Herco
Herco Wassertechnik GmbH is a privately held German manufacturer that designs and builds turnkey reverse osmosis, EDI, and ultrafiltration water treatment systems for medical (dialysis, endoscopy, CSSD) and industrial (hydrogen, data centres, boiler feed) customers worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1940
- HeadquartersFreiberg, Germany
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Herco does
Herco Wassertechnik GmbH is a privately held German manufacturer of industrial and medical water treatment systems, headquartered and operating from a single integrated development and production facility in Freiberg am Neckar. Founded in 1946 and operating for almost 80 years, the company designs and builds turnkey water purification plants using reverse osmosis (RO), electrodeionization (EDI), and ultrafiltration technologies, delivered as standard modular units, skid-mounted systems, or custom containerised 40' High-Cube plants. Its portfolio spans both regulated medical applications (haemodialysis, endoscopy, CSSD sterile processing) where it operates under DIN EN ISO 13485 and EU MDR compliance, and industrial applications (boiler feed water, power plants, cooling water, green hydrogen electrolysis, data centres, PFAS removal, beverage, dairy, brewery, pharmaceutical, and surface technology).
The firm makes money primarily through one-time capital equipment sales of custom-engineered systems, supplemented by a recurring service annuity comprising maintenance contracts, original spare parts, and a rental/regeneration programme for filtration cartridges. Go-to-market is built around consultative direct enterprise sales led by Managing Director Edwin Locker, with non-binding consultations and 24-hour response commitments, complemented by a self-service e-commerce Product Center for standard systems and a formal OEM partner programme embedding Herco subsystems inside third-party manufacturers' equipment. The customer base is distributed across multiple verticals and geographies, anchored by long-tenured reference relationships such as Nierenzentrum Heidelberg, with regulatory certifications, vertical integration, and German manufacturing heritage functioning as the principal competitive differentiators.
Herco firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Herco
- Legal name
- Herco Wassertechnik GmbH
- Website
- https://herco-wt.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1940
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Herco Wassertechnik GmbH is a privately held German manufacturer that designs and builds turnkey reverse osmosis, EDI, and ultrafiltration water treatment systems for medical (dialysis, endoscopy, CSSD) and industrial (hydrogen, data centres, boiler feed) customers worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Herco industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Water Treatment Systems
- NAICS
- Industrial Machinery Manufacturing (3332), Other General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing (3339), Surgical Appliance and Supplies Manufacturing (339113)
- SIC
- Misc Industrial & Commercial Machinery & Equipment (3590), Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Water & Wastewater Treatment Plant Equipment (Clarifiers, Aeration, Membrane Systems) (IMAHAEAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Dialysis Water Treatment & Dialysate Delivery Systems (HLAHAKAD), Separation & Filtration Equipment (Filters, Centrifuges, Membranes) (IMAHAEAB), Monitoring & Control (Dosing Systems, Remote Monitoring, Sensors) (BPABAJAK)
Keywords
Where Herco is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Freiberg
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Herco business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Water Treatment Systems (Capital Equipment): Sale of industrial and medical water treatment systems including reverse osmosis, EDI, and ultrafiltration units. Systems are offered as standard or customised turnkey solutions, pre-assembled on frame racks or containerised units.
- Maintenance and Servicing: Ongoing maintenance, servicing, and technical support contracts for installed water treatment systems. Includes technical support, claims handling, and field service.
- Original Spare Parts: Supply of original spare parts for water treatment systems, including cartridges and replacement components.
- Regeneration and Rental Cartridges: Regeneration services and rental program for filtration cartridges, providing cost-effective alternatives to replacement.
- Assembly and Commissioning: Installation, assembly, commissioning, and customer training services for delivered water treatment systems.
