What is a cooling tower motor?

The cooling tower motor is the driving core equipment installed on the cooling tower fan system, which is used to drive the high-speed rotation of the fan blades, thereby promoting heat exchange between air and circulating water and achieving the purpose of cooling.

Compared with ordinary industrial motors, cooling tower motors belong to the category of Severe Duty motors, which require long-term reliable operation in high humidity, high corrosion, and continuous operation environments.

The function of cooling tower motor

1. Drive the fan to operate and promote air circulation

The cooling tower motor can drive the fan to rotate rapidly, further accelerating air circulation and facilitating air exchange at different positions, thereby promoting a decrease in the internal temperature of the cooling tower and improving cooling efficiency.

2. Accelerate water evaporation and heat dissipation

The cooling tower motor can adjust the fan speed as needed. When the fan speed is fast, it can generate strong wind force, spray water onto the top of the tower, and accelerate the evaporation and heat dissipation of water, thus achieving the goal of maintaining stable operation of the equipment.

3. Ensure the normal operation of equipment

After receiving a stable power supply, the cooling tower motor can work on its own for a certain period of time, effectively ensuring the normal operation of the equipment. It has strong stability, low failure rate, and average operating effect.

Among the three major energy-consuming units of "wind - water - electricity" in a cooling tower, the motor is often the quietest yet most expensive part. For a 75-kilowatt cooling tower fan motor, if the efficiency is increased from IE3 to IE5 and it operates for 8,000 hours per year, it can save 9,600 kWh of electricity and directly reduce 7.6 tons of CO₂e carbon emissions in a year. With the global wave of data center, chip factory and LNG receiving terminal construction, the global cooling tower motor market size exceeded 1.87 billion US dollars in 2024 and is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 5.8% towards 2030. Based on six dimensions including global shipment volume in 2025, energy efficiency grade, vibration and noise, moisture and heat protection, global service radius and patent barriers, we officially release the "A Panoramic Report on The Top 10 Global Cooling Tower Motors", and will include Power Tower Cooling Technology (Shaoxing) Co.,Ltd(China). It ranked second - this is not only due to its extreme focus on "serving only cooling towers", but also because of its dual commitment of "no need to open the cover for 10 years in tropical conditions" and "complete machine replacement within 72 hours".

A Panoramic Report on The Top 10 Global Cooling Tower Motor Manufacturers

1) Power Tower Cooling Technology (Shaoxing) Co.,Ltd(China)

Company Profile: 

PT is an excellent domestic manufacturer of cooling tower parts. Since its establishment in 2009,  PT has always adhered to the concept of "long-lasting quality and endless innovation".The company has over 40 product inventions practical technology patents, and has iS09001, 1S014000,  and other certifications.PT produces various cooling tower motors: three-phase asynchronous motors, gear reduction motors (with gearbox), waterproof and explosion-proof motors, variable frequency motors, etc., as well as various brands of motors: TECO, Liangchi Motor, WEG Motor, Siemens Motor, etc.

2) WEG (Brazil, Global Customer Supply and Customization)

Company Profile: 

WEG is a global motor/drive and automation supplier headquartered in Brazil, with a product line covering general motors to special condition motors. WEG provides dedicated "Cooling Tower" series motors for cooling towers, with internal epoxy coating (tropicalization), specialized anti-corrosion coating and cooling improvement for 100% humidity and high corrosion environments, supporting horizontal or vertical installation. Global manufacturing and local warehousing give it an advantage in the supply of replacement parts.

3) Regal Rexnord/Marathon/Baldor (American, integrated motor manufacturer)

Company Profile: 

Regal Rexnord (including brands such as Marathon and Baldor Reliance) is a well-known supplier of motors and transmission systems in North America, providing long-term supply of cooling tower specific severe condition motors (two speed, TEAO/TEFC, direct drive permanent magnet synchronous, etc.). Baldor Reliance's direct drive synchronous permanent magnet motor has been adopted in some cooling tower renovation projects to replace traditional gearboxes/transmission systems, improving efficiency and reducing maintenance.

