Pester AG

Name

Pester AG

Legal name

pester pac automation GmbH

Website

https://pester.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1888

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Tägerwilen

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 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. Packaging Machinery Sales: Sale of end-of-line packaging machines including film wrapping, case packing, and palletizing systems. Machines are sold as capital equipment with custom engineering and turn-key solutions.
2. Spare Parts and Format Parts: Replacement parts, format parts for product changeovers, and accessories. Many spare parts available for same-day shipping. Includes spare parts cockpit electronic ordering system.
3. Customer Service and Support: 24/7 technical hotline, on-site service, remote service, preventive maintenance, machine upgrades, retrofits, machine conversions, commissioning, validation and documentation services.
4. Training Services: Qualified training programs for operating personnel delivered by experienced trainers in small groups with practical training units.
5. Pre-owned / Leased Machines: Sale of refurbished/used machines and machine leasing/rental services for flexibility needs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Pester AG designs, manufactures, and services end-of-line packaging and automation machinery for pharmaceutical and consumer goods manufacturers. Its product portfolio spans film wrapping, case packing, and palletizing systems, complemented by a digital 'Digital & Human' software layer and a comprehensive lifecycle service offering. The company sells capital equipment, spare parts, and recurring service contracts to multinational enterprise customers globally.

Product overview

Pester pac automation GmbH is a German manufacturer of end-of-line packaging and automation solutions for the pharmaceutical and consumer industries, with over 50 years of experience and more than 8,000 machines operating globally. The product portfolio is organized around three core divisions: (1) Film Wrapping — comprising stretch wrappers, shrink wrappers, full overwrappers, and stretch bundlers for bundling products in film without a tunnel; (2) Case Packing — encompassing side-loading, top-loading, and combined casepacker-palletizer systems, including the high-speed PEWO-form WAC 60 wraparound casepacker; and (3) Palletizing Systems — including palletizers and depalletizers for automated end-of-line stacking. Supporting these are a range of accessories (PEWO-collect collection stations, PEWO-tray Compact tray erectors, PEWO-fpc 5th Panel Collator, PEWO-therm shrink tunnels, and Foliensplicer film splicers) and a growing suite of digital products — most notably the proprietary HMI tangius 4.0 touchscreen interface with 3D machine visualization, the Spare Parts Cockpit for electronic ordering, and the QR code-based Visual Assistant for guided spare part installation. The company also provides a comprehensive services layer covering on-site service, remote maintenance, validation and documentation, training, machine upgrades and retrofits, pre-owned machine sales, leasing, and consulting including Track & Trace system retrofits. The digital strategy is branded "Digital & Human" and emphasizes human-centric machine communication, remote connectivity, and operator assistance rather than standalone AI capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PEWO-form Film Wrapping (Stretchwrapper, Shrink Wrapper, Stretch Bundler, Full Overwrapper) Machines that bundle, wrap, and secure products using stretch, shrink, or overwrapping film, including the Stretch Bundler variant with sustainable stretching technology for high-speed pharmaceutical and consumer applications.
• PEWO-pack Case Packing (Side Loading, Top Loading, Case Packer & Palletizer) Case packing machines that load bottles, cartons, and cans into cases and cartons, available in side-loading, top-loading, and combined casepacker-palletizer configurations for pharmaceutical and consumer industries.
• PEWO-pal Palletizing Systems (Palletizer, Depalletizer) Automated palletizing and depalletizing systems that stack packaged products onto pallets and vice versa for end-of-line logistics in pharmaceutical and consumer manufacturing facilities.
• PEWO-form WAC 60 (Wraparound Casepacker) A high-speed wraparound casepacker that flexibly loads bottles, cans, and cartons into wraparound cartons or reusable transport packaging on a single machine, reaching up to 60 cartons per minute with robotic product handling.
• PEWO-batch (Stretch Bundling) A stretch bundling and tray packing system using the new sustainable stretching technology without a shrink tunnel, offering 75% energy savings and 50% material reduction compared to conventional shrink packaging; capable of up to 70 bundles per minute.
• HMI tangius 4.0 / tangius 4.0 v2 Proprietary human-machine interface for Pester packaging machines offering 3D visualization with real machine models, flat menu structure, intuitive touchscreen operation, RFID access, integrated camera for QR code reading, mobile remote operation, and 100% CFR 21 Part 11 compliance.
• Pester Remote Service Secure remote maintenance service enabling worldwide real-time communication, online machine data analysis, and rapid troubleshooting without on-site technician deployment.
• Pester On-Site Service (Repair, Inspections, Maintenance, Commissioning, Relocation) Comprehensive on-site support including technician deployment, machine inspections, lifecycle management, maintenance planning, commissioning, and machine relocation services for Pester-installed packaging equipment.
• Machine Upgrades, Retrofits, Conversions Performance enhancement services including machine upgrades to the latest technology standards, retrofits replacing outdated electronics while preserving mechanics, and custom machine conversions for changed production requirements.
• Validation & Documentation (DQ, FAT, IQ/OQ) Qualification documentation services for Pester equipment including risk analysis (GMP), system specification (DQ), and test documents (FAT, IQ/OQ) based on current standards, delivered in German or English.
• Pester Training Program Operator and technician training programs delivered by experienced trainers in small groups with hands-on sessions, covering machine operation, maintenance, and troubleshooting of Pester packaging equipment.
• Spare & Format Parts Worldwide spare parts supply with same-day shipping for many items, plus custom format parts for new product requirements, with optional on-site installation and commissioning of Pester packaging machinery.
• Pre-Owned / Machine Leasing Certified pre-owned Pester machines and machine leasing programs offering tested quality and capacity-flexibility options for customers seeking to avoid new capital expenditure.
• Consulting & Project Management (incl. Track & Trace Retrofit) Expert consulting services including turnkey project management from planning through implementation, plus retrofit of existing packaging lines with Track & Trace serialization systems.

