What Color Service does

Color Service S.r.l. is an Italian designer and manufacturer of automatic dosing and dispensing systems for powders and liquids, headquartered in Dueville (Vicenza) with 25,500 square meters of production capacity across four Italian facilities (Dueville, Campogalliano, Monticello Conte Otto, Cavazzale) and approximately 180 employees. Founded in 1987 by Fabrizio Toschi as the first company globally to introduce automatic powder dye dosing for textiles (ITMA 1987), the company has built a 1,000+ system installed base across six industrial verticals: textile, tire, rubber, cosmetics, color masterbatch/plastics, and food. Its product portfolio comprises core dosing and dissolution systems (TRS, SCC, SGQ, JIT, DAP, DLV), semi-automatic units (PESMAN, SCMAN, MagRob), laboratory systems (LAB-S, MCK, MP, SMP, Color Dyeing), distribution infrastructure (Mono Line, Multi Line), and a Central Management supervisory software platform with ERP integration.

The company's technology is differentiated by patented scraper mechanisms, aluminum silos engineered to eliminate static electricity, 3D recirculation dissolution replacing traditional agitation, and mass flow meter dosing achieving 0.01-gram precision. Revenue is generated primarily through one-time capital equipment sales to industrial manufacturers, supplemented by recurring aftermarket services (spare parts, maintenance, remote support, training). Distribution combines direct enterprise field sales for major accounts — including named blue-chip customers such as L'Oréal (cosmetics, Burgos plant) and Continental (tire, 2023 Supplier Award) — with a 30+ country network of distributors and sales agents. Marketing is anchored on industry trade shows (ITMA, ITM, FEBRATEX, TIRE TECHNOLOGY, INTERPACK, IN-COSMETICS GLOBAL) and content marketing through the colorservice.eu platform. Color Service holds ISO 9001:2015, ISO 45001, and ItalyX certifications.

On July 31, 2025, Color Service was acquired by Graco Inc. (NYSE: GGG) for €63 million, reporting €34 million in 2024 revenue at the time of the transaction. The company now operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary within Graco's powder handling portfolio, with stated intent to leverage Graco's global channels to accelerate international expansion and cross-sell complementary dosing and powder handling technologies.

Name

Color Service

Legal name

Color Service S.r.l.

Website

https://colorservice.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Color Service S.r.l. is an Italian manufacturer of automatic dosing and dispensing systems for powders and liquids, serving the textile, tire, rubber, cosmetics, food, and color masterbatch industries. Founded in 1987, the company has installed 1,000+ systems globally and was acquired by Graco Inc. in July 2025.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Dosing and Dispensing Systems

NAICS

Measuring, Dispensing, and Other Pumping Equipment Manufacturing (333914), Instruments and Related Products Manufacturing for Measuring, Displaying, and Controlling Industrial Process Variables (334513), Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)

akta.pro primary industry

Filling & Dosing Machines (Liquid/Powder/Solid) (IMAHAOAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Filling & Dosing Equipment (Liquid, Powder, Aseptic) (IMALAOAB), Color Matching, Tinting & Colorant Systems (IMAEAHAL)

Keywords

• Automatic dosing systems
• Powder dispensing equipment
• Liquid dosing automation
• Industrial weighing systems
• Color masterbatch equipment

Headquarters

HQ city

Karlstein

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Automatic Dosing Equipment Sales: Sale of automatic dosing and dispensing systems for powders and liquids to industrial manufacturers across textile, rubber, tire, cosmetics, food, and plastics industries
2. Aftermarket Services: Post-sale technical support, maintenance services, spare parts supply, and remote assistance. Training and know-how transfer services provided to customers.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Color Service designs, manufactures, and sells automatic dosing and dissolving systems for powders and liquids used by industrial manufacturers in the textile, rubber, tire, cosmetics, food, and color masterbatch/plastics industries. Its product portfolio covers high-precision weighing and dissolving equipment (such as TRS powder dosing with 0.01g accuracy, SCC/SGQ/JIT dissolvers, and DLV liquid dosing), semi-automatic systems (PESMAN, SCMAN, MagRob), laboratory automation units (LAB-S, MCK, MP, SMP, Color Dyeing), distribution piping systems (Mono and Multi Line), and a Central Management supervisory software platform for recipe and ERP integration. The company also provides installation, operator training, and post-sale technical support services to its global customer base.

