Telford Smith

What Telford Smith does

Telford Smith is the largest manufacturer of machinery for the plastics industry in Australia, founded in 1923 and headquartered in Dandenong South (Melbourne), Victoria. The company designs, manufactures, and distributes industrial machinery and engineered systems for plastics recycling, extrusion, and moulding, serving plastic recyclers, compounders, roto moulders, waste processors, and manufacturing/warehousing operators. Its product portfolio combines own-brand equipment (wash plants, granulators, shredders, blowers, cyclones, bagging stations, conveyors, debagging stations, rotary valves) with distributed international brands (TEDERIC injection moulding, SESOTEC sorting, FORREC shredders, RUNI screw compactors, MESUTRONIC metal detection, SHINI ancillaries, ORWAK balers, MEPER, GALA, HAMOS, GREEN CREATIVE, MULTITECH, FILTON, UNITEK, XALOY, Yei Machinery, ZERMA). Equipment is engineered to Australian compliance standards (AS1657, AS/NZS 3000, AS4024.1, AS4100, ISO 9606.1) from the design stage, addressing a recurring procurement friction point for imported alternatives.

Manufacturing is conducted at a facility in Zhoushan, China, supported by Shanghai and Ningbo offices, with engineering, sales, and a Melbourne Experience Centre showroom located at the Australian headquarters. The company employs approximately 40 staff in Australia (including 9 qualified electrical and mechanical engineers) plus full-time manufacturing staff in China. Revenue is generated through new machinery sales, used and reconditioned machinery sales via a separate e-commerce storefront (ctsmachinery.com.au), and engineering/custom system design services. Pricing is project-based via custom quote rather than publicly disclosed. Distribution is direct in Australia and channel-based internationally through 22 agents serving 57 countries. The company reports over 2,000 cumulative customers and holds over A$2M of inventory at its Melbourne warehouse. No revenue, funding, or ownership structure beyond private/founder-controlled is publicly disclosed.

Name

Telford Smith

Legal name

Telford Smith Pty Ltd

Website

https://telfordsmith.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1923

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Telford Smith is an Australian-founded (1923) manufacturer and distributor of industrial machinery for plastics recycling, extrusion, and moulding, combining own-brand equipment with distributed international brands and serving recyclers, compounders, roto moulders, and waste processors in 57 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Plastics Processing Machinery

NAICS

Packaging Machinery Manufacturing (333993), Other General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing (3339)

SIC

General Industrial Machinery & Equipment (3560)

akta.pro primary industry

Plastic Recycling Equipment & Technology Providers (Sorting, Washing, Extrusion) (EUAIAKAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Separation & Filtration Equipment (Filters, Centrifuges, Membranes) (IMAHAEAB), Bagging, Pouching & Sachet Packaging Equipment (IMAHAOAH)

Keywords

• Plastic recycling machinery
• Extrusion equipment
• Injection moulding machines
• Waste processing machinery
• Plastics ancillaries

Headquarters

HQ city

Dandenong

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. New Machinery Sales: Sale of new industrial machinery including recycling equipment, extrusion lines, moulding machines, and plastics ancillaries. Products sourced from own manufacturing in China and international brand partners.
2. Used Machinery Sales: Sale of used and reconditioned equipment through ctsmachinery.com.au
3. Engineering and System Design Services: Custom engineering solutions including mechanical design, structural engineering, electrical systems design, and system integration for complete process lines.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Telford Smith designs, manufactures and supplies industrial machinery for the plastics recycling, extrusion and moulding industries. The company produces its own Telford Smith-branded equipment (wash plants, granulators, shredders, blowers, cyclones, bagging stations, conveyors, rotary valves) at its Zhoushan, China facility and distributes complementary international brands including TEDERIC injection moulding machines, FORREC shredders, SESOTEC sorting systems, RUNI screw compactors, MESUTRONIC metal detectors, ORWAK balers, SHINI temperature control and GALA pelletisers. The company provides engineering, system integration and turnkey line design for plastics processing customers.

