Stela Laxhuber
Stela Laxhuber GmbH is a family-owned German industrial drying technology company (founded 1922) that designs, manufactures, and services low-temperature belt dryers, agricultural dryers, and food dryers with proprietary RecuDry® heat recovery for enterprise customers across agriculture, wood, food, cement, and energy verticals in over 100 countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1922
- HeadquartersMassing, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Stela Laxhuber does
Stela Laxhuber GmbH is a privately held, third-generation family-owned industrial drying technology company headquartered in Massing, Bavaria, Germany. Founded in 1922 by Stefan Laxhuber as a locksmith and sheet-metal workshop, the company began producing dryers in 1967 and has built a 100+ year specialization in low-temperature belt drying systems. Its core product portfolio includes belt dryers (BTU with proprietary RecuDry® heat recovery, BT, BTL, BTF-S), stationary AgroDry® agricultural dryers, and mobile Universal agricultural dryers, with installations collectively processing approximately 43 million tonnes of bulk material annually worldwide across more than 100 countries.
The company's competitive foundation rests on its patented RecuDry® heat recovery technology, which recirculates drying air through a condensation module to deliver 35-50% energy savings versus standard belt dryers and supports a 2-3 year payback for customers. It serves enterprise customers across agriculture, woodworking/panel, food, feed, cement, recycling, renewable fuels, and water management verticals, with named multi-decade relationships including Pfeifer & Langen, Peter Kölln (25+ years), Johann Pabst Holzindustrie, HS Timber Group, Franz Moser, and GARANT Tiernahrung.
Revenue is generated primarily through custom-engineered, project-based one-time equipment sales supplemented by an aftermarket service stream covering spare parts, 24/7 technical support, remote maintenance via TeamViewer, training, and lifecycle optimization. Go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales with dedicated product-line sales managers, supplemented by an event-driven presence at IFAT, LIGNA, EuroTier, AustroAgrar, and Bio360 Expo. A wholly-owned subsidiary, stela Steuerungstechnik GmbH & Co. KG, provides in-house switchgear, automation, and process visualization, while stela Drying Technology Corp. (Atlanta, established 2023) handles North American coverage.
Stela Laxhuber firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Stela Laxhuber
- Legal name
- stela Laxhuber GmbH
- Website
- https://stela.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1922
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Stela Laxhuber GmbH is a family-owned German industrial drying technology company (founded 1922) that designs, manufactures, and services low-temperature belt dryers, agricultural dryers, and food dryers with proprietary RecuDry® heat recovery for enterprise customers across agriculture, wood, food, cement, and energy verticals in over 100 countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Stela Laxhuber industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Industrial Drying Equipment
- NAICS
- Ventilation, Heating, Air-Conditioning, and Commercial Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturing (33341)
- SIC
- Farm Machinery & Equipment (3523), Air-Cond & Warm Air Heatg Equip & Comm & Indl Refrig Equip (3585)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Grain Dryer Systems Integration & Installation (AFAOAHAB)
Keywords
Where Stela Laxhuber is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Massing
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Stela Laxhuber business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Industrial Drying Equipment Sales: Design, manufacture, and sale of industrial drying systems including belt dryers, agricultural dryers, and food dryers. Custom project-based sales with full lifecycle support from planning to commissioning and ongoing service.
- Aftermarket Services: Spare parts, maintenance, technical support, training, optimization, and documentation services over entire plant lifecycle. Service department available 24/7 with remote maintenance access capability.
- Control Technology Systems: STELA Steuerungstechnik subsidiary provides switchgear construction, electrical installation, commissioning and maintenance services for industrial automation systems.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom industrial drying systems |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Stela Laxhuber product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Stela Laxhuber designs, manufactures, sells, and installs low-temperature industrial belt dryers (BTU/BTL/BTF/BT series) and stationary and mobile agricultural dryers (AgroDry®, Universal/MUF) for drying bulk crops, wood, sawdust, food/feed, alternative fuels, and sludge. Each project is custom-engineered with proprietary RecuDry® heat-recovery technology, in-house control systems (STELA Steuerungstechnik), and full lifecycle service from planning to commissioning and aftermarket support.
Product overview
Stela Laxhuber is a specialized industrial drying technology company offering a portfolio of belt dryer systems and agricultural dryers. The product lineup centers on belt dryers (Bandtrockner) in multiple variants—standard BT/BTL models, BTU versions with RecuDry® heat recovery technology, and BTF-S for food applications—complemented by stationary AgroDry® and mobile Universal agricultural dryers. A subsidiary, STELA Steuerungstechnik, provides proprietary control systems and electrical engineering services. All products emphasize energy efficiency, gentle product handling, and customization for specific materials across diverse industries including agriculture, wood products, food, feed, cement, and recycling.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- RecuDry®: Heat recovery technology for belt dryers that achieves up to 35-50% energy savings
- AgroDry®
- BTU RecuDry®
- BTF-S
Products and services
- Bandtrockner (Belt Dryer) — BTU / BTL / BTF / BT series Industrial low-temperature belt dryer systems engineered for constant drying results, gentle product treatment, and efficient energy consumption across numerous industries (agriculture, wood, food, paper, feed, cement, recycling, water). Available in BTU (with RecuDry heat recovery), BTL, BT, and BTF-S (food) variants.
- Lebensmitteltrockner (Food Belt Dryer) Specialized belt dryer for the food industry covering cereals, vitamin-preserving vegetable drying, herbs, and extrudates for snacks and cereal bars; designed for gentle drying that preserves product quality and food-safety compliance.
