What AQUAFIL Engineering does

AQUAFIL Engineering GmbH is a Berlin-based (Germany) industrial engineering firm, founded in 1988, that designs and delivers polyamide (PA6, PA6.6) and polyester (PET, PBT, PEN, PLA, PBS) polymer plants. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Italian polyamide producer AQUAFIL S.p.A., one of the largest PA6 producers in Europe with over 35% market share in the PA6 BCF segment and approximately 3,000 employees group-wide. AQUAFIL Engineering itself operates with a flat, engineering-led team of 11-50 staff in Berlin, leveraging more than 50 years of combined polymer engineering experience to deliver complete production plants on a turn-key basis, with capacity offerings reaching 200 mt/day for PA6 and 600 tons/day for polyester.

The firm's core technology stack is proprietary and patented, anchored by processes including LDR® (Lactam Direct Recycling), UPR® (Universal Polymerisation Reactor), LBT® (Low Building Technology, reducing building cost and time by up to 50%), DFC® (Direct Film Casting, eliminating crystallization and remelting), EverPET® (polyester recycling systems covering mechanical and chemical glycolysis routes), DRC® (Disc-Ring-Cage shaftless finisher), AQU-RACY® gravimetric dosing, in-line viscometry, and mist-eliminator filtration. A key structural differentiator is the ability to test technologies at industrial scale inside the parent's own production facilities before commercial release, creating a data and pilot advantage unavailable to pure engineering peers. Single-component equipment (dosing units, viscometers, filters, mist eliminators) and engineering services (feasibility, basic/detailed engineering, supervision, training, optimization) supplement the turn-key plant business.

The revenue model is project-based and enterprise-direct, with no channel partners. AQUAFIL Engineering sells to global polymer producers across textile/fiber, BOPET film, PET packaging, engineering plastics, recycling, and tire cord verticals, invoicing via one-time plant licenses, equipment hardware sales, recurring licensing royalties on proprietary processes, and professional services for supervision, training, and after-sales optimization. Customer logos include SRF (Thailand), Revalyu (India), Genomatica, Evonik, Polyplex, Indorama/Asia PET, Slovkord, and Akra Polyester, demonstrating recurring relationships with major industrial buyers across Europe, South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and North America.

Name

AQUAFIL Engineering

Legal name

AQUAFIL Engineering GmbH

Website

https://aquafileng.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AQUAFIL Engineering is a Berlin-based German engineering firm, wholly owned by Italian polyamide producer AQUAFIL Group, that designs and supplies turn-key polyamide and polyester polymer plants, proprietary recycling systems, and process equipment to global industrial polymer producers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Polymer Plant Engineering

NAICS

Resin, Synthetic Rubber, and Artificial and Synthetic Fibers and Filaments Manufacturing (3252)

SIC

Plastic Materials, Synth Resins & Nonvulcan Elastomers (2821)

akta.pro primary industry

Commodity Plastic Compounds (PE/PP/PS/PVC) (IMANABAA)

Keywords

• Polymer plant engineering
• Polyamide production systems
• Polyester plant design
• Chemical recycling equipment
• Industrial drying technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Complete Plant Supply: Supply of complete production plants (without building construction) including technology, license, basic and detailed engineering, and all plant components on turn-key basis.
2. Engineering Services: Basic engineering, detailed engineering, feasibility studies, technical revamping studies, and scale-up of chemical/polymer plants and equipment.
3. Equipment and Components: Supply of single components or plant sections including proprietary equipment like dosing units, viscometers, filters, and drying plants.
4. Know-how and Production Licenses: Licensing of proprietary processes and technologies including LDR®, UPR®, LBT®, DFC®, and EverPET®.
5. Supervision and Start-up Services: Supervision of erection and start-up assistance, training of plant personnel.
6. Optimization and After-Sales Services: Plant optimization for production capacity increase, equipment design, reliability improvement, product quality, conversion cost reduction, and environmental aspects. Includes quick support services.
7. Chemicals and Catalysts: Supply of chemicals or catalysts for polymer plants.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

AQUAFIL Engineering GmbH designs, engineers, and supplies complete industrial plants for the production of polyamide, polyester, and related polymers, covering polymerization, chemical processing, drying, melt handling, and chemical recycling operations. In addition to full plants, the company sells individual process components such as gravimetric dosing systems, in-line viscometers, polymer filters, and mist eliminators, and provides engineering, supervision, and process optimization services to polymer producers worldwide.

