E N T E X Rust & Mitschke

What E N T E X Rust & Mitschke does

E N T E X Rust & Mitschke GmbH is a privately held, family-owned German industrial machinery manufacturer founded in 1986 in Bochum by Dipl.-Ing. Harald Rust and Rolf Mitschke. The company designs, builds, and sells Planetary Roller Extruders (PRE) — modular compounding systems that enable complex mixing, reactive extrusion, cooling, degassing, and other material processing applications with precise temperature control and low-shear material handling. The product portfolio spans laboratory-scale extruders (L-WE 30) through pilot systems to full-scale production equipment, complemented by Single-Screw Extruders (ESE, 90–300mm), patented Radial Pelletizers, Tempering Systems, Calender Rollers (Thermowalzen), and Strainer filtration units. ENTEX holds over 160 intellectual property rights and serves enterprise customers across adhesives (tesa SE, 25+ year relationship), chemicals (BASF, Evonik, Huntsman), plastics and bioplastics, PVC films (Continental Group's Konrad Hornschuch, Mondorevive, RENOLIT), rubber and elastomers (KRAIBURG, Semperit), silicones, recycling (including wind turbine blade recycling), cable compounds (Eifelkabel), wood-polymer composites (megawood, achieving 80% wood fiber content), and food technology (DIL, Teltex Food & Additives).

The company operates an enterprise field-sales go-to-market model, selling custom-engineered systems on a quote-based pricing structure with no public pricing disclosed. ENTEX leverages its Bochum-based Technika (R&D and testing facilities) as a key customer acquisition asset, enabling feasibility studies, sample production, and process optimization trials. Revenue is generated through industrial machinery sales (hardware), R&D and testing services (professional services), after-sales spare parts and maintenance (managed services), and an equipment rental program. The company maintains an active presence at major industry trade shows (K, Fakuma, TaipeiPLAS, AMI Compounding, WAC, NPE, IPF Japan) and pursues academic partnerships with RUB, TU Dortmund, SKZ, IKV, KIL, DIL, and ILU to feed its R&D pipeline.

Following the death of founder Harald Rust in January 2021, the company has been led by Sebastian Rust (Managing Director and CEO/CTO, second-generation family ownership), alongside co-Managing Directors Dr. Andreas Kubosch, Wilfried Duesing, and Nils Ritterhoff. ENTEX is ISO 9001 certified (2025), operates globally with active markets in Germany, China (dedicated entex.com.cn presence), Taiwan, USA, UK, Japan, India, and Mexico, and employs over 150 people at its Bochum headquarters. No external funding rounds, acquisitions, or parent entity relationships are disclosed.

Name

E N T E X Rust & Mitschke

Legal name

ENTEX Rust & Mitschke GmbH

Website

https://entex.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

ENTEX Rust & Mitschke GmbH, founded in 1986 in Bochum, Germany, is a family-owned industrial machinery manufacturer specializing in Planetary Roller Extruders and related compounding, tempering, and pelletizing equipment for enterprise customers in chemicals, plastics, PVC, rubber, adhesives, recycling, and food processing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bochum

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Industrial Machinery Sales: Sale of Planetary Roller Extruders ranging from laboratory scale (L-WE 30) to full-scale production systems, along with associated equipment including tempering systems, calender rollers, strainers, single-screw extruders, and radial pelletizers.
2. R&D and Testing Services: Technical center services in Bochum for feasibility studies, product development trials, sample material production, and process optimization. Customers can test formulations and processes before purchasing equipment.
3. After Sales / Spare Parts: Replacement parts, maintenance services, and ongoing technical support for installed equipment.
4. Rental Program: Equipment rental program mentioned in contact form offerings.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ENTEX designs, manufactures, and sells Planetary Roller Extruders (PRE) and complementary process equipment — including laboratory, pilot, and production-scale extruders, tempering systems, calender rollers, single-screw extruders, radial pelletizers, and strainers — for industrial compounding, mixing, reactive extrusion, cooling, and degassing. The company serves enterprise customers across adhesives, chemicals, plastics, PVC, rubber, silicones, recycling, and food industries, with supporting R&D testing services and spare parts/maintenance.

