SL Quick

What SL Quick does

SL Rasch GmbH (Special & Lightweight Structures) is a Stuttgart-headquartered, family-owned architecture and engineering firm founded in 1926 and operating under its current name since 1998. It specializes in the design, engineering, and project delivery of large-span lightweight and convertible membrane structures, with a portfolio spanning architectural umbrellas, tensile and minimal-surface roofs, sliding domes, tent cities, clock towers, and aircraft shading systems. The firm is best known for world-record commissions at Islam's two holiest sites, including the 150,000 m² Madinah Piazza convertible roof (250 umbrellas), the Hi-Tech Tent City in Mina (40,000 tents for 2 million pilgrims), the Sliding Domes at the Prophet's Mosque, and the 601m Makkah Royal Clock Tower.

The firm combines an interdisciplinary team of architects, structural and mechanical engineers, and computer scientists with proprietary in-house software (SL Design Programm Suite, PEDflow crowd-flow simulation, CFD climate tools, and fluid-structure interaction simulation) and patented convertible folding-arm mechanisms. Core materials include PTFE-coated glass fibre, carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRP), aramid fibres, ETFE, and PVC-coated polyester; structures are engineered for extreme conditions (up to 155 km/h wind, 70°C temperature swings, sand, UV) and validated through extensive cycle testing. Mustafa Rasch, third-generation family CEO since 2014, leads the company alongside COO Jürgen Bradatsch, who continues the Frei Otto design lineage.

SL Rasch generates revenue through custom architecture, engineering, and construction-management services delivered via direct enterprise sales, architectural competitions, and negotiated commissions with institutional clients — primarily Saudi government and religious authorities, but also airports, hotel chains, municipalities, and event-venue operators. Each project is bespoke and quoted per specification; there is no public pricing, no channel or reseller network, and no recurring SaaS-style revenue. The current revenue base is heavily weighted to Middle Eastern mega-projects, supplemented by a smaller set of European, North American, and Asian commissions.

Name

SL Quick

Legal name

SL Rasch GmbH

Website

https://sl-rasch.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SL Rasch GmbH is a Stuttgart-based, family-owned architecture and engineering firm specializing in bespoke lightweight and convertible membrane structures — including tensile roofs, sliding domes, and architectural umbrellas — for governments, religious authorities, airports, and luxury-hotel clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Architectural Engineering (Lightweight Membrane Structures)

NAICS

Roofing Contractors (238160), Roofing Contractors (23816)

akta.pro primary industry

Roof-Mounted Systems Integration (PV, Green Roofs, Roof Gardens, Snow Guards) (IMAFAMAI)

Keywords

• Lightweight membrane structures
• Convertible umbrella systems
• Tensile architecture design
• Structural engineering services
• Special lightweight construction

Headquarters

HQ city

Leinfelden-echterdingen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Architecture and Engineering Services: SL Rasch generates revenue through design fees, engineering services, and construction management for custom lightweight membrane structures. Projects include umbrellas, tent roofs, stadium covers, mosque shading systems, and specialized architectural elements. Revenue is project-based with long development cycles for complex structures.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

SL Rasch GmbH is a specialized architecture and engineering firm that designs, engineers, and project-manages custom lightweight membrane structures and convertible shading systems for institutional clients. The company's deliverables include tensile membrane roofs, deployable umbrella structures, sliding domes, tent cities, and bespoke architectural elements fabricated from PTFE-coated glass fibre, carbon fibre reinforced polymers, and stainless steel. Projects range from hotel terrace umbrellas to the world's largest convertible roof covering 150,000 m² for pilgrims in Medina.

