What INI does

INI – Indústria de Inoxidáveis, S.A. is a privately held Portuguese metalworking and automation company founded in March 2002 by Arlindo Tavares da Silva and Margarida Martins Oliveira. Headquartered in Vale de Cambra's industrial zone, the firm designs, develops, fabricates, and installs custom stainless steel equipment for industrial clients across eight vertical markets: oenology/wine, dairy, olive oil, tomato processing, environment/recycling, biotechnology, ceramics, and chemical processing. The portfolio spans process tanks, storage vessels, pasteurizers, CIP (Cleaning-in-Place) units, reactors, tubular exchangers, evaporators, and dedicated automation systems, with most product lines configurable as turnkey installations that integrate 2D/3D project design, in-house process control software, and on-site commissioning.

The company's underlying technology combines traditional stainless steel fabrication with an Industry 4.0-style cell-based production methodology (introduced 2019–2021 under an EU-funded NORTE-02-0853-FEDER-044539 project) and proprietary in-house process control programs tailored to wine fermentation, reception, and bottling workflows. Equipment is built to internationally audited standards, including EN ISO 3834-2 (highest welding quality tier, achieved May 2022), EN ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015 (renewed March 2022), and the ASME U-stamp authorizing production of pressure vessels under Section VIII Division 1 (initially granted February 2019, renewed through 2025), alongside an NB Mark for European pressure equipment conformity.

Commercially, INI operates a direct enterprise field-sales model, delivering project-based, bespoke equipment under multi-year contracts with bespoke quote-based pricing. Revenue streams combine one-time equipment sales, professional engineering and installation services, and representation of third-party equipment brands (notably in the olive oil sector). The company employs roughly 60 people (up from 7 at founding), share capital stands at €2,063,000 (versus €50,000 at incorporation), and current operations are concentrated in Portugal with no disclosed geographic expansion outside the domestic market. Two non-dilutive EU grants totaling €156,595 in EU support (against €499,263 total eligible cost) have funded certification, engineering capability upgrades, and the Industry 4.0 transition.

Name

INI

Legal name

INI – Indústria e Inoxidáveis, SA

Website

https://ini-sa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

INI – Indústria de Inoxidáveis is a privately held Portuguese custom stainless steel industrial equipment manufacturer founded in 2002, serving eight verticals including dairy, wine, olive oil, biotechnology, and chemicals via turnkey project delivery and ASME-certified pressure vessels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Stainless Steel Equipment Manufacturing

NAICS

Food Product Machinery Manufacturing (333241), Industrial Machinery Manufacturing (3332)

SIC

Special Industry Machinery (No Metalworking Machinery) (3550)

akta.pro primary industry

Chemical Processing Equipment (Reactors, Mixers, Agitators) (IMAHAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Food & Beverage Processing Plant Construction (IMAFADAH), Process & Batch Control Software (Recipe Management, ISA-88) (IMAGABAH)

Keywords

• Stainless steel equipment
• Industrial process equipment
• Food processing machinery
• Turnkey industrial solutions
• Metallomechanics fabrication

Headquarters

HQ city

Vale De Cambra

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Equipment Manufacturing: Design, construction and sale of custom stainless steel equipment for industrial applications across food, biotechnology, chemistry, ceramics and environment sectors. Equipment includes tanks, process pipes, storage vessels, pasteurizers, automation systems and specialized industrial machinery.
2. Engineering and Installation Services: Project development, engineering services and equipment installation for industrial clients. Includes turnkey solution delivery from conception through final installation.
3. Equipment Representations: Representation of third-party equipment brands for industrial applications, particularly in olive oil sector including racking pumps, CIP systems, hot water boilers, earth filters and slab filters.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

INI designs, develops, constructs and installs custom stainless steel equipment and integrated process solutions for industrial clients across food processing (wine, dairy, olive oil, tomato), biotechnology, chemical, ceramics and environment/recycling sectors. The company delivers turnkey projects spanning 2D/3D engineering design through fabrication, installation and in-house process control automation.

