What GUK-Falzmaschinen Griesser & Kunzmann GmbH & Co. KG does

GUK-Falzmaschinen Griesser & Kunzmann GmbH & Co. KG is a family-owned German Mittelstand industrial machinery manufacturer founded in 1948 and headquartered in Wellendingen, Baden-Württemberg. The company designs and builds high-capacity paper folding machines, pharmaceutical outsert systems, leaflet folding apparatus, insert feeding systems, and precision turned parts. Core technologies include buckle plate folding machines (FA 35/43 through FA 54/74/82 series), outsert systems with glue-dot sealing (FA 43/51/53/73 MV series), Cartonac and RS series leaflet folders for integration on cartoning machines, PA series insert feeders (PA 15, PA 15 AUTOLOAD, PA 21), PP series pick-and-place systems including the PP Cobo collaborative robot, and the CM camera-based control module for folding tolerance inspection. A precision turned parts business (GUK-Drehtechnik) serves automotive and commercial vehicle suppliers under IATF 16949 and ISO 14001 certifications.

Revenue is generated primarily through one-time sales of capital equipment configured per customer specification, supplemented by aftermarket spare parts, technical service, and custom special-machine solutions (including the Hunkeler-co-developed FC7 digital newspaper finishing module). Go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales from the German headquarters, wholly-owned subsidiaries in the USA (G&K-Vijuk, Elmhurst IL; acquired 2012), the Netherlands (GUK-Sigma, Nieuwegein; acquired 2015), Germany (MB-Tec Solutions, St. Georgen; integrated 2017), and China (Shenyang GUK Technology), plus an extensive global distributor network spanning Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. The pharmaceutical industry is the primary end market, with GUK claiming that nearly every pharmaceutical company worldwide uses its machines for package insert folding; print finishing, packaging, automotive (turned parts), cosmetics, and newspaper publishing are secondary segments.

With approximately 220 employees across the group, 80% vertical manufacturing integration on a 12,000 square meter headquarters footprint, and annual production of nearly 900 systems, GUK reports approximately €40 million in annual turnover with over 65% export share. The company claims world market leadership in folding machines for paper processing, supported by an installed base exceeding 70,000 machines globally. Leadership passed from founder Anton Kunzmann through the second generation (Bernd Kunzmann, Ilse Reger) to the third generation (Friedrich and Susanne Faulhaber) in 2011, with fourth-generation family members Stefanie Glunk and Sebastian Faulhaber now taking operational responsibility.

Name

GUK-Falzmaschinen Griesser & Kunzmann GmbH & Co. KG

Legal name

GUK-Falzmaschinen GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://guk-falzmaschinen.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1948

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

GUK-Falzmaschinen is a family-owned German industrial machinery manufacturer founded in 1948, producing paper folding machines, pharmaceutical outsert systems, insert feeders, and precision turned parts. It serves pharmaceutical, packaging, print finishing, and automotive customers globally via subsidiaries, direct sales, and a worldwide distributor network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Paper Folding Machinery

NAICS

Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing (3333), Precision Turned Product Manufacturing (332721)

SIC

Special Industry Machinery (No Metalworking Machinery) (3550), Screw Machine Products (3451)

akta.pro primary industry

Wrapping & Bundling Equipment (Shrink/Stretch) (IMAHAOAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Bundling, Overwrapping & Shrink Packaging Equipment (IMALAOAI)

Keywords

• Paper folding machines
• Pharmaceutical leaflet folders
• Outsert folding systems
• Insert feeding systems
• Precision turned parts

Headquarters

HQ city

Wellendingen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Folding Machine Sales: Sale of folding machines including buckle plate folding machines (FA series), pharmaceutical leaflet folders (Cartonac, RS series), outsert systems, and combined folding machines. Machines process paper widths from 215 to 820mm.
2. Insert Feeding System Sales: Sale of PA series product feeders and PP series pick & place systems for pharmaceutical packaging lines.
3. Precision Turned Parts: Production of ready-to-install precision turned parts and assemblies for metalworking industries, with focus on automotive, commercial vehicle suppliers, and automation control technology. Approximately 2 million parts produced annually.
4. Aftermarket & Service: Spare parts supply, technical service, and support with global coverage. Nearly every country worldwide receives spare parts.
5. Custom/Special Machine Solutions: Customized special machines and complete solutions including newspaper finishing systems (Hunkeler partnership), gluePac confectioning systems, and special packaging solutions.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

