SCHLEIFSTEIN Machine Technology

What SCHLEIFSTEIN Machine Technology does

SCHLEIFSTEIN Machine Technology (SMT) is a privately held, family-owned German GmbH headquartered in Siegen-Weidenau that designs, manufactures, and services heavy-duty industrial machinery for metal forming, press automation, and dished/tank and vessel head production. The company traces its operational lineage to approximately 1904 (with one source citing 1896) and has accumulated over 80 years of specialized experience in vessel-head manufacturing; its core offerings span press automation systems (including the PLAYBACK-Control platform with Electronic Gap Control), dedicated machinery for tank and pressure-vessel head production, surface-treatment equipment, and ancillary line components. Its customer base comprises automotive OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers (named references include a Detroit OEM, a German OEM based in Osnabrück, a Czech OEM, a Mexican Chrysler facility, and a Canadian Tier-1), tank and vessel manufacturers (e.g., Westerwald), steel service centers, press shops, and shipbuilders — predominantly in capital-intensive industrial segments where equipment lifecycles span decades.

The business model combines custom-engineered new-machine sales with multi-decade aftermarket revenue. New equipment is sold as project-based capital purchases, typically to automotive and tank-manufacturing end-customers; aftermarket revenue derives from retrofitting, upgrading, and servicing the installed base, plus a second-hand equipment offering. The company maintains wholly-owned subsidiaries in Pontiac, Michigan (USA) and Guangzhou, China (smt-DC Machine & Automation Co., Ltd.) and representative offices in India and Korea, supporting direct project execution and field service outside the DACH region. Headcount is reported in the 51–100 range and the firm operates an in-house machine park that was expanded with new CNC equipment in 2022; managing-director leadership is held by Dipl.-Ing. Karsten Koert.

SMT's commercial posture is that of a niche Mittelstand engineering firm: limited pricing transparency, project-based rather than subscription-based revenue, dependence on industrial capex cycles, and continued product-line broadening (TRA 35 linear axis in 2016, hot-water washing machine for coil bands in 2025). Trade-fair presence at EuroBLECH 2024 indicates ongoing investment in commercial visibility, while the absence of disclosed AI/ML capability positions the firm squarely in traditional industrial-automation rather than AI-native manufacturing.

Name

SCHLEIFSTEIN Machine Technology

Legal name

SCHLEIFSTEIN Maschinentechnik GmbH

Website

https://schleifstein.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1904

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

SCHLEIFSTEIN Machine Technology is a German family-owned manufacturer of heavy-duty industrial machinery for metal forming, press automation, and tank/vessel head production. It serves automotive OEMs, Tier-1 suppliers, and steel service centers globally from Siegen with subsidiaries in the US and China.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Metal Forming and Press Automation Machinery

NAICS

Metalworking Machinery Manufacturing (33351), Machinery Manufacturing (333)

SIC

Metalworkg Machinery & Equipment (3540), Special Industry Machinery, Nec (3559)

akta.pro primary industry

Metal Forming & Fabrication Machines (Presses, Bending, Shearing, Stamping) (IMAHADAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sheet Metal Machinery (Laser/Plasma/Waterjet Cutting, Punching) (IMAHADAD)

Keywords

• Press automation systems
• Industrial metal forming
• Automotive press shop equipment
• Surface treatment machinery
• Tank head manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Siegen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

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 Machine Manufacturing: Design, manufacture, and supply of custom industrial machinery including press automation systems, metal forming equipment (dishing presses, flanging machines, ship building presses), surface treatment equipment (washing machines, cross brush cleaners, spray lubrication systems), and special shears. Revenue is generated from project-based custom machine orders for automotive, steel service, and vessel manufacturing customers.
2. Service, Maintenance & Repair: Ongoing service contracts, preventive maintenance, and repair services for installed equipment. Support bases with spare parts supply in North America and China, plus service partners in many countries ensure quick reaction times. Standard remote assistance provided with machines.
3. Retrofit & Modernization: Modernization of existing machines including mechanical, controls, drives, motors, measuring systems, and switch cabinet upgrades. Service available for smt machines and other manufacturers. Economic alternative to purchasing new equipment.
4. Used/Second-Hand Machines: Sale of refurbished used machines including dismantling, retrofit, modernization, and commissioning. Scope includes disposal of old equipment.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

