ELEX

What ELEX does

ELEX AG is a privately held, family-owned Swiss industrial engineering firm founded in 1934 and headquartered in Schwerzenbach, with branch offices in Germany and India and active project delivery spanning 113 countries. The company designs, manufactures, and services flue gas cleaning systems for heavy industry, with electrostatic precipitators (Elektrofilter) as its flagship technology, complemented by DeNOx/SCR catalytic gas cleaning, evaporative coolers, hybrid electrostatic-plus-bag filters, bag houses, and water injection systems. Its business model is a four-stream industrial equipment and services franchise: capital equipment sales, an installed-base spare parts business (over 2,100 SKUs delivered worldwide), a lifecycle services portfolio (inspection, maintenance, commissioning, troubleshooting, CFD flow simulation, dust resistivity analysis, catalyst management, retrofit/upgrade), and a small but growing remote-maintenance practice via LTE/4G connections.

The company serves heavy-industrial customers primarily in cement, lime and gypsum, coal- and biomass-fired power generation, waste and sludge incineration, iron and steel, non-ferrous metals, pulp and paper, and refineries and petrochemicals. Documented competitive advantages include modular discharge electrodes that can be replaced individually rather than as full assemblies, decades-deep CFD and dust-resistivity datasets that feed pre-sales engineering, and a 25+ year operating life on electrostatic precipitator internals. ELEX is ISO 9001 certified since 1995, achieved EcoVadis Bronze in April 2026, and operates an internal control framework under COSO principles since 2010. In 2024 the company formed a joint venture, Alnewa, with plasma-technology firm Oxytec to enter industrial decarbonization via CO2 conversion, marking its most significant expansion beyond the core flue-gas cleaning franchise.

Name

ELEX

Legal name

ELEX AG

Website

https://elex.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1934

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

ELEX AG is a Swiss family-owned industrial engineering firm, founded 1934, that designs, manufactures, and services electrostatic precipitators, DeNOx/SCR systems, and complementary flue gas cleaning equipment for heavy-industry customers in cement, power, waste incineration, steel, and pulp/paper across 113 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Air Pollution Control Equipment

NAICS

Industrial and Commercial Fan and Blower and Air Purification Equipment Manufacturing (333413), Instruments and Related Products Manufacturing for Measuring, Displaying, and Controlling Industrial Process Variables (334513)

akta.pro primary industry

Emissions Controls & Environmental Retrofit Services (SCR/FGD/ESP, CEMS) (EUAEALAL)

Keywords

• Industrial flue gas cleaning
• Electrostatic precipitators
• DeNOx catalytic systems
• Industrial emissions control
• Bag house filtration

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Equipment Sales: Sale of electrostatic precipitators, DeNOx systems, hybrid filters, bag houses, evaporative coolers, and water injection systems for industrial flue gas cleaning applications.
2. Spare Parts: Original ELEX spare parts for electrostatic precipitators and other gas cleaning equipment, including parts for systems built decades ago. Over 2,100 parts available with worldwide delivery.
3. Service and Maintenance: Comprehensive service offerings including inspection, maintenance, troubleshooting, remote maintenance, assembly, commissioning, and consulting/expertise services for gas cleaning systems.
4. Retrofit and Upgrade: Conversion and modernization services for existing installations to achieve capacity increases or compliance with new emission limit values, including high-voltage technology, gas distribution, and control system upgrades.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ELEX designs, manufactures, and services industrial flue gas cleaning systems anchored by electrostatic precipitator technology. The portfolio covers dry and wet electrostatic precipitators, SCR DeNOx catalytic systems, evaporative coolers, hybrid (ESP + bag) filters, bag houses, and water injection systems. The offering is completed by a full lifecycle service suite including assembly, commissioning, inspection and maintenance, retrofit and upgrade, troubleshooting, remote maintenance, CFD flow simulation, catalyst management, dust resistivity analysis, project measurement, and original spare parts (over 2,100 SKUs) sold worldwide.

