Demm

What Demm does

DEMM Srl is an Italian precision mechanical transmission component manufacturer, founded in 1929 (originally as Officine Meccaniche F.lli Daldi e Matteucci) and headquartered at a 26,000+ square meter single-site production facility in Porretta Terme, Bologna province. The company designs and manufactures custom gears and drivetrain components — including cylindrical gears (straight and helical), bevel gear pairs (straight, helical, and IPOID configurations), shafts and power take-offs, planetary ring gears, transmission kits and differential assemblies, and synchro sleeves — serving seven industrial verticals: automotive, agricultural machinery, earthmoving, heavy vehicles, railway, marine, and aeronautical. Since the 1980s the company has also produced aerospace-qualified components for Boeing 747 and 767 programs (share tubes, torque tubes, collars, bushings).

DEMM operates a fully vertically integrated production cycle in-house, covering broaching, gear hobbing and slotting, shaving, GLEASON conical gear cutting, four heat treatment modalities (cementation with oil quench, induction, nitriding, and plug hardening), external and internal grinding, thread grinding, hard turning, and GLEASON-based running-in and testing, supported by an internal metrology and metallurgical laboratory. Quality management is certified to UNI EN ISO 9001:2015. The GTM motion is sales-led B2B contract manufacturing: DEMM sells custom-engineered components on a project/one-off manufacturing basis directly to OEM customers across the seven verticals, with no retail, e-commerce, or self-serve channel, and pricing is quote-based per RFQ.

Since 1985 DEMM has changed ownership multiple times — PAI (Atlanta) in 1985, ZF (Germany) in 1991, PARITEL in 1993, GRAZIANO Group in 2001, PARITEL again in 2012, and Certina AG (holding/investment company) in 2018. The current Certina ownership has stated intent to refocus the company on its historically distinctive products and reposition it among leading sector players. As of the latest data the company employs 150+ staff at the Porretta Terme plant, operates multilingual sales coverage in Italy, the United States, Germany, and France, and has no public revenue disclosure.

Name

Demm

Legal name

DEMM Srl

Website

https://demm.it

Company type

Private

Founded year

1929

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

DEMM Srl is an Italian precision gear and drivetrain component manufacturer, founded in 1929 and based at a 26,000+ sqm plant in Porretta Terme. It produces custom cylindrical and bevel gears, shafts, planetary ring gears, transmission kits, and synchro sleeves for OEM customers across automotive, agricultural, earthmoving, heavy vehicle, railway, marine, and aeronautical sectors, including Boeing programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Porretta Terme

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom gear and transmission component manufacturing: DEMM designs and manufactures custom mechanical gears, shafts, bevel gears, synchronizers and transmission components on a made-to-order basis for industrial OEM customers. Production is subcontract/manufacturing for clients in automotive, agricultural, earthmoving, railway, marine and aeronautical sectors. Revenue is generated through one-time manufacturing contracts for custom components.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

DEMM designs, manufactures, and assembles precision mechanical gears and transmission components on a custom/OEM basis, including cylindrical gears, bevel gear pairs, ring gears for planetary gearboxes, shafts and power take-offs, transmission kits/differential components, and synchro sleeves. The company runs the entire production cycle in-house at its 26,000+ sqm plant in Porretta Terme (Bologna), Italy — from material acceptance and heat treatment through broaching, hobbing/slotting, shaving, GLEASON conical cutting, grinding, hard turning, running-in and final testing — certified to UNI EN ISO 9001:2015.

