What OSMO Membrane Systems does

OSMO Membrane Systems GmbH is a German industrial engineering company founded in 1980 in Stuttgart and now headquartered in Leonberg that develops and implements customized filtration and membrane separation processes for demanding industrial separation tasks. The company operates a structured "4 Steps 2 Separation" methodology moving from in-house laboratory membrane screening, through on-site piloting in a partial process stream, to large-scale plant construction, and finally to ongoing optimization and maintenance. It serves six vertical segments — Pulp & Paper, Chemicals & Polymers, Power & Water, Surface & Coating, Metals & Recycling, and Biotech/Cosmetics/Sugar — with an enterprise-direct sales motion supported by European sales representatives in the UK/Ireland and Slovenia/Serbia/Croatia.

Its technology portfolio spans seven pressure-driven and exchange-based processes — microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis (with ultra-high-pressure variants up to 160 bar), ion exchange, membrane degassing, and dialysis — along with proprietary pilot-plant platforms (KLARA, JULIA, PIA-2, OLIVIA, SALINA, Container UF/UO), the MemCell laboratory testing system (manual Classic and automated Automatik variants), the OSMO Faktor X efficiency system achieving over 90% permeate recovery, and an OSMO-CIP cleaning-in-place subsystem. Notable reference projects include the largest European reverse osmosis plant at the time (515 m³/h permeate in 1998), an 900 m³/h ultrafiltration plant from river water (2018), a five-stage HP-RO unit with 160 elements for chemical-industry condensate separation, a lithium-concentration plant delivering 120× concentration, and a phosphorus-recovery membrane stage for the REMONDIS Hamburg nutrient-recycling project.

OSMO is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Austria-headquartered, family-influenced GAW Gruppe since 2004 and serves as the group's membrane-technology center of excellence within a broader industrial plant construction, process engineering, services, and automation portfolio. Revenue mechanics combine one-time capex-style custom plant deliveries with recurring professional-services revenue from maintenance contracts, membrane autopsies, pilot-plant rental, plant optimization (with payback periods typically 6-24 months), and retrofit deployments of OSMO Faktor X on legacy assets. The company holds ISO 9001:2015 quality-management certification, is compliant with the German Water Management Act (WHG, certificate valid 2024-2026), and is preparing for a leadership transition with Jörg Engemann assuming the CEO role effective December 1, 2025 as part of GAW's strategic realignment toward sustainable growth in the water business.

Name

OSMO Membrane Systems

Legal name

OSMO Membrane Systems GmbH

Website

https://osmo-membrane.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

OSMO Membrane Systems (Leonberg, Germany, est. 1980) is a GAW Gruppe subsidiary that designs, pilots, and builds custom industrial membrane separation and filtration plants for enterprise customers across pulp & paper, chemicals, power, surface coating, metals, and biotech verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Membrane Separation Equipment

NAICS

Water, Sewage and Other Systems (2213), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (22131), Sewage Treatment Facilities (221320)

SIC

Electric, Gas & Sanitary Services (4900), Water Supply (4941)

akta.pro primary industry

Separation & Filtration Equipment (Filters, Centrifuges, Membranes) (IMAHAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Water & Wastewater Treatment Plant Equipment (Clarifiers, Aeration, Membrane Systems) (IMAHAEAJ), Membrane Treatment (UF/NF/RO for Potable) (EUANABAC), Effluent Polishing & Filtration (MBR/UF/RO/GAC) (EUANADAL), Industrial Water Reuse Utilities (ZLD/MLD & Process Water Recycling) (EUANAGAG), Brackish Water Reverse Osmosis (BWRO) Plants & Operations (EUANAFAB)

Keywords

• Industrial filtration systems
• Membrane separation processes
• Water treatment plants
• Process fluid treatment
• Reverse osmosis systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Korntal-münchingen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Industrial Water Treatment Plants: Design, engineering, and delivery of custom industrial water treatment and membrane separation plants for various industry segments including Pulp & Paper, Chemicals & Polymers, Power & Water, Surface & Coating, Metals & Recycling, and Biotech/Cosmetics/Sugar.
2. Service, Maintenance and Support: Ongoing service, inspection, preventive maintenance, troubleshooting, membrane autopsies, replacement parts, chemicals, and service agreements for installed plants.
3. Pilot Plant Rental: Rental of pilot plants for on-site testing and process validation at customer locations.
4. Plant Optimization: Optimization services for existing plants including operating parameter adjustments, efficiency upgrades, membrane replacements, and retrofits.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

OSMO Membrane Systems designs, engineers, and delivers custom-built industrial membrane separation plants for water and process fluid treatment. The company applies microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, ion exchange, membrane degassing, and dialysis technologies to deliver tailored systems for industries including Pulp & Paper, Chemicals & Polymers, Power & Water, Surface & Coating, Metals & Recycling, and Biotech/Cosmetics/Sugar.

