---|
| Tormec (the incumbent) | Spain (Barcelona), Swiss office | Tube-Former: Ø80–1600 mm, galv 0.4–1.2 mm, SS 0.4–0.8 mm; Tubo Nova: Ø125–1400 mm, to 1.0 mm | Mid, European |
| Spiro / Spiral-Helix (Lindab) | Switzerland (US plant in Illinois) | Tubeformer 1602: Ø80–1600 mm, galv 0.4–1.3 mm (1.7 heavy-gauge build); Tubeformer 2020: Ø80–2500 mm, 0.4–2.0 mm | Benchmark, premium |
| Lockformer Spiral Tubeformers (Mestek) | USA | 1.2E: 3–64 in, 28–18 ga; 2.0: 3–100 in, 28–16 ga | Premium, US dealer network |
| Export tier (1602-pattern machines) | Export | Typically Ø80–1500/1600 mm, 0.4–1.2 mm; check each sheet | Lowest cost |
| Taokron SBTF-1500 / 1602 / 2020 | Australian supplier | SBTF-1602: Ø80–1600 mm, galv 0.4–1.3 mm, SS 0.4–0.8 mm; SBTF-2020: Ø80–2500 mm, galv 0.4–2.0 mm, SS to 1.2 mm | Export-competitive |
Brand and product names are the property of their respective owners, referenced here for honest comparison only. Ownership, positioning and published ranges are as verified in September 2026 from each maker’s own publications; confirm current specifications and support with each vendor before buying.
What Tormec actually publishes
Tormec’s circular line has two tubeformers. The Tube-Former uses forming heads: Ø80–1600 mm “according to moulds”, galvanised 0.4–1.2 mm, stainless 0.4–0.8 mm, aluminium 0.4–1.2 mm, on 137/140 mm strip with an 11 kW drive and a touch screen. The die-based Tubo Nova covers Ø125–1400 mm up to 1.0 mm galvanised (also stainless, PVC-coated, aluminium and copper) with hardened spring-steel dies, one profiling station for all thicknesses and driven rolls. Around them: the ARC-DUAL flanger and seam closer (Ø125–1000 mm, 0.4–1.25 mm), the SEGTO segment cutter (Ø125–1000 mm), an elbow maker, a segment rollformer, a gasket fitting machine and a longitudinal stitch welder, plus own-brand service with spare-parts stock, retrofits and refurbished machines. Speeds, tube lengths, prices and lead times are not published.
The forming-head versus die distinction matters when you compare: a head-based machine (Tube-Former, Spiro, Taokron SBTF) needs a head per diameter; a die-based machine (Tubo Nova) trades that for a diameter-limited, gauge-limited envelope. Count what you own and what you sell before you price either.
The benchmark: Spiro (Lindab)
If you want the premium reference in the same envelope, Spiro International publishes what Tormec does not: guaranteed output for the Tubeformer 1602 of 180 ducts an hour at Ø100/0.5 mm, 53 at Ø500/0.7 mm and 23 at Ø1250/0.9 mm (3 m ducts), heavy-gauge and PRO builds, the Tubeformer 2020 for Ø80–2500 mm and 2.0 mm, the Gorelocker and Fittingshaper fittings machines and the Spiro Care service contract. Spiro has belonged to Lindab since 1992 and Spiral-Helix in Illinois is its own US plant. Best for: shops that want the benchmark and can carry its price and lead time. Weigh: outside Europe and North America you buy through a partner network that is not published; see our Spiro alternatives guide for the full picture.
The US option: Lockformer spiral (Mestek Machinery)
Lockformer’s 1.2E (3–64 in, 28–18 ga) and 2.0 (3–100 in, 28–16 ga) spiral tubeformers are pitched on footprint and on being the most affordable in their class, and come with Mestek’s US and Canadian dealer network. Best for: North American shops. Weigh: the dealer network is domestic and the fittings and cutting side is spread across the Mestek brands.
The value tier — and where Taokron fits
At the lowest acquisition cost, export makers sell 1602-pattern spiral machines. Forming-head quality, slitter design, controls and after-sales vary a great deal across this tier; our buying-mistakes guide lists what to check.
