What Three-Tec does

Three-Tec GmbH is a Swiss, family-owned manufacturer of precision feeding systems, twin-screw extruders, and process peripherals for the pharmaceutical, food, chemical, and plastics industries. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Seon, Switzerland, the company employs approximately 50 people and develops and manufactures all products in-house. Its core technology spans gravimetric and volumetric feeding systems (single-screw ED series and flat-tray twin-screw ZD series) and a comprehensive twin-screw extruder line (ZE 5 through ZE 100), including the world's smallest twin-screw extruder (ZE 5, 5 mm screw, 1-gram batches) and a proprietary Hybrid design that combines two screw diameters in a single device. The portfolio also includes granulators, hot cutters, chill rolls, cooling baths, spheronizers, film rollers, calendars, rewinders, and turnkey Isolator High Containment production lines compliant with OEB 4/5 GMP standards for high-potency pharmaceutical manufacturing.

The company's go-to-market is sales-led and direct, with custom equipment quoted on a project basis — no public pricing is disclosed. Three-Tec operates a test laboratory where customers can run feasibility trials with their own materials on-site or remotely via video conference, supporting process development and de-risking customer purchases. Distribution is global and direct from the Swiss manufacturing facility, with no reseller network. Key technical integrations include Siemens controls (TP 1200 Comfort Panel, LOGO!, weighing electronics, load cells) and Mettler-Toledo/PESA weighing platforms.

Three-Tec serves four primary verticals — pharmaceutical (hot melt extrusion for bioavailability, amorphous solid dispersions, GMP-compliant production), food and pet food (meat alternatives, cereals, dairy, flavors), chemical (mechanochemistry, polymer production, battery materials), and plastics (compounding, recycling, 3D printing filaments) — plus an R&D and laboratory segment for feasibility studies and small-batch processing. The company has active research collaborations with Ruhr-Universität Bochum (mechanochemistry) and the University of Massachusetts (plant-based meat texture). Revenue is not publicly disclosed and no external funding, acquisitions, or leadership changes have been recorded.

Name

Three-Tec

Legal name

Three-Tec GmbH

Website

https://three-tec.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Three-Tec GmbH is a Swiss family-owned manufacturer of precision feeding systems, twin-screw extruders, and process peripherals serving pharmaceutical, food, chemical, and plastics customers globally from its Seon, Switzerland facility with approximately 50 employees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Process Equipment (Feeding Systems & Extruders)

NAICS

Other General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing (3339), Food Product Machinery Manufacturing (333241)

SIC

General Industrial Machinery & Equipment, Nec (3569)

akta.pro primary industry

Conveying, Feeding & Material Handling for Packaging Lines (IMALAOAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Filling & Dosing Machines (Liquid/Powder/Solid) (IMAHAOAF)

Keywords

• Twin-screw extruders
• Gravimetric feeding systems
• Hot melt extrusion
• Pharmaceutical process equipment
• Volumetric powder feeders

Headquarters

HQ city

Seon

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Feeding systems (Dosiergeräte): Sale of precision feeding systems including flat-tray feeders, single and twin screw feeders, gravimetric and volumetric systems. Equipment ranges from laboratory scale (ZD 5 FB handling from 0.003 l/h) to production scale (ZD 80 FB handling up to 13,500 l/h). Revenue from one-time equipment sales with optional service contracts.
2. Extruders: Sale of twin-screw extruders from miniature laboratory (ZE 5 with 5mm screw, 1g batches) to production scale (ZE 100 with 100mm screw, 4000 kg/h throughput). Equipment sales with customization options including barrel configurations, screw designs, heating/cooling systems, and control interfaces.
3. Process equipment: Peripheral devices including granulators, hot cutters, spheronizers, conveyor belts, cooling baths, film rollers, rewinders, calenders, chill rolls, stuffing feeding devices, and side feeding devices. Sold as standalone equipment or integrated into customer production lines.
4. Special machinery / Custom systems: Custom-designed special machinery including Isolator High Containment systems, filling systems, and bespoke equipment built to customer specifications. Project-specific design and manufacturing constitutes significant portion of business.
5. Services (Versuchslabor, Schulungen, Service): Test laboratory services where customers can test with original products, process development, feasibility studies, on-site or virtual participation. Training services for optimal equipment use. Service and maintenance contracts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Three-Tec develops, produces, and distributes precision feeding systems (gravimetric and volumetric flat-tray feeders and single/twin-screw feeders) and twin-screw extruders (laboratory to production scale, 5–100 mm screw diameters), together with peripheral process equipment such as granulators, chill rolls, cooling baths, film rollers, and complete Isolator High Containment production lines. Equipment is engineered to customer specification at its Swiss facility in Seon and sold directly to enterprise customers in the pharmaceutical, food, chemical, and plastics industries.