Product overview

Color Service is an Italian company founded in 1987 and now a world leader in automatic dosing systems for powders and liquids, serving six industry verticals: textile, cosmetics, food, rubber, tire, and color masterbatch/plastics. The product portfolio centers on precision dosing and dissolution technology with three main categories: core dosing/dissolution systems (TRS, SCC, SGQ, JIT, DAP, DLV, SCMAN), laboratory-scale systems (LAB-S, MCK, MP, SMP, Color Dyeing), and supporting modules (PESMAN, Paternoster, MagRob). Distribution infrastructure includes Mono Line and Multi Line systems. The Central Management supervisory software platform enables ERP integration and recipe management. Products range from fully automated systems delivering sub-gram precision to semi-automatic units, and from production-scale to laboratory sample systems. The company operates from four Italian facilities totaling 25,500 square meters with 180 employees, having been acquired by Graco Inc. in August 2025.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TRS (Tex Rapid System) for Powders High-precision automatic dosing system for powder dyes with 0.01 gram accuracy, featuring patented scraper technology for optimal powder flow, aluminum silos for static elimination, and closed weighing cart design with automatic dust extraction, targeted at dyeing and printing houses.
• SCC (Soluzione Colori Color Service) Fastest automatic dissolver for powder dyes on the market, delivering one bucket of dissolved dyes every 6 minutes using 3D recirculation technology instead of traditional mixing, handling dispersed dyes that are difficult to dissolve with conventional agitators.
• SGQ (Soluzione Grandi Quantità) High-capacity automatic dissolution system for large quantities of powder dyes, processing up to 80kg in 12 minutes using 450-liter independent aluminum silos with concurrent weighing and dissolution.
• JIT (Just-In-Time) Dissolver Just-in-time dissolver optimized for sample dyeing machines, capable of dissolution and transfer in only 12 liters of water without overflow, ideal for recipe corrections.
• DAP (Dosing Automation for Powders) Powder chemical automation system for food industry with concentration up to 1:1 (1 liter water per 1kg powder), supporting various tank sizes from 450 to 31,000 liters and big bag loading capability.
• DLV (Dosing Liquidi) Liquid product automation system equipped with mass flow meter for gram-level precision regardless of product type, featuring a load cell for sub-500g dosing at +/-0.1 gram accuracy and air-blow technology for reduced water consumption.
• SCMAN Semi-Automation System Semi-automatic system capable of filling, dissolving, and transferring up to 80kg of powders in just 12 minutes using 3D recirculation without agitator, with automatic temperature regulation for industrial production environments.
• LAB-S Laboratory Sampling System Laboratory sampling system for preparing 1kg sample buckets with proportional valves for high precision, capable of weighing both liquid and powder dyes with integrated mixer for homogeneous blending.
• MCK (Mini Color Kitchen) Compact laboratory dyeing automation for sample production from 0.5kg to 15kg with 0.001 gram accuracy for dyes and 0.1 gram for chemicals, featuring robotic manipulation for weighing, dissolution and transfer.
• MP (Mid Production) Mid-scale laboratory dyeing automation system with optional carousel for 10 or 20 beakers, direct powder dissolution, automatic alkaline solution preparation, and 4:1 exact ratio (400cc dyes to 100cc alkaline).
• SMP (Semi Mid Production) Advanced laboratory dyeing system with independent dissolver for complete automatic solution preparation, automatic dispersing agent/acetic acid addition, automatic solution life monitoring, and automatic bottle washing.
• Color Dyeing Modular Units Modular laboratory dyeing units for atmospheric and/or high-temperature textile dyeing of natural, synthetic or mixed fibers, with up to 5 groups per unit, 600cc max bath capacity and 130°C maximum temperature.
• Brine Automation System Automated brine and powder chemical solution system with automatic tank filling and centralized control, distributing ready-to-use solutions via recirculation distribution ring.
• Mono Line Distribution System Single-line distribution system for auxiliary/liquid chemicals using three-way valve technology for cost savings while maintaining excellent operating and wash standards.
• Multi Line Distribution System Multiple line distribution system with dedicated pipe system for each destination and mobile arm coupling for secure product feeding to different services, recommended for dye distribution.
• Central Management / Supervisore Supervisory and centralized management software platform connecting to ERP, third-party recipe management, and external systems with remote assistance capability and configuration features for complete plant oversight.
• Continuous Process Water Make-up Continuous process system for sending required amounts of dyes or liquid/powder chemicals to service tanks with automatic repetition until scheduled batch total is reached.
• Automatic Mother Paste Preparation Automated mother paste preparation unit with high-performance agitator and scraper for high viscosity pastes, featuring automatic chemical powder and liquid addition and multiple recipe storage.

