RWO
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1975
- HeadquartersBremen, Germany
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
RWO firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- RWO
- Legal name
- RWO GmbH
- Website
- https://rwo.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1975
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
RWO industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Marine Water Treatment Equipment
- NAICS
- Pump and Compressor Manufacturing (33391), Oil and Gas Field Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing (333132)
- SIC
- Special Industry Machinery (No Metalworking Machinery) (3550), Oil & Gas Field Machinery & Equipment (3533)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Ballast Water, Bilge & Wastewater Treatment Systems (Environmental/Utility) (IMAJAIAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Produced Water & Upstream Water Management (EUALAAAL)
Keywords
Where RWO is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Bremen
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices7 records
Markets served
RWO business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Water Treatment Equipment Sales: RWO generates revenue primarily through the sale of marine water treatment equipment including oily water separators, sewage treatment plants, ballast water treatment systems, fresh water production systems, and process water treatment equipment. Products are sold directly to shipowners, shipyards, and operators.
- After-Sales Service & Maintenance: Global after-sales service including troubleshooting, repairs, preventive maintenance, calibration checks, installation supervision, start-up and commissioning, and operator/maintenance training. Services available 365 days a year worldwide.
- Spare Parts Supply: Intelligent spare parts supply enabling rapid delivery of customized kits. A unified Spare Parts Platform was launched under ERMA TECH GROUP for faster and easier access to spare parts for legacy systems.
- Training Courses: Three-day training courses on oily water separation and bilge management offered at locations in Rethem, Bremen, and Hamburg, Germany.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
RWO product offering
Product offeringCore offering
RWO designs, manufactures, and services marine water treatment equipment for ships and offshore platforms, including oily water separators, sewage treatment plants (biological and membrane bioreactor), ballast water treatment systems, fresh water production via reverse osmosis, and process water treatment equipment. The company also provides global after-sales service, original spare parts, and operator training courses. All products are engineered and manufactured in Germany, with more than 16,000 oily water separator units delivered worldwide since 1975.
Product overview
RWO is a German marine water treatment company with over 45 years of experience developing, designing, manufacturing, and servicing high-quality technologies for water treatment onboard ships and offshore installations. The product portfolio includes bilge water treatment equipment (OWS-COM, OWS-PT, Bilge Economizer, CBM+, SFU), sewage treatment systems (CS-MBR, CS-BIO, CS-VAC, Grease Interceptor), fresh water production systems (SRO-COM reverse osmosis unit, ACCuRem, MIA-COM, SAF-COM, SOE-COM, UVS-COM), and ballast water treatment (CleanBallast OBS). RWO is recognized as the worldwide market leader in oily water separation with over 16,000 units delivered. As of 2025, RWO is part of the ERMA TECH GROUP alongside ERMA FIRST, EPE Systems Division, Ecochlor, METIS, and Armada Technologies, offering integrated solutions in decarbonisation, water and wastewater treatment, and marine equipment and services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- OWS-COM: Oily water separator product line
- CS-BIO
- CS-MBR
- CleanBallast
- CBM+
- SRO-COM
Products and services
- OWS-COM Oily Water Separator Oily water separator for bilge water treatment designed to meet 15 ppm and 5 ppm requirements in Clean Design notation. Used on commercial vessels including tankers, cargo ships, container vessels, and unmanned robotic vessels. Includes PLC-based continuous monitoring and automated cleaning cycles.
- CS-BIO Biological Sewage Treatment System Biological sewage treatment plant with up to 25% less space demand than comparable systems. Designed for crew of merchant cargo vessels. Type approved to IMO MEPC.227(64) including RS-Class.
- OWS-PT Pressure-Type Oily Water Separator Pressure-type oily water separator developed specifically for large vessels (VLCC/ULCC and VLOC/ULOC class). Compact and flexible design eliminates the need for an additional feed pump and allows installation on higher decks.
- CS-MBR CleanSewage Membrane Reactor Next-generation advanced water treatment system (AWTS) featuring sustainable biological treatment with submerged ultrafiltration membranes in a unique two-tank design. Fully type approved to IMO MEPC.227(64) including Section 4.2 for nitrogen and phosphorus removal. Removes more than 99% of solids, bacteria, microplastics, and viruses. Treated water can be re-used in technical applications.
- CleanBallast OBS (Ocean Barrier System) Second-generation ballast water treatment system combining superior disk filtration with in-line electrochlorination. USCG type approved. Flow capacities from 350 to 3,000 m³/h. Robust design with minimal maintenance requirements.
- SRO-COM Reverse Osmosis Fresh Water System Reverse osmosis unit — the heart of RWO's fresh water treatment portfolio — producing fresh water from seawater through membrane technology. Chemical-free fresh water generation for maritime applications, with complementing pre-treatment (sand filters) and post-treatment (UV disinfection, mineralizers).
- CBM+ Clean Bilge Monitor Clean bilge monitor installed before the overboard discharge line to prevent non-compliant oily water mixtures from discharge. Features flow meter, GPS, tamper-proof housing, 18-month data storage, Modbus-Protocol connectivity, and Port Switch for restricted area recirculation mode.
- After-Sales Service & Maintenance Global after-sales service offering available 365 days a year worldwide, covering troubleshooting, repairs, preventive maintenance, calibration checks, installation supervision, start-up and commissioning, and operator/maintenance training for shipowners and operators.
