TANNER

What TANNER does

TANNER GmbH is a privately held German B2B service provider for technical communication, headquartered in Lindau on Lake Constance with a further nine German offices and a wholly owned subsidiary in Vietnam. Founded circa 1983 and operating for more than 40 years, the firm employs more than 180 specialists serving industrial clients across nine verticals, including machinery and plant engineering, electrical industry, medical technology and pharmaceutical, software, energy technology, construction, aerospace, chemical and raw materials, and rail vehicle manufacturing.

The company delivers its services across five interconnected pillars: Technical Documentation, B2B Marketing, IT Solutions, E-Learning, and Product Data Solutions. Technical capabilities include technical writing and visualization, translation management, editorial system services, e-learning production, screencasts and industrialized animation creation, AI-supported information processing, and product data management using open-source systems such as Pimcore alongside proprietary tooling like Content42. AI is applied as a cross-cutting sub-module within technical documentation, covering generative content creation, terminology checking, and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) over heterogeneous sources.

TANNER generates revenue through professional services engagements with corporations and medium-sized industrial clients, with quote-based pricing per project scope; no pricing details are publicly disclosed. Named enterprise customers include Lufthansa Technical Training, Porsche, Jungheinrich, Bosch Thermotechnik, Belimo, Häfele, Liebherr-Hydraulikbagger, EagleBurgmann, Uhlmann, Telair, and ASV Stübbe. Distribution is direct, managed through the company's own delivery teams, while demand generation relies on content marketing, whitepapers and webinars, an annual TANNER-Hochschulwettbewerb university competition, and employer-brand channels such as Great Place to Work certifications received in Bavaria (2019, 2024), Germany (2020), and Allgäu (2024, 2025).

Name

TANNER

Legal name

TANNER GmbH

Website

https://tanner.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

TANNER GmbH is a privately held German B2B service provider for technical communication, employing more than 180 specialists across ten German offices and a Vietnam subsidiary. It serves industrial Mittelstand and enterprise clients with technical documentation, B2B marketing, IT, e-learning, and product data services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lindau

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Services: TANNER generates revenue through professional services across five interconnected performance areas: Technical Documentation, B2B Marketing, IT Solutions, E-Learning, and Product Data Solutions. Services include technical editing, visualization, translation management, e-learning production, AI-supported documentation, digital marketing, content marketing, product sales arguments, corporate design, IT service, AI-supported information processing, and product data optimization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

TANNER is a German full-service provider for technical communication, delivering professional technical documentation (writing, visualization, translation management, e-learning production, AI-supported content), B2B technical marketing (digital marketing, content marketing, product/sales argumentation, corporate design), IT solutions (system solutions, IT service desk, AI-supported information processing), e-learning production (screencasts, e-learning modules, industrialized animation), and product data solutions (PIM/e-commerce readiness, BIM data, CAD processing). The company combines more than 180 specialists across ten German locations and a Vietnam subsidiary to serve industrial B2B clients.

Product overview

TANNER is a leading German service provider for technical communication (Technikkommunikation) offering a five-pillar portfolio of integrated services: Technische Dokumentation (technical documentation and writing), B2B-Marketing (technical B2B marketing), IT-Solutions (IT services including AI-supported information processing), E-Learning (training media and animations), and Product Data Solutions (PIM/e-commerce and BIM). The AI-supported sub-module (KI-Unterstützung) is cross-cutting across the technical documentation pillar, covering generative AI, knowledge retrieval, and process automation use cases. The whitepaper on AI in technical documentation serves as a knowledge resource supporting the AI capability narrative. Together, the five service pillars form a comprehensive technical communication offering for B2B industrial clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Technische Dokumentation (Technical Documentation) Professional creation and maintenance of customized technical information products covering technical writing and editing, visualization, editorial system service, translation management, e-learning production, and AI-supported content. Serves industrial B2B clients in machinery, electrical, medical technology, software, energy, construction, aerospace, chemical, and rail sectors.
• B2B-Marketing (Technical B2B Marketing) B2B agency services for technical marketing covering digital marketing and e-commerce, content marketing, product and sales argumentation, and corporate design and corporate communications. Serves industrial B2B companies.
• IT-Solutions IT services combining technical writing expertise with IT skills and agile methodologies, covering system solutions, IT service desk, and AI-supported information processing for B2B industrial clients.
• E-Learning Training and learning solutions for technical products including screencasts and videos, e-learning modules, and industrialized animation creation. Serves technology companies needing knowledge transfer on technical products.
• Product Data Solutions Optimization of product data and data processes for e-commerce requirements, covering PIM (Product Information Management) systems, e-commerce readiness, and product data for Building Information Modeling (BIM), including CAD data processing.

Quantifiable outcome

• Operating for more than 40 years as a leading technical communication service provider

Named customers12 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Great Place to WorkcoreOthers · 11 April 2025TANNER participates annually in Great Place to Work competitions and has been recognized multiple times as one of the best employers in Bavaria, Allgäu, and Germany (2019, 2020, 2024, 2025). The partnership involves employee surveys and workplace culture assessment.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• msg systems AG: Large German IT and consulting group with documentation, life sciences, and industrial practice areas. Overlaps with TANNER's IT and regulated-industry services at a much larger scale.
• PTC Inc. Global vendor of PLM, CAD, and technical illustration software (Arbortext) widely used in industrial technical documentation. Overlaps with TANNER's tooling and PIM-adjacent services, but at enterprise-software scale.
• RWS Group: Global language, localization, and content technology provider (Trados). Comparable to TANNER's translation management and content services line, though at vastly larger scale.

Direct peers

• parson AG: German consultancy specialized in technical communication, information management, and documentation strategy. Closely comparable mid-sized DACH peer competing for the same Mittelstand clients.
• SCHEMA GmbH: German vendor of component content management systems (SCHEMA ST4) widely used in industrial technical documentation. Competes with TANNER on tooling and related services.
• DOCUFY GmbH: German provider of technical documentation software (Docufy Kosmas) and professional services for technical communication. Direct overlap with TANNER's core technical-documentation and PIM-adjacent offerings.
• pi-xis GmbH: German technical communication and PIM services firm with a comparable vertical focus on industrial clients. Competes directly with TANNER on documentation and product-data mandates.
• akom360 GmbH: Specialist German technical communication consultancy covering documentation, training, and information management. Competes with TANNER for technical-editor and project-management engagements.
• gds GmbH: German technical documentation and translation services provider serving industrial clients. Highly comparable mid-sized services competitor in the DACH market.
• Quanos Content Solutions GmbH: Provider of PIM, content, and after-sales solutions for industrial technical product communication. Overlaps directly with TANNER's Product Data Solutions and technical documentation pillars.

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TANNER_AG
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tanner-ag

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 TANNER