Quantifiable outcome

• 75% less energy consumption
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

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.

• SolutumcoreTechnology or Integration · 24 September 2024Israeli sustainable materials producer Solutum has partnered with Pester to supply its newly developed biodegradable film for use in Pester's packaging lines without requiring any conversion. The Solutum film is fully biodegradable in soil and water without leaving microplastic residue, and its high tear strength allows for thinner application, making it more economical than conventional film alternatives. The partnership enables Pester to offer environmentally friendly packaging solutions while supporting its customers' sustainability goals.
• Uhlmann Pac-SystemecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 December 2019Uhlmann Pac-Systeme and Pester enter into a partnership for excellence all along the line. The partnership combines the strengths of both leading packaging equipment companies to offer comprehensive end-of-line solutions.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Uhlmann Pac-Systeme: Uhlmann is Pester's own 2019 strategic partner and a leading German manufacturer of pharmaceutical packaging machinery (blister lines, cartons, serialization); primary peer across end-of-line pharma packaging.
• IMA Group: IMA is a leading Italian manufacturer of pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food packaging machinery, with comparable end-of-line and case packing offerings to Pester serving global pharma and consumer goods customers.
• OPTIMA Packaging Group: OPTIMA is a German manufacturer specialized in pharmaceutical, consumer and cosmetics packaging/filling lines with strong overlap to Pester on case packing, palletizing and end-of-line automation.
• Marchesini Group: Marchesini is a leading Italian maker of pharmaceutical and cosmetic packaging lines with comparable end-of-line and serialization offerings; one of the most cited pharma packaging machinery rivals to Pester.
• MULTIVAC: MULTIVAC is a German manufacturer of packaging and processing solutions across food, pharma and consumer; overlaps with Pester on end-of-line tray, case and stretch film packaging for similar customer verticals.
• Bausch + Ströbel: Bausch + Ströbel is a German specialist in pharmaceutical packaging machinery (vials, syringes, parenterals), an adjacent niche player to Pester in pharma parenteral handling with overlapping end-of-line accounts.

Broad incumbents

• Syntegon Technology (formerly Bosch Packaging Technology): Syntegon is a top global packaging machinery platform serving pharma, food and consumer with full-line capabilities; direct overlap with Pester on pharma case packing, palletizing and serialization, but at meaningfully larger scale.
• GEA Group: GEA is a broad German industrial machinery and plant engineering incumbent serving food, pharma and dairy; competes with Pester in end-of-line packaging automation as part of a much wider portfolio.
• Krones AG: Krones is a global German packaging and bottling machinery leader heavily focused on beverage/consumer end-of-line; overlaps with Pester on stretch wrappers, case packers and palletizers but typically at much larger line scope.
• Coesia Group: Coesia is an Italian industrial group aggregating multiple packaging machinery brands (e.g., ACMA, GDM, Volpak) across consumer and pharma end-of-line; competes with Pester through sister companies in the same niches.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/people/pester-pac-automation-GmbH/100057449169846
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pester-usa-inc
• Instagraminstagram.com/pester_young_talents

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Pester AG