Product overview

SL Rasch GmbH (Special & Lightweight Structures) is an architecture and engineering firm specializing in innovative lightweight construction and special structures. The company offers a portfolio of convertible umbrella and shading systems (ranging from hotel terraces to massive pilgrim accommodations), membrane structures (tents, roofs, domes), and specialized engineering services. Key products include the Hi-Tech Tent City with 40,000 units, the Madinah Piazza Shading Project (world's largest convertible roof at 150,000 m²), the Makkah Royal Clock Tower, and various stadium and airport shading systems. The company also provides proprietary software tools including SL Design Programm Suite for structural analysis and PEDflow for crowd management simulation. Services encompass architecture, engineering, and consulting with a focus on wind engineering and fluid-structure interaction.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Engineering Services Structural engineering services including wind engineering, fluid-structure interaction simulation, CFD tools for climate simulation, and crowd management simulation using proprietary PEDflow software. Provided to institutional clients requiring advanced analysis for lightweight and membrane structures.
• Architecture Services Architecture services including design, 3D visualization, virtual reality, model making, and development of lightweight structures from simple sun sails to complex movable dome constructions. Targeted at governments, religious authorities, hotel groups, and airport operators commissioning custom membrane buildings.
• SL Design Programm Suite Proprietary in-house software for designing and analyzing complex 3D lightweight structures including grid domes, cable nets, membrane structures, and shell structures. Used for virtual prototyping under simulated loads and optimization of membrane structures.
• PEDflow In-house crowd management simulation software for pedestrian flow planning, evacuation analysis, and validation of architectural layouts for large gatherings including pilgrimage sites, conference centers, train stations, museums, and sporting events.

Quantifiable outcome

• World's largest convertible roof - 150,000 m² total shaded area with 250 umbrellas for 250,000 pilgrims (Madinah Piazza)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

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.

• Bartenbach LichtLabor GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on the innovative LED lighting system for the Royal Terminal at Jeddah Airport. The partnership combined SL Rasch's membrane architecture expertise with Bartenbach's lighting design capabilities to create a system integrating direct and indirect lighting with 900 LED pendant lights, Fibonacci spiral-based ornamentation, and a chandelier of specially cut glass prisms.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Arup: Global engineering consultancy with a dedicated lightweight and tensile structures practice. Arup's scale, multi-disciplinary teams, and high-profile project portfolio (Sydney Opera House, Beijing Bird's Nest) make it the closest large incumbent peer to SL Rasch in the specialty membrane/structural engineering space, though it operates across many other disciplines.
• Buro Happold: International engineering consultancy with strong specialty work in tensile and fabric structures, façades, and complex geometry. Comparable to SL Rasch in its blend of structural engineering, computational design, and signature architectural commissions, but with a much broader portfolio of services.
• Seele Group: German facade engineering and construction specialist with significant membrane, ETFE, and structural glass capability. Comparable to SL Rasch in serving landmark architectural projects with custom engineered building envelopes, though focused on facades rather than standalone tensile structures.

Direct peers

• Schlaich Bergermann Partner (sbp): German structural engineering firm specializing in lightweight, tensile, and long-span structures — including stadium roofs, membrane structures, and cable-net facades. Directly comparable to SL Rasch in technology stack, project typology (sports venues, public infrastructure), and German engineering heritage.
• Form TL (Caleo): Specialist engineering firm focused on tensile membrane architecture, lightweight structures, and computational form-finding. Competes directly with SL Rasch for convertible roof, stadium, and pavilion membrane commissions and shares a similar combination of proprietary simulation tools and project-based services.
• Birdair: North American specialist in tensile architecture and fabric structures for stadiums, transportation, and public venues. Directly comparable in product (PTFE/ETFE membrane structures) and customer segments (sports, aviation, civic), with overlap on iconic roof commissions like Denver International Airport.
• Hightex Group: German-based specialist in membrane and tensile structures with strong presence in stadium and large-span projects globally. Directly competes in the same PTFE/ETFE membrane niche and shares comparable engineering service offering and project-based revenue model.
• Knippers Helbig Advanced Engineering: German specialist structural engineering firm with strong practice in complex geometry, parametric design, and lightweight structures. Directly comparable to SL Rasch in advanced computational engineering, custom signature projects, and German specialty engineering heritage.

Regional players

• Taiyo Birdair (Taiyo Group): Asian arm of the Birdair family of companies, providing tensile membrane structures across Asia-Pacific. Comparable to SL Rasch in product (membrane roofs for stadiums, airports, public spaces) with regional focus that may complement rather than directly compete with SL Rasch's Middle East/European footprint.

Others

• Frei Otto (legacy / IL): The Institute for Lightweight Structures (IL) at Stuttgart University, founded by Frei Otto — SL Rasch's longtime collaborator and advisor until his death in 2015. Closely related as both an intellectual predecessor and a research partner pipeline for the firm, though not a commercial competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/slraschgmbh
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/sl-rasch-gmbh-b97820113
• Instagraminstagram.com/sl_rasch
• Pinterestpinterest.de/slraschgmbh/_created
• Xx.com/sl_rasch

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 SL Quick