EARFLAP

What EARFLAP does

EARFLAP, operating under the trade name Tech-M, is a Spanish industrial automation engineering company founded in 2007 and headquartered in Bigues i Riells, Barcelona province, Catalonia. The firm designs, manufactures, and integrates end-of-line packaging solutions including box formers, wrap-around case packers, box sealers, automatic palletizers, and pallet wrappers, together with robotic applications spanning industrial robots and collaborative robots for case packing, palletizing, and parts manipulation. The underlying technology combines mechanical packaging machinery, robotic integration, and the Metrics real-time data monitoring platform, with associated technical-service infrastructure (SAT) for spare parts, preventive maintenance, and online support.

The company runs a direct enterprise sales motion, providing custom-engineered solutions to industrial buyers across food and beverage, chemical and pharmaceutical, textile, construction, and logistics verticals. Public case studies reference biscuit manufacturers, coffee capsule producers, and paint-can manufacturers. Revenue mechanics are anchored in one-time equipment sales of capital machinery, augmented by professional-services revenue from SAT technical support contracts. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; the website provides contact-driven lead capture, a newsletter subscription, and recruitment funnel ("ME APUNTO").

The firm operates a multilingual web presence (Spanish, Catalan, English, French) and displays affiliation with ACCIÓ, the Catalan government enterprise support agency. With 11-50 employees and no disclosed funding, revenue, ownership, or M&A activity, EARFLAP/Tech-M presents as a private, founder-engineering-led SME positioned in the Iberian mid-market for custom packaging automation.

Name

EARFLAP

Legal name

Tech-M

Website

https://ear-flap.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

EARFLAP (operating as Tech-M) is a Spanish engineering firm founded in 2007 that designs, manufactures, and integrates custom end-of-line packaging machinery, robotic systems, and a real-time monitoring platform (Metrics) for industrial clients across food, beverage, chemical, textile, construction, and logistics sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Packaging Machinery

NAICS

Packaging Machinery Manufacturing (333993), Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing (3333)

SIC

Special Industry Machinery (No Metalworking Machinery) (3550), General Industrial Machinery & Equipment, Nec (3569), Misc Industrial & Commercial Machinery & Equipment (3590)

akta.pro primary industry

End-of-Line Integration & Packaging Line Systems (IMAHAOAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Conveying, Feeding & Material Handling for Packaging Lines (IMALAOAG), Conveying, Feeding & Accumulation Systems (Packaging Lines) (IMAHAOAK), Capping, Sealing & Closing Machines (IMAHAOAG)

Keywords

• End-of-line packaging
• Industrial packaging machinery
• Palletizing automation
• Robotic case packing
• Packaging engineering services

Headquarters

HQ city

Riells

HQ country

Spain

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. Custom Packaging Machinery Sales: Design, manufacture, and sale of custom packaging and end-of-line machinery including box formers, sealers, and palletizers. Revenue is generated through one-time equipment sales with potential service contracts.
2. Robotic Systems: Sale of industrial and collaborative robotic systems for encajado, paletizado, and parts manipulation. Includes both standard and customized robotic solutions.
3. Technical Support Services (SAT): 360-degree technical service including technical assistance, spare parts, preventive maintenance, and online support. Provides ongoing service contracts and parts revenue.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Tech-M (operating under EARFLAP firmographics) designs, manufactures, and integrates custom end-of-line packaging automation systems for industrial clients. Its core offering covers box forming, case packing, box sealing, palletizing, and pallet wrapping machinery, industrial and collaborative robotic solutions, complemented by a real-time data analytics platform (Metrics) and ongoing technical support services (SAT). The company serves sectors including food, beverages, chemical and pharmaceutical, textile, construction, and logistics.

Product overview

Tech-M is a packaging machinery manufacturer and industrial automation engineering company offering a comprehensive portfolio of products and services. The portfolio consists of end-of-line automation engineering services (Ingeniería de final de línea), packaging machinery (Maquinaria para packaging) including box formers (Formadoras de cajas), case packing solutions (Soluciones de encajado), box sealers (Precintadoras de cajas), palletizers (Paletizadores), and pallet wrappers (Envolvedoras de palets), robotic applications (Aplicaciones Robóticas) covering industrial robots (Robots industriales) and collaborative robots (Robots colaborativos), technical support services (SAT), and real-time data analytics (Metrics). The company serves multiple sectors including food/beverage, chemical/pharmaceutical, textile, construction, and logistics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Metrics: Data analytics and real-time monitoring solution mentioned as a product/service offering.