Product overview

Three-Tec is a Swiss manufacturer of precision feeding systems, extruders, and process equipment for process engineering. The product portfolio includes twin-screw feeders (ZD series: ZD 5 FB through ZD 80 FB), single-screw feeders (ED series: ED 12 through ED 65), laboratory and production extruders (ZE series: ZE 5 HMI through ZE 100 HMI), and the hybrid extruder combining two screw diameters (ZE 5-12 Hybrid). Supporting equipment includes granulators, chill rolls, cooling systems, film rollers, calendres, spheronizers, and the Isolator High Containment system. Products are developed and manufactured at the Seon AG facility with in-house barrel, screw, and tooling production. The portfolio serves pharmaceutical, food, chemical, and plastics industries from laboratory scale (batches from 1 gram) to production scale (throughput up to 4000 kg/h).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ZE Series Twin-Screw Extruders Twin-screw extruders from the world's smallest laboratory extruder (ZE 5, 1-gram batches) to the production-scale ZE 100 (4,000 kg/h), used for hot melt extrusion, formulation development, pilot batches, and continuous production in pharmaceutical, food, chemical, and plastics applications.
• ZE 5-12 Hybrid Laboratory Extruder Hybrid laboratory extruder combining two different screw diameters in one housing, allowing users to switch between process sizes (e.g., 5/9, 5/12, 9/12 mm) within a few minutes without changing machines; designed for R&D users running trials across multiple screw diameters.
• ZD Series Twin-Screw Flat-Tray Feeders Gravimetric and volumetric flat-tray twin-screw feeders for precise dosing of free-flowing to poorly-flowing, moist, or bridging powders, ranging from micro-feed rates (0.003 l/h on ZD 5 FB) to high-volume production (13,500 l/h on ZD 80 FB), including GMP/FDA-compliant pharma variants.
• ED Series Single-Screw Feeders Volumetric and gravimetric single-screw feeders for fine dosing of free-flowing products with particle sizes up to 1–10 mm, available with or without bridge breakers, covering 0.05 l/h to 4,000 l/h throughput.
• ZD 5 FB i6000 All-in-One Feeder All-in-one flat-tray twin-screw feeder with integrated Siemens WL260 SP-S AE load cells and WP 231 weighing electronics for high-precision dosing in a compact (5 kg), IP65-protected housing with low drop height for reduced external disturbance.
• Quick-Change Feeding Devices Volumetric and gravimetric single- or twin-screw feeders with tool-free quick-release fasteners and bayonet locks for rapid dismantling and cleaning, available in multiple model variants (ZD 12 T-Q, ED 40-Q, ED 50-Q, ED 65-Q, ED 65 T-QC).
• ZD x FB Table-Top Gravimetric Feeder Integrated gravimetric control table-top feeder for high-precision GMP/FDA-compliant batch filling with foot-switch operation, offered in ZD 5 FB TT, ZD 9 FB TT, and ZD 12 FB TT dosing ranges.
• Granulator HMI Pelletizer Pelletizer for processing extrudate strands into pellets with adjustable feed roller and cutting blade speed, pellet length 0.5–15 mm, and HMI/touch-panel control.
• ECO Granulator Economy pelletizer for processing strands into pellets at fixed granule lengths of 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 mm, suitable for soft and hard extrudates.
• Hot Cutter Hot die-face cutter for pelletizing extrudate directly at the die plate, producing pellets of 0.5–10 mm at 10–500 rpm, suitable for wet and melt extrudates.
• Chill Roll Cooling roller for efficient continuous cooling of extrudates at 3–100 kg/h, with extra-large wrap-angle belt design, -30 to 150°C continuous temperature range, and max product temperature 230°C.
• Production Cooling Conveyor Belt Cooling conveyor for gentle removal and cooling of hot products, with 2,000 mm length, 300 mm width, 1–20 m/min speed, and active belt cooling up to 300°C product temperature.
• Cooling Bath Cooling bath for efficient cooling of extrudates before further processing, available in 0.5–5 meter lengths with hold-down bars/rollers, scraper brush, and adjustable water level.
• Spheronizer Spheronizer for reducing length and rounding off fine extrudate strands, with 5–2,000 g batch capacity, friction disc speed 200–4,000 rpm, and electrically heated temperature-controlled container.
• Film Roller Film roller for calibrating flat dry extrudates and rolling round extrudates into film of defined thickness, with temperature-controlled roll pairs and adjustable magnetic coupling tension.
• Rewinder Winder for winding extrudate onto a spool with adjustable tensile force between the take-off roller and spool for uniform winding, suitable for round and ribbon-shaped extrudates.
• Calender Versatile laboratory device for continuous production of films, tapes, or tablets from hot extrudate, capable of producing up to 10,000 tablets per day at 0–65 rpm.
• Laboratory Conveyor Belt Laboratory conveyor belt for gentle removal and cooling of extrudate, available in 300–500 mm lengths, 0–15 m/min belt speed, max 300°C product temperature, with silicone or PTFE belt material.
• Side Feeding Device Side feeder for forced feeding of powders and granulates into the extruder barrel, available in variants for all extruder sizes and throughput ranges.
• Stuffing Feeding Device Tamping feeder for reliable feeding of very difficult, cohesive, or light products into the extruder barrel, pressing material from above into the barrel.
• Isolator High Containment Production Line Complete contained production line integrating feeder, extruder, cooling conveyor, and pelletizer inside a high-containment isolator compliant with ISO 14644-7 and GMP cleanliness class C (OEB 4/5), with fail-safe components and automatic pressure retention test, designed for safe processing of potent pharmaceutical compounds.
• Test Laboratory and Process Development Services Process development services in Three-Tec's in-house test laboratory covering gravimetric and volumetric dosing, melt extrusion, wet and melt granulation, mixing, contract manufacturing, process development, and feasibility studies, available on-site or virtually via video conference with customers' original products.
• Equipment Training Services Training programs to give customers the knowledge required for optimal use of Three-Tec equipment.
• Service and Maintenance Service and maintenance contracts providing ongoing support and upkeep for Three-Tec equipment.
• Custom Special Machinery and Engineered-to-Order Systems Custom-designed special machinery, including Isolator High Containment systems, filling systems, and bespoke equipment, engineered and manufactured to specific customer requirements and process specifications.