Product overview

ENTEX Rust & Mitschke GmbH is a leading manufacturer of Planetary Roller Extruders and related process technology. The core product is the ENTEX Planetary Roller Extruder (PRE), a modular compounding system suitable for complex mixing, reactive extrusion, cooling, degassing, and other processing applications. The product portfolio spans from laboratory-scale (L-WE 30) to full production systems, supported by complementary equipment including Single-Screw Extruders, Tempering Systems, Calender Rollers, Radial Pelletizers, and Strainer systems. The company also provides R&D and Testing Facilities services for process and product development. Industrial applications cover adhesives, chemicals, (bio-)plastics, PVC, rubber and elastomers, silicones, recycling, and food processing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ENTEX Planetary Roller Extruder Flagship modular compounding extruder for industrial mixing, reactive extrusion, cooling, degassing, and complex processing applications, with separate control of thermal and mechanical energy. Sold to enterprise customers in adhesives, chemicals, plastics, PVC, rubber, silicones, recycling, and food industries.
• Laboratory Extruders (L-WE series) Small-footprint planetary roller extruders including the L-WE 30 model used by research institutions and enterprise R&D teams for feasibility studies, sample production, and formulation development before scaling to production.
• Pilot Systems Intermediate-scale planetary roller extruder systems for pilot production runs and process validation bridging laboratory research and full-scale manufacturing deployment.
• Production Systems Full-scale industrial planetary roller extruder systems for continuous compounding and extrusion operations in production environments across multiple industries.
• Tempering Systems Custom liquid-media temperature control units (TCUs) using thermodynamic heating and cooling, with thin cylinder walls for excellent heat exchange to deliver precise thermal management during extrusion processes.
• Calender Rollers (Thermowalzen) Thermo rollers used in calendering lines, capable of productivity increases of up to 30% as demonstrated at customer Konrad Hornschuch AG for calendered PVC films.
• Single-Screw Extruders (ESE) ENTEX single-screw extruders (sizes 90–300 mm, throughputs 300–3,500 kg/h) used upstream or downstream of planetary roller extruders for pressure building, die forming, and devolatilization, with screw geometries optimized for degassing.
• Radial Pelletizers Patent-protected radial granulation systems mounted directly on planetary roller extruder cylinders, enabling gentle, low-shear pelletizing of thermally sensitive polymers, food products, and vitamins with minimal thermal stress on the extrudate.
• Strainer Series Filtration/straining modules used in extrusion lines to remove impurities from processed melts during compounding operations.
• R&D and Testing Facilities (Technika) Paid technical-center services in Bochum offering feasibility studies, sample material production, and process optimization on laboratory, pilot, and production-scale ENTEX extruders with comprehensive analysis equipment (presses, microscopes, rheometers, moisture analyzers).

Quantifiable outcome

• Productivity increases of up to 30% achieved with ENTEX Thermowalzen
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.