Products and services

• Formadoras de cajas (Box Forming Machines) Automatic machines that form or construct boxes from flat sheets for use in industrial packaging lines. Designed for industrial clients needing reliable, sector-adapted box forming at the start of the end-of-line packaging process.
• Soluciones de encajado (Case Packing Solutions) Custom case packing and encasing systems, including wrap-around encajado, that place products into boxes for industrial packaging lines. Targeted at food, beverage, chemical, and other manufacturers requiring custom-configured case packing.
• Precintadoras de cajas (Box Sealing Machines) Automatic machines that securely close boxes with tape or other sealing methods on industrial packaging lines. Aimed at industrial clients that need consistent, high-speed box sealing as part of their end-of-line process.
• Paletizadores (Palletizers) Automatic palletizing systems that stack boxes and products onto pallets for shipping and distribution. Designed for industrial manufacturers and logistics operators needing automated pallet stacking at the end of packaging lines.
• Envolvedoras de palets (Pallet Wrapping Machines) Automated machines that wrap stretch film around palletized loads to stabilize them during transport. Targeted at industrial clients needing durable, long-life pallet wrapping for shipping and distribution.
• Robots industriales (Industrial Robots) Industrial robotic systems for encajado (boxing), paletizado (palletizing), and parts manipulation on manufacturing and packaging lines. Offered to industrial clients seeking high-performance automated handling.
• Robots colaborativos (Collaborative Robots / Cobots) Collaborative robotic solutions designed to work safely alongside human workers for boxing, palletizing, and parts handling tasks. Targeted at industrial clients seeking easier-to-implement automation that complements human operators.
• SAT (Servicio de Asistencia Técnica) 360-degree technical support service for Tech-M equipment, including technical assistance, spare parts supply, preventive maintenance, and online support. Available to industrial customers as an ongoing service contract.
• Metrics Real-time data monitoring and analytics platform that provides live operational insights from packaging and production lines, with permanent support, to help industrial customers make faster, better-informed operational decisions.
• Ingeniería de final de línea (End-of-Line Engineering Services) Engineering services that diagnose, design, and implement custom end-of-line automation solutions, integrating machinery, robotics, and data systems into the client's production process. Targeted at industrial customers seeking a tailored automation partner.

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Krones AG: German global leader in packaging and bottling machinery for beverage, food, and pharma. Overlaps with Tech-M in end-of-line packaging (palletizing, wrapping, case packing) and shares the focus on food/beverage/pharma verticals, but operates at far greater scale and global footprint.
• ProMach: Large US-based packaging machinery conglomerate with a portfolio covering filling, labeling, case packing, palletizing, and end-of-line integration. Overlaps with Tech-M in case packing and palletizing but at much greater scale and global reach.
• Sidel: French-based packaging solutions provider for beverage, food, and home/personal care, with end-of-line palletizing and case packing offerings. Comparable vertically in beverage/food packaging but at multinational scale with broader product portfolio.
• ABB Robotics: Global industrial robotics supplier whose robots power many packaging automation systems including palletizing and case packing. Overlaps with Tech-M's industrial robot offering as both a competitor (for robot supply) and a supplier of robot arms Tech-M integrates.

Direct peers

• Brenton: US-based end-of-line packaging machinery specialist offering case packers, palletizers, stretch wrappers, and robotic integration. Comparable product mix and customer verticals (food, beverage, pharma) make Brenton a strong direct peer.
• TMG Impianti: Italian manufacturer of end-of-line packaging equipment including case packers, palletizers, and depalletizers. Closely comparable Southern European mid-market competitor serving overlapping food, beverage, and chemical verticals.
• Delkor Systems: Manufacturer of case packing, tray packing, and palletizing equipment for retail-ready packaging. Comparable mid-sized end-of-line packaging machinery specialist with a similar custom-engineering approach to Tech-M.
• Schneider Packaging Equipment: US-based manufacturer of case packers, palletizers, and end-of-line packaging machinery serving food, beverage, pharmaceutical, and industrial customers. Closely comparable product portfolio to Tech-M's case packing and palletizing line, with similar custom-engineering orientation.
• Lanico Maschinenbau: German specialist manufacturer of can/bottle closing and end-of-line packaging machinery. Comparable mid-sized European packaging machinery manufacturer serving similar food, beverage, and chemical sectors with custom-engineered solutions.

Emerging players

• Universal Robots: Danish cobot manufacturer that competes with and supplies Tech-M's collaborative robotics offering. Highly relevant emerging player in the cobot segment where Tech-M differentiates, though Universal Robots is upstream (robot OEM) rather than a direct systems integrator.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ear_flap

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 EARFLAP