Product overview

DEMM designs, manufactures, and assembles mechanical transmission components including cylindrical gears, ring gears for planetary gearboxes, shafts and power take-offs, bevel gears, transmission kits and differential components, and synchro sleeves. The product portfolio serves sectors including automotive, agricultural machinery, earthmoving, heavy vehicles, railway, marine, and aeronautical industries. DEMM operates its historic plant in Porretta Terme (Bologna), Italy, performing all manufacturing and quality control processes internally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ingranaggi cilindrici a denti diritti ed elicoidali (Cylindrical Gears with Straight and Helicoidal Teeth) Cylindrical gears with straight and helicoidal teeth designed for efficient transmission of rotational motion between two parallel axes; helicoidal teeth reduce operating noise through graduated contact surface entry. Custom-manufactured for OEM customers.
• Corone per riduttori epicicloidali (Ring Gears for Planetary Gearboxes) Ring gears for planetary gearboxes, coupled with three epicyclic gears to provide various reduction ratios on the central shaft in speed reducers. Custom-manufactured for OEM applications.
• Alberi e prese di forza (Shafts and Power Take-offs) Straight and helicoidal toothed shafts designed to transmit rotational motion across various industrial applications including production, agriculture, construction and automation. Custom-manufactured for OEM customers.
• Coppie coniche a denti diritti ed elicoidali (Bevel Gear Pairs with Straight and Helicoidal Teeth) Bevel gear pairs for efficient transmission of rotational motion between perpendicular or divergent axes. Includes standard bevel gears and IPOID configurations for increased tooth coverage and noiseless operation. Custom-manufactured using the GLEASON system.
• Kit di trasmissione e componenti cambio (Transmission Kits and Differential Components) Transmission kits (including differential assemblies) that distribute drive torque between wheels of the same axle, allowing the outer wheel to rotate faster than the inner wheel for stable and safe driving. Custom-manufactured for OEM drivetrain applications.
• Manicotti sincro (Synchro Sleeves) Internal and external synchro sleeves for synchronizers that ensure uniform speed synchronization of two gears during gear shifting, providing smooth gear changes and extended transmission life. Custom-manufactured for OEM transmissions.

Quantifiable outcome

• A train requires 50 to 70% less energy than road transport per ton or passenger transported — DEMM supplies critical transmission components enabling this efficiency

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature12 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• PFAUTERminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1992The Machine Tools division was acquired by PFAUTER, which expanded its product catalog with DEMM slotting machines. Design and assembly of these machines remained at Porretta Terme.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• David Brown Santasalo: Specialist manufacturer of industrial gears, gearboxes, and service solutions with deep heritage in heavy-duty and precision applications. Comparable to DEMM in custom-engineered gears serving mining, power, and heavy industrial customers.
• Cone Drive (Timken): Specialist manufacturer of precision bevel and planetary gear drives, now part of Timken. Directly comparable to DEMM's GLEASON conical gear cutting expertise and bevel gear product range.
• Bonfiglioli: Italian-headquartered global manufacturer of gearmotors, gear drives, and planetary gearboxes. Directly comparable to DEMM in precision gear manufacturing for industrial, automotive, and mobile machinery applications, with a similar emphasis on Italian manufacturing heritage and broad sector coverage.
• Rossi Gearmotors: Italian manufacturer of gear reducers and gearmotors with a long industrial heritage comparable to DEMM's. Both companies serve industrial and heavy-duty application segments with custom-configured precision gearing.
• Reggiana Riduttori (Brevini Group): Italian industrial gearbox and gear manufacturer focused on heavy-duty and precision gearing. Directly comparable to DEMM in serving industrial, marine, and heavy-vehicle transmission applications with made-to-order engineering.

Broad incumbents

• ZF Friedrichshafen: World's largest transmission group and DEMM's former owner (1991-1993). Comparable as a major customer/end-customer relationship pattern, and as a benchmark for the kind of supplier ZF previously deemed strategic enough to acquire.
• Sumitomo Drive Technologies: Global manufacturer of precision gear drives, gearboxes, and servo motors with industrial heritage comparable to DEMM's. Overlapping product categories (helical, bevel, planetary gears) and end-market exposure in industrial machinery and automotive.
• Flender (Siemens): German tier-1 supplier of mechanical gear drives, gearboxes, and couplings serving industrial, wind, and marine markets. Comparable to DEMM in gear manufacturing capability but at vastly larger scale, offering a relevant benchmark for DEMM's premium-specialist positioning.
• Dana Incorporated: Global drivetrain and propulsion supplier serving automotive, commercial vehicle, and off-highway markets. Comparable to DEMM in transmission component supply (gears, shafts, differentials) across automotive and earthmoving sectors.
• Oerlikon (Graziano): Oerlikon's Drive Systems segment incorporates the former GRAZIANO group, DEMM's owner from 2001. Graziano is the Italian market leader in transmission components, providing a direct precedent for DEMM's product positioning and customer overlap.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Demm