GUK designs, manufactures, and sells industrial paper folding machinery for the printing finishing, pharmaceutical packaging, and newspaper finishing industries. Its portfolio includes buckle plate folding machines (FA series), outsert folding systems with glue-dot sealing for pharmaceutical package inserts (FA MV series), combined folding machines (K series), leaflet folding apparatus (Cartonac and RS series), and insert feeding systems (PA series feeders and PP series Pick & Place systems). The company also produces precision turned parts and assemblies for the automotive and automation sectors, with approximately 80% of production processes conducted in-house.

Product overview

GUK-Falzmaschinen is a family-owned world market leader in paper processing machinery, founded in 1948 and headquartered in Wellendingen, Germany. The company operates as a diversified industrial machinery group with four main product divisions: (1) Folding Machines including buckle plate folders (FA 35/43 through FA 54/74/82) and combined folders (K 50, K 54/74) for print finishing; (2) Outsert Systems (FA 43/51/53/73 MV series) for pharmaceutical glue-sealed package inserts; (3) Prospektfalzapparate (Leaflet Folders) including Cartonac and RS series for pharmaceutical packaging integration; and (4) Insert Feeding Systems including PA series (PA 15, PA 15 AUTOLOAD, PA 21) and Pick & Place (PP series) for automated packaging lines. Accessories include feeders, creasing/perforating/cutting machines, height-adjustable and knife folding units, labelers, inspection systems (CM Control Module), and collaborative robot systems (PP Cobo). The group also produces Precision Turned Parts for automotive and industrial applications, and operates subsidiaries G&K-Vijuk (USA), GUK-Sigma (Netherlands), and MB-Tec Solutions (Germany). Annual production reaches approximately 900 systems with annual turnover of 40 million euros.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MB (MB Bäuerle / MB-Tec Solutions): Fully automated folding systems subsidiary offering innovative products with simple operation, maximum productivity and minimal setup times.
• GUK-Drehtechnik

Products and services

• FA Series Buckle Plate Folding Machines Buckle plate folding machines for mechanical folding of printed paper sheets used by print finishers, bookbinders, lettershops, and internet printing operations producing photobooks, greeting cards, and flyers.
• Outsert Systems (FA MV Series) Folding machines producing glue-dot-sealed outserts for pharmaceutical and cosmetics packaging, enabling larger patient information formats and easy insertion into packaging lines.
• Combined Folding Machines (K Series) Combined buckle plate and knife folding machines offering versatile folding options including cross-fold configurations for varied print finishing applications.
• Pharmaceutical Leaflet Folding Machines (Cartonac Series) Pharmaceutical leaflet folding machines designed for integration into cartoning machines and packaging lines or as standalone units, processing package inserts from roll or sheet stock to compact final formats.
• RS Series Leaflet Folders Leaflet folding machines for packaging line integration, processing folded brochures and inserts with roll feeder options for continuous material supply.
• PA Series High-Performance Insert Feeders Servo-driven leaflet inserting systems (PA 15, PA 15 AUTOLOAD, PA 21) for feeding pre-folded leaflets from stacking magazines into cartoning machines at high speed, with digital adjustment capabilities and handling products up to 12mm thickness.
• Pick & Place Systems (PP Series) Non-stop feeding and positioning systems for precise placement of three-dimensional products such as cards, syringes, coins, CDs, bags, and inserts up to A4 size onto carrier products at speeds up to 18,000 products per hour.
• Precision Turned Parts Precision-turned parts and assemblies for automotive, commercial vehicle suppliers, and automation control technology industries, produced at scales from 10 to 10 million pieces annually under IATF 16949 certification.
• Custom Special Machine Solutions Customized special machines and complete solutions including digital newspaper folding and collating systems (FC7 for tabloid and broadsheet formats up to 140 pages), gluePac confectioning systems for combined package inserts with multi-language and security features, and other bespoke packaging solutions.
• CM (Control Module) Inspection & Marking System Camera-based quality control module that measures folding tolerances, optimizes quality, rejects incorrectly folded products, and produces explicit test samples for pharmaceutical and cosmetics packaging applications.
• Autostacker PP Cobo Collaborative Robot System Collaborative robot (cobot) system that automates outsert packaging and physically relieves employees, integrated with fully automated folding lines and camera-based quality control.

