Theilen Maschinenbau

What Theilen Maschinenbau does

Theilen Maschinenbau GmbH is a privately held German custom machinery manufacturer headquartered in Varel, Lower Saxony, that operates a single integrated production site carrying on more than 150 years of continuous manufacturing heritage originally established by the predecessor Heinen Group, with the current entity formed via a management buy-out in September 2007 under Managing Director Heiko Theilen. The company's core product is the Bandtrockner (belt dryer), a continuous air-recirculation drying system for bulk materials including extrudates, pellets, granules, pastes, superabsorbent polymers, cereals, and vegetables, supported by 50+ years of specialized engineering experience and an in-house pilot plant for process validation. Around this core product the firm runs a full single-source value chain spanning 3D design in SolidWorks, laser cutting (up to 4 m × 2 m, 20 mm thickness), CNC bending, MIG/MAG/TIG and orbital welding, 5-axis machining on a Bimatec SORALUCE center for parts up to 3,500 × 1,250 × 1,200 mm, steel construction up to 25-ton components in a 70 × 22 m hall, surface finishing to sub-0.1 micron roughness, in-house electrical cabinet build, and worldwide mechanical and electrical installation, commissioning, repair, and refurbishment.

The business is organized into two commercial divisions — Drying Technology and Manufacturing Components & Special Plants — each with named sales and project management contacts, selling into four primary verticals: food and beverage (exemplified by a recent three-belt-dryer order from a German snack food manufacturer), pharmaceutical, chemical, and special purpose machinery. The firm employs just over 100 staff including 19 apprentices, and operates under a TÜV Nord ISO 9001:2015 quality management certification, a Germanischer Lloyd ISO 3834-2 welding certification, and AD 2000 HP 0 / HP 100R pressure equipment certifications, which together qualify it for regulated-industry supply.

Revenue is generated almost entirely through project-based, custom-engineered one-off orders (with aftermarket installation and commissioning services), priced per project rather than via catalogue or subscription; there is no public pricing, ARR, or revenue disclosure. GTM is direct B2B field sales with named account managers per division, supported by a German/English company website, XING, and Facebook for visibility. No funding rounds, M&A, parent company, or external investors are disclosed; the company is privately held and self-funded through retained earnings.

Name

Theilen Maschinenbau

Legal name

Theilen Maschinenbau GmbH

Website

https://theilen.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Theilen Maschinenbau is a privately held German custom machinery manufacturer in Varel that designs and builds belt drying systems (Bandtrockner) plus integrated metal fabrication and steel construction, serving food, pharmaceutical, chemical, and specialty machinery industrial clients via direct B2B project sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Varel

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Custom Machinery and Plant Manufacturing: Design, engineering, and manufacturing of custom machinery, equipment, components, and complete plants based on customer specifications. Revenue is project-based and typically involves custom orders with significant engineering content.
2. Belt Dryer Systems: Design and manufacture of belt drying systems for various industrial applications. Systems are custom-engineered for specific customer requirements in food, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries.
3. Assembly and Commissioning Services: Mechanical and electrical installation, commissioning, repair, and refurbishment services. Offered worldwide for customer equipment as well as proprietary systems.
4. Surface Treatment and Finishing Services: Surface technology services including grinding, deburring, glass bead blasting, painting, polishing, galvanizing, and other surface treatments.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Theilen Maschinenbau is a German machine and plant manufacturer that designs, engineers, and produces belt drying systems (Bandtrockner) for continuous drying of bulk materials, as well as custom mechanical components, assemblies, and complete machines. The company offers a complete value chain from one source: design and construction (3D CAD), sheet metal fabrication (laser cutting, CNC bending), steel construction, mechanical machining (including 5-axis), component manufacturing, surface technology, electrical assembly, and worldwide installation/commissioning for customers in the food, pharmaceutical, chemical, and specialty machinery industries.

