LEU Anlagenbau

What LEU Anlagenbau does

LEU Anlagenbau AG is a privately held Swiss family company founded by Werner Leu on 23 December 1991 and headquartered in Uetendorf, Switzerland. The company designs, manufactures, assembles, programs and commissions industrial robots and automated systems dedicated to cheese care, including cheese curing robots (LK and LM series), cheese and board washing machines (LBW, LW, LWH series), plasticizing units (LP-40), cheese cutting machines (LS-40) and integrated stationary cheese curing installations. Its technology is built around a patented modular robot concept that allows curing, tray in/out, quality checks and customer-specific modules to be combined within a single platform, with control engineering across Siemens, Omron and Mitsubishi PLCs and HMI visualization.

The company sells custom-built, one-off machines directly to cheese dairies and aging cellars producing AOP-style cheeses such as Gruyère, Comté, Beaufort, Emmentaler, Tête de Moine, Appenzeller and Raclette, with sales coverage in Switzerland, France (via a dedicated representative in La Rochette), the United States, Spain and Canada. Revenue is generated through one-time capital equipment sales, ongoing spare parts and accessory sales (with same-day shipping for orders before 15:00), and maintenance and support services including preventive maintenance, telephone support in German, French and English, remote maintenance and 24-hour on-site technician availability for emergencies.

Since 1991 the company has sold more than 370 machines and grown from a one-man operation to over 40 employees. Leadership transitioned in 2022 from founder Werner Leu to Thomas Kilchenmann as CEO, with Thomas Zenger as Deputy CEO and Jakob Weltert as Sales Manager. The business remains privately held with no external investors, no parent company and no public listing disclosed in the source data.

Name

LEU Anlagenbau

Legal name

LEU Anlagenbau AG

Website

https://leu-anlagenbau.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

LEU Anlagenbau AG is a privately held Swiss industrial automation company founded in 1991 that designs and manufactures custom cheese curing robots, washing machines, and plasticizing units for cheese dairies in Switzerland, Europe, and the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Cheese Automation Equipment

NAICS

Food Product Machinery Manufacturing (333241)

SIC

Special Industry Machinery, Nec (3559)

akta.pro primary industry

Cheese Manufacturing (AFAKAKAB)

Keywords

• Cheese curing robots
• Industrial automation equipment
• Cheese handling systems
• Board washing machines
• Cheese plasticizing equipment

Headquarters

HQ city

Uetendorf

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Cheese Care Robots and Equipment Sales: Custom-built robots and machines for cheese curing, handling, washing, and plasticizing. Each robot is a unique machine adapted to customer needs. One-time capital equipment purchases.
2. Spare Parts and Accessories: Original spare parts, accessories, and effective lubricants. Large spare parts warehouse with same-day shipping for orders before 15:00.
3. Maintenance and Support Services: Preventive maintenance, telephone support in German, French and English, remote maintenance, on-site technician visits within 24 hours for emergencies.
4. Custom Construction and Control Systems: Individual solutions from pure planning, production of individual parts to complete installations. Control engineering, electrical cabinets, and wiring services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

LEU Anlagenbau AG designs, develops, manufactures, assembles, and commissions custom-built industrial robots and automation systems for cheese curing, handling, washing, and plasticizing. Each machine is an individually customized unit adapted to customer specifications, supported by spare parts, preventive maintenance, remote support, and on-site service. The company also provides custom construction and control engineering services for cheese dairies.

Product overview

LEU Anlagenbau AG is an innovative Swiss family company specializing in cheese care automation systems. The product portfolio centers on cheese curing robots (LK series) for various cheese types including Emmentaler, Gruyère, Comté, Tête de Moine, and specialty cheeses. These robots range from compact units for small dairies (LK-20-B, LK-30-A) to high-capacity production machines (LK-70-I, LK-100-B). The modular robot line (LM-40-B, LM-70-B) combines curing with tray handling capabilities. Supporting equipment includes cheese board washing machines (LBW series) in mobile and stationary configurations, cheese loaf washing plants (LW-70, LWH-35) for pre-delivery cleaning, and a plasticizing unit (LP-40) for applying protective Foodplast coatings. The company also offers a stationary custom installation option for integrated cheese cellars. All machines are developed, manufactured, assembled, and programmed in Uetendorf, Switzerland, with global exports to Europe and the United States since 1991.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• LK-20-B Cheese Curing Robot
• LK-30-A Compact Cheese Curing Robot
• LK-35-A Flexible Cheese Curing Robot
• LK-40-H High-Performance Cheese Curing Robot
• LK-70-L Versatile Cheese Curing Robot
• LK-70-I Multi-Purpose Cheese Curing Robot
• LK-100-B Heavy Emmentaler Cheese Curing Robot
• LM-40-B Modular Cheese Curing and Handling Robot
• LM-70-B Modular Curing and Quality-Check Robot
• LBW-35-A Mobile Board Washing Machine
• LBW-35-B Mobile Board Washing Machine with Pre-Cleaning
• LBW-40-A Three-Module Board Washing Machine
• LBW-40-C Two-Stage Board Washing Machine
• LWH-35 Semi-Automatic Cheese Loaf Washing Machine
• LW-70 Cheese Loaf Washing Installation
• LP-40 Cheese Plasticizing Unit
• LS-40 Cheese Cutting Machine
• Stationary Custom Cheese Curing Installation
• Maintenance & Support Services
• Spare Parts and Accessories Supply
• Custom Construction and Engineering Services
• Control Systems and Electrical Engineering

Quantifiable outcome

• Same-day spare parts shipping for orders before 15:00
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature4 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Krones AG: German manufacturer of packaging and processing machinery primarily for beverages, with adjacent food applications. Indirectly comparable through engineering-driven custom industrial equipment and similar customer profile of large food producers.
• Bühler Group: Swiss family-owned industrial group supplying process technology for food and feed manufacturing. Comparable as a Swiss engineering-driven food-machinery specialist serving global customers, though focused on grain and adjacent segments rather than cheese.

Broad incumbents

• Tetra Pak: Global food processing and packaging giant whose dairy and cheese processing equipment division serves cheese producers worldwide with vats, molds, and automated lines. Overlaps with LEU on the cheese-production automation opportunity but at much larger scale and broader product scope.
• JBT Corporation: US-listed provider of processing technology for food, dairy, and air transport, with a strong cheese and dairy equipment portfolio. Comparable to LEU in supplying capital equipment into cheese production, though at larger scale.
• GEA Group: Large German industrial group supplying separators, homogenizers, and complete processing lines for dairy and cheese production. Comparable to LEU in serving cheese-makers with industrial equipment, though GEA addresses a far broader process scope beyond cheese care.
• SPX FLOW: Global supplier of process equipment for dairy, food, and beverage industries including cheese-making technology. Comparable business model of selling engineered capital equipment into dairy customers, though with a much wider portfolio.
• Marel: Iceland-based global leader in food processing equipment, including dairy and cheese lines. Competes with LEU at the high end of cheese-production automation while also serving meat and fish processors with engineered systems.

Direct peers

• ALPMA Alpenland Maschinenbau: German-based manufacturer of equipment for cheese, dairy, and food processing, including cheese vats, molds, and process lines. Most directly comparable to LEU as another specialized European supplier of cheese-production machinery serving overlapping customer segments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/leu-anlagenbau
• Instagraminstagram.com/leu_anlagenbau.ch

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 LEU Anlagenbau