GTS

What GTS does

GTS GmbH, operating as GTS Countmaster, is a privately held, family-owned German Mittelstand manufacturer founded on March 1, 1990, and headquartered in Heilbronn, Germany. The company designs and produces precision counting machines and sheet packaging systems based on a proprietary rotating counting disc technology, which the company has continuously refined since 1990. Its product portfolio spans inline (CI Series), standalone (CS Series — CS489, CS218, CS392), desktop (CD Series — CD380), and optical (CO Series — CO433) counting machines, complemented by the Bandmaster banding machine, stacking and shaking peripherals, replacement counting discs (also sold as OEM components), and a consumables line (paper and PE/OPP banderoles, shrink film, hot-melt adhesives) produced in-house since 2005. The company has registered world-first innovations in side-edge counting (2015) and track & trace barcode-controlled counting (2017), and operates from a 4,500 m² production facility with over 80% of components manufactured in-house.

GTS's primary customer vertical is the international currency, banknote, and security printing industry, with named relationships including DeLaRue-Giori (since 1991) and the National Bank of Cambodia; additional segments include commercial printing, document and card processing (tax stamps, ID cards, passports, postage stamps), and cash logistics. The business generates revenue across six streams: counting machines and systems, counting discs (standalone and OEM), consumables, complementary peripherals, global service and support (including remote VPN maintenance and on-site commissioning), and engineering/project planning. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; the go-to-market is B2B enterprise field sales supported by authorized regional representatives worldwide and an in-house showroom for personalized application testing.

The company holds ISO 9001:2015 quality management certification and obtained Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification in 2025. Leadership comprises Klaus Ganter as Managing Director, Christian Haase as Technical Managing Director (appointed 2024 after a Prokurist role from 2020), and Jens Storch as authorised signatory. The firm employs approximately 40 qualified employees and serves customers across Germany, China, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Egypt, and India.

Name

GTS

Legal name

GTS GmbH

Website

https://gts-countmaster.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

GTS Countmaster (GTS GmbH) is a family-owned German Mittelstand manufacturer founded in 1990 that designs and builds precision counting machines and sheet packaging systems based on proprietary rotating counting disc technology, serving primarily the international currency, banknote, and security printing industry from its Heilbronn headquarters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Heilbronn

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Counting Machines and Systems: Sale of standalone, inline, optical, and desktop counting machines. Includes both standardized solutions and customized system solutions for optimized counting and packaging lines.
2. Counting Discs: Production and sale of precision counting discs as standalone products or OEM components. Used in company's own systems and integrated into third-party production lines worldwide.
3. Consumables: Paper banderoles, PE-coated banderoles, OPP film banderoles, PE shrink film, and hot-melt adhesives for industrial use. Produced in-house since 2005.
4. Service and Support: Global on-site service, remote maintenance via VPN, performance data analysis, video communication, commissioning, repair, maintenance, and customer personnel training.
5. Engineering and Planning: Customized machine development and project planning services from idea to finished machine.
6. Complementary Peripherals: Banding machines (Bandmaster), stacking elevators, loading systems, jogging, cutting and unloading units, and other peripheral equipment.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

GTS GmbH designs, manufactures, and sells precision counting machines—inline, standalone, desktop, and optical models—built around a proprietary rotating counting disc technology. The company also produces counting discs, complementary peripheral equipment (banding machines, stackers, shakers), consumables (paper bands, PE shrink film), and customized system solutions for complete counting and packaging lines, primarily serving the international security and banknote printing industry as well as commercial printing and document/card processing sectors.

Product overview

GTS (Global Tally Systems) offers a comprehensive portfolio of counting machines and sheet packaging solutions. The core product lineup consists of four distinct counting machine types: Inline machines (CI Series) for seamless production line integration, Standalone machines (CS Series including CS489, CS218, CS392) for independent operation, Desktop machines (CD Series such as CD380) for compact environments, and Optical machines (CO Series including CO433) utilizing optical recognition technology. These are complemented by peripheral equipment (banding machines, stackers, shakers), consumables (paper bands, PE shrink film), replacement counting discs, and advanced add-on modules including the Track & Trace System for barcode control and 100% In-Process Quality Control. The product portfolio spans from standard configurations to fully customized system solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Countmaster: Product line brand for counting machines including Standalone (CS489, CS218, CS392), Desktop (CD380), Optical (CO433), and Inline (CI179, CI252) models.
• Bandmaster