Product overview

INI - Indústria de Inoxidáveis is a metalworking and automation company offering stainless steel equipment and turnkey solutions for industrial applications. The company provides eight core product lines across distinct industry verticals: Oenology Equipment, Dairy Processing Equipment, Olive Oil Equipment, Tomato Processing Equipment, Environment/Recycling Equipment, Biotechnology Equipment, Ceramic Equipment, and Chemical Industry Equipment. These product lines function both as standalone offerings and as integrated turnkey solutions, supported by add-on modules including CIP Units (Cleaning-in-Place), Process Automation Systems, and Industry 4.0 Solutions. The portfolio is unified by INI's expertise in stainless steel fabrication and project engineering capabilities spanning design (2D/3D), development, construction, and installation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Oenology (Wine Production) Equipment Stainless steel equipment for wine production including grape reception lines, vinification tanks, winemaking storage tanks, automatic treading systems, and automation control systems for fermentation and processing, targeted at wineries and oenology producers.
• Dairy Processing Equipment Complete stainless steel equipment for milk processing including collection units, cooling equipment, transport and storage tanks, pasteurizers, homogenizers, sterilizers, CIP units, and yogurt and cheese production equipment, targeted at dairy processors.
• Olive Oil Production Equipment Stainless steel tanks, pipes, and complete mill equipment for olive oil production including racking pumps, CIP systems, hot water boilers, earth filters, and slab filters, targeted at olive oil mills and producers.
• Tomato Processing Equipment Equipment for tomato processing including hoppers for tomato crushers, collection channels, tomato juice storage tanks, and tomato pulp cookers, targeted at tomato processing industrial operators.
• Environment/Recycling Equipment Environmental and recycling equipment including paddle screen conveyors, sludge decantation tanks, chipped mud mixers, catalyst washing machines, and cyclone particle recovery systems, targeted at environmental services and recycling companies.
• Biotechnology Process Equipment Process equipment for biotechnology including reactors, mixers, tubular exchangers, in-line pasteurizers, evaporators, pilot plants, additive preparation tanks, and germination structures, targeted at biotechnology manufacturers and labs.
• Ceramic Industry Equipment Ceramic industry equipment including turbodiluters, ceramic paste storage tanks, special steel turbodiluting blades, and ceramic polishing equipment, targeted at ceramic manufacturers.
• Chemical Industry Equipment Equipment for chemical industry processes handling extreme temperatures, pressures, corrosive environments, and high purity requirements, including acid storage tanks and washing benches, targeted at chemical processors.
• Turnkey Project Solutions Integrated turnkey solutions combining project design (2D and 3D), equipment conception and integration, process management, and process control programs developed in-house, delivered to industrial clients as complete projects from concept to installation.

Quantifiable outcome

• +23% projected increase in Gross Production Value from Industry 4.0 investments
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• HiSeedTechminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 July 2019INI-SA is an associate member of HiSeedTech, participating in the HiTech program closing session where 9 projects were presented discussing innovation in industry. HiSeedTech appears to be a technology/seed acceleration organization with which INI maintains membership association.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Inoxpa: Spanish stainless steel process equipment manufacturer serving food, dairy, beverage, cosmetic and chemical industries with pumps, mixers, valves and skid-mounted process units. Closely comparable to INI on materials, vertical mix (multi-sector food/chemical) and project-based engineered delivery.
• Della Toffola: Italian group supplying turnkey stainless steel plants and equipment for wine, beer, beverages, dairy and food processing. Highly comparable to INI's oenology, dairy and beverage product lines and turnkey project delivery model.
• Enoitalia: Italian maker of complete wine processing lines, stainless steel tanks, filtration and bottling equipment, plus olive oil equipment. Direct competitive overlap with INI's wine and olive oil product lines.
• Bucher (Bucher Industries, Unipektin): Swiss-listed group with Unipektin and Bucher Vaslin divisions producing fruit juice, wine and beverage processing equipment including presses, filters and process lines. Closely comparable engineered beverage/wine equipment vendor.
• GAI Macchine: Italian manufacturer of stainless steel bottling, wine and beverage equipment including tanks, filtration and process automation. Direct overlap with INI's oenology tanks, process automation and turnkey wine line offerings.

Broad incumbents

• Krones AG: German-listed global leader in beverage and liquid food processing and packaging machinery. Competes with INI in beverage/oenology and dairy process lines but focuses on serial, larger-scale equipment.
• GEA Group: Global large-cap supplier of process engineering and equipment for dairy, food, beverage, chemical and pharma customers. Competes with INI in dairy, biotech and chemical process equipment but at vastly larger scale and with a broader portfolio.
• Alfa Laval: Global specialist in heat transfer, separation and fluid handling, including hygienic stainless steel process modules for food, dairy and biotech. Overlaps INI's heat-exchange and biotech process equipment niche but at much greater scale and geographic reach.
• SPX Flow: Global supplier of process equipment for food, beverage, dairy and industrial fluids, including stainless steel mixers, pumps and heat exchangers. Overlaps with INI's process equipment in biotech and chemical verticals.
• Tetra Pak: Global food processing and packaging giant serving dairy, beverage and prepared-food customers with integrated processing lines. Adjacent incumbent to INI in dairy and beverage processing equipment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 INI