Product overview

ELEX offers a comprehensive portfolio of industrial flue gas cleaning systems, centered around electrostatic precipitator technology as its core offering. The product range includes six main equipment types: Elektrofilter (Electrostatic Precipitators) as the flagship product, DeNOx-Anlagen (Catalytic Gas Cleaning/SCR Systems) for nitrogen oxide reduction, Verdampfungskühler (Evaporative Coolers) for temperature conditioning, Hybridfilter (Hybrid Filters) combining electrostatic and bag filtration technology, Schlauchfilter (Bag Houses) for strict emission limits, and Wassereindüsungen (Water Injection Systems) for equipment protection. These products are complemented by a full lifecycle service suite spanning assembly, commissioning, inspection & maintenance, retrofit & upgrade, troubleshooting, remote maintenance, CFD flow simulation, consulting, project measurement, dust analysis, and catalyst management. The company has installed over 7,000 systems worldwide across 113 countries since its founding in 1934.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Alnewa: Joint venture brand with oxytec specializing in plasma technology for industrial decarbonization and CO2 conversion.

Products and services

• Elektrofilter (Electrostatic Precipitator) ELEX's flagship product using electrostatic technology to efficiently remove dust from gases. Dust particles are statically charged and then separated from the gas stream with minimal energy consumption. Handles gas volumes from 20,000 m3/h upwards in dry or wet environments and can separate water droplets, aerosols, or liquid tar.
• DeNOx-Anlagen (Selective Catalytic Reduction / SCR Plants) Selective Catalytic Reduction systems that convert nitrogen oxides into nitrogen and water while simultaneously removing dioxins and furans without generating waste. Applied in waste incineration, cement plants, biomass plants, and metal industries; achieves over 95% NOx reduction and up to 99% dioxin/furan reduction with NH3 slip below 5 mg/m3.
• Verdampfungskühler (Evaporative Cooler) Cooling systems used in flue gas cleaning applications, typically deployed alongside electrostatic precipitators to optimize temperature conditions for efficient dust separation. Features ELEX's proprietary feed forward regulation that processes disturbance variables such as flap positions, inlet gas temperature, and fan speeds with corresponding weighting to maintain constant outlet temperature.
• Hybridfilter (Hybrid Filter) Combines electrostatic precipitator technology with bag filtration. The electrostatic stage removes up to 90% of dust with minimal energy consumption, followed by bag filtration for the remainder. Reduces pressure loss by up to 40% versus conventional bag filters.
• Schlauchfilter (Bag Houses) Bag filter systems for applications requiring strict dust emission limits or for handling dust peaks. Available in ReverseAir and PulseJet configurations, commonly deployed in the cement industry and on coal/biomass-fired boilers.
• Wassereindüsungen (Water Injection Systems) Cooling systems for protecting electrostatic precipitators and bag filters from high gas temperatures, particularly from clinker coolers. Available with cascade control or 2-step control for water dosing.
• Original ELEX Spare Parts Original spare parts for ELEX electrostatic precipitators and other gas cleaning equipment, with parts also available for systems built decades ago. Over 2,100 parts available with worldwide delivery, with compatibility for other manufacturers' equipment.
• Inspektion & Wartung (Inspection & Maintenance) Annual inspection services to ensure gas cleaning system longevity and high availability, typically completed in one day per installation.
• Retrofit & Upgrade Conversion and modernization services for existing installations to achieve capacity increases or compliance with stricter emission limits. Includes high-voltage technology upgrades, gas distribution improvements, and control system enhancements.
• Inbetriebnahme (Commissioning) Engineering support for system start-up, including mechanical inspection, electrical verification, and operational monitoring during initial operation of ELEX gas cleaning systems.
• Troubleshooting Rapid problem identification and resolution services for malfunctions, with global deployment capability to minimize plant shutdowns.
• Fernwartung (Remote Maintenance) Remote system access via LAN or LTE/4G for regular monitoring, early anomaly detection, and quick malfunction response on installed ELEX equipment.
• CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) Simulation Numerical CFD flow simulation services for optimizing new and existing installations. Backed by 25 years of in-house experience and capacity for simulations with up to 6,000,000 cells using 256 GB RAM, analyzing gas velocity, pressure distribution, temperature profiles, and particle movement.