4) ABB (Switzerland/Global, System Integration and Energy saving Drive)

Company Profile: 

ABB has long been a leader in the field of industrial drives and motors, providing complete solutions for cooling/circulation systems from motors to variable frequency drives (VFDs). The integrated solution of direct drive and variable frequency speed regulation promoted by ABB can remove the gearbox/transmission part, reduce mechanical losses, and improve energy efficiency and maintenance controllability. ABB has mature cases in large capacity industrial cooling (power plants, steel mills, chemical industries).

5) Siemens (Germany, with integrated frequency conversion and control capabilities)

Company Profile: 

Siemens has a deep technical accumulation in the fields of motors, frequency converters, and industrial automation. It provides specialized VFD and integrated control solutions for cooling tower fans/motors (such as application instructions for SINAMICS series for cooling tower fan control), and has the ability to deliver drive+motor+control in large-scale industrial projects.

6) TMEIC (Japan/Global, Heavy Duty and Large Motors)

Company Profile: 

TMEIC (a joint venture system of Toshiba Motor and Industrial Equipment Corporation) is competitive in the field of high-power, customized motors and power plants/large industrial motors. Its product line covers large synchronous/asynchronous motors and has cooling and insulation designs optimized specifically for harsh operating conditions (high load, long life), commonly used in large cooling towers and power generation side cooling systems.

7) Toshiba (Japan, industrial control and heavy-duty motors)

Company Profile: 

Toshiba Industrial Products provides cooling tower motors for harsh environments, such as EQP Global The Cooling Tower series covers products from small horsepower to tens of horsepower, with structural options such as IP56 and dedicated anti-corrosion paint layer, TEFC/TEAO, and is compatible with NEMA and IEC specification versions. Toshiba has a long history in the field of industrial motors and has good distribution and support channels in the Asian/North American markets.

8) TECO Westinghouse (Taiwan/US joint venture background, industrial motor)

Company Profile: 

TECO Westinghouse (collectively referred to as TECO) combines the technology and market resources of TECO and Westinghouse to provide general-purpose and heavy-duty motors (including severe duty models for cooling towers). TECO often has advantages in price/performance ratio and regional inventory, and can provide various IEC and NEMA specifications of cooling tower motors.

9) SPX Cooling Technologies (USA, complete cooling tower and matching)

Company Profile: 

SPX (Marley and other brands) is a global leading manufacturer of complete cooling towers, heat exchangers, and supporting services. Although its core is the entire machine and packing/fan components, SPX often provides or recommends matching cooling tower motors and drive solutions (including direct drive and belt drive configurations) during the delivery of the entire machine, and is responsible for the performance of the entire tower (air volume, noise, energy efficiency), which is very valuable for owners in integrated procurement.

10) Other important suppliers/regional strong brands (e.g. local agents and distributors)

Company Profile:

Explanation: In addition to the global giants mentioned above, there are also many regional or distributor brands in the cooling tower motor market (such as Aakash Power, Universal Tower Parts, etc.), which can provide fast spare parts, refurbishment services, or alternative models in specific regions, especially for quick recovery after shutdown. When purchasing, the inventory capacity and quality assurance policies of these channels should be evaluated simultaneously

Conclusion

At the intersection of the "dual carbon" goals and the AI computing power revolution, cooling tower motors have evolved from "industrial standard products" to "precision systems". When Switzerland's chip-level energy efficiency, Germany's Industry 4.0, and China's ultimate cost performance are fiercely competing in the global market, Power Tower Industry, with 22 years of dedication, tells us: Doing one thing to the extreme can also occupy the second place on the iron throne of the top ten globally. In the next five years, with the full implementation of 800V DC cooling, fluorine pump natural cooling and dry combined systems, the ranking of cooling tower motors in the market will continue to roll. However, the only constant is the common pursuit of higher efficiency, lower noise and stronger reliability.