Quantifiable outcome

• Dosing precision of 0.01 grams with TRS system
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SMCcoreTechnology or Integration · 29 September 2025Color Service announced a strong partnership with SMC driving innovation in dosing technology. The partnership focuses on technological integration and co-development of dosing solutions.
• Graco Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 July 2025Graco Inc. completed acquisition of Color Service S.r.l. for €63 million on July 31, 2025. Color Service is now subject to the management and coordination of Graco Inc. The acquisition strengthens Graco's powder handling portfolio and supports its global expansion strategy with complementary technologies. Color Service reports €34 million revenue in 2024 with approximately 140 employees.
• Gavazzi SrlminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partnership with Gavazzi Srl based in Urgnano (BG) for the production of dosing machines and standalone laboratory machines.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Palamatic Process: Palamatic Process is a French equipment maker specializing in powder handling, sack emptying, dosing and big-bag stations across food, chemical and cosmetics industries - closely comparable to Color Service's powder dosing solutions.
• Gericke AG: Gericke designs and builds feeding, dosing, mixing and pneumatic conveying equipment for bulk solids, with strong food, chemical and detergent industry applications; a direct competitor in precision dosing for powder processing.
• Piab Group: Piab offers vacuum conveying and dosing solutions for powder and bulk material handling in food, pharma and chemical industries; competes with Color Service in powder transfer and recipe-based dosing workflows.
• Coperion (K-Tron): Coperion (including the legacy K-Tron brand) manufactures volumetric and gravimetric feeders and dosing systems for bulk solids in plastics, food, chemicals and pharma; it directly overlaps with Color Service's gravimetric powder dosing value proposition.
• AZO GmbH + Co. KG: AZO is a German specialist in automated handling, dosing and mixing of bulk solids and liquids for the plastics, chemicals, food and rubber industries; it is among the most direct competitors to Color Service's powder and liquid dosing systems.
• Schenck Process Group: Schenck Process supplies industrial weighing, feeding, screening and automation solutions for bulk materials, including the DISOCONT and MechaTron lines directly comparable to Color Service's dosing systems.

Broad incumbents

• Graco Inc. Graco is Color Service's parent and a global leader in fluid handling systems with broad industrial equipment portfolios; relevant as both parent and incumbent player whose powder-handling expansion strategy includes Color Service.
• Bühler Group: Bühler supplies complete processing equipment and dosing systems for food, feed and advanced materials; a broader incumbent with overlapping dosing/proportioning capabilities used by similar industrial customers.

Regional players

• Mavag AG: Mavag is a Swiss manufacturer of precision dosing and laboratory dyeing systems for the textile industry; a regional peer that directly competes with Color Service's textile laboratory automation products (e.g., LAB-S, MCK).

Emerging players

• Pelletron Corporation: Pelletron provides pneumatic conveying, bulk bag unloaders and dosing equipment for plastics and chemical industries; partial overlap with Color Service's color masterbatch and rubber dosing use cases.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/COLOR_SERVICE
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCVINe1VWmXmK4k4af4A7m5g
• Facebookfacebook.com/COLORSERVICESRL
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/color-service-srl
• Instagraminstagram.com/color_service_srl

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries2 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 Color Service