What FRANK-PTI does

FRANK-PTI GmbH is a privately held German manufacturer of laboratory testing instruments for material quality assessment, founded in 1999 and headquartered in Birkenau, Germany. The company designs and sells specialized equipment for compression, tensile, and bending tests on paper, board, tissue, pulp, and packaging materials, organized into a Modular Line of configurable systems, Stand Alone instruments, a Pulp Tester, and Preparation Products. Its scanner-based image analyzers — SpecScan and the newly launched DOMASmultispec — quantify dirt specks and visual defects in paper, cardboard, and packaging, while broader testing systems evaluate the technical recyclability of packaging materials including food-contact materials, aligned with the EU Packaging Regulation (EU) 2025/40.

The business model combines hardware sales of laboratory instruments with full lifecycle professional services: laboratory planning, measurement-method consulting, equipment selection, installation, training, and ongoing maintenance. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; the company operates a direct enterprise field-sales motion with dedicated contacts (Tobias Pausch for consulting/sales, Martin Eder for country representatives) and distributes internationally via country representatives and a channel partnership with Elof Hansson branches. A self-service support portal (service.frank-pti.com) handles post-sale tickets.

FRANK-PTI serves primarily paper, board, and tissue manufacturers and the packaging industry as core verticals, with secondary exposure to academic and research institutes, textiles, building materials, composites, medical/pharmaceutical, and automotive sectors. Named enterprise customers include Koehler Paper SE (Modern Paper Campus training laboratory) and the Food Contact Center in Italy. The company is led by Managing Director Jochen Heidt (appointed May 1, 2025) and operates with 11-50 employees; no institutional investors, parent company, or M&A activity are disclosed.

Name

FRANK-PTI

Legal name

FRANK-PTI GmbH

Website

https://frank-pti.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

FRANK-PTI GmbH is a German manufacturer of laboratory testing instruments for paper, board, pulp, and packaging materials, offering modular and stand-alone systems for compression, tensile, and bending tests, plus recyclability testing aligned with EU PPWR 2025/40, sold via direct enterprise sales to industrial customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Material Testing Instruments

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Laboratory Apparatus & Furniture (3821)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainability Testing, Certification & Compliance (LCA, Recyclability/Compostability Testing, FSC/PEFC) (IMALAMAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Plastic Food-Contact Compliance Testing (Polymers, additives, monomers) (AFALAIAE)

Keywords

• Material testing instruments
• Laboratory testing equipment
• Paper quality testing
• Compression tensile testing
• Packaging recyclability testing

Headquarters

HQ city

Birkenau

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Testing Instrument Sales: Sale of laboratory testing instruments including modular systems, stand-alone units, pulp testers, and preparation products for material testing across multiple industries
2. Service and Maintenance: Full lifecycle support including laboratory planning, measurement method consulting, equipment selection, installation, training, and ongoing maintenance services

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

FRANK-PTI manufactures and supplies laboratory testing instruments and systems for physical material testing of paper, cardboard, pulp, and packaging, covering sample preparation, physical measurement (compression, tensile, bending), and data evaluation. The offering spans modular configurable testing lines, individual stand-alone instruments, a pulp tester, sample preparation products, and scanner-based image analyzers (SpecScan, DOMASmultispec) for quantifying visual defects. The company also delivers full-lifecycle services including laboratory planning, measurement method consulting, equipment selection, installation, training, and ongoing maintenance from a single source.

