What Leistritz Extrusionstechnik does

Leistritz Extrusionstechnik GmbH is a German manufacturer of co-rotating twin-screw extruders and turnkey extrusion systems, founded as a standalone subsidiary of Leistritz AG in 2001 with operational roots stretching back to 1937. The company designs, manufactures, and services machinery organized around four product families — the ZSE MAXX Series, ZSE iMAXX Series, ZSE HP-PH pharma Series, and ZSE MAXX-HD hygienic design Series — combined with proprietary control and measurement technologies including the LinXX HMI control system, the Leistritz Extensional Rheometer, and LinXX Pilot & Rheo analysis software. Its core technical differentiator is a combination of high specific torque density (up to 15 Nm/cm³) and a large free-volume OD/ID ratio of 1.66 on a modular screw/barrel platform, enabling flexible processing across demanding materials.

The company serves three primary verticals: plastics compounding (masterbatch, recycling, direct extrusion, foaming, lab extrusion), pharmaceutical and life science applications (GMP-compliant and 21 CFR Part 11 conformant extruders from 50 g/h to 100 kg/h), and food and feed (TVP, HMMA meat analogs, extruded snacks, pet food). Customer reach is global through wholly-owned subsidiaries and Innovation Centers in Nuremberg (HQ), Somerville NJ (USA), Taicang (China), Singapore, and France, plus historical sales branches in Italy and the UK.

Revenue mechanics are anchored in capital-equipment sales of bespoke-configured extruders and turnkey extrusion lines, complemented by recurring revenue from spare parts, maintenance, repair, the Customer Service Portal, the Extrusion Academy training programs, and prototyping/testing services. Pricing is custom/quote-based with no public disclosure. The go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales augmented by strategic channel partnerships — notably with NGR for combined recycling and compounding and with Brückner Maschinenbau for large-scale BOPP film lines.

Name

Leistritz Extrusionstechnik

Legal name

Leistritz Extrusionstechnik GmbH

Website

https://extruders.leistritz.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Leistritz Extrusionstechnik is a German manufacturer of co-rotating twin-screw extruders and turnkey extrusion systems serving plastics compounding, pharmaceutical, and food/feed manufacturers globally through direct enterprise sales and Innovation Centers in Germany, the USA, and China.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Extrusion Equipment

NAICS

Speed Changer, Industrial High-Speed Drive, and Gear Manufacturing (333612), Measuring, Dispensing, and Other Pumping Equipment Manufacturing (333914), Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519)

SIC

General Industrial Machinery & Equipment (3560), Special Industry Machinery, Nec (3559)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Spindles & High-Speed Drives (Machine Tool Spindles, High-speed Motors) (IMAGACAL)

Keywords

• Twin screw extruders
• Plastics compounding machinery
• Pharmaceutical extrusion equipment
• Food extrusion systems
• Turnkey extrusion lines

Headquarters

HQ city

Nürnberg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Twin Screw Extruder Sales: Sale of co-rotating twin screw extruders (ZSE MAXX, ZSE iMAXX, ZSE HP-PH pharma series, ZSE MAXX-HD food series). Capital equipment sales with custom configuration, long sales cycles, and direct enterprise engagement.
2. Turnkey Extrusion Lines & Engineering: Custom engineering and delivery of complete turnkey extrusion lines for plastics, pharma, and food industries. Includes peripheral equipment, downstream equipment (granulators, cooling dies), and process automation. Milestone project: complete extrusion line for polymer stabilization in Kazakhstan (2014).
3. Aftermarket & Spare Parts: Spare parts supply for extruder components including screw elements, barrels, and wear parts. Worldwide availability through service organization.
4. Service, Maintenance & Repair: Comprehensive lifecycle services including plant inspection, maintenance planning, repair center (screw set and barrel overhaul), startup/installation, control system modernization, and remote diagnostics.
5. Prototyping, Testing & Process Development: Customer trials and project-specific development at Innovation Centers in Nuremberg (Germany), Somerville (USA), and Taicang (China). Application development services for new formulations and processes.
6. Training & Extrusion Academy: Training programs including Extrusion Academy BASIC & PRO, PHARMA Extrusion Academy, on-site customer training, and at-company training center sessions for operators.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Leistritz Extrusionstechnik develops and manufactures co-rotating twin screw extruders (ZSE MAXX, ZSE iMAXX, ZSE HP-PH pharma series, ZSE MAXX-HD food series) and delivers complete turnkey extrusion lines for plastics compounding, pharmaceutical, and food/feed manufacturers. The portfolio is complemented by inline measuring equipment (elongational rheometer), proprietary LinXX control technology, and peripheral equipment such as hot cut granulators and cooling dies.

