Polman

What Polman does

Polman GmbH is a privately held German industrial automation company headquartered in Wismar and founded in 1995 by managing director Eckhard Polman. The company designs and manufactures pneumatic and hydraulic quarter-turn actuators under its proprietary QGUARD® brand, available in sizes DN80 through DN320, and including explosion-proof variants for hazardous environments. It complements these actuators with electro-pneumatic control systems and, under the QLOOP® brand, delivers turnkey robot-based process automation cells that integrate actuation, sensing, and control into complete production units rather than discrete components.

The company sells into process technology, compressor manufacturing, and heavy machinery end markets, supplying engineered components and integrated cells rather than commodity parts. Its go-to-market appears project-based and direct, with engineering and integration services bundled alongside the hardware sale. It operates a regional office in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, alongside a multilingual German/English/Arabic web presence, indicating a deliberate Middle East commercial focus in addition to its German industrial base.

Polman holds ISO 9001 quality certification and is founder-led, with no public disclosure of revenue, headcount, funding history, or named customers. The underlying business model is a conventional industrial capital-goods model — hardware sale plus engineering services — with revenue driven by project orders rather than recurring subscription or licensing streams. The 30-year operating history, multi-product portfolio, and international footprint imply an established but privately held Mittelstand supplier rather than a venture-backed growth company.

Name

Polman

Legal name

Polman GmbH

Website

https://polman.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Polman GmbH is a German industrial automation company founded in 1995 that designs and manufactures patented QGUARD® pneumatic and hydraulic actuators, electro-pneumatic controls, and QLOOP® turnkey robotic process cells for process technology, compressor, and heavy machinery customers worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Actuators and Process Automation Equipment

NAICS

Fluid Power Cylinder and Actuator Manufacturing (333995), Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519), Other General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing (3339)

SIC

General Industrial Machinery & Equipment (3560), Electrical Industrial Apparatus (3620), Electronic & Other Electrical Equipment (No Computer Equip) (3600)

akta.pro primary industry

Actuators & Motion Devices (Linear, Rotary, Electric Actuators for Motion Control) (IMAHAGAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Pneumatic Components (FRLs, Cylinders, Valves) (IMAHAGAC), Motion & Machine Control (CNC, Robotics Controllers, Servo/Motion Controllers) (IMAGABAG)

Keywords

• Pneumatic actuators
• Hydraulic actuators
• Industrial automation
• Process automation
• Electro-pneumatic controls

Headquarters

HQ city

Feldkirchen-westerham

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Pneumatic and Hydraulic Actuators: Sale of QGUARD® branded actuators including pneumatic and hydraulic variants in various sizes (DN80 to DN320), with explosion-proof versions (EExd, EExi) for hazardous environments
2. Electro-pneumatic Control Systems: Industrial control systems for process technology, compressors, and plant engineering applications
3. Turnkey Robot Cells (QLOOP®): Complete robot-based process automation solutions delivered as turnkey robot cells for automated production lines

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Polman GmbH designs and manufactures heavy-duty pneumatic and hydraulic actuators under the QGUARD® brand (sizes DN80–DN320) and the QLOOP® robot-based process automation system for industrial process technology. The company also supplies electro-pneumatic control systems, serving compressor, heavy machinery, and general process automation buyers.

Product overview

Polman GmbH offers a unified portfolio of industrial automation solutions centered on two core product lines: QGUARD® pneumatic and hydraulic actuators (including DN80, DN125, DN160, DN200, DN250, and DN320 sizes with explosion-proof EExd/EExi variants) and QLOOP® robot-based process automation systems. The company also produces electropneumatic control systems designed for industrial continuous use. QGUARD® serves as the foundational actuator technology for process engineering, compressors, and turbomachinery guide vane adjustment, while QLOOP® extends capabilities into turnkey robotic cells for automated production lines. All products are supported by modular controls with diagnostic functions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• QGUARD®: Pneumatic and hydraulic actuators for process technology and compressors
• QLOOP®

Products and services

• QGUARD® Pneumatic and Hydraulic Actuators Pneumatic and hydraulic actuators covering DN80 to DN320 sizes, designed for heavy-duty industrial process applications including compressor and heavy machinery use.
• QLOOP® Robot-Based Process Automation System Robot-based process automation system designed to integrate with industrial process lines, providing automated operation alongside conventional actuator-based controls.
• Electro-Pneumatic Control Systems Electro-pneumatic control systems for industrial process automation, supplied to complement the actuator and robotic automation portfolio.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

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.

• QLOOP® Technology / polman-aimes.comcoreTechnology or IntegrationQLOOP® represents Polman's proprietary robot-based process automation technology, available through dedicated website polman-aimes.com. This appears to be an internal product line rather than an external partnership, positioned as a core component of the company's automation offerings alongside QGUARD® actuators.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Tolomatic: Tolomatic manufactures pneumatic and electric linear actuators, cylinders, and motion control products for industrial automation, process control, and heavy machinery applications — directly comparable to Polman's pneumatic and hydraulic actuator range in product category and customer use cases.
• AHP Merkle: AHP Merkle is a German manufacturer specializing in pneumatic and hydraulic clamping and actuator elements for machine tools, manufacturing automation, and process industries — a closely comparable specialty actuator peer to Polman's QGUARD® line in product type and Mittelstand positioning.
• Camozzi Automation: Camozzi manufactures pneumatic cylinders, actuators, valves, and motion control products used in industrial automation, with comparable product mix and customer base to Polman; similar in scale as a privately held European pneumatics specialist.

Broad incumbents

• Emerson (Aventics): Emerson's Aventics line provides pneumatic cylinders, actuators, and valve terminals used in industrial automation and process applications, directly comparable to Polman's QGUARD® pneumatic actuators and electro-pneumatic controls, though part of Emerson's much broader automation portfolio.
• Parker Hannifin: Parker Hannifin's Motion & Control Technologies group produces hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders, actuators, valves, and industrial controls used in process, machinery, and heavy-equipment markets — directly comparable product categories to Polman's QGUARD® actuators and electro-pneumatic controls, though Parker operates at a global incumbent scale.
• SMC Corporation: SMC is the world's largest pneumatics manufacturer, offering pneumatic cylinders, actuators, valves, and air-preparation equipment serving factory automation and process industries; directly comparable to Polman's pneumatic actuator and control-system portfolio at much greater scale.
• Festo: Festo is a German global leader in pneumatic and electric automation technology, offering pneumatic cylinders, actuators, valves, and motion control solutions directly comparable to Polman's QGUARD® pneumatic and hydraulic actuator portfolio, but at vastly larger scale and with broader product breadth.
• Bosch Rexroth: Bosch Rexroth is a major manufacturer of hydraulic and pneumatic actuators, motion control systems, and industrial automation components, serving factory automation, machinery, and process industries comparable to Polman's turbomachine and compressor applications, with a substantially broader portfolio and global footprint.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/polman-gmbh

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Polman