• ColVisTec AGsupportingTechnology or IntegrationProvides inline quality control solutions for polymer and plastics extrusion processes. Used for process monitoring during customer trials and development at ENTEX technical center.
• The Bonnot CompanysupportingTechnology or IntegrationRubber processing equipment supplier providing rubber feeders and extruders. Bonnot rubber feeders can handle whole or partial bales of various rubbers including natural rubber and EPDM.
• SKZ - Süddeutsches Kunststoff-ZentrumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading plastics research center. Multiple collaborations including doctoral research support, Young Scientist Award sponsorship, and model factory inauguration. Dr. Johannes Rudloff completed doctoral thesis on Planetary Roller Extruder simulation.
• RUB - Ruhr-Universität BochumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partnership with Chair of Particle Technology led by Prof. Marcus Petermann. Regular visits for research presentations and collaboration on extrusion technology research.
• IKV - Institut für KunststoffverarbeitungsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlastics processing research institute partnership for industry collaboration and technology development.
• KIL - Kunststoff-Institut LüdenscheidsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional plastics institute partnership supporting industry research and development activities.
• DIL - Deutsches Institut für Lebensmitteltechnik e.V.supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman Institute for Food Technology partnership for food processing applications research using Planetary Roller Extruder for products like ice cream and chocolate masses.
• ILU - Institut für Lebensmitteltechnik und UmweltsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood technology institute partnership for extrusion applications in food industry.
• Brabender Technologie GmbH & Co. KGsupportingTechnology or IntegrationMain supplier for dosing units used in ENTEX extrusion systems. Dynamic partnership including roadshow presentations and close integration with Planetary Roller Extruder control systems.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Coperion: Coperion (a Hillenbrand company) is a global leader in compounding and extrusion machinery, including twin-screw extruders and feeding technology. It is the most directly comparable large-scale competitor to ENTEX in industrial plastics and rubber processing equipment, serving many of the same chemicals, plastics, and compounding customers worldwide.
• Leistritz Extrusionstechnik: Leistritz is a German manufacturer of twin-screw extruders and compounding systems used in plastics, chemicals, and pharmaceutical processing. It is a direct competitor in industrial compounding machinery, with comparable specialty positioning and shared customer base in chemical and polymer processing.
• KraussMaffei: KraussMaffei is a major German manufacturer of extrusion and compounding lines for plastics and rubber, with a strong global service network. It competes with ENTEX in industrial extrusion machinery and serves overlapping plastics, chemical, and rubber customer segments in Europe and globally.
• BUSS Compounding Systems: BUSS (formerly Buss AG) specializes in continuous compounding and kneading extruders for plastics, chemicals, and specialty applications. It is a direct peer in specialty compounding machinery, addressing many of the same reactive extrusion, PVC, and high-filler compounding use cases that ENTEX serves.
• Brabender Technologie: Brabender is a German manufacturer of dosing, feeding, and processing equipment for plastics, rubber, and food applications. ENTEX explicitly names Brabender as its main supplier for dosing units integrated with PRE systems, and the two firms co-market through roadshow presentations — making Brabender both a partner and a closely adjacent peer in process technology.
• Theysohn Extrusionstechnik: Theysohn is a German manufacturer of extrusion and compounding systems for plastics, with strength in PVC processing — directly overlapping with one of ENTEX's strongest verticals (PVC films, customers such as Hornschuch and RENOLIT). It is a comparable mid-sized European extrusion machinery specialist.

Broad incumbents

• Reifenhäuser Group: Reifenhäuser is a German family-owned manufacturer of extrusion lines for films, nonwovens, and packaging — a broader incumbent that overlaps with ENTEX in film extrusion applications and serves many of the same European polymer and packaging customers.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific (Process Instruments & Extrusion): Thermo Fisher provides laboratory and process instruments, including extruders and rheometers, used in polymer R&D and compounding. It overlaps with ENTEX in laboratory-scale extrusion and customer testing workflows but operates as a much broader scientific instrument incumbent rather than a specialist industrial machinery supplier.

Emerging players

• Steer Engineering: Steer Engineering (India) is an emerging player in specialty compounding and reactive extrusion machinery, focused on biopolymers, pharmaceuticals, and engineered plastics. It competes with ENTEX in specialty compounding applications and represents a growing lower-cost alternative in Asian and global markets.
• Xaloy (Nordsom Xaloy): Xaloy specializes in extrusion components, screws, and barrels for plastics processing equipment, serving both OEMs and the aftermarket. It is an adjacent/emerging player that supplies components into the same compounding and extrusion ecosystem where ENTEX operates, with partial product overlap in process hardware.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Planetwalzenextruder

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 E N T E X Rust & Mitschke