Product overview

Theilen Maschinenbau is a German machine manufacturing company that operates as a single unified manufacturer offering belt drying systems as its core product along with comprehensive manufacturing services. The main product is the Bandtrockner (Belt Dryer) system for continuous drying of bulk materials, complemented by in-house services including construction/engineering (CAD with SolidWorks), sheet metal working (laser cutting and bending), steel construction, mechanical machining, component manufacturing, surface technology, electrical workshop, and installation & commissioning. The company provides complete turnkey solutions from design through manufacturing to worldwide installation, primarily serving the food, pharmaceutical, chemical, and special purpose machinery industries with stainless steel and steel sheet materials.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Belt Drying Systems (Bandtrockner) Industrial belt drying systems for continuous drying of bulk materials such as briquetted, pelleted, and extruded products, pastes, molding compounds, rubber, superabsorbent polymers, cereals, vegetables, and bread crumbs. Systems operate in air recirculation mode where air transfers energy and absorbs moisture through the product layer. Each system can dry up to 550 kg/h of extrudates. Designed for food, pharmaceutical, chemical, and specialty industrial customers.
• Custom Machinery and Plant Manufacturing Design, engineering, and manufacture of custom machinery, equipment, components, and complete plants based on customer specifications. Project-based custom orders with significant engineering content, serving food, pharmaceutical, chemical, and specialty machinery industries with stainless steel and carbon steel materials.
• Steel Construction (Stahlbau) Steel construction services from material procurement to CNC cutting, stress annealing, sandblasting, and painting. Crane capacities allow manufacturing on 70 x 22m floor space at hook height over 8m and component weight up to 25 tons. Includes MIG/MAG/TIG welding. Recent project: 22-ton movable steel construction as a roof canopy for a hospitality business.
• Sheet Metal Working (Blechfertigung) Processing of stainless steel sheets with laser cutting and bending. Maximum laser cutting dimensions: 4m length, 2m width, up to 20mm thickness. Bending capabilities for stainless steel up to 15mm thickness at 1,000mm length. Includes TIG welding, spot welding, and clinching.
• Mechanical Production / Machining (Mechanische Fertigung) Precision machining including turning and milling operations. Turning covers simple to complex rotary-milled workpieces. Milling capabilities for parts up to 3,500 x 1,250 x 1,200mm. Includes 5-axis universal bed milling and drilling center from Bimatec SORALUCE.
• Components Construction (Komponentenfertigung) Manufacturing of mechanical components, assemblies, and complex systems with focus on food, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries. Combines laser cutting, bending, welding, and assembly capabilities.
• Surface Technology (Oberflächentechnik) Surface finishing including grinding (Kuhlmeyer belt grinding), deburring (Lismac, Weber machines), glass bead blasting, painting, and polishing. Includes fine grinding and polishing to surface roughness less than 0.1 microns. External services: galvanizing, hot-dip-galvanizing, anodizing, and chroming.
• Installation and Commissioning (Montage & Inbetriebnahme) Mechanical and electrical installation, commissioning, repair, and maintenance services offered worldwide for customer equipment as well as proprietary systems. Capable of lifting, packing, and loading large components up to 25 tons.
• Construction / Engineering (Konstruktion) Development and engineering services using modern computer technology and high-performance CAD systems (SolidWorks) to construct custom machines and systems, including optimization of existing constructions to the latest manufacturing processes.
• Electrical Workshop (Elektro-Abteilung) Electrical installation services including control cabinet manufacturing, wiring of machinery and equipment, and maintenance of electrical resources.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduces costly production hours and time-consuming production processes through modern machinery and manufacturing processes such as laser cutting and bending
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• HetznerinfrastructureTechnology or IntegrationWebsite hosting provider. The company uses Hetzner Online GmbH (Industriestr. 25, 91710 Gunzenhausen, Germany) for hosting website content. Data processing agreement (DPA) in place for GDPR compliance.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ANDRITZ Group: Austrian industrial group with separation and drying technologies serving chemical, food, and environmental markets. Overlaps with Theilen in custom drying equipment for bulk materials.
• GEA Group: Large German industrial group supplying processing technology, components, and complete lines to food, pharma, and chemical industries. A broader incumbent offering drying and separation equipment that overlaps with Theilen's belt dryer portfolio.
• Bühler Group: Swiss family-owned industrial group providing complete processing solutions for food, feed, and advanced materials. Comparable on food-industry drying lines and bulk material handling, but with far broader scale and geographic reach.

Direct peers

• BHS-Sonthofen: German specialty machinery manufacturer serving process industries with mixing, drying, reaction, and filtration technology. Similar custom-engineered project model and customer verticals.
• Amandus Kahl: German mid-sized manufacturer of pelleting, drying, and conditioning equipment for bulk materials. Similar Mittelstand profile to Theilen with comparable application focus on extrudates, cereals, and specialty bulk products.
• Lödige Process Technology: German manufacturer of mixers, dryers, reactors, and coating systems for process industries. Most directly comparable to Theilen on belt and bulk-material drying technology serving chemical, food, and pharmaceutical customers.
• Glatt Group: German process technology specialist providing fluidized bed, spray granulation, and coating systems to pharma and food industries. Comparable to Theilen in providing custom-engineered drying and processing equipment to regulated end markets.
• Hosokawa Alpine: German-Japanese process equipment maker for drying, milling, classification, and compaction. Comparable to Theilen on industrial drying systems for chemical and food bulk solids.
• Zeppelin Systems: German plant engineering specialist focused on bulk material handling, drying, and conveying systems for chemical, plastics, and food industries. Direct competitor in the German Mittelstand engineering space for belt and flash dryers.

Regional players

• IKA-Werke: German manufacturer of process equipment for pharmaceutical, chemical, food, and cosmetic industries. Comparable in serving process-industry customers with engineered equipment, though focused on smaller-scale mixing and reaction systems rather than large belt dryers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xxing.com/pages/theilenmaschinenbaugmbh
• Facebookfacebook.com/theilen.maschinenbau

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 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 Theilen Maschinenbau