Product overview

Leistritz Extrusionstechnik is a leading manufacturer of twin-screw extruders and turnkey extrusion systems serving the plastics, pharmaceuticals, food, and feed industries. The product portfolio centers on co-rotating twin-screw extruders organized in distinct series: the ZSE MAXX Series (standard plastics compounding with torque up to 15 Nm/cm³ and OD/ID ratio of 1.66), the ZSE iMAXX Series (integrated design with enhanced hygiene and energy efficiency), the Pharma Extruder ZSE HP-PH Series (GMP-compliant pharmaceutical applications ranging from 50 g/h to 100 kg/h), and the ZSE MAXX-HD Series (hygienic design for food/feed with IP 65-rated process units). Supporting the extruders are complementary technologies including the Elongational Rheometer (inline measurement of shear and elongational viscosity), LinXX HMI control technology (process monitoring with OPC-UA interface), LinXX Pilot & Rheo software (data visualization and analysis), and peripheral equipment (hot cut granulators, cooling dies). The company also provides complete engineering lines, prototyping/testing services at Innovation Centers in Germany, USA, and China, the Extrusion Academy training programs, Customer Service Portal (digital 24/7 support), and comprehensive lifecycle services including maintenance, repair, and modernization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ZSE MAXX: Twin screw extruder series with very high specific torque (up to 15 Nm/cm³) and large volume (OD/ID = 1.66)
• ZSE iMAXX
• ZSE HP-PH (Pharma Series)
• ZSE MAXX-HD
• LinXX HMI
• Dehnrheometer
• LinXX Pilot & Rheo
• C:GRAN

Products and services

• ZSE MAXX Series Twin Screw Extruder Co-rotating twin-screw extruder combining high specific torque (up to 15 Nm/cm³) with large free volume (OD/ID = 1.66), designed for plastics compounding, masterbatch production, recycling, and lab extrusion applications across multiple size variants from ZSE MAXX 12 to 75.
• ZSE iMAXX Series Twin Screw Extruder Integrated twin-screw extruder (ZSE 60 iMAXX) with premium materials, intelligent machine control, strong drive, high energy efficiency, and compact design. Features specific torque up to 15.0 Nm/cm³ with high free volume (Da/Di = 1.66), optimized for masterbatch and compounding with fast product changeover.
• ZSE HP-PH Pharma Extruder Series Twin-screw extruders specifically designed for pharmaceutical and life science applications, available in models ZSE 12 HP-PH (50–1,000 g/h), ZSE 18 HP-PH (500 g/h–10 kg/h), ZSE 27 HP-PH (5–25 kg/h), ZSE 40 HP-PH (20–50 kg/h), and ZSE 50 HP-PH (50–100 kg/h). Features torque control, WIP capabilities, flexible screw geometry, and GMP-compliant construction.
• ZSE MAXX-HD Hygienic Design Food Extruder Hygienic design twin-screw extruder for food and feed extrusion with throughputs from 50 g/h to over 1,000 kg/h. Features 3-component design (supply unit, process unit IP 65, drive unit with stainless steel enclosure), Washing in Place capability, and integrated synchronous motor.
• Leistritz Elongational Rheometer Pioneering inline rheometer that combines measurement of both shear and elongational viscosity during the extrusion process without material loss. Enables real-time quality monitoring, early detection of product fluctuations, process optimization, and calculation of melt flow rate (MFR) and intrinsic viscosity (IV).
• LinXX Pilot & Rheo Software Stand-alone software for visualization and analysis of process data from twin-screw extruders and extensional rheometers. Enables graphical display of measurement data, filtering and comparison of data, direct data import, and export to Excel/OpenOffice. Supports quality certification and batch optimization.
• Engineering Lines (Turnkey Extrusion Systems) Complete turnkey extrusion lines engineered and implemented by Leistritz, including upstream and downstream equipment integration (granulators, cooling dies, process automation). Includes milestone projects such as a complete extrusion line for polymer stabilization delivered to Kazakhstan in 2014 and the world's largest BOPP film line (12 meter width) developed jointly with Brückner Maschinenbau.
• Prototyping and Testing Services Application development and project-specific development services at Innovation Centers in Nuremberg (Germany), Somerville (USA), and Taicang (China). Includes process optimization, product quality improvement, and throughput optimization using ZSE MAXX 12-75 and ZSE iMAXX extruders.
• Extrusion Academy Training Programs Training programs including Extrusion Academy BASIC, Extrusion Academy PRO, and PHARMA Extrusion Academy for operator training and skill development. Also includes on-site customer training and at-company training center sessions.
• Customer Service Portal (CSP) Digital platform providing 24/7 access to machine information, dashboards, maintenance plans, predictive maintenance alerts, spare parts ordering, and direct support connectivity.
• Lifecycle Services Comprehensive after-sales support including spare parts supply, maintenance planning, repair center (screw set and barrel overhaul), startup and installation, control system modernization, process development, and training services.
• Hot Cut Granulator Hot tag granulator for food applications including starch-based products, textured vegetable proteins (TVP), high moisture meat analogs (HMMA), and encapsulated flavors. Features variable nozzle design, controlled temperature, quick tool changes, and easy cleaning.
• LCD Cooling Die Cooling die for HMMA (High Moisture Meat Analog) applications offering up to five individually adjustable temperature zones for precise cooling and fiber-like meat texture.

