Hydrolock

What Hydrolock does

Hydrolock is a French industrial equipment manufacturer that designs, engineers, and builds continuous rotary sterilizing autoclaves used in food canning, dairy and beverage processing, ready-meals, pet food, and pharmaceutical IV solution production. The company's machines use a pressurized chamber with products conveyed on double conveyor chains through a sealing hopper, sterilized with pure steam or air-steam mixture under independently adjustable overpressure, and cooled in water within the same pressurized environment. Its proprietary Waterlock technology enables higher operating temperatures than competing continuous systems, and the portfolio spans models for tin cans (ACCT, up to 1,200 cans/min), glass jars (ACBV, up to 30,000 bottles/hour), HDPE/PP/glass bottles (ACB), flexible pouches (ACP up to 300 ppm and ACS), a Steripilot laboratory pilot, and Steribar HPP high-pressure processing for fresh juices. Machines are engineered and assembled at the Le Bignon facility near Nantes and shipped worldwide, supported by a Nantes-based spare parts warehouse and a global network of agents and distributors covering five continents.

The business model is built-to-order industrial capital equipment: each sterilizer is custom-engineered for the customer's packaging format, capacity requirements, and process parameters, with Factory Acceptance Tests performed before shipment. Revenue is generated through three streams — equipment sales, recurring spare parts and components shipped from Nantes, and professional services covering installation, upgrades, maintenance, remote diagnostics, and R&D/recipe development using the Steripilot pilot. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Commercial activity is driven by direct enterprise sales, trade show presence at Gulfood Manufacturing, Propak Asia, Interpack, Anuga Food Tech, and Expopack, and a multi-language website (EN, FR, ES, RU), with the end-customer base spanning food, beverage, dairy, and pharmaceutical multinationals including Nestlé, Lactalis, Bonduelle, Friesland Campina, Vinamilk, Sunsweet, Coca-Cola Ecuador, Sanlakol, Americana Group, and Cacaolat. Since becoming fully independent in 2014, the company has sold 2-3 machines per year and produced its 150th continuous sterilizer in 2023.

Name

Hydrolock

Legal name

Hydrolock

Website

https://hydrolock-sterilizers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hydrolock designs and manufactures built-to-order continuous rotary sterilizing autoclaves for food canning, dairy, beverage, pet food, and pharmaceutical IV-solution producers, selling custom engineered machines worldwide with recurring spare parts and service support.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Sterilization Equipment

NAICS

Food Product Machinery Manufacturing (333241), Other General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing (3339)

SIC

Air-Cond & Warm Air Heatg Equip & Comm & Indl Refrig Equip (3585)

akta.pro primary industry

Sterilization Equipment & Systems (Autoclaves, Low-Temp, ETO, H2O2, UV) (HLAHANAA)

Keywords

• Continuous sterilization equipment
• Industrial autoclave manufacturing
• Rotary pressure sterilizers
• Food processing machinery
• Pharmaceutical sterilization systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Le Bignon

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Industrial Sterilizer Manufacturing: Design, manufacture, and sale of continuous rotary sterilizers and autoclaves. Machines are built to order with customization based on customer needs, packaging type, and production capacity requirements. Each machine is fully assembled and mechanically tested at the factory before shipping (FAT tests organized with customers).
2. Spare Parts and Replacement Components: Hydrolock maintains a warehouse of specific spare parts in Nantes, France ready to be shipped worldwide. Provides ongoing revenue from parts replacements and consumables.
3. Installation and Maintenance Services: Supervisors and automation engineers travel worldwide to assist customers during machine installation, upgrades, and maintenance. Remote access to production unit available for diagnostic support.
4. Process Development and R&D Services: Hydrolock laboratory available to develop recipes and new products using Hydrolock sterilizers to determine optimal parameters for packaging and products. Steripilot multi-process laboratory pilot can simulate various processes for recipe development.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Hydrolock designs, manufactures, and services continuous rotary sterilizing autoclaves for the food and pharmaceutical industries. Its build-to-order machines use proprietary Waterlock pressurized chamber technology with continuous product agitation to sterilize canned vegetables, ready meals, dairy, beverages, pet food, and IV pharmaceutical solutions at industrial scale. The company also provides spare parts, installation supervision, maintenance, and laboratory-based process development services worldwide.

Product overview

Hydrolock is a manufacturer of continuous rotary sterilizers/autoclaves for the food and pharmaceutical industries. The product portfolio includes: ACCT (continuous rotary pressure sterilizer for tincans and beverage cans up to 1200 cans/min), ACB (overpressure sterilizer for PP/HDPE/glass bottles), ACBV (rotary sterilizer for glass packaging with energy recycling), ACP (fully automated sterilizer for flexible pouches up to 300 ppm), ACS (semi-static sterilizer for pouches in automated/semi-automated versions), Steripilot (multi-process laboratory pilot for R&D and recipe validation), and Steribar HPP (high pressure processing for fresh juices). All machines are manufactured in Le Bignon, France.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Steripilot: Multiprocess laboratory pilot sterilizer capable of simulating various sterilization processes including batch, hydrostatic tower, and Hydrolock modes.
• Steribar HPP

