VdLB

What VdLB does

VdLB (Verband deutscher Laseranwender - Blechbearbeitung e.V.) is a registered non-profit trade association (eingetragener Verein) headquartered at Marktstraße 6, 40721 Hilden, Germany. Founded in August 1998 by a small group of entrepreneurs, it serves as the industry body for German users of laser technology in sheet metal processing, with a membership roster of approximately 60+ companies spanning laser-cutting OEMs (TRUMPF, Bystronic, Amada, Mazak, Prima Power, LVD), contract manufacturers, service providers, and educational bodies across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.

The association delivers its offering through a community-led, events-driven model rather than a product or technology platform. Core activities include an annual general assembly, summer and autumn member trips (e.g., 2026 Hamburg summer trip with ~80 participants; 2026 autumn trip to Turin hosted by Prima Power), second-management-level meetings for production and operations leaders, technical seminars co-hosted with chambers of crafts (Handwerkskammer Koblenz), and regular press placements in industry publications (blechnet, BLECH online) and trade fair presence (EuroBLECH, Hannover). Education and technology-transfer activity is reinforced through a long-standing strategic partnership with tibb e.V. (since 2011), a nationwide network for technology transfer between trade, research, and education, on whose board Managing Director Ulrike Längert sits.

Revenue is generated almost entirely from recurring membership dues paid by member companies; specific dues and pricing are not publicly disclosed. The association is governed by a Managing Director (Ulrike Längert) and a volunteer board (1st Chairman Matthias Dücker, 2nd Chairman Björn Hassink, Treasurer Guido Elting, and board members Sebastian Fischer, Roland Kiefer, Stefan Schreiber), with elections on a four-year cycle. There are no subsidiaries, no external investors, no funding rounds, no patents, and no proprietary technology assets. VdLB is not a typical PE/VC target — it functions as a mature community infrastructure for an industrial niche rather than as a scalable commercial enterprise.

Name

VdLB

Legal name

Verband deutscher Laseranwender - Blechbearbeitung - e.V.

Website

https://vdlb.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

VdLB is a German non-profit trade association founded in 1998, serving ~60+ member companies in the laser-cutting and sheet metal processing industry through events, technical seminars, and networking across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hilden

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership dues: VdLB operates as a registered association (e.V.) funded primarily through membership fees from companies in the laser and sheet metal processing industry. Revenue supports association activities including events, knowledge exchange, and industry networking.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

VdLB is a registered professional association (eingetragener Verein) that provides membership-based networking, events, technical information sharing, and continuing education to companies operating in the laser and sheet metal processing industry in Germany and neighboring countries. Its core deliverables are regular member gatherings (annual meetings, summer trips, autumn trips, second-level management meetings), industry press coverage, and a member directory facilitating cooperation and experience exchange among laser technology users.

Product overview

VdLB (Verband deutscher Laseranwender - Blechbearbeitung e.V.) is a professional association for German laser users in sheet metal processing, founded in August 1998. Rather than a product company, VdLB functions as a membership organization offering networking services, industry events, conferences, training, and information exchange among member companies in the laser technology and sheet metal processing sector.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• VdLB Association Membership Services Membership-based professional network for German laser technology companies in sheet metal processing, offering events, conferences, training programs, industry information sharing, and peer exchange among members.

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• tibb e.V. (Technologie-Transfer und innovative Bildungsstrategien)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011VdLB has been a member of tibb e.V. since 2011. Tibb is a nationwide network for technology transfer between trade, research and education. Experts from manufacturers and user companies of new technologies, trade chambers, educational institutions, associations and research facilities are networked. The goal is the rapid transfer of new technologies into economic applications through vocational education. VdLB's Managing Director Ulrike Längert serves on the board of tibb e.V.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• DVS - Deutscher Verband für Schweißen und verwandte Verfahren e.V. German trade association for welding and joining technologies, structurally and operationally analogous to VdLB: registered association (e.V.), industry-specific membership, knowledge exchange, training, and events for adjacent metal-processing technologies. VdLB itself mentions DVS as an award-issuing body for its members.
• FMA - Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, International: US-based trade association serving the metal forming, fabricating, and processing industry. Closely aligned mission with VdLB in serving the fabricator community, with comparable member services, events, and training programs.
• Verein Deutscher Werkzeugmaschinenfabriken (VDW): German machine tool industry association historically representing German machine tool builders including laser-cutting OEMs that overlap with VdLB's OEM membership base. Provides a direct industry-trade-association peer with similar member profile.
• AWS - American Welding Society: US-based non-profit professional association for welding and joining, structurally identical to VdLB in mission (knowledge exchange, certification, events, training) but covering welding/joining rather than laser/sheet-metal processing. A natural functional analog across the Atlantic.

Regional players

• SWISSMEM - Schweizerische Maschinen-, Elektro- und Metall-Industrie: Swiss mechanical, electrical, and metals industry association serving many of the same DACH-region OEMs and fabricators as VdLB. Comparable association structure with member services, events, and policy advocacy functions.
• EWF - European Federation for Welding, Joining and Cutting: European federation coordinating welding/joining/cutting industry interests across member states. Functionally analogous to VdLB at pan-European level for adjacent processing technologies, with similar membership, training, and certification missions.
• CECIMO - European Association of Machine Tool Industries: European-level trade association representing machine tool OEMs, many of which are VdLB members (TRUMPF, Bystronic, Amada, Mazak, Prima Power). CECIMO provides the supranational trade-association layer that complements VdLB's DACH-focused role.

Broad incumbents

• VDMA - Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau: Germany's largest mechanical engineering industry association, with overlapping membership base (e.g., TRUMPF, Bystronic, Amada, LVD, Mazak are VDMA-aligned OEMs). VdLB sits as a niche laser/sheet-metal sub-association within VDMA's broader industry footprint.
• SME - Society of Manufacturing Engineers: North American non-profit manufacturing trade association with broader scope than VdLB, offering events, training, and certification across multiple manufacturing processes including metalworking. Operationally similar in member-services delivery model.

Emerging players

• IFR - International Federation of Robotics: International trade association for the robotics industry, intersecting with VdLB as automation and robotics increasingly integrate into laser/sheet-metal processing. Several VdLB members (e.g., members involved in welding automation) sit at this intersection.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dmt-lb

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 VdLB