RWO

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

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

• Marine water treatment
• Oily water separation
• Ballast water treatment
• Sewage treatment systems
• Reverse osmosis systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Bremen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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

Core 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

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Damen ShipyardscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 March 2024Damen 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.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 6 July 2022Venteville 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)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 16 May 2022Macor 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)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 June 2021ERMA 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 or Co-development PartnerStrategic 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

Direct 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

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rwo-water-technologies

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

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 RWO