Products and services

• Hydrolock ACCT Continuous Sterilizer Continuous rotary pressure sterilizer designed for tin cans, beverage cans, and PP bowls at speeds up to 1,200 cans per minute, preserving color, texture, and vitamins with no scratches on seaming thanks to constant gentle rotation.
• Hydrolock ACB Continuous Sterilizer Overpressure rotary sterilizer using steam-air heat media, designed for sterilization of liquids in PP, HDPE, and glass bottles, where continuous rotation prevents burnt proteins and color or taste alteration.
• Hydrolock ACBV Continuous Sterilizer Rotary continuous retort purpose-built for glass bottles and jars with continuous agitation during heating and cooling, a pre-heating device for thermal stress management, and throughput up to 30,000 bottles per hour.
• Hydrolock ACP Continuous Sterilizer Fully automated continuous sterilizer for flexible pouches and flat trays, including robots for product handling and steam-air heating with pressurized cooling, achieving up to 300 pouches per minute for 400 g pouches, and reflecting 20 years of pouch-sterilization experience.
• Hydrolock ACS Continuous Sterilizer Semi-static continuous sterilizer for flexible pouches, available in fully automated or semi-automated versions, with steam-air heating and pressurized cooling plus some turning of packaging during the process.
• Hydrolock Steripilot Multi-Process Laboratory Sterilizer Laboratory pilot sterilizer that simulates batch, hydrostatic tower, and Hydrolock continuous processes with multiple heat media (immersion, steam, steam-air, water cascade) and optional rotation; used by Hydrolock and customers for R&D and recipe development.
• Hydrolock Steribar HPP High Pressure Processing System High Pressure Processing system operating at up to 4,000 bar to extend shelf life of fresh juices while preserving nutritional and sensory qualities, designed for accessibility and reduced component wear.
• Hydrolock Rotary Continuous Pasteurizer Rotary continuous pasteurizer for pasteurization applications, leveraging the same Hydrolock water-lock pressurized chamber and continuous agitation concept as the sterilization lines.
• Spare Parts and Replacement Components Warehouse of dedicated spare parts maintained in Nantes, France, with worldwide shipping for the installed base of 150+ continuous sterilizers.
• Installation, Upgrade, and Maintenance Services Worldwide service with supervisors and automation engineers travelling to customer sites for machine installation, upgrades, and maintenance, complemented by remote access for diagnostic support.
• Process Development and Recipe R&D Services Hydrolock laboratory services using the Steripilot multi-process pilot to develop recipes and determine optimal sterilization parameters for new customer products and packaging formats.

Quantifiable outcome

• Cycles reduced by half and sometimes by more than two-thirds for certain products
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Batavia Indo GlobalcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2024Exclusive agent and partner for Hydrolock in Indonesia. Facilitated the first Hydrolock installation in Indonesia for BIG (Batavia Indo Global) customer for evaporated milk and sterilized milk processing.
• Rexham CorporationminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 1971Licensed to manufacture and sell Hydrolock sterilizers in the United States under the patent agreement from 1971.
• Yamato Scale Co. LtdminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 1971Licensed to manufacture and sell Hydrolock sterilizers in Japan under the patent agreement from 1971.
• Global Agent and Distributor NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHydrolock has developed partnerships with agents and distributors on all continents who can offer customer assistance and services during sales phase, project execution, and maintenance/S.A.V. throughout the machine lifecycle.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Lagarde Autoclaves: French autoclave and retort manufacturer serving food canning and prepared-meals processors. Directly comparable as a same-geography specialist competitor to Hydrolock in continuous and batch sterilization equipment.
• Barriquand: French industrial autoclave and heat-treatment equipment manufacturer with applications in food and process industries. A direct niche competitor in pressure-vessel sterilization equipment similar in scale and customer profile to Hydrolock.
• Surdry: Spanish manufacturer of industrial retorts and autoclaves for the food canning industry. Directly comparable product portfolio (steam/air sterilization of cans, jars, bottles and pouches) and overlap with Hydrolock in canned vegetables, fish and ready-meals.
• Allpax (ProMach): US-based manufacturer of batch and continuous retorts/autoclaves for food, beverage and pharmaceutical sterilization. Directly comparable to Hydrolock in industrial pressure-vessel sterilization equipment, with overlapping customers in canned and pouched foods.

Broad incumbents

• Krones AG: German-listed global manufacturer of packaging and process technology for the beverage and food industries, including pasteurization and aseptic filling systems. A broad incumbent whose process equipment overlaps with Hydrolock's beverage sterilization portfolio.
• SPX FLOW: Global supplier of process equipment for food, beverage and industrial markets, including mixing, heat transfer and aseptic processing technologies. A broad incumbent with thermal processing capabilities comparable in customer base to Hydrolock.
• Tetra Pak: Global leader in food processing and packaging equipment, including heat exchangers, pasteurizers and aseptic lines serving dairy, beverage and prepared-food customers. A broad incumbent whose processing portfolio overlaps with Hydrolock's continuous sterilization solutions.
• JBT Corporation: US-listed global supplier of food processing and air transportation equipment, including sterilization, pasteurization and aseptic systems. Broader incumbent competing with Hydrolock across overlapping sterilization and pasteurization product lines.
• GEA Group: German-listed global provider of process technology for food, dairy and beverage industries, including separators, homogenizers and thermal processing equipment. A broad incumbent with overlapping thermal processing capabilities to Hydrolock's continuous sterilization.

Emerging players

• Hiperbaric: Spanish specialist in industrial High Pressure Processing (HPP) equipment for food preservation, directly adjacent to Hydrolock's Steribar HPP offering. Comparable as an emerging alternative preservation technology targeting similar food and beverage processors.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hydrolock