What Joulin does

Joulin designs, manufactures, and sells vacuum handling systems anchored on a proprietary foam vacuum gripper technology invented by founder Michel Joulin in 1968. The core technology uses independent self-closing valves embedded in foam (Valve Gripper, Port Gripper, Foam Valve, and Bag Gripper variants) that automatically seal off areas without product coverage, enabling a single gripper to handle porous, deformed, wrapped, or dimensionally variable products without retooling or reprogramming. The product portfolio splits into two lines: (1) foam vacuum grippers (standard, custom, and 2020 additions EasyFoam and Safe & Light) sold as EOAT to robot integrators and end users across packaging, palletizing, glass, bag, and construction material applications; and (2) automatic stacking and unstacking gantry robots (150T to 5000T plus a high-speed model) sold primarily to the wood industry, where Joulin has been a specialist since 1978. The business is a sales-led, hardware-revenue operation with custom and standard offerings delivered through direct sales (manufacturing sites in Etampes, France and Hickory, North Carolina) and a global distributor and robot-integrator channel reaching customers in 60+ countries. Spare foams, accessories, and professional integration services provide a recurring aftermarket layer.

Since 2022, Joulin has operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Piab Group, a larger Swedish vacuum technology company, with founders' sons François and Laurent Joulin continuing as Co-Presidents. The company is private, family-led, and reports no public financials. Growth drivers signaled in the input include the 2020 product launches, the 2022 Piab integration (global channel access), and the deliberate "All Industries" horizontal expansion beyond the historical wood vertical. There is no evidence of AI/ML capabilities, software platforms, or API offerings; the value proposition is mechanical and process-engineering based.

Name

Joulin

Legal name

Joulin

Website

https://joulin.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Joulin manufactures patented foam vacuum grippers and gantry robots for automated material handling, serving wood-industry producers, robot integrators, and general industrial customers across 60+ countries. Wholly-owned subsidiary of Piab Group since 2022.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Vacuum Handling Equipment

NAICS

Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing (333310)

SIC

Construction, Mining & Materials Handling Machinery & Equip (3530)

akta.pro primary industry

Vacuum Systems & Components (Vacuum Pumps, Ejectors, Cups, Grippers) (IMAHAGAN)

Keywords

• Vacuum gripper technology
• Foam gripper systems
• Wood handling automation
• Gantry stacking robots
• Industrial EOAT solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Hickory

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Vacuum Gripper Systems: Standard and custom foam vacuum grippers for various industries including wood industry and general manufacturing. Sales through direct channels and distributors.
2. Gantry Robot Systems: Automatic stacking and unstacking gantry robots for wood industry, available as turnkey systems or for integration into existing production lines.
3. Spare Parts and Accessories: Replacement foams, hoses, seals, vacuum generators and other spare parts for Joulin equipment.
4. Professional Services: Custom design, integration consulting, and turnkey solution implementation services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Joulin designs, manufactures, and sells patented foam vacuum grippers and automatic gantry robots for material handling. The portfolio covers standard and custom foam grippers (MiniGrip, FlexiGrip, ExtruGrip, Safe & Light, Lumber Gripper, etc.) for use as robot end-of-arm tools, plus a range of gantry stacking/unstacking robots (150T through 5000T plus SPEED STACKER) primarily serving sawmills, lumber operations, and woodworking lines. Spare foams, accessories, and integration/turkey professional services round out the offering.

Product overview

Joulin manufactures vacuum handling systems centered on its patented foam vacuum gripper technology. The product portfolio consists of two main product lines: (1) Foam Vacuum Grippers for all industries, including standard products (MiniGrip, Safe & Light, FlexiGrip, ExtruGrip, Plug & Pick, Value Gripper, Bag Handler, Palletizer Pro, Lumber Gripper), custom grippers, and four gripper technology types (Valve Gripper VG, Port Gripper PG, Foam Valve FV, Bag Gripper BG); and (2) Gantry Robots for the wood industry, ranging from manual systems to automated stackers/destackers (150T through 5000T models, plus SPEED STACKER). The company also offers EasyFoam (magnetic foam technology launched in 2020), spare foams, and accessories. Joulin is the inventor of the foam gripper (1968) and has expanded from wood industry specialization to serve all industries with vacuum handling solutions. Since 2022, Joulin has been part of the Piab Group.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EasyFoam: Magnetic foam technology for vacuum grippers
• Safe & Light
• MiniGrip
• FlexiGrip
• ExtruGrip
• Lumber Gripper
• Palletizer Pro

