Richard Kablitz

What Richard Kablitz does

Richard Kablitz GmbH is a German, family-owned industrial equipment manufacturer that designs and builds biomass and waste-to-energy combustion systems, founded in 1901 (originally in Riga) and relocated to Lauda-Königshofen, Germany in 1951. The company's core technology centers on proprietary reciprocating grate combustion systems (Types 415 and 715), patented in 1920, which can burn solid fuels with up to 65% water content including biomass, agricultural waste, and RDF/SRF. Kablitz has delivered more than 6,000 biomass firing systems worldwide since the original 1920 patent, and holds a second patent (1993) on an inclined post-combustion chamber optimized for wet fuels.

The product portfolio is modular and vertically integrated: combustion grates and dust burners feed into complete energy centers (hot gas generators up to 850°C, steam boilers up to 120 MW, thermal oil plants up to 315°C, hot water systems), with downstream heat recovery via cast iron gilled heat exchangers (heating surface density up to 68 m²/m³) and acid-resistant borosilicate glass tube heat exchangers. An in-house foundry produces grey cast iron (DIN EN 1561) and high-alloy chromium castings (DIN 17465) used in-house and supplied to third parties, including glass furnace construction. The company is ISO 9001:2015 certified and reports 70+ employees serving customers across Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Oceania via direct enterprise sales and a network of channel partners in 10+ countries.

Commercially, Kablitz operates a project-based capital equipment model: revenue derives from one-time plant and system sales (multi-year contract cadence), recurring spare parts and wear-parts revenue enabled by the in-house foundry, and after-sales service/maintenance contracts including a 24/7 hotline. Primary customer verticals are wood-based panel producers (MDF/chipboard/OSB/LVL), energy suppliers and utilities (district heating, biomass CHP under German EEG framework), EPC contractors, municipalities, and agricultural processors. Pricing is fully quote-based with no public price list; project sizes disclosed range from ~5 MW thermal up to 66 t/h steam / 62 MW firing capacity systems.

Name

Richard Kablitz

Legal name

Richard Kablitz GmbH

Website

https://kablitz.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1901

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Richard Kablitz GmbH is a German family-owned industrial equipment manufacturer specializing in biomass and waste-to-energy combustion systems, serving wood-based panel producers, energy utilities, and EPC contractors globally through proprietary reciprocating grate technology and an in-house foundry.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Biomass & Waste-to-Energy Combustion Equipment

NAICS

Power Boiler and Heat Exchanger Manufacturing (332410), Heating Equipment (except Warm Air Furnaces) Manufacturing (333414), Biomass Electric Power Generation (221117)

SIC

Industrial Process Furnaces & Ovens (3567), Heating Equipment, Except Electric & Warm Air Furnaces (3433), Cogeneration Services & Small Power Producers (4991)

akta.pro primary industry

Biomass Combustion & Boiler Island Technology (Grates, Fluidized Bed, Burners) (EUAAAGAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Biomass Plant EPC & Integration (Design/Build, Balance of Plant) (EUAAAGAH), Industrial Biomass Boilers & Steam Systems (Process Heat) (EUAAAGAC), Biomass Heating Systems (Commercial/Institutional Boilers) (EUAAAGAE)

Keywords

• Biomass combustion systems
• Reciprocating grate technology
• Waste-to-energy plants
• Industrial steam boilers
• Heat recovery exchangers

Headquarters

HQ city

Lauda-königshofen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Complete Plant and System Sales: Design, manufacturing, and supply of complete biomass and waste-to-energy thermal power plants including combustion systems, boilers, and heat recovery equipment. Revenue from initial capital equipment sales with installation and commissioning services.
2. Spare Parts and Wear Parts: Original spare parts including grate bars, finned plates, and wear components. Fast response times due to own foundry production enabling quick and uncomplicated delivery.
3. Service, Maintenance, and Modernization: Comprehensive after-sales service including inspection, maintenance, commissioning support, plant optimization, emission measurements, process consulting, repair and modernization of existing plants. 24-hour hotline available.
4. Custom Foundry Products: Customer-specific casting services producing grey cast iron and chromium castings for furnace construction. Serves external customers in mechanical engineering and glass furnace construction technology.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Richard Kablitz GmbH designs, manufactures, and supplies complete biomass and waste-to-energy combustion plants and components. Core offerings include reciprocating grate firing systems (water-cooled and air-cooled), heat recovery exchangers (cast iron gilled plate and borosilicate glass tube), steam boilers, thermal oil plants, hot gas generators, and hot water boilers — supported by an in-house foundry producing custom castings and a full after-sales service organization.