• Beratung / Expertise (Consulting / Expertise) Engineering consultation across the entire spectrum of flue gas cleaning, including pilot plant construction support and patent development assistance.
• Projektmessung (Project Measurement) On-site measurement services for determining operating parameters, characteristic values, and optimization potential during different operating conditions on industrial flue gas systems.
• Montage (Assembly) Global assembly services for ELEX gas cleaning systems, covering both cooperation deliveries and turn-key projects in environments ranging from the Caribbean to the Middle East and Siberia, with ELEX site supervisors coordinating construction site organization.
• Staubanalyse (Dust Resistivity Measurements) In-house laboratory testing for specific electrical dust resistivity at different temperatures and dew points to determine optimal operating conditions for electrostatic precipitators. Backed by more than 5,000 measurements with resistivity values up to 10^14 Ohm*cm.
• KAT Management (Catalyst Management) Monitoring of SCR catalyst modules, sample element pulling during revisions, and laboratory analysis of activity (K-value) and chemical composition to optimize catalyst module service life and predict replacement timing.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 95% NOx reduction achievable with SCR catalytic gas cleaning systems
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• OxytecflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 March 2025Joint venture Alnewa created with Oxytec, another Swiss company specialized in plasma technology. The partnership aims to develop revolutionary plasma technology for industrial decarbonization that converts CO2 into useful raw materials using renewable electricity without hydrogen. The system applies voltage to split and break down molecules, creating an energy source that can be fed back into industrial processes to generate high-temperature process heat, enabling industries to eliminate fossil fuels entirely.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• FLSmidth: Danish-headquartered supplier of equipment and services to the cement and minerals industries, including electrostatic precipitators and air pollution control systems. Directly comparable to ELEX's cement/gypsum/lime vertical and full lifecycle service model.
• Babcock & Wilcox: US-based provider of steam-generating and environmental technologies, including ESPs, SCR/DeNOx systems, and fabric filters for power plants and waste-to-energy. Closely mirrors ELEX's coal/biomass and waste-incineration applications.
• CECO Environmental: Industrial air pollution control specialist offering ESPs, scrubbers, and filtration systems with installation and aftermarket services. Competes head-to-head with ELEX in industrial emissions and shares the model of bundling equipment with service and retrofit.
• Hamon: Belgian engineering firm specializing in cooling systems, wet electrostatic precipitators, and air pollution control for power and industrial plants. Comparable niche, geography overlap, and hybrid filtration/wet ESP portfolio.
• Donaldson Company: US-based manufacturer of filtration systems including industrial dust collectors and replacement parts for ESPs and baghouses. Competes on similar use cases (cement, steel, power) and shares a recurring-revenue aftermarket model.

Broad incumbents

• Mitsubishi Heavy Industries: Japan-based conglomerate with a large environmental systems division supplying ESPs, SCR systems, and flue gas treatment for power and industrial plants. Overlaps with ELEX's product portfolio but competes from a far broader industrial base.
• ANDRITZ: Austrian-headquartered industrial group with emissions control and air pollution control solutions serving pulp/paper, power, and metals. Compares to ELEX on pulp & paper and biomass-fired boiler applications, though broader in scope.
• Dürr AG: German mechanical and plant engineering group with environmental technology offering air pollution control systems, including filtration and exhaust gas treatment for industrial processes. Comparable on European footprint and industrial customer base.

Emerging players

• BHS-Sonthofen: German filter and separation technology specialist supplying baghouse filters, ceramic filters, and air pollution control equipment for industrial applications. Comparable mid-sized European competitor with overlap in cement and waste-incineration segments.

Others

• Haldor Topsoe: Danish provider of catalysts and proprietary SCR/DeNOx technology for industrial and power emissions. Supplies the catalyst layer that sits inside systems like ELEX's DeNOx plants — making it a complementary vendor and partial adjacent competitor in catalyst management services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/elex-ag
• Xx.com/elex_ag

Compliance2 records

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 ELEX