What Imalpal Group does

Imalpal Group is an Italian private industrial group founded in 1970 and headquartered in San Damaso (Modena), Italy. It designs, manufactures, and integrates machinery and complete turnkey plants for the wood processing industry. The group is organized through seven operating subsidiaries — IMAL, PAL, GLOBUS, PSP Machinery, ITALSORT, UNIBELT, and TAICOM — that collectively address four business areas: Wood Based Panels, Pressed Wood Packaging, Pellets & Energy, and Wood Recycling. The technology stack spans mechanical engineering, process integration, and plant-level process control systems delivered as integrated production lines rather than discrete machines.

With more than 50 years of operating history and over 25,000 plants installed across 145 countries on five continents, Imalpal operates a global B2B capital equipment business targeting industrial end-users in panel manufacturing, packaging production, pellet/energy generation, and wood recycling. The business model is project-based: revenue is generated through sale of complete plants and individual machinery lines, supplemented by aftermarket service, spare parts, and retrofits across the installed base. Growth has been pursued through a combination of long-tenured organic sales and selective acquisitions (PSP Machinery in 2015, UNIBELT in 2024, TAICOM in 2026), as well as vertical expansion via a dedicated Green Division and geographic outreach through international trade shows such as Formobile 2026 in Brazil. Leadership is anchored by founder and President Paolo Benedetti.

Name

Imalpal Group

Legal name

IMALPAL Group (comprising IMAL S.r.l., PAL S.r.l., GLOBUS S.r.l.)

Website

https://imalpal.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Imalpal Group is an Italian private industrial group founded in 1970 that designs, manufactures, and integrates wood processing machinery and complete turnkey plants for industrial customers in panel, packaging, pellet, and recycling markets worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Wood Processing Machinery

NAICS

Sawmill, Woodworking, and Paper Machinery Manufacturing (333243)

SIC

Special Industry Machinery (No Metalworking Machinery) (3550)

akta.pro primary industry

Biofuel Plant EPC, O&M & Process Technology Providers (EUAAAHAK)

Keywords

• Wood processing machinery
• Panel production equipment
• Industrial plant engineering
• Pellet manufacturing systems
• Wood recycling equipment

Headquarters

HQ city

San Marino

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 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. Industrial Machinery and Plant Sales: IMALPAL generates revenue through the design, engineering, and supply of customized wood processing machinery and complete turnkey production plants. The company serves industrial clients requiring capital equipment for wood-based panel production, pressed wood packaging, pellets and energy, and wood recycling operations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Imalpal Group designs, manufactures, and supplies industrial machinery and complete turnkey plants for processing wood into wood-based panels (MDF, particleboard, OSB), pressed wood packaging, pellets and bio-energy, and recycled wood products. Through its seven subsidiaries — IMAL, PAL, GLOBUS, PSP, UNIBELT, TAICOM, and ITALSORT — the group delivers the entire production chain, from chip preparation and resin blending to forming, pressing, finishing, sanding, conveying, dust filtration, and emission control, along with 24/7 worldwide customer service and spare parts.

Product overview

IMALPAL Group offers a comprehensive portfolio of wood processing machinery and complete industrial plants, organized into four main business areas: Wood Based Panels, Pressed Wood Packaging, Pellets & Energy, and Wood Recycling and Waste Treatment. The product portfolio consists of 21 distinct product categories spanning the entire wood processing value chain: Densimetric Separators, Laboratory Equipment, Chippers, Extractors, Roll screens, Chips cleaners, Metal removers, Flakers & Refiners, Air sifters, Dryers, Metering Bins & Scales, Resination systems, Dosing systems, Forming and press, Crushers, Quality controls, Feeders, Safety controls, Debarkers, and Oscillating Screens. The company brings together the expertise of its constituent brands—IMAL, PAL, and GLOBUS—along with PSP, UNIBELT, and TAICOM, to deliver turnkey solutions for wood-based panel production (PB, MDF, HDF, OSB), pellet manufacturing, pressed wood packaging, and waste treatment operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• IMAL: Wood processing machinery and plant engineering, specializing in dryers, forming systems, and industrial automation
• PAL
• GLOBUS
• Green Division

