ROWO Coating

What ROWO Coating does

ROWO Coating Gesellschaft für Beschichtung mbH is a privately held German specialty manufacturer founded in 1991 and headquartered in Herbolzheim. The company provides contract vacuum coating of flexible substrates (films, nonwovens, fabrics) using roll-to-roll physical vapor deposition processes, including thermal evaporation and magnetron sputtering. Operations run on three coating systems capable of handling rolls up to 1,650 mm wide and 1,200 mm in diameter, supported by two Kampf slitting and winding machines — one housed in a Class 6 clean room with optical defect detection down to 0.02 mm² and particle removal to 1 µm. Inline low-pressure plasma pre-treatment is offered as an adhesion-promotion step.

The business operates a hybrid revenue model. The base layer is B2B toll coating and contract slitting of customer-owned substrates, priced on a per-quote basis, targeting enterprise customers across at least eight verticals: food packaging, construction, automotive, medical technology, solar, electronics/antistatics, furniture/interior, and sports/apparel. On top of this, ROWO sells two proprietary branded product lines: ROWOSHIELD® (copper- and aluminum-coated shielding fabrics and nonwovens for EMC applications, with tested attenuation of 78–93 dB) and ROWOSOL© (transparent silver-based electrodes for flexible solar cells, smart windows and displays, with transmittance up to 87% and sheet resistance of 6–8 Ω/□). Additional revenue is generated from antimicrobial PVD coatings (silver, copper, titanium dioxide) and customer-specific R&D, including participation in publicly funded BMBF and EU research projects.

Go-to-market is sales-led and consultative, delivered via direct telephone and email contact backed by a technical website and selective industry networking (Nano in Germany initiative membership since 2013). The company is led by three PhD-level managing directors — Dr. Roland Müller, Dr. Wolfgang Siefert and Moritz Müller — supported by a dedicated Head of R&D and a small operational team. Quality management has been continuously certified to DIN EN ISO 9001 since 1995.

Name

ROWO Coating

Legal name

ROWO Coating Gesellschaft für Beschichtung mbH

Website

https://rowo-coating.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ROWO Coating is a privately held German manufacturer founded in 1991 that provides contract roll-to-roll PVD vacuum coating of flexible substrates, complemented by branded ROWOSHIELD® EMI shielding and ROWOSOL© transparent electrode products for enterprise customers across medical, solar, automotive, food and industrial sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Vacuum Coatings

NAICS

Coating, Engraving, Heat Treating, and Allied Activities (33281), Paint and Coating Manufacturing (32551), Metal Coating, Engraving (except Jewelry and Silverware), and Allied Services to Manufacturers (332812)

SIC

Coating, Engraving & Allied Services (3470), Paints, Varnishes, Lacquers, Enamels & Allied Prods (2851)

akta.pro primary industry

Application Equipment & Coating Services (Contract Coating, Surface Prep) (IMAEAGAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Industrial & Protective Coatings (IMAEAGAB), Specialty & Functional Coatings (Anti-microbial/Anti-slip/Insulating) (IMAIAKAM)

Keywords

• Vacuum coating services
• Roll-to-roll coating
• PVD coatings
• EMI shielding films
• Transparent electrodes

Headquarters

HQ city

Herbolzheim

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Contract Coating Services: Toll coating and contract coating of customer-owned flexible substrates using vacuum coating processes. Includes slitting and cutting of coated materials to customer specifications.
2. ROWOSHIELD® Product Sales: Sale of proprietary shielding materials including ROS-M1 (copper coated polyester fabric), ROS-M4 (copper coated nonwoven), and ROS-M5 (aluminum coated nonwoven).
3. Transparent Electrode Products: Sale of transparent conductive coatings including ITO films (ROWO_TC-125_35) and transparent silver electrodes (ROWOSOL©-2.1) for solar cells, smart windows, LEDs and displays.
4. Customized Coating Development: R&D services and development of customized coating systems on polymer materials for specific customer requirements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

ROWO Coating provides contract roll-to-roll physical vapor deposition (PVD) vacuum coating of flexible substrates, applying metallic and transparent conductive layers for industrial customers. Its branded product portfolio includes ROWOSHIELD® EMI shielding films (ROS-M1/M4/M5), ROWOSOL© transparent silver electrodes, ROWO_TC-125_35 ITO films, and antimicrobial PVD coatings. Slitting, winding, plasma treatment, and customer R&D support are offered as ancillary services around the core coating operation.

Product overview

ROWO Coating is a contract vacuum coating services provider founded in 1991, specializing in PVD (physical vapor deposition) coating of flexible substrates from roll to roll. The core offering is the Vakuumbeschichtung service, utilizing three coating systems for thermal evaporation and magnetron sputtering. The product portfolio spans multiple branded lines: ROWOSHIELD® (covering ROS-M1, ROS-M4, and ROS-M5 — copper- and aluminium-coated shielding materials for EMC applications including cable shielding, conductive gaskets, and room/housing shielding), transparent electrodes (ROWOSOL©-2.1 silver-based TSE and ROWO_TC-125_35 ITO film), and antimicrobial layers (silver, copper, and titanium dioxide PVD coatings). Complementary services include precision slitting and winding (Schneid- und Wickeltechnik) via two Kampf machines including a Class 6 clean room line, plasma pre-treatment, and customer-specific R&D project management. The business model covers toll coating of customer-owned substrates and full solutions under the ROWOSHIELD® brand.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ROWOSHIELD: A product family of electromagnetic shielding materials including ROS-M1 (copper-coated polyester ripstop fabric), ROS-M4 (copper-coated polyester spunbond nonwoven), and ROS-M5 (aluminum-coated polyester spunbond nonwoven) used for cable shielding, conductive gaskets, and room and housing shielding.
• ROWOSOL