SCHLEIFSTEIN Maschinentechnik GmbH (smt) designs, manufactures, and commissions custom industrial machinery for press automation, surface treatment, and metal forming. Its portfolio includes destackers, interpress automation, finished part stacking systems, press hardening/hot forming transfer systems, blank and coil washing machines, cross brush cleaners, spray lubrication systems, and metal forming presses (tank head manufacturing equipment, ship building presses, 2D/3D segment manufacturing, and special shears). The company supplies complete production lines along with retrofit, maintenance, and second-hand machinery services primarily to the automotive, tank/vessel head manufacturing, steel service, and shipbuilding industries.

Product overview

SCHLEIFSTEIN Machine Technology (smt) is a medium-sized, export-oriented mechanical engineering company with over 120 years of experience offering specialized machines and systems across three core product areas: Press Automation (Destacker, Interpress Automation, Finished Part Stacking/EoL, Press Hardening/Hot Forming), Surface Treatment (Coil Washing Machines, Blank Washing Machines, Cross Brush Cleaners, Cross Brush Aggregates, Spray Lubrication Systems), and Metal Forming (Tank Head Manufacturing Equipment, Ship Building Presses, 2D-/3D-Segment Manufacturing, Special Shears). The company provides complete systems from destacker through press linkage to finished part stacking, along with retrofit, maintenance, and second-hand machine services. Primary markets include automotive, press shops, head manufacturing, steel service, and ship building industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• smt | TRA 35: Linear additional axis for industrial robots with weight approx. 100 kg (incl. drive motor), loading for workpiece and tooling: 90 kg, max. speed: 4.9 m/s, max. acceleration: 10 m/s².

