Erbatech

What Erbatech does

Erbatech GmbH is a privately held, owner-run German industrial machinery manufacturer headquartered in Erbach/Odenwald, Germany, that designs, engineers, and builds equipment for the wet finishing of knitted and woven fabrics. Founded in 1963 as a design and development centre within the Brückner Group and independent since 2002, the company operates through two divisions: Erbatech Textilmaschinen (textile machinery) and Erbatech Dachbahnen (sealing and waterproofing membrane production machinery). Its core textile portfolio is the modular SCOUT line — SCOUT COLOR (cold pad-batch dyeing), SCOUT VACUUM (vacuum dehydration), SCOUT washing ranges, SCOUT bleaching (pad-steam) ranges, and SCOUT FOULARD (impregnation) — complemented by GALAXY bleaching ranges and OBERMAIER yarn dyeing machines. The equipment is positioned on 100% Made in Germany quality and resource efficiency (lowest water, steam, chemical, and power consumption), with claims such as 40–70% drying-cost savings from SCOUT VACUUM.

The company serves textile manufacturers — primarily knit dyers and finishers, plus woven-fabric processors — and, via acquisitions, adjacent segments: construction-industry waterproofing/sealing membrane producers (through the Reiser operations acquired in 2008) and cosmetic/medical fiber processors (through the OBERMAIER brand acquired in 2006). Erbatech reports over 500 machines installed across more than 40 countries and around 140 employees, with stated 2021 turnover of €30 million.

The business model is one-time capital equipment sales of custom-made, individually engineered machines and plants, with quote-based pricing (no public price list) and follow-on potential in spare parts and service. Go-to-market combines direct enterprise field sales with dedicated regional sales directors (Central Asia/Pakistan/Egypt; South and Southeast Asia/India/Far East Asia) and an international network of roughly 40 sales-representative agencies across Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Africa. Demand generation relies heavily on major industry trade shows (ITMA Milano 2023, ITMA Asia October 2025) and a multilingual website.

Name

Erbatech

Legal name

ERBATECH GmbH

Website

https://erbatech.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1963

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Erbatech is a German manufacturer of custom wet-finishing machinery — dyeing, bleaching, washing, impregnation, and vacuum dehydration systems — for knit and woven textile manufacturers worldwide, with adjacent lines in yarn dyeing and waterproofing/sealing membrane production equipment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Ödenwald

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Industrial Machinery Manufacturing: Design, manufacture, and assembly of custom-made wet finishing machines and plants for textile industry. One-time capital equipment sales with potential for spare parts and service contracts.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Erbatech GmbH designs, engineers, and manufactures custom-built wet finishing machinery for knitted and woven textiles, including washing, bleaching, dyeing, impregnation, and vacuum dehydration systems. The company also produces machinery for the production of waterproofing and sealing membranes through its Dachbahnen division. All equipment is 100% Made in Germany and individually configured for textile manufacturers and construction-industry producers.

Product overview

Erbatech GmbH is a German industrial machinery manufacturer offering two main divisions: Textile Machinery (Textilveredelung) and Sealing Membranes (Dachbahnen). The core textile product portfolio centers on the SCOUT modular machine line for wet finishing of knitted and woven fabrics, including SCOUT Washing Ranges, SCOUT Bleaching Ranges, SCOUT COLOR (Cold Pad-Batch dyeing), SCOUT FOULARD (impregnation/finishing), and SCOUT VACUUM (dehydration). Additionally, the GALAXY bleaching ranges and OBERMAIER yarn dyeing machines (acquired in 2006) complement the product lineup. The sealing membranes division (acquired from Reiser in 2008) provides machinery for waterproofing and sealing membrane production. All machines are 100% Made in Germany with focus on low environmental impact through reduced water, energy, and chemical consumption. The company serves customers in over 40 countries through 140 employees.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SCOUT COLOR: Cold Pad-Batch (CPB) dye padder for dyeing knitted and woven fabrics with advanced control system and graphical process visualization
• SCOUT VACUUM
• SCOUT FOULARD
• SCOUT Washing Ranges
• HASPELFLOW
• OBERMAIER
• SCOUT Bleaching Ranges