Quantifiable outcome

• Annual production of nearly 900 systems and approximately 2 million precision turned parts
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• HunkelercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDigital newspaper combination solution developed through cooperation - processes newspapers from the roll with folding, collating, and delivery through GUK machine section. FC7 folding and collating module enables efficient digital newspaper finishing in tabloid and broadsheet formats for newspaper supplements. Fully automated format change from broadsheet to tabloid, newspapers up to 140 pages, fully variable page perimeters.
• MB Bäuerle GmbH / MB-Tec Solutions GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIntegrated into GUK network in 2017. MB offers technologies for paper processing and mailing, particularly known for automatic inserting machines and automatic folding systems. Located in Sankt Georgen, Black Forest. Originally founded in 1863.
• GUK-Services GmbHcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorService partner in Germany located in Zimmern ob Rottweil, providing sales and service support.
• manroland Benelux N.V.majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistributor for Belgium and Netherlands handling post-press equipment sales and service.
• Shenyang GUK Technology Co., Ltd.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSubsidiary in China providing pharmaceutical equipment and service support in the region.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights8 records

Direct peers

• Horizon International: Japanese-headquartered manufacturer of folding, binding, inserting, and booklet-making equipment sold globally through an extensive dealer network. Closely comparable product portfolio to GUK's folding and insert feeding lines for both print finishing and pharmaceutical applications.
• Duplo International: Manufacturer of digital print finishing equipment including folding machines, booklet makers, and creasing systems for commercial print and packaging applications. Closely comparable product portfolio to GUK's folding and finishing machines.
• MBO (Komori Group): Specialist German manufacturer of buckle plate folding machines and combination folders for print finishing and pharmaceutical inserts, now part of Komori. Direct competitor to GUK's FA-series and K-series folders across the same commercial print and pharmaceutical insert end markets.
• Baumfolder (BPC): US-based specialist in buckle plate and combination folding machines for commercial printers and packaging operations, including pharmaceutical insert folding. Direct niche competitor to GUK in North America with overlapping product categories and customer base.
• Kolbus Group: German family-owned manufacturer of bookbinding and print finishing machinery, including folding and inserting systems. Closely comparable Mittelstand industrial machinery peer with overlapping pharmaceutical insert and print finishing applications.
• Müller Martini: Swiss-headquartered manufacturer of print finishing systems including folding, stitching, binding, and mailroom equipment used by commercial printers, publishers, and pharmaceutical packagers. Direct competitor in folding and post-press machinery with broader portfolio.

Broad incumbents

• Syntegon (formerly Bosch Packaging Technology): Global packaging machinery supplier for pharmaceuticals, food, and cosmetics including cartoning and leaflet folding modules integrated into packaging lines. Broad incumbent where GUK competes as a specialist supplier of the folding/inserting sub-module.
• Marchesini Group: Italian manufacturer of packaging machinery for pharmaceutical and cosmetics end markets, including cartoning, labeling, and end-of-line systems that integrate folded inserts. Broad incumbent peer where GUK outsert/insert folders are integrated as upstream modules.
• Heidelberger Druckmaschinen: Global press manufacturer offering post-press and folding equipment as part of an integrated print production portfolio. Broader-incumbent peer with overlapping folding and finishing product categories but with a much wider commercial offset press business.

Emerging players

• Plockmatic Group: Swedish manufacturer of paper handling and finishing equipment including folding and booklet-making systems for the commercial print market. Comparable niche-fold and finishing equipment peer to GUK's FA series in the print finishing segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses6 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries3 records

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 GUK-Falzmaschinen Griesser & Kunzmann GmbH & Co. KG