VOGELBUSCH Biocommodities

What VOGELBUSCH Biocommodities does

VOGELBUSCH Biocommodities GmbH is an Austrian industrial biotechnology engineering company headquartered in Vienna, founded in 1921 by Wilhelm Vogelbusch and operating today as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vogelbusch GmbH. The company licenses proprietary bioprocess technology and delivers full-scope engineering services for plants that produce alcohol, bioethanol, starch sugars, baker's yeast, vinegar, and organic acids (notably citric acid). Its technology stack spans fermentation, distillation and rectification (including MultiPressure Distillation), molecular sieve dehydration, evaporation (including Mechanical Vapor Recompression), and single-column simulated moving bed chromatography, complemented by proprietary online gas analyzers (IR-SD2/2, GS2/7, GS2E) and aeration systems (IP-8, EB-4, IZ). An in-house pilot fermentation system supports raw material and microorganism testing as part of applied R&D.

The firm operates through three wholly-owned offices in Vienna (Austria), Katy, Texas (USA), and Hong Kong (China), serving an exclusively enterprise customer base across sugar and starch processors and food and beverage manufacturers in more than 14 countries. Reference customers include CropEnergies/Südzucker (Europe's largest bioethanol plant at Zeitz, 800,000 L/day), Almagest, PROMAÍZ, Borregaard, COFCO Bioenergy, Razi Yeast & Alcohol, Kimia Gharb Gostar, Mendes Gonçalves, Biotech Rosva, AminoSib, Green Power, Alltech, and KWST.

VOGELBUSCH Biocommodities generates revenue through three streams: technology licensing and royalties on proprietary bioprocess know-how, supply of process units and equipment (distillation columns, molecular sieve dehydration units, chromatography systems, bioreactors, gas analyzers, aeration systems), and professional engineering services from conceptual design through detail engineering, supervision, and plant commissioning. The company is ISO 9001:2015 certified, reported EUR 71 million in group annual turnover for the 2023|24 financial year, and exports 92% of its output. The group employs approximately 233 people across all subsidiaries.

Name

VOGELBUSCH Biocommodities

Legal name

VOGELBUSCH Biocommodities GmbH

Website

https://vogelbusch-biocommodities.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1921

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

VOGELBUSCH Biocommodities is a Vienna-based industrial biotechnology engineering firm, founded 1921, that licenses proprietary bioprocess technology and delivers full engineering services for alcohol, bioethanol, starch sugar, yeast, vinegar, and organic acid plants worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Biotechnology Engineering

NAICS

Chemical Manufacturing (325), Starch and Vegetable Fats and Oils Manufacturing (31122), Other Basic Organic Chemical Manufacturing (32519)

SIC

Industrial Organic Chemicals (2860), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), General Industrial Machinery & Equipment (3560)

akta.pro primary industry

Biofuel Plant EPC, O&M & Process Technology Providers (EUAAAHAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Biorefinery Technology & Contract Processing (fractionation, tolling, scale-up) (IMAMALAL), Biofuel Co-products & Byproduct Processing (DDGS, Glycerin, CO2, Lignin) (EUAAAHAJ)

Keywords

• Industrial biotechnology engineering
• Fermentation process technology
• Biocommodity plant design
• Process unit licensing
• Bioethanol production

Headquarters

HQ city

Vienna

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Technology Licensing: Licensing of proprietary bioprocess technologies for the production of alcohol, bioethanol, starch sugars, yeast, vinegar, and organic acids. Clients receive technology packages for complete plant implementation.
2. Process Units and Equipment Supply: Supply of proprietary process units including distillation columns, molecular sieve dehydration systems, chromatography systems, evaporators, bioreactors, gas analyzers, and aeration systems. Equipment ranges from individual components to complete skidded units.
3. Engineering Services: Comprehensive engineering support from conceptual design through plant commissioning, including basic engineering, detail engineering, supervision, and technical services. Services tailored to outsourcing needs of customers for greenfield and upgrade projects.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Vogelbusch Biocommodities designs, engineers and licenses process technologies for the industrial biotechnology sector, covering alcohol (neutral alcohol and bioethanol), starch sugar (glucose, high-fructose syrup, low-DE syrups), yeast, vinegar, and organic acid (citric acid) plants. The firm delivers proprietary process units, fermentation know-how, plant automation (PCS), and full engineering services from feasibility through commissioning, operating as both a technology licensor and a turnkey plant contractor for industrial producers worldwide.