Products and services

• SCOUT Product Line Modular machine concept for open-width wet processing of textiles, including washing, bleaching, dyeing, finishing, and vacuum dehydration. Main product line of ERBATECH for knit dyers and finishers.
• SCOUT Washing Ranges Continuous open-width washing ranges for woven and knitted fabrics combining high productivity with low water, energy, and chemical consumptions. Universal application from sensitive elastic fabrics to heavy technical textiles.
• SCOUT Bleaching Ranges Pad-steam bleaching ranges suitable for scouring cellulosic fabrics, producing constant and homogeneous base product for later dyeing or printing. High degree of white with low production costs compared to discontinuous technology.
• SCOUT COLOR (Cold Pad-Batch Dyeing) Cold pad-batch dye padder with advanced control system and graphical process visualization. Enables tensionless dyeing of knit fabric with fewer effluents, high reproducibility, and reduced water, steam, and power consumption.
• SCOUT FOULARD (Finishing/Impregnation) Foulards for precise impregnation with minimal chemical waste, equipped with crowned rollers, center-supported rollers, or S-rollers. For synthetic fabric applications, an integrated vacuum system is available.
• SCOUT VACUUM Vacuum dehydration system for synthetic fabrics enabling efficient removal of moisture before stenter drying. Saves 40-70% of drying costs with payback period generally less than one year.
• GALAXY Bleaching Ranges Pad-steam bleaching ranges for open-width and tubular fabrics. Optical brightener compartment (OBA) can be added for applying optical brighteners without contaminating the main bleaching machine.
• OBERMAIER Yarn Dyeing Machines Yarn dyeing machines and integrated solutions for fiber dyeing and bleaching, including applications for cosmetic and medical industries. Acquired in 2006.
• Erbatech Sealing Membranes / Dachbahnen High-end machinery solutions for production of waterproofing and sealing membranes, including innovations in packaging, palletizing, coating, mineralization, cooling, and mixing. Originally from the Reiser company.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40-70% drying cost savings with SCOUT VACUUM system with typically less than 1 year pay-back time
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Reiser (acquired 2008)coreOthersIn 2008, Erbatech acquired the operations of Reiser, a manufacturer of machines for waterproofing and sealing membranes with a 130+ year history. The machines were integrated under the Erbatech brand. This acquisition expanded Erbatech into the construction industry waterproofing segment.
• OBERMAIER (acquired 2006)coreOthersIn 2006, OBERMAIER was acquired and became a member of the Erbatech Group, adding yarn dyeing machines and integrated solutions for fiber dyeing and bleaching to the portfolio, including applications for cosmetic and medical industries.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Thies: German manufacturer of textile dyeing and finishing machinery, including piece dyeing and yarn dyeing machines; a direct rival in European wet finishing equipment for knit and woven fabrics.
• Loris Bellini: Italian manufacturer of textile dyeing and finishing machinery including jet, beck and continuous dyeing machines; a comparable European peer for wet processing equipment.
• Brazzoli: Italian specialist in continuous and discontinuous dyeing machinery for knit and woven fabrics; competes with Erbatech in the European knit-dyeing segment with comparable pad-batch and washing technologies.
• Fong's Industries: Hong Kong-headquartered textile machinery manufacturer producing dyeing, finishing, and printing equipment; serves the same global knit and woven fabric processing customers as Erbatech.
• Jiangsu Jinluo: Chinese manufacturer of textile dyeing and finishing machines serving cost-sensitive Asian mills; representative of the lower-priced Asian competition Erbatech faces across the Asian sales-director regions.
• Then (China): Leading Chinese textile dyeing and finishing machinery maker competing across Asia with continuous dyeing ranges and after-treatment equipment; directly comparable SCOUT-alternative offerings for knit and woven fabric finishers.
• Master (Italy): Italian textile machinery maker focused on continuous dyeing, printing, and finishing ranges for knit and woven fabrics; comparable technology and customer set to Erbatech's SCOUT product family.
• Brückner Group: Brückner is Erbatech's former parent (until 2002) and one of the largest global manufacturers of textile finishing machinery, including dryers, stenters, and wet finishing lines. Direct competitor across the same customer base of textile mills.
• Benninger: Swiss textile machinery manufacturer producing continuous wet processing and finishing ranges, including washing, bleaching, and impregnation equipment directly comparable to the SCOUT product line.

Emerging players

• Sedo Treepoint: German-based specialist in process control, recipe management, and automation for textile finishing; complementary rather than purely competitive, but its systems run on the same dyeing/finishing equipment sold by Erbatech.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries4 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 Erbatech