Competence Center for Tubes and Hollow Profiles

What Competence Center for Tubes and Hollow Profiles does

KoRoH GmbH, operating as the Competence Center for Tubes and Hollow Profiles (CCTH), is an independent engineering consultancy founded in 2008 and headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany. The firm specializes in the application of steel hollow profiles across steel and mechanical engineering, civil infrastructure, and offshore construction. It serves architects, structural engineers, design offices, construction companies, government authorities, and infrastructure owners, providing stability verification, fatigue design, dimensioning and structural optimization services, alongside damage investigations, residual life assessments, damage analyses, and expert opinions. The 11-50 employee team is composed of former assistants and students of the University of Karlsruhe/KIT, all with specialized training in structural steel construction.

The firm's deliverable set spans four streams: (1) engineering services rooted in non-linear finite element analysis and standard CAE software for steel hollow section applications; (2) proprietary R&D and contract research, including the FOSTA-funded P1132 large-scale fatigue testing at KIT, the RFCS-funded HILONG project for S460/S690 high-strength steels, and the TEHOSS cast-steel hollow section joint program with Munich University of Applied Sciences; (3) seminars on national, European, and international steel standards for design professionals; and (4) the FairGuard mobile safety barrier — a modular special-steel vehicle impact barrier developed through the BMWK/ZIM-funded MobiSE project with TUM, the University of the Federal Armed Forces Munich, and manufacturer H. Wetter AG. FairGuard V3 is certified to ISO 22343-1, ASTM F2556/F2656M, PAS 68, IWA 14-1, and DIN SPEC 91414-1, stopping a fully loaded 7.5-ton truck at 64 km/h. KoRoH also publishes technical reference works, including the 2017 Wiley-VCH handbook 'Brücken mit Stahlrohrtragwerken gestalten und realisieren' (Bridges with Steel Tube Structures) and contributions to the Encyclopedia of Maritime and Offshore Engineering.

The business model is project-based professional services plus contract research and product sales. Engineering consulting is delivered through a consultative, relationship-driven GTM targeting enterprise clients and government authorities, with revenue generated on quote-priced engagements. R&D revenue is sourced non-dilutively from FOSTA, RFCS, BMWK/ZIM, and the Stiftung Stahlanwendungsforschung. Seminars are delivered on-site or in-house. FairGuard is manufactured by Swiss partner H. Wetter AG and distributed both directly and through channel partners including Roof+ (Bochum). Marketing relies on international conference participation (ISTS, ISOPE, CIDECT, IIW), technical publication, and standards-body leadership rather than paid digital channels. Geographic footprint spans Germany, Switzerland, Thailand, Singapore, Turkey, and Panama.

Name

Competence Center for Tubes and Hollow Profiles

Legal name

KoRoH GmbH Kompetenzzentrum Rohre und Hohlprofile

Website

https://koroh.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Competence Center for Tubes and Hollow Profiles (KoRoH GmbH) is a Karlsruhe-based independent engineering consultancy providing stability verification, fatigue design, and structural optimization for steel hollow section applications to architects, engineers, and constructors worldwide, plus the FairGuard crash-certified mobile safety barrier product.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Structural Engineering Consulting

NAICS

Engineering Services (541330)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAHAIAA

Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Engineering & Technical Consulting

Keywords

• Structural steel consulting
• Hollow section engineering
• Fatigue design services
• Offshore structural analysis
• Vehicle security barriers

Headquarters

HQ city

Karlsruhe

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Engineering Consulting Services: Provides engineering consulting services including stability verification, fatigue design, dimensioning and optimization of steel structures, offshore constructions, damage investigations, residual life assessments, damage analyses, and expert opinions. Revenue is generated through professional engineering service engagements with B2B clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

KoRoH GmbH (Competence Center for Tubes and Hollow Profiles / CCTH) is an independent German engineering consulting firm providing specialized services in steel hollow profile applications for structural steel and mechanical engineering as well as offshore constructions. Services include stability verification, fatigue design, dimensioning, optimization of steel structures, damage investigations, residual life assessments, and expert opinions. The company also develops and sells the FairGuard modular mobile safety barrier for protecting public events and spaces from vehicle attacks, certified to international crash-test standards.

Product overview

KoRoH GmbH is an independent engineering consulting firm specializing in hollow profile applications for steel and mechanical engineering as well as offshore constructions. The company's offerings include FairGuard (a mobile safety barrier product), engineering services for structural analysis and optimization, seminars on standards and design principles, and research activities. Founded in 2008, the company also co-authored a technical book on bridge design with steel tubular structures published by Wiley-VCH.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FairGuard: Mobile safety barrier made of special steel for protecting event participants and public places against vehicle attacks. Successfully certified according to international crash test standards. Further developed from MobiSE project.
• MobiSE