Product overview

OSMO Membrane Systems is a provider of industrial filtration and membrane separation processes offering a comprehensive portfolio of technologies including microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, ion exchange, membrane degassing, and dialysis. The company provides a full range of solutions from laboratory-scale MemCell testing equipment (Classic and Automatik variants) through mobile and stationary pilot plants (KLARA, JULIA, PIA-2, OLIVIA, MINI-OLIVIA, SALINA, Container UF/UO) to large-scale industrial plants. The 4 Steps 2 Separation approach encompasses process development from laboratory analysis and membrane screening through semi-industrial piloting to complete plant construction and ongoing optimization. Additional offerings include the proprietary OSMO Faktor X system for optimizing reverse osmosis efficiency, comprehensive service and support, and plant optimization services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MemCell: Laboratory-scale flat membrane test cell for membrane screening, cleaning tests, trouble-shooting and quality assurance.
• Faktor X
• OSMO-CIP

Products and services

• KLARA Pilot Plant Industrial-scale pilot filtration plant used by industrial customers to validate membrane separation processes at near-production scale before commissioning a full plant.
• JULIA Pilot Plant Industrial pilot filtration plant for process validation of membrane separation performance for industrial customers.
• PIA-2 Pilot Plant Industrial pilot plant for membrane separation trials, available for rental and pilot testing.
• OLIVIA Pilot Plant Industrial pilot plant for on-site testing of membrane separation processes for industrial customers.
• MINI-OLIVIA Pilot Plant Compact industrial pilot plant for membrane separation process trials at smaller flow rates.
• SALINA Pilot Plant Industrial pilot plant for membrane separation trials offered by OSMO.
• Container UF/UO Pilot Plant Containerized ultrafiltration/ultra-osmose pilot plant for mobile membrane separation trials at industrial sites.
• MemCell Classic Laboratory Equipment Laboratory crossflow filtration cell used by research and development teams for membrane screening and feasibility testing.
• Automatik-MemCell Laboratory Equipment Automated membrane filtration cell for laboratory use in membrane screening trials.
• OSMO Faktor X System Reverse osmosis efficiency system used as a replacement for conventional high-pressure pumps to improve the energy efficiency of reverse osmosis plants.
• OSMO Service & Support Service and support offering including original membrane deliveries, training, plant relocation, commissioning, maintenance, and spare parts for membrane separation plants.
• OSMO Plant Optimization Plant optimization service that retrofits efficiency improvements and modernizes existing membrane separation plants to extend service life and lower operating costs.
• Industrial Membrane Separation Plants Custom-designed and manufactured industrial membrane separation plants combining microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, ion exchange, membrane degassing, and dialysis for water and process fluid treatment across multiple industrial sectors.

Quantifiable outcome

• OSMO Faktor X increases reverse osmosis permeate recovery from standard 75-80% to over 90%, reducing wastewater by more than 50%. Customer case saved approximately 75,000 m³ of fresh water per year.
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature10 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• GAW GruppecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2004OSMO Membrane Systems is a company of GAW Gruppe, a globally operating technology group. GAW Gruppe consists of companies in industrial plant construction, process engineering, industrial services, and automation. OSMO serves as the membrane technology expertise within the group, contributing to joint projects such as the GAW water technologies joint business unit focused on water and wastewater treatment for the Pulp & Paper industry.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Toray Membrane (Toray Industries): Japanese membrane manufacturer with strong RO/NF/UF product lines for industrial water and process separations; overlapping customer base in chemicals and power with comparable membrane system capabilities.
• SUEZ Water Technologies & Solutions: Global industrial water treatment and membrane systems provider serving chemicals, power, and manufacturing; directly competes with OSMO in custom membrane plants, ZLD/MLD and high-pressure RO applications for enterprise customers.
• Koch Membrane Systems: US-based manufacturer of membrane systems (RO/NF/UF) for industrial water, food, and process separations; directly comparable in custom spiral-wound RO/UF plants and high-recovery systems, overlapping with OSMO Faktor X type efficiency offerings.
• Hydranautics (Nitto Group): Membrane manufacturer specializing in RO/NF/UF elements for industrial and municipal water; comparable to OSMO on RO/NF membrane systems, particularly brackish and high-pressure applications.
• EnviroChemie: German industrial water and wastewater treatment specialist serving chemicals, pharma and metal-finishing; closest geographically and segment-wise peer to OSMO, with comparable custom plant engineering and ZLD focus.
• DuPont Water Solutions: Major membrane element manufacturer (FilmTec RO/NF) supplying industrial water projects; competes with OSMO on system-level RO plants and brackish water treatment where OSMO's Faktor X targets >90% recovery.
• Pall Corporation (Danaher): Industrial filtration and membrane separation company serving chemicals, biotech and power; directly comparable in industrial UF/NF membrane systems and serves overlapping verticals including biotech fermentation broth recovery.

Broad incumbents

• GEA Group: Large German process engineering group with membrane and separation technology in food, dairy and chemicals; competes with OSMO in membrane-based process fluid treatment but across a much wider industrial portfolio.
• Veolia Water Technologies: One of the largest global water technology players with extensive industrial membrane and process water offerings; competes with OSMO on large industrial water reuse and ZLD projects, but with a much broader services portfolio and global footprint.

Regional players

• MANN+HUMMEL: German-headquartered filtration specialist with industrial membrane and filtration products; adjacent competitor in industrial water/process filtration with strong European presence but broader filtration focus.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 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 OSMO Membrane Systems