- Trainings and Webinars: Training courses and webinars on water treatment technology and energy efficiency for customers and prospects.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Standard Systems - Pre-configured water treatment units available in stock |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Herco product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Herco designs and manufactures turnkey water treatment systems for industrial and medical applications using reverse osmosis, electrodeionization, and ultrafiltration technologies. Systems are delivered pre-assembled on compact frame racks, in skid-mounted configurations, or in 40' High-Cube containerised units, and are offered as both standard modular products and custom-engineered plants. The portfolio is complemented by installation, commissioning, maintenance, original spare parts, cartridge regeneration and rental, and training services, with all consulting, engineering, design, and manufacturing executed in-house at Freiberg am Neckar, Germany.
Product overview
Herco offers a portfolio of turnkey water treatment systems for industrial and medical applications, manufactured in Freiberg am Neckar, Germany. The product range includes standard modular systems, custom-designed solutions, mobile containerised plants, and skid-mounted configurations. Industrial solutions cover surface technology, boiler feed water, power plants, green hydrogen, cooling water, data centres, beverage, dairy, brewery, pharmaceutical, and general laboratory/hospital applications. Medical products specifically address haemodialysis, endoscopy, and CSSD (Central Sterile Services Departments) requirements. All systems feature reverse osmosis (RO), ultrafiltration, and EDI (Electrodeionisation) technologies, with offerings ranging from ultra-compact combi units to large-scale containerised ultrapure water systems. Consulting, engineering, design and manufacturing services are provided in-house.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Custom Water Treatment Systems Customised, turnkey water treatment plants engineered to customer-specific requirements, combining reverse osmosis, electrodeionization, and ultrafiltration. Delivered pre-assembled on compact frame racks or in containerised units for industrial and medical buyers that need non-standard specifications.
- Standard Water Treatment Systems Modular, pre-configured water treatment systems available as standard units, suitable for a range of industrial and medical applications. Includes ultra-compact RO combi units with integrated softener for water desalination up to 1,000 mg/l, supplied as in-stock items through the Product Center e-commerce storefront.
- Mobile Containerised Water Treatment Plants Mobile, containerised water treatment plants built inside 40' High-Cube containers for flexible redeployment across sites. Configurations include two RO stages plus one EDI stage for ultrapure H2O production and serves applications such as green hydrogen electrolysis.
- Skid-Mounted Water Treatment Systems Scalable water treatment systems mounted on compact skids for flexible installation and capacity expansion, suitable for industrial and medical buyers that need modular capacity growth.
- PFAS Treatment Solutions Water treatment solutions specifically engineered for the removal of PFAS contaminants from process and waste streams, addressing growing regulatory and environmental concerns for industrial operators.
- Hemodialysis Reverse Osmosis Systems Reverse osmosis systems designed for haemodialysis applications in hospitals, dialysis centres, and private clinics, meeting the highest hygienic requirements and complying with MDR regulations. Designed for critical patient-care water treatment.
- Endoscopy Water Treatment Systems Medical-grade water treatment systems engineered for endoscopy applications, ensuring the highest hygienic standards for endoscope reprocessing in hospitals and clinics.
- CSSD Ultrapure Water Systems Ultrapure water treatment systems for Central Sterile Services Departments (CSSD) in hospitals, meeting stringent medical hygiene requirements for sterile processing.
- Maintenance and Servicing Recurring maintenance and servicing contracts covering installed water treatment systems, including technical support, claims handling, and field service across industrial and medical deployments.
- Assembly and Commissioning Installation, assembly, commissioning, and customer training services performed at customer sites for delivered water treatment systems, delivered by Herco engineering and field teams.
- Original Spare Parts Supply Supply of original Herco spare parts, including cartridges and replacement components, to maintain installed water treatment systems and ensure long-term reliability.
- Regeneration and Rental Cartridges Recurring regeneration service and rental program for filtration cartridges used in Herco water treatment systems, providing a cost-effective alternative to cartridge replacement.
- Trainings and Webinars on Water Treatment Training courses and webinars on water treatment technology and energy efficiency, delivered to customers and prospects for product adoption, knowledge transfer, and thought leadership.
