What Elmatex does

Elmatex GmbH is a privately-held German industrial machinery distributor founded circa 1983 and headquartered in Krefeld, operating as a sales and distribution partner for internationally leading manufacturers of industrial machinery and technologies. The company serves the textile, nonwovens, hygiene, chemical, graphic, film, plastic, and paper industries, with a portfolio that covers the full textile manufacturing chain — fiber preparation, spinning, winding, twisting, weaving, nonwovens production, finishing, coating, lamination, printing, inspection, environmental technology, transport/storage, and ERP/BDE/process control solutions. It represents partner brands including Brückner (finishing/coating lines), ITEMA Group/Jäger (weaving machines), Schlatter Deutschland, Sedo Treepoint (energy monitoring), Gültig (spare parts and modernization), and L.G.L. Electronics, alongside a secondary-market used machinery brokerage service.

The business model is sales-led B2B distribution: Elmatex earns commissions or margins on equipment sales to industrial customers, with project-specific pricing and no public price list. Its geographic footprint spans Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Thailand through three locations, with headquarters in Krefeld. The go-to-market relies on direct enterprise sales, joint trade show participation (Techtextil, ITMA, Composites Europe, mtex), and partner co-marketing. The company is led by two Managing Directors — Dipl.-Ing. Oliver Klein and Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Sören Klein — and appears to be independently held with no disclosed institutional investors or parent company.

Notable corporate history includes the July 2014 acquisition of sales activities from Heinz Arndt GmbH, which expanded Elmatex's representation of the ITEMA Group portfolio across Germany and Austria and brought long-time salesperson Helmut Krech onto its team. In September 2021, the company entered a partnership with Schlatter Deutschland to market the Jäger Webmaschine C-Tec for heavy technical fabrics. The company maintains GDPR-compliant data processing and an active website with ongoing product, trade show, and news updates.

Name

Elmatex

Legal name

Elmatex GmbH

Website

https://elmatex.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Elmatex GmbH is a privately-held German industrial machinery distributor founded in 1983, representing international manufacturers of textile, nonwovens, graphic, film, plastic, and paper processing equipment across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Thailand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Machinery Distribution

NAICS

Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing (33331)

SIC

Special Industry Machinery (No Metalworking Machinery) (3550)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Industrial machinery distribution
• Textile manufacturing equipment
• Nonwovens production technology
• Coating lamination systems
• Finishing machinery supply

Headquarters

HQ city

Krefeld

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Industrial machinery and technology distribution: Elmatex acts as a sales/distribution partner for leading international manufacturers of industrial machinery, earning commissions or margins on equipment sales to textile and related industries.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Elmatex GmbH is an industrial sales and distribution partner (Vertriebspartner) that supplies new and used production equipment, spare parts, consumables, and consulting services to customers in the textile, nonwovens, graphic, film, plastic, and paper processing industries. The company represents approximately 30 manufacturer portfolios covering the entire production chain — including spinning, winding, twisting, weaving, nonwovens production, finishing, coating, lamination, printing, transport, storage, environmental technology, and ERP/measurement/process control. Its offer spans project consulting, after-sales service, and a used-machinery brokerage.

Product overview

Elmatex GmbH is a sales/distribution partner for globally leading manufacturers of industrial machinery and technologies, serving the textile, nonwovens, hygiene, chemical, film, plastic, paper, and graphic industries. The company operates a comprehensive product portfolio organized across three main industry segments: (1) Textile Industry - covering the entire textile manufacturing chain from fiber preparation/spinning/winding/twisting through weaving, nonwovens production, finishing, coating, lamination, printing, inspection, environmental technology, and transport/storage; (2) Graphic Industry - offering digital printing systems, cutting systems, and handling equipment; and (3) Film/Plastic/Paper Industry - providing lamination, coating, and processing equipment. Within the textile segment, key product categories include spinning/winding/twisting equipment, weaving machinery, nonwovens production lines, finishing/dyeing equipment, coating/lamination systems, printing technology, winding/inspection systems, transport/storage equipment, environmental technology, and ERP/BDE/measurement/process control solutions. The company represents partner brands including Brückner (finishing lines), Itema/Jäger (weaving machines), and others. Elmatex provides sales, consulting, and aftermarket services through three locations serving Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Thailand, with headquarters in Krefeld, Germany.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Spinning, winding and twisting equipment Industrial machinery for spinning, winding, and twisting fibers and yarns, distributed to textile manufacturers as part of Elmatex's complete production-chain offering.
• Weaving machinery (incl. ITEMA and Picanol product lines) Industrial weaving machines for textile mills, including ITEMA-branded weaving machines (and related product lines such as Picanol via ITEMA Group), distributed by Elmatex to weaving mills and textile converters.
• Nonwovens production lines Complete nonwovens production equipment lines (forming, bonding, and finishing) distributed to nonwovens manufacturers producing hygiene, technical-textile, and industrial nonwoven fabrics.
• Finishing machinery Industrial finishing machinery (e.g., washing, drying, dyeing, stentering, and related equipment) for textile and nonwoven converters, distributed by Elmatex.
• Coating and lamination systems Industrial coating and lamination systems used by converters to apply functional coatings or laminate layers onto textiles, films, plastics, and paper substrates.
• Printing/graphic production machinery Printing and graphic-industry production machinery (and accessories) for printers and converters in the graphic industry, distributed by Elmatex as part of its multi-vertical product offering.
• Winding and inspection equipment Industrial winding and inspection equipment for film, paper, nonwovens, and textile manufacturers, used for reeling finished product and detecting defects during quality control.
• Transport and storage equipment Industrial transport and storage equipment (e.g., material handling, roll handling, and storage systems) supplied to industrial manufacturers as part of Elmatex's full production-chain offering.
• Environmental technology equipment Environmental technology equipment — including exhaust air treatment, filtration, and energy-recovery systems — for industrial textile and nonwovens plants.
• ERP/measurement/process control solutions ERP (enterprise-resource-planning), measurement, and process-control software/systems for industrial production plants, distributed by Elmatex as add-on solutions to its industrial machinery offering.
• Film, plastic and paper processing equipment Industrial processing equipment for film, plastic, and paper converters, distributed by Elmatex across the DACH region, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Thailand.
• Graphic industry product range Graphical industry product range — including machines, accessories, and consumables — supplied to printers and graphic-industry converters through Elmatex's distribution network.
• Used-machinery brokerage Used-machinery brokerage service enabling buyers and sellers of pre-owned industrial textile and nonwovens equipment to list, source, and transact machinery through Elmatex's portal.