Product overview

Telford Smith is the largest manufacturer of machinery for the plastics industry in Australia, offering a comprehensive portfolio of recycling, extrusion, and moulding machinery and engineered solutions. The product portfolio includes: (1) Telford Smith branded products - Blowers, Bagging Stations, Cyclones, Wash Plants, Granulators, Shredders, Friction Washers, Hot Wash Systems, Mechanical Driers, Conveyors, Debagging Stations, Rotary Valves, and Silencers; (2) Distributed international brands including TEDERIC injection moulding machines, RUNI screw compactors and dewatering systems, SESOTEC sorting and separation equipment, MESUTRONIC metal detectors, FORREC shredding systems, SHINI temperature control and drying equipment, and ORWAK balers and compactors; (3) Complete turnkey systems for plastic recycling, extrusion, and waste processing. The company operates manufacturing facilities in Zhoushan, China and serves customers in 57 countries worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Recycling Machinery and Complete Wash Plants Recycling machinery including complete wash plants for PET/PE bottles, film and rigid plastics, granulators, shredders, pulverizers, hammer mills, metal separators and bagging systems used by plastics recyclers and waste processors to process plastic waste into reusable materials.
• FORREC Shredding Systems Industrial shredders distributed in Australia from Italian manufacturer FORREC. The TB Double-Shaft Shredder features an exclusive cutting chamber design for quick shaft extraction and replacement, hydraulic transmission with constant power regulation, automatic PLC-controlled lubrication and a built-in modem for remote diagnostics. The TQ Four-Shaft Shredder combines the reliability and power of double-shaft shredders with output material size control and interchangeable shafts.
• SESOTEC FLAKE PURIFIER+ Sorting System High-performance plastic sorting system for plastic recycling operations. Sorts up to 3.8 tons per hour using multi-sensor technology combining NIR, color and metal detection. Achieves purity levels up to 99.999% for PET, HDPE, PP and mixed plastics, with VISUDESK providing real-time monitoring.
• TEDERIC NEO Series Injection Moulding Machines Premium injection moulding machines covering six product lines: NEO-T toggle, NEO-E all-electric, NEO-Ec hybrid-electric, NEO-H two-platen, NEO-Mv multi-component vertical rotary turntable and NEO-Ms multi-material horizontal rotary turntable. Feature KEBA control with touch screen options and servo-pump technology delivering 30-80% energy savings with max pressure reached in 28ms. Tonnage ranges from 55t to 4000t.
• RUNI Screw Compactors Screw compactors that compact materials and separate liquids from solids. Used for EPS compaction, dewatering washed plastics and depackaging food waste. Three sizes (SK120, SK240, SK370) using cold press friction rather than heat, achieving up to 90% EPS volume reduction at 50:1 ratios.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 90% volume reduction for polystyrene through screw compactors
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• TEDERICcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 December 2022TELFORD SMITH launched partnership with TEDERIC in December 2022 to distribute premium injection moulding machines in Australia. TEDERIC manufactures high-quality injection moulding machinery with R&D team based in Germany. The partnership includes six product lines: NEO-T (servo-toggle), NEO-E (all-electric), NEO-Ec (hybrid-electric), NEO-H (two-platen), NEO-Mv (multi-component vertical), and NEO-Ms (multi-component horizontal). TEDERIC brings 20 years of experience with very experienced design and after-sales department.
• FORRECcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFORREC is an Italian manufacturer of shredding systems including TB double-shaft shredders, TQ four-shaft shredders, LC multi-crusher shredders, LS bag opener shredders, hammer mills, and solar panel recycling plants. Telford Smith distributes the complete FORREC range in Australia.
• SESOTECcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSESOTEC provides separation and sorting technology. Products include FLAKE PURIFIER+ (high-performance sorting for PET, HDPE, PP, and mixed plastics), VARISORT+ sensor-based sorting systems, FLAKE SCAN plastic flake analysis, and multi-sensor sorting technology for plastics recycling.
• RUNIcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRUNI manufactures screw compactors for dewatering and compacting various materials including EPS. Models include SK120 (small to medium volumes), SK240 (medium to high volumes), and SK370 (high-volume industrial use). Reduces EPS volume by up to 90% using cold press technology.
• MESUTRONICcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMESUTRONIC provides metal detectors and separators for free fall, pneumatic conveying, and belt conveyor applications. Products protect injection moulding machines, extruders, and granulators from metal contamination.
• ORWAKcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorORWAK supplies balers, waste compactors and smart bins. Products include the Orwak 5030 bagging compactor known for durability (units still operating after 30+ years). Distributed in Australia by Telford Smith.
• GALAmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGALA manufactures underwater pelletising systems for plastic pellet production.
• GREEN CREATIVEmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGREEN CREATIVE provides high-performance depackaging machines for separating packaging from contents in recycling applications.
• HAMOSmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHAMOS provides sorting and separating technology for plastics recycling applications.
• MEPERmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMEPER manufactures blow moulding machines for hollow plastic product manufacturing.
• MULTITECHmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMULTITECH supplies vertical moulding machines for plastics manufacturing.
• SHINImajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSHINI provides plastics ancillary and automation equipment including hopper dryers, modular drying and dehumidifying systems, water chillers (air-cooled and water-cooled), oil heaters, and large-flow water heaters.
• FILTONmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFILTON manufactures rotary unions and mechanical seals for extrusion and processing equipment.
• UNITEKmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUNITEK provides extrusion crossheads for wire and cable manufacturing applications.
• XALOYmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorXALOY manufactures bimetallic extrusion barrels for enhanced wear resistance in extrusion applications.
• Yei MachinerymajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorYei Machinery provides plastics washing and recycling plants for processing various plastic types.
• ZERMAmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorZERMA manufactures granulators, shredders and complete recycling systems for plastics processing.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• EREMA Group: Austrian manufacturer of plastic recycling extrusion and re-granulation systems. Highly comparable as a directly competing supplier of recycling extrusion equipment to plastics recyclers and compounders — the same core customer base Telford Smith serves.
• TOMRA Sorting Solutions: Global leader in sensor-based sorting for plastic recycling. Directly comparable to the SESOTEC and HAMOS sorting lines Telford Smith distributes, serving the same plastics recycling customers with overlapping NIR and optical sorting technology.
• Haitian International Holdings: World's largest manufacturer of plastic injection moulding machines. Comparable to Telford Smith's TEDERIC injection moulding offering, competing for the same moulding-machine buyers across Australia and Asia on price and tonnage range.
• Lindner Recyclingtech: Manufacturer of shredders and complete recycling systems for plastics. Directly comparable to Telford Smith's FORREC and ZERMA shredder/granulator lines for plastics recyclers and waste processors.
• Wittmann Battenfeld: Supplier of injection moulding machines and plastics ancillaries (robots, temperature control, material handling). Comparable to Telford Smith's TEDERIC + SHINI ancillary bundle for plastics moulding customers.
• Starlinger recycling technology: Austrian maker of recycling extrusion lines and woven plastic packaging machinery. Comparable as a turnkey recycling system provider serving compounders and recyclers globally.
• Steinert Elektromagnetbau: German supplier of sensor-based sorting and separation equipment for recycling. Directly competes with SESOTEC sorting lines distributed by Telford Smith for plastic flake purification.

Broad incumbents

• Engel Holding: Established European injection moulding machine manufacturer with broad product portfolio. Comparable as a higher-end incumbent that Telford Smith and TEDERIC compete against for premium moulding accounts in Australia.
• ANDRITZ Group: Global incumbent supplying recycling, separation, and pulp-and-paper process equipment. A broader incumbent whose recycling and separation lines compete for large capex opportunities Telford Smith also targets.
• Bühler Group: Swiss process equipment manufacturer with plastics, food, and material handling lines. Comparable as a broad machinery incumbent whose plastics and recycling process systems compete with Telford Smith's turnkey solutions.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/telfordsmithcom
• Facebookfacebook.com/telfordsmithau
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/telford-smith-engineering-pty-ltd

Compliance8 records

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 Telford Smith