- Original Spare Parts Supply Intelligent original spare parts supply enabling rapid delivery of customized kits for RWO equipment. A unified Spare Parts Platform operates under ERMA TECH GROUP providing faster and easier access to spare parts for legacy systems.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 16,000 oily water separator units delivered worldwide since 1975
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use RWO
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
RWO technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature7 records
RWO partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Damen ShipyardscoreDamen Shipyards, operating 35 shipyards across 5 continents, signed a framework agreement with RWO for the supply of OWS-COM oily water separators on their new-building vessels. This is a strategic OEM partnership ensuring RWO products are specified as original equipment on Damen newbuilds worldwide. RWO's Ron Dijkgraaf, Area Sales Manager for North-Western Europe, commented on supporting Damen and their clients in ocean protection.
- Venteville B.V.coreVenteville B.V. appointed as official RWO service partner serving Europe's busiest ports in Rotterdam and Antwerp, plus supporting newbuild yards and yachting customers. Venteville specializes in customized automation, safety, and pollution prevention solutions for the shipping industry.
- Macor (France)coreMacor appointed as RWO's official service partner in France. Specializing in ship repair and maintenance with workshops on Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts including La Ciotat (yacht specialization), Macor provides technical services to RWO customers in France.
- ERMA FIRST (ERMA TECH GROUP)coreERMA FIRST acquired RWO GmbH in June 2021. RWO operates as part of ERMA TECH GROUP, a unified entity bringing together ERMA FIRST, EPE Systems Division, RWO, Ecochlor, METIS, and Armada Technologies (strategic partnership). The Group commits 7% of revenues to R&D and has invested over 50 million euros in acquisitions, technologies, and environmental solutions. Leadership includes Konstantinos Stampedakis, Eleni Polychronopoulou, and Efstratios Papamichalis.
- Armada Technologies (Strategic Partnership)minorStrategic partnership within ERMA TECH GROUP for Passive Air Lubrication System (PALS) technology as part of the Group's decarbonisation technologies portfolio.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
RWO competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Optimarin: Norwegian-headquartered ballast water treatment system specialist with USCG type approval serving commercial shipping. Comparable as a focused BWMS peer competing in the same shipyard OEM and retrofit channels as CleanBallast-OBS.
- Hyde Marine: US-based ballast water treatment system manufacturer with USCG type approval, focused on disk filtration and UV treatment technologies. Comparable to RWO's CleanBallast-OBS as a directly competing BWMS vendor serving global commercial shipping.
- Ecochlor: Sister brand within ERMA TECH GROUP specializing in ballast water treatment systems using chlorine dioxide technology. Directly comparable to RWO's CleanBallast-OBS in the BWMS market and a sibling within the same parent.
- Trojan Marinex: Ballast water treatment solutions provider using UV technology, serving global commercial shipowners with IMO and USCG type-approved systems. Comparable to RWO's CleanBallast-OBS as a directly competing BWMS peer.
Broad incumbents
- Wärtsilä: Large marine systems integrator with water and waste treatment, ballast water management, and environmental solutions as part of a broader marine and energy portfolio. Comparable as a broad incumbent serving the same shipowner and shipyard customers with overlapping equipment lines.
- Alfa Laval: Global marine equipment leader offering PureBallast ballast water treatment and a broad portfolio of separation, heat transfer, and fluid handling equipment used by commercial shipyards and shipowners. Directly comparable to RWO across bilge, ballast, and freshwater marine treatment.
- GEA Group: Industrial separation, homogenization, and process technology supplier serving food, dairy, marine, and process industries with separation and fluid handling systems. Comparable to RWO on separation technology and engineered equipment manufacturing for marine and offshore applications.
- Veolia Water Technologies: Global water treatment specialist serving industrial, marine, and offshore applications with desalination, wastewater, and process water systems. Comparable to RWO's SRO-COM, CS-MBR, and ACCuRem lines as a broad water treatment incumbent with marine exposure.
- Xylem: Global water technology company providing pumps, treatment, and instrumentation across municipal, industrial, and commercial markets including marine applications. Comparable as a broad water technology incumbent with marine-relevant pumping and treatment equipment.
Regional players
- JFE Engineering: Japanese engineering company providing marine water treatment, ballast water management, and offshore environmental solutions primarily for the Asian shipbuilding market. Comparable to RWO on marine water treatment systems but with primary geographic focus on Japanese and Asian shipyards.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
RWO social profiles
Digital presenceRWO compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance7 records
RWO financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
RWO leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
RWO funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
RWO M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about RWO
What does RWO do?
RWO designs, manufactures, and services marine water treatment equipment for ships and offshore platforms, including oily water separators, sewage treatment plants (biological and membrane bioreactor), ballast water treatment systems, fresh water production via reverse osmosis, and process water treatment equipment. The company also provides global after-sales service, original spare parts, and operator training courses. All products are engineered and manufactured in Germany, with more than 16,000 oily water separator units delivered worldwide since 1975.
Is RWO a public or private company?
RWO is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was RWO founded?
RWO was founded in 1975. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is RWO based?
RWO is headquartered in Bremen, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does RWO make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Water Treatment Equipment Sales are the primary driver. The others are after-Sales Service & Maintenance, spare Parts Supply and training Courses.
Who are RWO's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Optimarin, Hyde Marine, Ecochlor and Trojan Marinex. Broad incumbents are Wärtsilä, Alfa Laval, GEA Group, Veolia Water Technologies and Xylem. JFE Engineering is listed as a regional player.
Does RWO have an API?
No public API is recorded for RWO.
What industry is RWO in?
RWO's product category is Marine Water Treatment Equipment. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAJAIAJ, Ballast Water, Bilge & Wastewater Treatment Systems (Environmental/Utility), with a secondary code of EUALAAAL, Produced Water & Upstream Water Management. Its NAICS code is 33391 and its SIC code is 3550.