Products and services

• Inline Counting Machines (CI Series) Inline counting machines designed for seamless integration into existing production environments, featuring flexible communication interfaces for connecting with production systems and higher-level controls.
• Standalone Counting Machines (CS Series: CS489, CS218, CS392) Freestanding counting machines available in multiple models including CS489, CS218, and CS392 for various counting and quality control applications in industrial environments.
• Desktop Counting Machines (CD Series: CD380) Compact desktop counting solutions such as CD380 for smaller-scale counting operations.
• Optical Counting Machines (CO Series: CO433) Optical counting systems including CO433 that utilize optical recognition technology for sheet detection and counting, delivering 100% reliable and accurate results.
• Counting Discs Precision counting discs for GTS counting machines and OEM integration into third-party production lines worldwide. Based on the original rotating counting disc technology developed in 1990.
• Bandmaster Banding Machines Banding machines offered as standalone devices or as complementary peripherals to counting machines for bundling counted sheets together.
• Stacking Elevators and Stackers Peripheral equipment for stacking counted and processed sheets as part of automated finishing lines.
• Loading Systems and Shakers Peripheral equipment including loading systems and shakers for preparing and organizing sheets before counting.
• Jogging, Cutting and Unloading Units Complementary peripheral equipment for jogging, cutting, and unloading counted products in automated production lines.
• Banding Consumables (Paper Banderoles, PE-coated Banderoles, OPP Film Banderoles, PE Shrink Film, Hot-Melt Adhesives) Industrial consumables including paper banderoles, PE-coated banderoles, OPP film banderoles, PE shrink film, and hot-melt adhesives produced in-house since 2005 for industrial banding and packaging applications.
• Customized System Solutions Customized system solutions for optimized counting and packaging lines, combining counting, banding, and packaging in a single operation with individually configurable machine technology.
• Service and Support Global on-site service, remote maintenance via VPN, performance data analysis, video communication, commissioning, repair, maintenance, and customer personnel training.
• Engineering and Planning Customized machine development and project planning services from initial concept through to finished machine, delivered by GTS's in-house design department.

Quantifiable outcome

• Materials counted gently and reliably with precise results every time
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• DeLaRue - GioricoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1991First cooperation established in 1991 with DeLaRue - Giori, a major player in currency and security printing solutions. This partnership marked GTS's entry into the international currency industry.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Magner International: Magner manufactures currency counters, coin counters, and counterfeit detectors for banks, retailers, and cash-handling operations. It overlaps with GTS's banknote counting capability at a smaller, more commercial scale.
• Cassida Corporation: Cassida produces professional currency counters, bill counters, and coin-processing equipment. While more retail/SMB-focused than GTS, it competes in the same banknote-counting technology category and addresses overlapping counterfeit-detection use cases.
• Martin Yale: Martin Yale manufactures paper folders, cutters, and tabletop counting/finishing machines for offices and light-industrial environments. It is a direct peer in sheet-counting equipment, though operating at a smaller, lower-throughput scale than GTS's industrial systems.
• Hunkeler: Hunkeler produces high-performance paper finishing, cutting, and stacking systems for the printing and document-processing industries. Its inline finishing lines overlap with GTS's inline counting and packaging systems for security and commercial print customers.
• Tecnau: Tecnau manufactures automated sheet cutting, counting, and finishing equipment for the digital and security printing industries. It is the closest direct peer to GTS, offering competing inline sheet-counting and finishing-line solutions to commercial and banknote printers worldwide.

Broad incumbents

• Glory Global Solutions: Glory is a major provider of cash-handling, note-counting, and sorting equipment for central banks, CITs, and retailers. It is a broad incumbent in the banknote processing space, competing with GTS in currency counting and authentication, though focused on cash centers rather than printing lines.
• De La Rue: De La Rue is the world's largest commercial security printer and a long-standing GTS partner (since 1991). It is also an indirect peer/ecosystem participant, as it integrates counting and finishing equipment from suppliers like GTS into its own banknote production lines.
• Müller Martini: Müller Martini is a long-established print-finishing equipment manufacturer offering inserting, binding, cutting, and stacking systems. While broader in scope than GTS, it serves overlapping commercial and security print customers with comparable finishing-line capabilities.
• Giesecke+Devrient: Giesecke+Devrient is a global security technology and banknote printing group. While primarily a customer/ecosystem participant for GTS's counting systems, it operates adjacent currency-processing capabilities and represents a shared end-buyer for sheet-counting and packaging equipment.

Regional players

• Baldwin Technology: Baldwin Technology supplies cleaning, UV curing, and finishing peripherals for the printing industry. It competes in the broader print-finishing ecosystem alongside GTS's complementary peripherals, particularly for commercial and security print customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/gtsgermany
• Facebookfacebook.com/gtscountmaster
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gts-countmaster

Compliance2 records

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 GTS