Quantifiable outcome

• Minimum 95% machine availability guaranteed through LinXX HMI predictive maintenance vision
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

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.

• Next Generation Recyclingmaschinen GmbH (NGR)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 September 2025Leistritz and NGR formed a strategic cooperation for the future of plastics recycling and compounding. The partnership combines NGR's cutter-compactor and single-screw extruder (C:GRAN technology) with Leistritz twin-screw extruders for integrated recycling and compounding in a single step with one melting process. Joint test system at NGR Test Center in Feldkirchen, Austria (capacity ~300-500 kg/h) is available for customer trials. The cooperation addresses EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) requirements effective August 2026.
• Brückner MaschinenbaucoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint project to build the world's largest BOPP (biaxially-oriented polypropylene) film line, with an impressive width of 12 meters. Leistritz contributes extrusion expertise to the partnership with Brückner Maschinenbau for this landmark engineering project.
• CHASE Research Project ConsortiumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeistritz Extrusionstechnik participated as a partner in the CHASE research project together with partners from research, politics, and industry. The goal was to produce highly complex materials with a better carbon footprint and minimal use of resources.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Steer Group: India-based manufacturer of co-rotating twin-screw extruders serving plastics compounding, food, pharma, and recycling globally. A lower-cost emerging competitor whose pricing pressure could erode Leistritz's mid-market share over time.
• Brabender Technologie: German specialist in dosing, feeding, and extrusion-related measurement equipment, with overlap to Leistritz's rheometer and process control offerings. Comparable in heritage and German-engineering positioning.

Direct peers

• Coperion (Hillenbrand): German-based global leader in compounding and extrusion equipment, part of Hillenbrand. Directly competes with Leistritz in twin-screw extrusion for plastics compounding, masterbatch, and recycling, with overlapping pharma and food capabilities. The most direct comparable in the twin-screw extruder space.
• Xtrutech: UK-based specialist manufacturer of co-rotating twin-screw extruders focused on plastics compounding, masterbatch, and recycling. Smaller niche player competing head-to-head with Leistritz in mid-throughput compounding segments.
• Entek Manufacturing: US-based twin-screw extruder manufacturer focused on battery separator films and specialty applications. Comparable technology platform with co-rotating twin screws; smaller scale than Leistritz but direct competitor in select compounding segments.
• Bühler Group: Swiss-headquartered process equipment specialist with strong twin-screw extrusion presence in food, feed, and specialty applications. Direct competitor to Leistritz in food extrusion (TVP, snacks, pet food) and feed processing.
• KraussMaffei Berstorff: German manufacturer of twin-screw extruders and compounding lines, directly competing with Leistritz in plastics compounding and rubber processing. Comparable product portfolio, customer base, and German-engineering heritage.

Broad incumbents

• Thermo Fisher Scientific (Process Equipment / Coperion-era assets): Through historical acquisitions, Thermo Fisher maintains a presence in process equipment for pharma and life sciences that overlaps with Leistritz's ZSE HP-PH pharma extruder line. Broader scientific instrument giant rather than extrusion specialist.

Others

• NGR (Next Generation Recyclingmaschinen GmbH): Austrian recycling machinery maker partnered with Leistritz as of September 2025 for integrated recycling + compounding. Strategic alliance partner rather than competitor, but its cutter-compactor/single-screw technology is complementary and the joint offering competes against full recycling-line providers.

Regional players

• NETZSCH Group (Pumps & Systems / Grinding & Dispersing): German industrial equipment group with machinery divisions (grinding, dispersing, pumps) that overlap in industrial customer base and German mid-market positioning. Different product focus (no direct twin-screw extruder overlap) but comparable in scale and customer access to Leistritz.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/leistritz
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@leistritzgroup
• Facebookfacebook.com/leistritz
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/leistritz
• Instagraminstagram.com/leistritz

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries6 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 Leistritz Extrusionstechnik