What Kreyenborg does

Kreyenborg GmbH & Co. KG is a privately held, family-owned German plant engineering company founded in 1953 in Münster-Kinderhaus and headquartered in Senden, North Rhine-Westphalia, with 101–250 employees. The company designs and manufactures custom-engineered industrial equipment centered on its patented Infrared Rotary Drum (IRD) technology — short-wave infrared light drives moisture and heat from the inside out, enabling rapid heating, drying, crystallization, and decontamination of bulk materials in minutes rather than hours. Three product families anchor the business: IRD systems and variants (IR-CLEAN for rPET food-contact decontamination, IR-FRESH for odor reduction in recycled polyolefins, IR-BATCH for small batches, and FoodSafety-IRD for the food industry); a complementary range of mixers (MBM, USM), special silos, feeding systems, and big-bag stations; and the Kreyenborg Pelletizing Technologies (KPT) line of underwater pelletizing components and a newly launched aftermarket service pillar.

The company sells primarily through direct enterprise field sales with regional representatives and channel partners (Holmach Ltd. in the UK, GAEP in the Gulf region), supplemented by trial-center demonstrations in Senden and a heavy trade-fair presence (K Fair, FAKUMA, SIAL, NPE, Plastics Recycling Show Europe). Revenue derives from one-time capital equipment sales, aftermarket spare parts and service contracts, and process consulting/testing services; no public pricing is disclosed. Customers span plastics recyclers (e.g., Global PET in Brazil scaling to 4,500 tonnes/month food-grade rPET), organic food processors (e.g., Ziegler Organic), and specialty bulk material handlers, with operating geographies covering Germany, the broader EU, the UK, the Gulf, the USA, Brazil, Japan, China, South Africa, Vietnam, and Indonesia. The IR-CLEAN system received a positive EFSA Scientific Opinion in July 2025, validating >95% decontamination efficiency for food-contact rPET under EU Regulation 2022/1616, representing a material regulatory moat in a growing circular-economy application.

Name

Kreyenborg

Legal name

Kreyenborg GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://kreyenborg.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1953

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Kreyenborg is a German family-owned plant engineer founded in 1953 that designs custom infrared rotary drum systems, mixers, silos, and underwater pelletizing components for plastics recyclers, food processors, and bulk material handlers worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Processing Equipment

NAICS

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

akta.pro primary industry

Chemical Processing Equipment (Reactors, Mixers, Agitators) (IMAHAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Filling & Dosing Machines (Liquid/Powder/Solid) (IMAHAOAF), Conveying, Feeding & Accumulation Systems (Packaging Lines) (IMAHAOAK)

Keywords

• Infrared processing systems
• Underwater pelletizing components
• Plastic recycling equipment
• Food safety processing
• Bulk material handling

Headquarters

HQ city

Senden

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Equipment Manufacturing: Design and manufacture of custom infrared processing systems, pelletizing equipment, silos, mixers, and complete turn-key solutions for plastics, food, and bulk material industries.
2. Aftermarket Parts & Service: Spare parts, wear parts, retrofit and optimization services, and maintenance contracts for installed equipment including underwater pelletizing systems. Expanding into third business pillar alongside plastics and food divisions.
3. Process Consulting & Testing: Trial center services for product testing and process validation. Technical consulting for process optimization and integration.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Kreyenborg designs, manufactures, and services custom infrared processing systems (IRD - Infrared Rotary Drum) for heating, drying, crystallization, and decontamination of plastics and food products. The company also produces mixers, special silos, feeding systems, big-bag stations, and complete turn-key processing lines, and via its KPT division supplies underwater pelletizing components, spare parts, and retrofit services for the plastics, recycling, food, and bulk material industries.

Product overview

Kreyenborg is a German plant engineering company with over 70 years of experience, offering customized solutions for the plastics and food industries as well as other bulk materials. The product portfolio centers on infrared technology (IRD systems) for heating, drying, crystallization, and decontamination of materials. For plastics, key offerings include the IRD infrared rotary drum, IR-CLEAN® for rPET food contact decontamination (EFSA/USDA approved), IR-FRESH® for odor reduction, and IR-BATCH for small-batch processing, complemented by mixers, special silos, feeding systems, and turn-key solutions. For food applications, the FoodSafety-IRD enables sterilization, pasteurization, roasting, drying, coating, and stock protection using 100% electric infrared technology suitable for organic products. Under the KPT (Kreyenborg Pelletizing Technologies) brand, the company offers components for underwater pelletizing including die plates, blade holders, granulating blades, driving bushes, dryers, and perforated steel sheets. The company also provides retrofit, optimization, and aftermarket services including remote service, process consulting, and spare parts for installed systems. All products are manufactured in Germany (Senden, NRW).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• IR-CLEAN®: Infrared system for rPET decontamination for food contact - enables recycled PET flakes to be used for food packaging
• IR-FRESH®
• IR-BATCH
• FoodSafety-IRD (FS-IRD)
• Eco-Boost
• IRD
• KPT (Kreyenborg Pelletizing Technologies)