Quantifiable outcome

• Batch feeding of 60 mg powder with ±3% tolerance (±1.8 mg) successfully achieved using ZD 5 FB feeder
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Ruhr-Universität Bochum (Prof. Dr. Borchardt / Viviene Chantrain)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Research collaboration using Three-Tec ZE 12 extruder for mechanochemistry applications. Viviene Chantrain and team developed first direct mechanocatalytic reaction protocol for Suzuki-Miyaura coupling via twin-screw extrusion. Three-Tec provided equipment support and technical consultation for the research project. Results published in scientific paper.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Thermo Fisher Scientific (Process Instruments): Provides extrusion and process equipment through its Pharma Services and Production Chemicals segments, including hot melt extrusion systems used in pharmaceutical development and manufacturing.
• Bühler Group: Swiss-headquartered global manufacturer of food processing and feed equipment including extrusion systems; comparable geographic base but vastly larger scale and broader portfolio serving food industry customers.
• GEA Group: German global manufacturer of process equipment for food, pharma, and chemical industries; offers feeding, mixing, and processing systems that overlap with Three-Tec's portfolio as part of much larger integrated solutions.
• Steer Group: Manufacturer of twin-screw extruders and processing equipment for food, pharma, plastics, and specialty chemicals; broader product range and stronger global presence than Three-Tec.
• Coperion (Hillenbrand): Global leader in compounding and extrusion technology for plastics, food, and pharma; competing primarily at production scale but also offering laboratory extruders.
• Leistritz Extrusionstechnik: German manufacturer of twin-screw extruders serving pharmaceutical, food, and chemical industries at laboratory through production scales; broader portfolio with strong installed base.
• Entek Extruders: Manufacturer of twin-screw extruders for plastics compounding and material processing; serves similar production-scale markets but with limited presence in laboratory and pharmaceutical segments.

Direct peers

• Brabender Technologie: German manufacturer of dosing, feeding, and extrusion equipment including laboratory extruders; overlapping product lines in gravimetric feeders and twin-screw extruders for process engineering.
• Rondol Technology: UK-based manufacturer of laboratory and pilot twin-screw extruders serving pharmaceutical, food, and chemical R&D customers — direct competition in the small-batch extruder niche.
• Xplore Instruments: Dutch manufacturer of small-scale twin-screw extruders for R&D and pilot production, closely overlapping with Three-Tec's ZE laboratory extruder range in pharma and chemical applications.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInch.linkedin.com/company/three-tec

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 Three-Tec