- Stationäre Agrartrockner AgroDry® Stationary continuous-flow agricultural dryer branded AgroDry® for high-throughput drying of bulk arable crops with integrated heat recovery, representing stela's core agricultural drying platform.
- Mobile Agrartrockner Universal (MUF series) Mobile continuous agricultural dryer (Universal / MUF series) mounted on a vehicle chassis for flexible deployment, with a high-positioned dry-material outlet for easy transport, integrated heat recovery, and effective dust reduction.
- STELA Steuerungstechnik Control Technology (electrical and automation services) Control-technology and electrical-engineering service offering switchgear construction, automation, process visualization, MSR electrical installation, commissioning, and maintenance for industrial drying systems, delivered from in-house production by subsidiary stela Steuerungstechnik GmbH & Co. KG.
- Aftermarket Service (spare parts, maintenance, training, 24/7 support, remote maintenance) Lifecycle aftermarket service covering spare-parts supply, preventive and corrective maintenance, operator training, process optimization, documentation, 24/7 support, and remote-maintenance access for installed stela dryers worldwide.
Quantifiable outcome
- 35-50% energy savings with RecuDry® heat recovery technology compared to standard belt dryers
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Stela Laxhuber
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Stela Laxhuber technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature6 records
Stela Laxhuber partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators5 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Stela Laxhuber competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- HAVER & BOECKER: German family-owned industrial processing and packaging equipment manufacturer. Comparable as a European Mittelstand specialist serving similar cement, food, and bulk-materials customers where Stela also delivers drying systems.
Direct peers
- Sukup Manufacturing Co. US-based family-owned manufacturer of grain dryers and material handling equipment. Comparable because it competes head-to-head with Stela's AgroDry® stationary and mobile agricultural dryers, particularly in the North American market Stela is now entering.
- Carrier Vibrating Equipment: US industrial vibratory and conveyor dryer OEM serving aggregates, mining, and food processing. Comparable because it offers industrial drying systems that compete with Stela belt dryers in mineral and bulk-material applications.
- Mitchell Dryers Ltd: UK manufacturer of industrial belt and conveyor dryers serving food, chemical, and mineral processing. Comparable as a specialist belt-dryer OEM competing with Stela's BTU, BTL, and BTF-S product families.
- Brock Grain Systems: US manufacturer of grain storage, conditioning, and drying systems. Comparable because it directly competes in the stationary and portable grain dryer segment where Stela has 43 million tonnes of installed drying capacity worldwide.
- Cimbria Unigrain: Danish specialist in grain handling, drying, and seed processing equipment with strong European footprint. Comparable because it competes with Stela's agricultural dryer portfolio across European grain merchants and cooperatives.
- Büttner Energie- und Trocknungstechnik: German specialist manufacturer of drum and belt dryers for biomass, energy, and agricultural applications. Directly comparable as a German Mittelstand competitor offering drying systems to the same energy-from-biomass and agricultural customer base.
Broad incumbents
- GEA Group: German global industrial systems supplier with spray and fluid-bed drying technology for food, dairy, and chemical applications. Comparable because it targets similar food and feed customers with industrial drying solutions and competes on energy-efficiency positioning.
- ANDRITZ AG: Austrian industrial group offering drying and evaporation systems for pulp, paper, biomass, and feed industries. Comparable because it competes with Stela in wood-based panel and pellet-industry drying lines across Europe and North America.
- Bühler Group: Swiss global industrial equipment manufacturer serving food, feed, and advanced materials with drying and processing lines. Comparable because it supplies belt and conveyor dryers into the same food and feed verticals that Stela addresses with the BTF-S food dryer.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Stela Laxhuber social profiles
Digital presenceStela Laxhuber compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Stela Laxhuber financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Stela Laxhuber leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Stela Laxhuber subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Stela Laxhuber funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Stela Laxhuber M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Stela Laxhuber
What does Stela Laxhuber do?
Stela Laxhuber designs, manufactures, sells, and installs low-temperature industrial belt dryers (BTU/BTL/BTF/BT series) and stationary and mobile agricultural dryers (AgroDry®, Universal/MUF) for drying bulk crops, wood, sawdust, food/feed, alternative fuels, and sludge. Each project is custom-engineered with proprietary RecuDry® heat-recovery technology, in-house control systems (STELA Steuerungstechnik), and full lifecycle service from planning to commissioning and aftermarket support.
Is Stela Laxhuber a public or private company?
Stela Laxhuber is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Stela Laxhuber founded?
Stela Laxhuber was founded in 1922. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Stela Laxhuber based?
Stela Laxhuber is headquartered in Massing, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Stela Laxhuber make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Industrial Drying Equipment Sales are the primary driver. The others are aftermarket Services and control Technology Systems.
Who are Stela Laxhuber's main competitors?
HAVER & BOECKER is listed as an others. Direct peers are Sukup Manufacturing Co., Carrier Vibrating Equipment, Mitchell Dryers Ltd, Brock Grain Systems, Cimbria Unigrain and Büttner Energie- und Trocknungstechnik. Broad incumbents are GEA Group, ANDRITZ AG and Bühler Group.
Does Stela Laxhuber have an API?
No public API is recorded for Stela Laxhuber.
What industry is Stela Laxhuber in?
Stela Laxhuber's product category is Industrial Drying Equipment. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAOAHAB, Grain Dryer Systems Integration & Installation. Its NAICS code is 33341 and its SIC code is 3523.