Products and services

• Complete Plants and Turnkey Engineering Solutions Engineering, manufacturing, and installation of complete turnkey industrial plants that process raw wood into wood-based panels, pellets, pressed packaging, and recycled-wood products; sold to industrial manufacturers worldwide.
• Belt Dryers Belt-type industrial dryers used in the drying stage of wood-based panel production lines.
• Mechanical Dryers Mechanical dryers for drying wood material in panel-production processes.
• Board Cooler Industrial coolers that reduce the temperature of pressed wood-based panels after the press stage.
• Chip & Fiber Preparation Systems Machinery and integrated systems for preparing wood chips and fibers before refining and resin blending.
• Chip Washer Industrial washers that clean wood chips prior to refining in MDF/particleboard production.
• Stranders Stranding machinery that produces wood strands for OSB and other panel applications.
• Steel Refiners (Defibrators) Steel refiners / defibrators that defibrate wood chips into individual fibers for use in MDF and other fiber-based panel production.
• Hammer Mills Industrial hammer mills used to grind wood and recycled-wood material into defined particle sizes.
• Wind Sifters Air-sifting equipment for separating fines and oversize in wood-particle processing lines.
• Metering Bins Storage and metering bins that control the flow of wood material into forming and pressing stages.
• Glue Blending / Dosing / Injection Systems Resin blending, dosing, and injection equipment used to apply adhesive to wood particles/fibers in panel production.
• Resin Blending System Complete resin-blending systems for preparing adhesive formulations used in panel and pellet production.
• Forming & Pressing Lines Integrated forming and pressing lines that mat, form, and press wood-based panels in continuous or batch operation.
• Pre-Press Equipment Pre-pressing equipment that compacts the formed mat of wood material prior to the main pressing cycle.
• Sanding Machines Industrial sanding machines that calibrate and finish the surface of wood-based panels after pressing.
• Sanding Lines Complete integrated sanding lines for finishing wood-based panels, combining calibration and fine sanding in one line.
• Pneumatic Conveying Systems Pneumatic conveying systems for transporting wood chips, fibers, and dust between processing stages within an industrial plant.
• Dust Filters Industrial dust filtration systems used to capture and remove wood dust from air streams in panel and pellet production.
• Dry Cleaners (Elektrofilter) Dry-cleaning emission control systems (Elektrofilter) used to filter exhaust air in wood-based panel production plants.
• Industrial Vacuum Cleaners Industrial vacuum cleaning systems used for cleaning work areas and material recovery in wood-processing facilities.
• Disc Brushes Disc brush units used to clean the surface of wood-based panels after sanding.
• Pellet Plants Complete industrial pellet production plants for the manufacture of wood pellets used in the bio-energy market.
• Complete Mills Complete milling-process industrial plants delivered as an integrated turnkey solution.
• Worldwide Customer Service and Spare Parts 24/7 worldwide after-sales service, maintenance, and spare-parts support for Imalpal Group's installed base of more than 25,000 plants worldwide.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.

• TAICOMsupportingOthers · 1 January 2026TAICOM joined the IMALPAL Group in 2026, further completing the range of products and solutions offered by the Group.
• UNIBELTsupportingOthers · 1 January 2024UNIBELT joined the IMALPAL Group in 2024, completing the range of products and solutions offered by the Group.
• PSP MachinerysupportingOthers · 1 January 2015PSP Machinery joined the IMALPAL Group in 2015, expanding the range of products and capabilities within the Group.
• IMALcoreOthersIMAL is the primary company within the IMALPAL Group, specializing in wood processing machinery and plant engineering. The Group represents the union of IMAL, PAL, and GLOBUS, joined by other companies over the years through mergers and acquisitions.
• PALcoreOthersPAL is a core company within the IMALPAL Group, specializing in wood processing machinery. The Group combines the specific know-how of IMAL, PAL, and GLOBUS companies.
• GLOBUScoreOthersGLOBUS is a core company within the IMALPAL Group, renowned for long experience in design and construction of complete plants and machinery for wood-based materials processing.
• ITALSORTsupportingOthersITALSORT is a group company within the IMALPAL Group, contributing to the comprehensive wood processing solutions portfolio.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Vecoplan: German manufacturer of shredding, crushing, and conveying equipment for wood and biomass recycling. Overlaps directly with IMALPAL's Wood Recycling & Waste Treatment business area, particularly its crushers and chippers.
• Dieffenbacher: German manufacturer of complete production plants and machinery for the wood-based panel industry (MDF, OSB, particleboard). Direct competitor to IMALPAL across its core wood-based panel business, serving the same industrial customers with turnkey plants.
• Siempelkamp: German group supplying complete plants, press systems, and process technology for wood-based panel manufacturers worldwide. One of IMALPAL's closest direct peers in panel-press and turnkey plant engineering.
• Pallmann Maschinenfabrik: German specialist in size-reduction machinery (chippers, flakers, hammer mills, refiners) for the wood processing industry. Directly comparable to IMALPAL's GLOBUS subsidiary product range.
• Amandus Kahl: German manufacturer of pelleting presses and complete plants for biomass, feed, and waste recycling. Directly comparable to IMALPAL's Pellets & Energy business area and forming/press product line.
• CPM (California Pellet Mill): US-based global manufacturer of pellet mills, hammer mills, and process equipment for biomass, feed, and waste processing. Comparable to IMALPAL's pellet machinery and size-reduction offerings, primarily competing in non-European geographies.

Broad incumbents

• ANDRITZ: Austrian global supplier of pulp, paper, wood processing, and biomass equipment. Overlaps with IMALPAL in wood-based panel and biomass/pellet plant technology but operates at significantly larger scale across many industries.
• Bühler Group: Swiss global plant engineering and process technology group with adjacent capabilities in industrial drying, grinding, and processing equipment. Overlaps with IMALPAL's drying and material-handling technology but serves primarily food/feed markets.
• Metso: Finnish global supplier of processing and flow control equipment for mining, aggregates, and recycling. Overlaps with IMALPAL's wood recycling, crushing, and material handling equipment but at much larger scale across multiple heavy industries.

Emerging players

• Lindner Recyclingtech: Austrian specialist in shredding and recycling technology for wood and waste streams. Comparable niche to IMALPAL's Wood Recycling business area but with a narrower product portfolio and regional focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks3 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@IMALsrl
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/imalpal-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries7 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 Imalpal Group