Products and services

• MiniGrip Standard foam vacuum gripper designed for compact handling applications across industrial settings.
• Safe & Light Ultra-lightweight all-foam gripper introduced in 2020, leveraging Joulin's patented foam valve technology for safer, lighter robotic handling.
• FlexiGrip Flexible foam vacuum gripper engineered for adaptable handling across varying product types and dimensions.
• ExtruGrip Foam vacuum gripper designed for extrusion and similar industrial handling applications.
• Plug & Pick Foam vacuum gripper engineered for plug-and-pick handling operations.
• Value Gripper Cost-effective foam vacuum gripper offering reliable performance at value pricing.
• Bag Handler Foam vacuum gripper specifically designed for handling bags and flexible packaging.
• Palletizer Pro Advanced foam vacuum gripper system designed for professional palletizing operations.
• Lumber Gripper Foam vacuum gripper specifically designed for handling lumber and wood products in the wood industry.
• EasyFoam Magnetic foam technology introduced in 2020 that combines magnetic properties with Joulin's foam gripper technology.
• Custom Vacuum Grippers Custom-designed foam vacuum grippers engineered to meet specific customer applications and requirements.
• Gantry Robots (Wood Industry) Standard automatic stacking and unstacking gantry robots equipped with foam grippers for the wood industry, handling products without adjustment for varying dimensions; capacity range covers 150T through 5000T models plus SPEED STACKER.
• SPEED STACKER High-speed automatic stacking and unstacking gantry robot designed for fast production-line operations in the wood industry.
• 150T Gantry Robot Entry-level standard gantry robot for wood-industry stacking and unstacking operations.
• 200T Gantry Robot Standard mid-capacity gantry robot for wood-industry handling operations.
• 500T Gantry Robot Standard gantry robot for wood-industry with higher capacity requirements than entry-level models.
• 700T Gantry Robot High-capacity standard gantry robot for demanding wood-industry applications.
• 1000T Gantry Robot Heavy-duty standard gantry robot for high-capacity wood-industry stacking operations.
• 2000T Gantry Robot Extra heavy-duty gantry robot for large-scale wood-industry operations.
• 3000T Gantry Robot Super heavy-duty gantry robot for maximum-capacity wood-industry handling operations.
• 5000T Gantry Robot Maximum-capacity standard gantry robot for industrial-scale wood processing operations.
• Manual Stacking System Manual stacking and unstacking system for wood-industry applications requiring operator control.
• Custom Gantry Robots Custom-configured gantry robot systems designed and manufactured to specific wood-industry customer requirements.
• Spare Foams Replacement and spare foam components for Joulin vacuum grippers, with proper foam selection (porosity, elasticity) to ensure performing grip and economical handling.
• Accessories and Spare Parts Complete after-sales service including hoses, seals, vacuum generators, and other spare parts for maintaining Joulin equipment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Handles products with no additional set up or re-programming when product configuration changes
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 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.

• Piab GroupcoreOthers · 1 January 2022Joulin integrates into Piab Group in 2022. Piab's long history of innovation in vacuum technology and global presence allows Joulin to further develop. Piab provides a long-term home for the family business and its employees. Together they strengthen their leading position in the automation industry.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Zimmer Group: Zimmer Group manufactures mechanical and vacuum grippers for industrial automation and robotics, including adaptive gripper systems — making it a close functional peer to Joulin's foam-based adaptive gripper technology.
• Robotiq: Robotiq develops plug-and-play EOAT (vacuum grippers, adaptive grippers, force sensors) for collaborative robots. Comparable to Joulin's positioning as a specialized gripper vendor serving robot integrators.
• Schmalz: Schmalz is a leading global manufacturer of vacuum components and automation systems, including vacuum grippers and EOAT. It is Joulin's most direct competitor in vacuum handling technology across industrial and wood applications.
• OnRobot: OnRobot is a specialist EOAT vendor for collaborative and industrial robots offering vacuum, mechanical, and magnetic grippers. It competes for the same robot-integrator and end-customer accounts as Joulin.
• Applied Robotics: Applied Robotics manufactures EOAT and gripper systems (vacuum and mechanical) for industrial robots. It is a comparable specialized EOAT supplier to the same integrator and OEM customer base as Joulin.
• SAS Automation (Bastian Solutions): SAS Automation, now part of Bastian Solutions, manufactures robotic end-of-arm tooling including vacuum grippers used in industrial and material handling applications — a direct functional peer in the EOAT market.

Broad incumbents

• Festo: Festo is a global automation incumbent offering pneumatic and electric components including vacuum grippers and EOAT integrated with its controller and PLC ecosystem — competing for the same industrial and robotics OEM customers.
• SMC Corporation: SMC is one of the world's largest pneumatic component manufacturers, including vacuum grippers, suction cups, and EOAT used in factory automation, with significant overlap to Joulin's industrial customer base.
• Destaco: Destaco (now part of Stabilus) provides clamping, gripping, and material handling solutions for industrial automation. Its gripper portfolio overlaps with Joulin, although Destaco is more focused on mechanical clamping than vacuum.
• Piab Group: Piab Group acquired Joulin in 2022 and is the parent company. Piab develops industrial vacuum pumps, ejectors, grippers, and suction cups across a much broader portfolio, overlapping with Joulin in vacuum EOAT but at a far larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/joulinaero
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/joulin-aero

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Joulin