Products and services

• Contract Vacuum Coating (PVD Roll-to-Roll) Contract roll-to-roll physical vapor deposition (PVD) vacuum coating of flexible substrates, producing coated films for industrial customers who need custom metallic, conductive, or functional coatings.
• ROWOSHIELD® ROS-M1 ROWOSHIELD® variant ROS-M1 metallized film offering electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding performance on flexible substrates.
• ROWOSHIELD® ROS-M4 ROWOSHIELD® variant ROS-M4 metallized film for EMI shielding applications on flexible substrates.
• ROWOSHIELD® ROS-M5 ROWOSHIELD® variant ROS-M5 metallized film designed for EMI shielding applications on flexible substrates.
• ROWOSOL©-2.1 Transparent Silver Electrodes ROWOSOL© branded transparent silver electrode coating supplied on flexible substrates for applications requiring transparent conductivity.
• ROWO_TC-125_35 ITO Film ROWO_TC-125_35 is an indium tin oxide (ITO) coated film product for customers requiring transparent conductive layers on flexible substrates.
• Antimicrobial PVD Coatings PVD-applied antimicrobial coatings on flexible substrates for use in products and surfaces requiring antibacterial/hygienic functionality.
• Slitting and Winding Service Slitting and winding of coated films to customer-specified widths, performed in a Class 6 cleanroom environment for high cleanliness standards.
• Plasma Treatment Service Plasma treatment of flexible substrates to modify surface properties (e.g., adhesion, wettability) as a pre- or post-treatment to coating or as a standalone service.
• Research and Development Services Customer-focused research and development services for coating process development, prototype production, and feasibility studies on flexible substrate coatings.

Quantifiable outcome

• TSE transmittances up to 87% and sheet resistances down to 6-8 Ω/□
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Nano in Germany InitiativeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013ROWO is a member of the Nano in Germany initiative since 2013, a platform that enables nanotechnology companies to exchange with each other and gain visibility.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Materion Corporation: Materion's Advanced Materials segment produces thin-film coatings including ITO and other transparent conductive/specialty functional coatings used in displays, solar, and EMI-related applications. Materion is the closest direct competitor to ROWOSOL© TSE products and ROWO's specialty functional thin-film offering on flexible substrates.
• Dunmore Corporation: Dunmore manufactures coated, laminated, and metallized films including EMI/RFI shielding materials and conductive films for aerospace, defense, and electronics. Its product mix (shielding films, metallized substrates, functional coated webs) closely parallels ROWOSHIELD® and ROWO's toll-coating portfolio.

Broad incumbents

• Toppan Holdings: Toppan is a major Japanese producer of transparent conductive films and functional films for displays, touch sensors, and electronics. It competes with ROWO at the large-OEM/transparent-electrode level with substantially greater scale and manufacturing footprint.
• Oerlikon Balzers: Oerlikon Balzers operates a global network of PVD coating service centers (mainly for tooling and precision components). While its application focus differs from ROWO's flexible-substrate work, both rely on PVD deposition know-how and compete for vacuum-coating engineering talent and capital.
• Toyobo Co., Ltd. Toyobo produces specialty polyester films and coated films, including ITO-coated films for displays and electronics. It is a comparable incumbent in the transparent-conductive-film/functional-film category that ROWO addresses with ROWOSOL©.
• Lintec Corporation: Lintec manufactures specialty adhesive-coated and functional films for electronics, automotive, and industrial applications. Its functional-films portfolio overlaps with ROWO's contract coating and proprietary coated-film offerings at the broader incumbent scale.
• 3M: 3M's Electronics Materials and Specialty Films businesses include conductive coatings, EMI shielding tapes/films, and antimicrobial surface technologies. 3M is a much larger incumbent spanning overlapping use cases but without ROWO's niche focus on roll-to-roll PVD on flexible substrates.

Emerging players

• Canatu Oy: Canatu develops carbon nanotube-based transparent conductive films for automotive, touch sensor, and emerging solar applications. Its CNT films directly compete with ROWOSOL© silver-TSEs and ITO alternatives for flexible transparent electrode applications.
• Cambrios Advanced Materials: Cambrios (formerly Cambrios Technologies) commercializes silver-nanowire transparent conductive films for touch panels, OLED lighting, and flexible electronics. Its silver-nanowire films overlap technically and commercially with ROWOSOL©'s silver-TSEs for transparent electrode applications.

Others

• Von Ardenne GmbH: Von Ardenne is a German manufacturer of large-area PVD and PECVD coating equipment, including roll-to-roll systems for functional films. ROWO operates Von Ardenne-type architecture on three coating lines, making Von Ardenne a closely related equipment/infrastructure ecosystem participant rather than a direct downstream competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rowo-coating-gmbh

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 ROWO Coating