Product overview

AQUAFIL Engineering is a German engineering company supplying polyamide and polyester polymer plants with proprietary technology, processes, and equipment design. The portfolio includes: Polymer Plants (continuous and batch for PA6, PA6.6, PET, PBT, PEN), Chemical Plants (cyclohexanone, caprolactam), Drying Plants, Masterbatch Production Units, and Recycling Plants. Key proprietary technologies include LDR®/LDR®-HQ (Lactam Direct Recycling) for polyamide, EverPET® for polyester recycling, LBT® (Low Building Technology) for compact plant design, UPR® (Universal Polymerisation Reactor), and DFC® (Direct Film Casting). Equipment offerings include AQU-RACY® gravimetric dosing units, in-line viscometers, polymer filters, and mist eliminators. Services encompass engineering, licensing, feasibility studies, supervision, training, and plant optimization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Polymer Plants Complete industrial plants designed and built for polyamide and polyester polymerization, intended for industrial polymer producers seeking turnkey production capacity.
• Chemical Plants Industrial chemical plants engineered for downstream processing steps used in polyamide and polyester production, sold to polymer manufacturers.
• Drying Plants Drying plants for polymer chips and related polymer materials, delivered to industrial polymer producers as standalone units or as part of integrated polymer lines.
• Recycling Plants Complete recycling plants for polyester, including chemical recycling of PET using EverPET® technology, designed for polymer producers and recyclers seeking to convert recycled feedstocks into fiber- or packaging-grade polymer.
• AQU-RACY Gravimetric Chips Dosing System Standalone AQU-RACY® gravimetric dosing system used to meter polymer chips with high accuracy, sold to polymer producers as an individual piece of process equipment.
• In-Line Viscometer In-line viscometer used for continuous measurement of polymer melt viscosity during polyamide and polyester processing, sold as a standalone instrument to polymer producers.
• Polymer Filter Polymer filter used to remove contaminants from polyamide and polyester melt streams, supplied as a standalone component to polymer manufacturers.
• Mist Eliminator Proprietary mist eliminator for polymer melt and process gas streams, supplied as a standalone component to reduce emissions and protect downstream equipment in polymer plants.
• Engineering and Plant Optimization Services Engineering, commissioning, supervision, and process optimization services for polyamide and polyester plants, provided to polymer producers on a project basis.

Quantifiable outcome

• Building and erection cost reduced by up to 50% with LBT® technology
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Revalyu Recycling (India)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2022Aquafil Engineering and Revalyu Recycling signed an agreement for using specific parts of Aquafil's technology alongside Revalyu's own technology for expansion of its chemical PET recycling plant in Nashik, India. The new plant has a capacity of 240 tons/day (two 120 t/d lines).
• Genomatica (Geno)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2022Geno and Aquafil successfully completed first demonstration scale production runs for plant-based nylon-6. Produced several tons of plant-based caprolactam, converted to nylon-6 polymer for evaluation in textile, carpet and engineering plastics applications. Pre-commercial quantities from demonstration production in Europe.
• AQUAFIL S.p.A. (Italy)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMain shareholder and parent company of AQUAFIL Engineering GmbH. AQUAFIL S.p.A. is one of the largest polyamide producers in Europe with over 35% market share in European PA6 BCF market. Provides production know-how which is unique compared to other engineering companies.
• Specialist Engineering TeamscoreTechnology or IntegrationAQUAFIL Engineering works together with teams of specialists with long experiences including engineers from different companies for cyclohexanone and caprolactam technologies.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Uhde Inventa-Fischer: ThyssenKrupp subsidiary specializing in polyamide, polyester, and polymer plant engineering with proprietary technologies. Directly competes with AQUAFIL Engineering in continuous PET and PA6 plant design for the same enterprise polymer-producer customer base.
• Polymetrix: Swiss engineering firm designing polyester (PET, PBT) solid-state polymerization and melt-phase plants, with strong overlap in BOPET film and packaging polymer plant engineering for the same textile/film customer segments served by AQUAFIL Engineering.
• Zimmer AG / Lurgi Zimmer: Long-standing German polyester plant technology provider covering textile, filament, and BOPET applications. Recruited former Zimmer technology head Jürgen Krautstrunk indicates direct talent and IP overlap with AQUAFIL Engineering's polyester technology base.
• Erema Group: Austrian manufacturer of plastics recycling machinery for PET, polyolefins, and other polymers. Direct competitor in the polymer recycling plant market where AQUAFIL Engineering sells EverPET systems to recycling-focused customers.
• Starlinger: Austrian supplier of PET recycling equipment and plastics processing machinery. Competes with AQUAFIL Engineering in chemical PET recycling plant projects targeting producers like Revalyu and post-consumer waste processors.
• List Technology AG: Swiss specialist in polymer plant components and drying technology including wiped-film evaporators and molecular distillation—directly comparable to AQUAFIL Engineering's drying plants and polymer finishing equipment offerings.

Emerging players

• Gneuss Kunststofftechnik: German supplier of polymer filtration, recycling, and processing equipment. Overlaps with AQUAFIL Engineering's polymer filter and recycling equipment portfolio, though smaller in scale and different in technology focus.
• Carbios: French biotech firm developing enzymatic PET recycling technology. Not a direct engineering competitor but an emerging alternative recycling technology that increasingly competes for the same customer R&D pipelines and recycling-plant capital budgets.

Broad incumbents

• Sulzer Chemtech: Swiss industrial engineering group providing chemical plant and process equipment across many sectors. Broader portfolio than AQUAFIL Engineering but overlaps in reactor, separation, and chemical-process engineering for polymer producers.
• Bühler Group: Swiss global plant engineering firm for food, feed, and advanced materials processing. Touches polymer/chemical processing through drying and process technology but operates at much larger scale across multiple unrelated verticals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aquafil-engineering-gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 AQUAFIL Engineering