Product overview

Richard Kablitz GmbH is a family-owned industrial equipment manufacturer specializing in biomass and waste-to-energy plants. The company offers a modular portfolio of products centered around combustion technology and energy generation: the core offering comprises Kablitz firing systems (water-cooled and air-cooled reciprocating grates, dust burners) combined with various heat generation equipment (hot gas generators, steam boilers, thermal oil plants, hot water systems). Supporting these are heat recovery products (cast iron gilled heat exchangers, glass tube heat exchangers) and an in-house foundry producing grey cast iron and chromium castings. The company also provides comprehensive services including spare parts, maintenance, commissioning, and optimization. All products are designed for multi-fuel flexibility, handling biomass, agricultural waste, and waste-derived fuels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Firing Systems (Feuerungen) Combustion systems combining water-cooled and air-cooled reciprocating grates, dust burners, and granulate nozzles for burning biomass, agricultural waste, and RDF/SRF/waste wood fuels in industrial plants.
• Water-Cooled Reciprocating Grates (Type 715)

Quantifiable outcome

• Energy cost savings up to 10% of gross output through heat recovery
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered regional.

• Zenergy Australia PTY LTDregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAustralian representative handling sales and customer support for biomass and waste-to-energy equipment in Australia.
• K.A. Technology Ltd.regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBulgarian representative handling sales and customer support for biomass and waste-to-energy equipment in Bulgaria and surrounding region.
• Kaiko OyregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFinnish representative handling sales and customer support for biomass and waste-to-energy equipment in Finland.
• Vincent Bleesz International (VBI)regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFrench representative handling sales and customer support for biomass and waste-to-energy equipment in France.
• PT. Basuki Pratama IngenieríaregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIndonesian representative handling sales and customer support for biomass and waste-to-energy equipment in Indonesia.
• Tecpro Systems Europe SrlregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorItalian representative handling sales and customer support for biomass and waste-to-energy equipment in Italy.
• Fumar Sp. z.o.o.regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPolish representative handling sales and customer support for biomass and waste-to-energy equipment in Poland.
• Saxwerk ABregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSwedish representative handling sales and customer support for biomass and waste-to-energy equipment in Sweden.
• JB CorporationregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSouth Korean representative handling sales and customer support for biomass and waste-to-energy equipment in South Korea.
• Datek Energy Group Engineering Co. Ltd.regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTurkish representative handling sales and customer support for biomass and waste-to-energy equipment in Turkey.
• Thermal Process Development LLCregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUSA representative handling sales and customer support for biomass and waste-to-energy equipment in the United States.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Babcock & Wilcox: Long-established North American OEM of utility-scale steam and biomass boilers — broad incumbent whose biomass power and heat-recovery portfolio overlaps with Kablitz's industrial/utility CHP and process-heat offerings from a much larger scale.

Direct peers

• Wellons: US-based manufacturer of biomass-fired boiler systems and heat-recovery equipment serving forest products, pulp & paper and energy customers — comparable mid-sized combustion-technology OEM with multi-fuel grate/heat-exchange offerings.
• Binder Energietechnik: Austrian mid-market supplier of biomass and waste-fired boiler plants and combustion technology — peers directly with Kablitz in grate-based, multi-fuel CHP and process-heat plants for sawmill, wood-panel and municipal customers.
• ANDRITZ: Austrian-headquartered global supplier of biomass-fired boiler islands, reciprocating grates and pulp & paper process equipment — direct competitor to Kablitz in biomass combustion and complete power-plant supply for the same industrial customer base.
• Valmet: Finnish process technology group that designs and delivers biomass power boilers, heat generation plants and grates — overlapping with Kablitz's biomass-CHP and process-heat offering, especially for wood-based panel and energy customers.
• Sumitomo SHI FW: Finland/Japan-headquartered OEM of circulating fluidized-bed biomass and waste-to-energy boiler plants — broader but overlapping competitor in the same utility- and industrial-scale biomass power market.
• Münch-Energie: German combustion-engineering company specializing in biomass, waste wood and RDF-fired grate boilers and energy plants — direct technical competitor serving overlapping German-speaking industrial and municipal customers.
• Martin GmbH für Umwelt- und Energietechnik: German manufacturer of grate-fired combustion and biomass/waste-to-energy plants headquartered in Bavaria — closest home-market competitor to Kablitz, serving the same European wood, waste and district-heating customers with comparable reciprocating-grate technology.
• Aalborg Energie Technik (AET): Danish biomass boiler specialist focused on medium-scale biomass-fired boiler islands for district heating, CHP and industrial steam — comparable mid-sized competitor in the same grate-based, multi-fuel biomass plant segment.
• Polytechnik: Austrian family-owned specialist in biomass combustion systems, grates and complete energy plants — comparable mid-sized OEM focused on wood-fuel and agricultural-residue boiler islands for industrial and district-heat customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Richard Kablitz