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Schlatter DeutschlandcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2021New partnership started September 2021 for marketing the new Jäger Webmaschine C-Tec for heavy technical fabrics. Elmatex serves as the sales partner for this specialized weaving machine technology.
• ITEMA Group (Heinz Arndt GmbH activities)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 July 2014Elmatex took over sales activities of Heinz Arndt GmbH on July 1, 2014. Elmatex now represents the entire ITEMA Group product portfolio in Germany and Austria. Helmut Krech, long-time employee of Heinz Arndt GmbH, joined Elmatex's sales team to continue supporting weaving products.
• BrücknercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLong-standing partnership with Brückner (since at least 2010). Brückner is a leading manufacturer of textile finishing and coating equipment. Elmatex markets Brückner products and shares press releases about new production facilities (Tittmoning), technology centers (Leonberg), and industry developments.
• L.G.L. ElectronicsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorL.G.L. Electronics exhibited on Elmatex joint stand at Techtextil 2015, showcasing latest pre-winding devices and electronic brakes for gripper and projectile weaving machines.
• Various industrial machinery manufacturers (logos displayed)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorElmatex displays logos of multiple partner companies on its website representing worldwide leading manufacturers of industrial machinery and technologies for textile and related industries. Partners include companies specializing in spinning, weaving, coating, finishing, measurement, and environmental technology equipment.
• GültigminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership for spare parts supply and machine modernization services. Gültig focuses on after-sales service and parts supply for textile machinery.
• Sedo TreepointminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEnergy monitoring solutions partner. Sedo Treepoint provides EnergyMaster systems for energy monitoring according to DIN EN 16001 / ISO 50001 standards and Product Carbon Footprint tracking.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Brückner Trockentechnik: German global market leader in textile finishing and coating lines. Elmatex has a long-standing distribution partnership with Brückner, but Brückner also operates direct sales in many markets, creating overlap with Elmatex in DACH finishing equipment accounts.
• A. Monforts Textilmaschinen: German manufacturer of textile finishing machinery (stenters, coating ranges). Directly competes with Elmatex's finishing/coating portfolio in DACH markets, including overlapping customer accounts with Brückner equipment.
• Benninger: Swiss textile machinery manufacturer specializing in bleaching, mercerizing, dyeing, and washing ranges. Competes with Elmatex's finishing equipment portfolio across European textile mills.
• Andritz: Austrian global industrial machinery group active in paper, metal forming, and other process industries. Comparable in scale and cross-selling approach, though focused on different end markets than Elmatex's textile core.
• Jakob Müller: Swiss/German manufacturer of narrow fabric weaving, label printing, and warp knitting machinery. Serves similar technical textile customers as Elmatex and competes in adjacent weaving machinery categories in the DACH region.
• Truetzschler: German global leader in spinning preparation and nonwovens machinery. Competes with Elmatex in fiber processing and nonwovens equipment sales, with strong direct-sales coverage across Elmatex's core markets.
• Lindauer Dornier: German manufacturer of rapier and air-jet weaving machines for technical textiles, apparel, and tire cord. Direct competitor to Elmatex's weaving machinery portfolio, particularly for high-end technical fabric applications in DACH.
• ITEMA Group: Italian-based global manufacturer of weaving machinery (including the legacy Picanol and Sulzer Textil brands). Elmatex represents ITEMA's full product portfolio in Germany and Austria after acquiring Heinz Arndt GmbH, making ITEMA simultaneously a core partner and a partial competitor via direct sales channels elsewhere.
• Karl Mayer: German global leader in warp knitting, warp preparation, and technical textiles machinery. Competes with Elmatex's weaving and warp preparation product category and serves the same textile mill customers in DACH.

Direct peers

• Schlatter Industries: Swiss manufacturer of weaving machines for heavy technical fabrics (including the Jäger Webmaschine C-Tec, for which Elmatex became sales partner in September 2021). Most direct comparable as a partner whose product Elmatex distributes in DACH while Schlatter also sells direct elsewhere.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/elmatex-gmbh

Compliance1 record

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 Elmatex