Product overview

VOGELBUSCH Biocommodities is a bioprocess technology company offering technology licensing and engineering services for industrial biotechnology plants. The portfolio consists of complete production plants for biocommodities (Alcohol, Starch Sugar, Yeast, Vinegar, and Organic Acid plants) and modular process units that can be licensed or supplied individually (Raw Material Preparation, Fermentation/Bioreactors, Distillation/Rectification, Dehydration/Molecular Sieve, Evaporation, and Chromatography). The company also manufactures proprietary gas analyzer products (IR-SD2/2, GS2/7, and GS2E) for fermentation monitoring and control. Engineering services range from conceptual design through to complete automation system supply. The technology offering is complemented by electrification solutions such as MVR (Mechanical Vapor Recompression) for energy efficiency.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Alcohol Plants
• Starch Sugar Plants
• Yeast Plants
• Vinegar Plants
• Organic Acid Plants
• Process Units
• Gas Analyzers In-house designed gas analysis instruments — IR-SD2/2, GS2/7 and GS2E — for monitoring fermentation off-gas in industrial biocommodity plants, sold as standalone equipment to plant operators.
• Aeration Systems Proprietary aeration systems for fermentation vessels, supplied as standalone equipment to optimize oxygen transfer and fermentation performance in industrial biotech plants.
• Engineering Services Full-scope engineering services covering feasibility studies, process design, basic and detailed engineering, procurement support, construction management, commissioning, and operator training for biocommodity plants.
• PCS and Automation Process Control System (PCS) and plant automation solutions, including control philosophy, instrumentation, and automation architecture for industrial biotechnology plants.

Quantifiable outcome

• Ethanol dehydration capacity range of 30% to 100% adjustable with single button operation
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature11 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Talmax Engineering s.r.o.coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCzech-based general contractor for wheat processing complexes. Appointed Vogelbusch for supply of glucose plant equipment and automation for the AminoSib project in Russia.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Alfa Laval: Swedish-listed provider of heat transfer, separation and fluid handling equipment widely used in bioethanol, starch and beverage processing. Overlaps with Vogelbusch's distillation, evaporation and dehydration process units but at much broader industrial scope.
• Andritz: Austrian-headquartered industrial engineering group with a dedicated Pulp & Paper / Biofuel division providing biomass-to-ethanol and biorefinery plants. Competes with Vogelbusch on biofuel and biorefinery process technology but operates at much larger scale with broader equipment offerings.
• Linde Engineering: Engineering arm of Linde plc delivering large-scale EPC for industrial gas, petrochemical and biotechnological plants. Competes with Vogelbusch for integrated biofuel and biorefinery projects where customers prefer bundled multi-discipline scopes.
• GEA Group: German-headquartered supplier of separation, fermentation and process technology for food, beverage and biochemical industries. Competes with Vogelbusch in fermentation, evaporation and downstream processing for bio-based products at global scale.
• Sulzer: Swiss industrial engineering group supplying mass-transfer separation columns, static mixers and bioprocess components to chemical, biofuel and biopharma customers. Competes with Vogelbusch's distillation and rectification technologies in biocommodity plants.
• Bühler Group: Swiss family-owned process technology and equipment supplier serving food, feed and grain processing — including starch, yeast, and brewing applications. Closely comparable to Vogelbusch's starch sugar, yeast and fermentation plant offerings within a much wider product portfolio.

Direct peers

• Praj Industries: Indian-headquartered EPC and technology licensing firm that designs and supplies ethanol, bioethanol and brewery plants worldwide. Direct competitor to Vogelbusch in alcohol/bioethanol plant technology and overlapping customer segments in biofuels and beverages.
• Koch Modular Process Systems: US-based engineering firm specializing in modular mass-transfer and separation systems including extraction, distillation and chromatography columns for biochemical, biofuel and specialty chemical customers. Directly comparable to Vogelbusch's modular process unit offering.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vogelbusch-gmbh

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 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 VOGELBUSCH Biocommodities