Products and services

• Engineering Consulting Services

Quantifiable outcome

• FairGuard certified to stop fully loaded 7.5-ton truck at 64 km/h (V3 configuration) in crash tests per ISO 22343-1, ASTM F2556/F2656M, N2 PAS 68, N2A IWA 14-1, DIN SPEC 91414-1
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• FOSTAmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014Forschungsvereinigung Stahlanwendung e.V. (Research Association for Steel Application). KoRoH has been a member since 2014, participating in research projects on optimal application of hollow sections in bridge construction.
• Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmployees are former assistants and students of the University of Karlsruhe and KIT, all with specialized training in structural steel construction. Stefan Herion coordinated research and teaching at KIT's Steel, Timber and Masonry testing institute until 2017 and is a lecturer for hollow section constructions at KIT. KIT serves as a key research partner for fatigue testing and steel structure investigations.
• Technical University of Munich (TUM)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTUM collaborated on the MobiSE project for developing the FairGuard mobile civil protection facility, providing scientific methodology for systematic barrier development under vehicle collision scenarios.
• H. Wetter AGmajorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerH. Wetter AG from Stetten, Switzerland partnered on the MobiSE/FairGuard development project and is the manufacturer of the FairGuard safety barrier product. The further-developed system is marketed under the FairGuard brand.
• CIDECTcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerComité International pour le Développement et l'Etude de la Construction Tubulaire. KoRoH members have been nominated as technical experts and scientific partners for more than 20 years. KoRoH coordinates CIDECT research programs including fatigue testing of K-joints.
• ECCS-TC6coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean Convention for Constructional Steelwork Technical Committee 6. Stefan Herion has been a full member since 2000 and chairs the subgroup 'Hollow Sections' (WG6.4) since 2015, developing content for the fatigue part of Eurocode 3.
• IIW Commission XV / Working Unit XV-EcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational Institute of Welding Commission XV working on design, analysis, and fabrication of welded structures. Working Unit XV-E 'Tubular Structure' prepares design guidelines for welded joints in tubular structures and is responsible for two ISO standards on these topics.
• ISOPEmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers. Stefan Herion has been on the Technical Program Committee since 1994 and served on the Board of Directors from 2013 to 2016. ISOPE organizes the world's largest offshore and arctic engineering conference.
• Roof+ (Bochum)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRoof+ partnered with KoRoH to develop and implement wide-span solar carport solutions including projects at Schenkenseebad Schwäbisch Hall, Netto-Markt Holzwickede, and Takeda Berlin.
• Munich University of Applied Sciences / Laboratory for Steel and Lightweight StructuresmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered in the TEHOSS project (Load-bearing capacity and fatigue behavior of high strength cast steel and steel hollow section connections), conducting experimental investigations on test specimens.
• Stahlbau WegscheidmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered in the TEHOSS project, manufacturing test specimens with seamless hot-rolled hollow sections. Also collaborated on Messe München exhibition hall projects.
• TNO DelftminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSubcontracted by KoRoH for experimental investigations on smaller specimens within the CIDECT 7AB fatigue research project on hollow section joints and high strength steel.
• FOSTA Project Partners (P591, P816, P1132)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple FOSTA-funded research projects on optimal application of hollow sections in bridge construction (P591, P816, P1132) with partners including KIT, ICOM EPFL, Richard J. Dietrich, and others. FOSTA P1132 funds large-scale fatigue tests at KIT.
• University of the Federal Armed Forces MunichminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on the MobiSE/FairGuard mobile civil protection facility development project alongside KoRoH and Technical University of Munich.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Tata Steel: Global steel manufacturer with an in-house structural engineering and construction support practice for hollow sections. Competes with KoRoH on technical knowledge dissemination and standards development, but from a steel-maker rather than independent consultancy position.
• Arup: Global engineering consultancy with a major structural engineering practice covering steel, bridges, and offshore. Operates in the same client segments as KoRoH but at vastly larger scale and across all engineering disciplines.
• Ramboll: Global engineering, architecture, and consultancy firm with extensive structural and offshore practices serving bridge, infrastructure, and energy clients. Comparable client base and project mix to KoRoH, but far larger and multi-disciplinary.

Direct peers

• ATG Access: UK-based manufacturer of vehicle security barriers (bollards, road blockers, gates) certified to PAS 68 and IWA 14-1. Most direct competitor to the FairGuard product line in the crash-rated mobile barrier category.
• Heald Ltd: UK manufacturer of hostile-vehicle-mitigation barriers with PAS 68 / IWA 14-1 / ASTM certifications and international distribution. Directly competes with FairGuard in the certified mobile safety barrier segment for public events and urban protection.
• Knippers Helbig Advanced Engineering: German structural engineering consultancy focused on complex steel, glass, and free-form structures. Comparable to KoRoH in scale, technical depth, and project mix (large-span roofs, bridges, special structures), serving architects and engineers on demanding structural design challenges.
• Buro Happold: Global structural and infrastructure engineering consultancy with deep expertise in complex steel and long-span structures. Direct peer in the structural consulting market KoRoH serves, though operating at much larger scale and broader geographic footprint.
• Steel Construction Institute: UK-based steel construction research and standards organization providing technical guidance, design tools, and training to the steel industry. Functionally analogous to KoRoH's CIDECT/ECCS-TC6 knowledge leadership role and seminar offerings, though with much broader scope.
• Schlaich Bergermann Partner: Stuttgart-based structural engineering firm specializing in innovative steel, cable, and lightweight structures. Closest direct peer to KoRoH in Germany for complex steel engineering on bridges, roofs, and special structures, with comparable academic depth and design-led approach.
• Bollinger + Grohmann: Frankfurt-based structural engineering consultancy working on complex steel, timber, and concrete buildings across Europe. Overlaps with KoRoH on engineered steel structures for architects and large construction projects, with a comparable high-end technical positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/koroh-gmbh

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 Competence Center for Tubes and Hollow Profiles