Quantifiable outcome
- 19+ years of reliable operation with same customer (Nierenzentrum Heidelberg)
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Herco
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Herco technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Herco partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Handelsblatt LiveminorHerco Managing Director Edwin Locker will speak at the Handelsblatt Live conference 'Water as an Economic Factor 2026' in Berlin on June 24-25, 2026. The conference focuses on circular processes, technological solutions, and strategic importance of modern water treatment for industry.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Herco competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Pentair: Large US-listed water-technology company with industrial, healthcare and membrane-treatment offerings; competes for multi-site industrial water-treatment and OEM module opportunities alongside Herco.
- Veolia Water Technologies: Global leader in industrial and municipal water treatment; competes with Herco on large industrial and pharma water-treatment projects while serving a much broader portfolio of customers and geographies.
- SUEZ Water Technologies & Solutions: Major industrial water-treatment and services provider (including medical/laboratory water systems); broad incumbent competing for enterprise and OEM contracts in the same verticals as Herco.
- Xylem (incl. Evoqua): Global water-technology major with industrial treatment, reuse, and ultrapure-water brands including legacy Evoqua; broad incumbent competing in pharma, data centre, healthcare and industrial water-treatment verticals.
Direct peers
- BWT (Best Water Technology): Austrian-headquartered water-treatment group with industrial and medical water-purification systems across Europe; directly comparable European Mittelstand player with overlapping sectors (industrial, pharma, healthcare).
- Mar Cor Purification: Specialist in medical water purification for dialysis, haemodialysis, and healthcare applications in North America; directly overlaps Herco's dialysis RO and healthcare water-treatment business.
- Lenntech: Netherlands-based industrial water-treatment engineering and equipment supplier offering custom RO, EDI and ultrafiltration systems; directly comparable in scale and product mix to Herco across Europe and emerging markets.
- EnviroChemie: German industrial water-treatment specialist (part of Veolia) focused on process water, recycling, and zero-liquid-discharge solutions; competes with Herco for German industrial and pharma custom-engineered projects.
- Grünbeck Wasseraufbereitung: German family-owned water-treatment manufacturer serving industrial and commercial customers with reverse-osmosis, softening, and process-water systems; similar Mittelstand profile and overlapping German-speaking market.
- EUROWATER: Denmark-based European manufacturer of industrial and medical water-treatment plants with custom-engineering capabilities; closest like-for-like mid-sized European competitor to Herco's turnkey RO/EDI systems.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Herco social profiles
Digital presenceHerco compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Herco financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Herco leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Herco funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Herco 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 Herco
What does Herco do?
Herco designs and manufactures turnkey water treatment systems for industrial and medical applications using reverse osmosis, electrodeionization, and ultrafiltration technologies. Systems are delivered pre-assembled on compact frame racks, in skid-mounted configurations, or in 40' High-Cube containerised units, and are offered as both standard modular products and custom-engineered plants. The portfolio is complemented by installation, commissioning, maintenance, original spare parts, cartridge regeneration and rental, and training services, with all consulting, engineering, design, and manufacturing executed in-house at Freiberg am Neckar, Germany.
Is Herco a public or private company?
Herco is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Herco founded?
Herco was founded in 1940. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Herco based?
Herco is headquartered in Freiberg, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Herco make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Water Treatment Systems (Capital Equipment) is the primary driver. The others are maintenance and Servicing, original Spare Parts, regeneration and Rental Cartridges, assembly and Commissioning and trainings and Webinars.
Who are Herco's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Pentair, Veolia Water Technologies, SUEZ Water Technologies & Solutions and Xylem (incl. Evoqua). Direct peers are BWT (Best Water Technology), Mar Cor Purification, Lenntech, EnviroChemie, Grünbeck Wasseraufbereitung and EUROWATER.
Does Herco have an API?
No public API is recorded for Herco.
What industry is Herco in?
Herco's product category is Water Treatment Systems. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAHAEAJ, Water & Wastewater Treatment Plant Equipment (Clarifiers, Aeration, Membrane Systems), with a secondary code of HLAHAKAD, Dialysis Water Treatment & Dialysate Delivery Systems. Its NAICS code is 3332 and its SIC code is 3590.