Products and services

• Destacker Modular blank destacking systems for mechanical and hydraulic press lines, handling separation, destacking with feeders or robots, conveying, surface treatment integration, blank centering, and press loading for automotive press shops.
• Interpress Automation Press line automation solutions including electronic 3D-transfer systems, highly dynamic linear systems, and robot automation for transfer presses and tandem press lines, with degrees of freedom in multiple axes.
• Finished Part Stacking Units / End of Line Systems (EoL) Outfeed conveyor tracks, shuttle systems, and automatic stacking equipment for finished parts at the end of press lines, including quality control integration.
• Press Hardening / Hot Forming Systems Dynamic transfer systems for loading and unloading hot forming presses, including destackers with batch marking, transfer and feeder systems with up to 12-axis servo control, and automatic stacking stations for finished parts.
• Coil Washing Machines Industrial washing machines for cleaning coil strip surfaces in coil lines, positioned before levelling machines to remove loose and firmly sticking dirt from steel strip materials.
• Blank Washing Machines Industrial washing machines positioned within destackers in front of presses for thorough cleaning of blank surfaces made of steel, providing clean, defined, degreased, and dry surfaces.
• Cross Brush Cleaners Dry cleaning systems for blanks and coils with light to medium surface dirt, designed for permanent operation in press shops with compact, maintenance-friendly design and high automation degree.
• Cross Brush Aggregates Brush aggregates for cleaning even surfaces and conveyor belts in press lines, manually or automatically adjustable to different material thicknesses for one-side or two-side cleaning.
• Spray Lubrication Systems Precision spray lubrication systems for applying exact quantities of deep-drawing media on exact positions at high speeds, available in one-side, two-side, full surface, or partial application configurations.
• Tank Head Manufacturing Equipment Dishing presses, manipulators, flanging machines, head edge bevelling, beading, and grinding machines for manufacturing tank and vessel heads with PLAYBACK-control for automated high-repetitive-accuracy manufacturing.
• Ship Building Presses Hydraulic presses for manufacturing 3-dimensionally cold-formed segments from steel plates for ship building and metal processing, with crane manipulator integration and rotary tables, performing pressing, spinning, rolling, stretching, levelling, and bending operations.
• 2D-/3D-Segment Manufacturing Systems Hydraulic segment presses for efficient manufacturing of sheet metal segments for thick-walled elliptical or spherical vessel heads and spherical tanks using sequential or partial forming processes with crane manipulators and PLAYBACK-control.
• Special Shears Specialized shears for difficult applications including guillotine shears, circular shears, coil cutting shears, sampling shears, double cutting shears, forming cut shears, round blade shears, side-cut shears, cut-to-length lines, and cutting centers for rounds.
• smt | TRA 35 Linear Additional Axis Linear additional axis for industrial robots with approximately 100kg weight (including drive motor), 90kg loading capacity, 4.9 m/s max speed, and 10 m/s² max acceleration for enhanced destacking automation.
• Retrofit Services Modernization services for existing machines including updates to mechanics, controls, drives, motors, measuring systems, and switch cabinets to bring equipment to latest state-of-the-art technology; available for smt machines and other manufacturers.
• Maintenance and Repair Services Preventive maintenance and repair services with global service network including spare parts supply in North America and China, service partners worldwide, and remote assistance capabilities.
• Second-Hand Machines Sale of refurbished used machines including dismantling, retrofit, modernization, commissioning, and disposal of old equipment; economical alternative to purchasing new equipment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Destacking speeds up to 22-23 strokes/minute with feeders or robots
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• SchmelzerMedien GmbHOthersWeb design, development, and programming partner for company website. Located at Eiserntalstraße 161, 57080 Siegen, Germany.
• Technicom-Chemie (India) Ltd.minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSales representative in India. Office at AKC House, E-27 Defence Colony, New Delhi – 110024, India. Handles inquiries for Indian market.
• Han Sae International Co., Ltd.minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSales representative in South Korea. Office at #804, 118 Eonju-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 06295, Rep. of Korea. Handles inquiries for Korean market.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Feintool International Holding AG: Swiss specialist in fineblanking and metal forming with strong presence in automotive drivetrain and body components. Comparable to smt in metal forming machinery, particularly presses used for high-precision component manufacturing.
• Schuler Group: Global market leader in press manufacturing and press automation technology, headquartered in Germany. Directly competes with smt in mechanical and hydraulic press systems, press automation, and serves the same automotive OEM and Tier-1 customer base.
• Macrodyne Technologies: Canadian manufacturer of hydraulic presses and automation systems for metal forming, automotive, and industrial applications. Direct competitor to smt in heavy-duty hydraulic press manufacturing and press automation.

Broad incumbents

• TRUMPF: German technology leader in machine tools and sheet metal processing (laser cutting, punching, bending). Comparable to smt in sheet metal working machinery for industrial customers, though with a much broader product portfolio and global scale.
• Bystronic: Swiss supplier of high-quality sheet metal processing systems for cutting and bending. Operates in the same sheet metal working machinery space as smt's destackers and surface treatment lines but serves broader industrial customers.
• SMS group GmbH: German global plant and machinery manufacturer for metals processing. Operates broadly across metallurgical and forming equipment; overlaps with smt in special forming machinery and serves similar heavy-industry end markets.
• FFG (Fair Friend Group) / FFG Werke: Taiwanese-headquartered machine tool conglomerate with strong German/European brands in metal cutting, forming, and automation. Overlaps with smt in metal forming machinery and press technology for automotive and industrial customers.
• ANDRITZ Group: Austrian industrial machinery group serving metals processing, hydraulic forming, and special machinery. Comparable as a broad incumbent serving industrial customers requiring heavy forming and pressing equipment.

Others

• KUKA AG: German robotics and automation specialist whose industrial robots are integrated with smt's TRA 35 linear axis and destacker systems. Adjacent technology partner competing in parts of the press automation value chain.
• Siemens AG (Digital Industries): Global automation and industrial controls supplier whose PLC and motion control platforms (e.g., Simotion, referenced in smt deployments) underpin much of smt's installed base. Adjacent ecosystem participant rather than direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/schleifstein-maschinentechnik-gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 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 SCHLEIFSTEIN Machine Technology