This is where Taokron sits, and this is our own machinery, so read it as a vendor’s case. Taokron is an Australian supplier that has built HVAC duct machinery since 1995, with 5,000+ machines in 100+ countries, ISO 9001:2015 and CE certification and catalog-accurate published specs. Against the Tube-Former envelope, our SBTF-1602 covers Ø80–1600 mm at galvanised 0.4–1.3 mm, stainless 0.4–0.8 mm and aluminium 0.4–1.3 mm on 137/140 mm strip with a patented flying slitter and an 11 kW mainframe. Where Tormec stops at 1.2 mm, the SBTF-2020 takes the heavy work: Ø80–2500 mm, galvanised and aluminium to 2.0 mm, stainless to 1.2 mm, plasma cut plus flying slitter, 22 kW. The compact saw-blade SBTF-1500 suits part-time spiral work. For fittings we supply the fitting shaper, elbow welder, spiral duct flanging machine, ovalizer and oval roller, so a round-duct shop buys the system from one vendor. We quote throughput per diameter and gauge for your coil and put it in the factory acceptance test. Best for: shops that want the Tube-Former envelope or the heavy-gauge 2020 class, a complete fittings line and direct engineer support at export-tier capital cost. Weigh: we are not a European maker; ask for installed references in your region and test our sample duct against your existing round duct.
Switching without stranding your round duct
Spiral duct from another machine fits existing duct because the lock seam and the diameter series are standards. Tooling does not transfer. Work through these before you sign:
- Heads or dies, and how many. List the diameters you produced last year and price the head set (or the die set on a die-based machine) for the new machine against that list.
- Strip width. 1602-class machines run 137 mm strip for 0.4–1.0 mm and 140 mm for 1.1–1.3 mm; 2020-class machines add 150 mm for 1.4–2.0 mm. Confirm your slitting or your coil supplier covers them.
- Gauge and material with margin. Stainless caps vary most between builds (0.6, 0.8, 1.0, 1.2 mm); confirm the heaviest you run.
- Cutting system. Flying slitter, plasma or saw blade: different cut quality, noise, consumables and cooling-water needs.
- Tube length and run-out. Long tubes for jacketing need a longer run-out and the floor to match.
- Fittings as a system. Confirm the new vendor covers elbows, reducers, flanging and ovalising, or that your existing fittings machines stay.
- Electrical fit. Voltage, phase, 50 versus 60 Hz, Australian 415 V three-phase.
- Spares and acceptance. Stocked heads and slitter blades with quoted delivery; a factory acceptance test on your own coil at your top three diameters and heaviest gauge, test-fitted to duct you already have.
The headline: operator retraining is days; forming heads, strip widths and the fittings line are where the switching cost sits.
Get a vendor-neutral read on switching →
FAQ
Is Tormec a Swiss company?
Tormec markets Swiss quality standards and keeps an office in Dietikon, Switzerland, but its current site states the machines are developed and built in Barcelona by Tormec Group Dtall (DTALL Machinery S.L., founded 1996). The old tormec.com domain has lapsed; the live site is tormec.de.
Does Tormec make a heavy-gauge or large-diameter spiral machine?
Its published Tube-Former covers up to Ø1600 mm and 1.2 mm galvanised and the Tubo Nova up to Ø1400 mm and 1.0 mm. For 2.0 mm and Ø2500 mm you are in the 2020 class: Spiro Tubeformer 2020, Lockformer 2.0 or Taokron SBTF-2020.
Will spiral duct from another brand fit duct made on a Tormec machine?
Yes. The spiral lock seam and diameter series are industry standards; match diameter, gauge and seam type and the duct couples as before. Test-fit a sample before the old machine leaves.
Do Tormec forming heads or Tubo Nova dies fit another maker’s machine?
No. Heads and dies are machine-specific. Budget a set for the diameters you actually sell on the new machine and ask what adding a diameter costs later.
What is the best alternative to Tormec?
For the premium benchmark with published guaranteed output, Spiro (Lindab). In North America, Lockformer’s spiral machines with dealer service. For the same envelope plus the heavy-gauge 2020 class and a full fittings line at export-tier capital cost, Taokron’s SBTF range is our own case, so ask us for references in your region.
Where does the real cost of switching sit?
In the forming-head or die set for your diameters, the strip widths your slitting must match and the fittings machines around the tubeformer. Operator retraining is small. Ask every vendor for guaranteed ducts per hour at your diameters and write it into the acceptance test.