Products and services

• IRD (Infrared Rotary Drum) Infrared rotary drum system that heats bulk materials from the inside out using short-wave infrared light, enabling rapid drying, crystallization, and heating of plastics and food products. Used by plastics converters, recyclers, and food processors.
• IR-CLEAN® Infrared system for rPET decontamination that enables recycled PET flakes to be used for food contact applications, achieving decontamination efficiency of over 95% and meeting EU/EFSA and US FDA criteria. Designed for PET recyclers producing food-grade rPET.
• IR-FRESH® Plant system for odor reduction in recycled plastics (PP, PE), using a fast deodorization process suitable as a retrofit solution for extrusion lines. Used by polyolefin recyclers.
• IR-BATCH Batch infrared rotary drum for crystallization and drying of smaller quantities of plastics in a controlled batch environment. Used by plastics processors with lower throughput needs.
• FoodSafety-IRD (FS-IRD) 100% electric, CO2-neutral infrared rotary drum for food safety applications including sterilization, pasteurization, roasting, drying, coating, and stock protection of spices, herbs, seeds, nuts, cereals, and other dry foods. Achieves up to 5-log germ reduction validated by independent accredited laboratories.
• Master Batch Mischer (MBM) Mixer specifically designed for sensitive bulk materials in the plastics industry, enabling gentle and rapid mixing with energy savings of up to 50%, available in volumes from 0.5 m³ to 20 m³. Used by plastics processors and compounders.
• Universal Schnellmischer (USM) Universal rapid mixer for free-flowing bulk materials requiring precise, fast, and cost-effective mixing, available in volumes from 1 m³ to 40 m³. Used by food processors and other bulk material handlers.
• Special Silos Special silos for bulk materials with low bulk density, designed for efficient storage with constant discharge, addressing challenges like bridging and poor flow. Used by plastics processors.
• Feeding Systems Precise dosing devices for controlled material feed into extruders, suitable for regrind, agglomerate, film flakes, or fibers. Used by plastics processors.
• Turn-Key Solutions Tailor-made complete systems for the plastics industry, integrating multiple components into complete processing lines. Used by plastics processors requiring full-line integration.
• KPT Underwater Pelletizing Components KPT (Kreyenborg Pelletizing Technologies) supplies die plates, blade holders, pelletizing blades, tapped driving bushes, pellet dryers, and perforated steel sheets for underwater pelletizing systems, plus retrofit, modernization, and service. Compatible with common UWP systems on the market. Used by plastics compounders operating UWP lines.
• Remote Service Remote support service for quick and effective assistance with Kreyenborg systems via online access, reducing maintenance and travel costs for installed equipment customers.
• Process Consulting Process technology consulting for process optimization, custom system development, and process validation support, including trials at the Kreyenborg Trial Center in Senden, Germany. Used by industrial customers evaluating or commissioning Kreyenborg equipment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 95% decontamination efficiency for rPET flakes meeting EU/EFSA and US FDA criteria for food contact applications
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Holmach Ltd.regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 21 February 2025UK-based sales representative for Kreyenborg's infrared food processing technology. Part of Automate UK. Offers FoodSafety-IRD technology for pasteurization, sterilization, roasting, drying, and coating of nuts, seeds, herbs, and other food products.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Motan (Colortronic): German manufacturer of material handling, conveying, drying, and dosing systems for plastics processing. Comparable to Kreyenborg's mixers, silos, and feeding systems in target customers (plastics converters and compounders) and core functionality.
• Piovan: Italian manufacturer of material handling, storage, dosing, and drying equipment for the plastics industry. Comparable to Kreyenborg's silos, feeding systems, and plastics drying portfolio with overlapping customer base of plastics processors and recyclers.
• Starlinger: Austrian manufacturer of recycling and packaging machinery, with a strong position in PET bottle-to-bottle recycling lines. Directly comparable to Kreyenborg's IR-CLEAN rPET decontamination and crystallization business in the food-grade PET recycling value chain.
• GEA Group: German manufacturer of food processing equipment, including thermal treatment and drying systems for food and feed. Comparable to Kreyenborg in food-sector equipment engineering, with broader scale and a global service network.
• Zeppelin Systems: German manufacturer of silos, conveying, and material handling systems for plastics, chemicals, and bulk materials. Comparable to Kreyenborg's special silos, big-bag stations, and complete turn-key handling solutions in the bulk-materials segment.
• Bühler Group: Swiss plant-engineering group with a large food processing portfolio covering sterilization, drying, and thermal treatment of grains, nuts, seeds, and spices. Directly comparable to Kreyenborg's FoodSafety-IRD food processing division in target customers and application set.
• Hosokawa Alpine: German manufacturer of size reduction, classification, and processing equipment for plastics, food, and chemicals. Comparable to Kreyenborg in plastics processing machinery and selected food/dry-material applications, with overlapping mixer and drying capabilities.
• Coperion: Germany- and US-based manufacturer of compounding, extrusion, and material handling systems for the plastics industry. Closely comparable to Kreyenborg's plastics division in feeding, mixing, and bulk-material handling for plastics converters and compounders.

Broad incumbents

• ANDRITZ: Austrian industrial group with separation, drying, and bulk-material processing technologies across food, feed, and chemicals. Comparable to Kreyenborg's bulk-materials drying division as a broader-incumbent alternative for industrial thermal processing.
• Nordson Corporation: US industrial precision technology company that acquired part of Kreyenborg's plastics specialty machinery business in 2013. A relevant incumbent peer through its polymer processing systems and through its prior ownership of Kreyenborg's former plastics machinery product lines.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCSsLWLTxfyoOdnKQWTzrWDw
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kreyenborg-gmbh-&-co.-kg/?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kreyenborg.com%2F
• Instagraminstagram.com/kreyenborg_gmbh

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Kreyenborg