Product overview

FRANK-PTI offers a portfolio of laboratory testing instruments for material testing across multiple industries. The product portfolio comprises the Modular Line (a modular, integrated testing system), Stand Alone instruments (individual testing devices), Pulp Tester (for pulp evaluation), and Preparation Products (sample preparation equipment). SpecScan and its newer alternative DOMASmultispec provide scanner-based image analysis for quantifying visual defects. The company also provides the service.frank-pti.com Service Ticket System for customer support management. Testing capabilities include compression tests, tensile tests, bending tests, and specialized applications across industries including paper, board, tissue, packaging, textiles, building materials, composites, medical/pharma, and automotive sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Modular Line A modular system of laboratory testing instruments designed for comprehensive material testing workflows, from sample preparation through physical measurements to data evaluation. Targeted at paper, board, tissue, packaging, and other material testing laboratories that need a configurable, integrated testing system.
• Stand Alone Individual, self-contained testing instruments for specific material testing applications including compression tests, tensile tests, and bending tests. Targeted at laboratories needing targeted single-instrument capabilities outside a full modular configuration.
• Pulp Tester Specialized testing instrument for evaluating pulp materials and properties in paper manufacturing processes. Targeted at pulp mills and paper manufacturers needing dedicated pulp material analysis.
• Preparation Products Sample preparation equipment and tools that support physical measurement and testing workflows as part of the FRANK-PTI material testing ecosystem.
• SpecScan Scanner-based image analyser for quantifying dirt specks and other visual defects in paper and cardboard materials. Targeted at paper, board, and packaging manufacturers needing visual quality control.
• DOMASmultispec The latest scanner-based image analyser offered as an alternative to SpecScan for quantifying dirt specks in paper, cardboard, and packaging materials. Targeted at paper, cardboard, and packaging manufacturers needing visual defect quantification.
• Full-Lifecycle Testing Instrument Service and Maintenance Full-lifecycle professional services covering laboratory planning, measurement method consulting, equipment selection, sales consultation, delivery, installation, training, and ongoing maintenance for FRANK-PTI testing instruments. Delivered from a single source to enterprise customers via direct sales contacts and the FRANK-PTI Service Ticket System.

Named customers2 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Elof HanssoncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorElof Hansson branches serve as distribution partners for FRANK-PTI testing instruments, providing regional sales coverage through their branch network. Martin Eder serves as the contact for Elof Hansson branches.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ZwickRoell: ZwickRoell is a Germany-based global manufacturer of materials testing instruments for tensile, compression, and bending tests. It is the most directly comparable peer to FRANK-PTI given overlapping product categories (modular and stand-alone testing systems), same industry verticals (paper, packaging, composites, automotive), and shared Mittelstand heritage, though ZwickRoell is significantly larger.
• Tinius Olsen: Tinius Olsen is a long-established US/UK manufacturer of materials testing machines including tensile, compression, and bending testers. It competes with FRANK-PTI in paper, plastics, and packaging quality testing, and shares a similar niche-specialist business model.
• Emtec Electronic: Emtec Electronic is a German manufacturer specializing in paper and tissue testing instruments, including surface and softness measurement devices. It is a direct competitor to FRANK-PTI in paper, board, and tissue quality testing.
• Thwing-Albert: Thwing-Albert (a division of Paper Testing Solutions) is a US-based manufacturer of physical testing instruments for paper, film, foil, and packaging materials. It is directly comparable to FRANK-PTI in tensile, tear, burst, and stiffness testing for paper and packaging.
• Mecmesin: Mecmesin is a UK-based manufacturer of force and torque testing instruments for materials, packaging, and product testing. It is directly comparable to FRANK-PTI's Stand Alone instruments for compression and tensile testing, particularly in packaging quality applications.
• TESTRESOURCES: TESTRESOURCES is a US-based manufacturer of materials testing machines serving metals, composites, plastics, paper, and packaging. It competes with FRANK-PTI in tensile, compression, and bending testing for paper, packaging, and composites.
• IDM Group (IDM Instruments): IDM Instruments is an Australia-based manufacturer of materials testing equipment for paper, packaging, plastics, and textiles. It is directly comparable to FRANK-PTI in tensile, tear, and burst testing instruments for paper and packaging applications.

Broad incumbents

• Instron (Illinois Tool Works): Instron is a globally dominant materials testing instrument manufacturer (now part of Illinois Tool Works) offering tensile, compression, fatigue, and impact testing systems. It competes with FRANK-PTI in many of the same application areas, but at much greater scale and broader market reach.
• ABB Measurement & Analytics (formerly L&W): ABB's paper testing portfolio (inherited from the Lorentzen & Wettre acquisition) offers paper and pulp quality testing instruments and online sensors. It is a broad incumbent competing with FRANK-PTI's Pulp Tester and paper quality testing products, with much wider scale and a stronger global service network.
• AMETEK (Test & Calibration Instruments): AMETEK is a large diversified industrial electronics manufacturer that supplies materials testing and calibration instruments through brands such as Chatillon and Lloyd Instruments. It competes with FRANK-PTI's stand-alone tensile and compression testers as part of a much broader industrial test and measurement portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 FRANK-PTI