Sigma Engineering AB
Sigma Engineering AB is a Swedish private firm that designs, sells, and services Mecer industrial systems for closed-loop etchant regeneration and copper recovery at printed circuit board manufacturers worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1978
- HeadquartersKarlstad, Sweden
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Sigma Engineering AB does
Sigma Engineering AB is a privately held Swedish industrial equipment company headquartered in Karlstad, founded in the 1960s as a process-industry consultancy and repositioned in 1978 around its proprietary Mecer technology for etchant regeneration and copper recovery in printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing. The firm designs, builds, and services capital equipment — primarily the Mecer System and Oxidation Reactor System — that regenerates both alkaline and acidic etchants in a closed loop, recovers pure copper sheets as a by-product via solvent extraction and electrowinning, and replaces conventional hydrogen peroxide with oxygen-based oxidation covered by multiple granted patents.
The company monetizes through three streams: one-time capital sales of equipment systems and auxiliary components (buffer tanks, automation, control units, spare parts, consumables), plus tiered multi-year service contracts (Basic, Standard, Premium) that add remote diagnostics, trend analysis, on-site maintenance, training, and laboratory chemical analysis. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales executed via a five-partner global agent network — CHEMPLATE (Spain), STEPAN (Central & Eastern Europe), IEC (North America), SCB Interconnection (India), and AGES (Taiwan and Eastern Asia) — supplemented by Sigma direct sales for Western Europe, Africa, and South America.
With 11 employees, 100+ systems installed across four continents over 40+ years, and no disclosed funding rounds or external investors, Sigma operates as a niche, founder-controlled specialist whose competitive position rests on patented chemical-process IP, long-lifecycle installed assets, and recurring service revenue from PCB manufacturers facing tightening environmental compliance.
Sigma Engineering AB firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sigma Engineering AB
- Legal name
- Sigma Engineering AB
- Website
- https://sigma-mecer.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1978
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Sigma Engineering AB is a Swedish private firm that designs, sells, and services Mecer industrial systems for closed-loop etchant regeneration and copper recovery at printed circuit board manufacturers worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sigma Engineering AB industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Industrial Etchant Regeneration & Copper Recovery Equipment
- NAICS
- Industrial Machinery Manufacturing (33324)
- SIC
- Special Industry Machinery (No Metalworking Machinery) (3550)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Copper Refining (Electrorefining & Fire Refining) (IMAKADAF)
Keywords
Where Sigma Engineering AB is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Karlstad
- HQ country
- Sweden
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Sigma Engineering AB business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Equipment and System Sales: Sale of industrial equipment systems including the Mecer System for etchant regeneration, Oxidation Reactor Systems, buffer tanks, automation equipment, and system control units. These are capital equipment purchases for PCB manufacturing facilities.
- Service and Support Contracts: Service packages and technical support including Basic, Standard, and Premium tiers offering system monitoring, trend analysis, remote diagnostics, on-site maintenance, training, and chemical laboratory analysis services.
- Consumables and Spare Parts: Sale of spare parts, consumables, and chemicals required for system operation and maintenance.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Service Package - Basic |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Service Package - Standard |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Service Package - Premium |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels2 records
Sigma Engineering AB product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sigma Engineering AB designs, manufactures, and services the Mecer system — an industrial installation that regenerates alkaline and acidic etchants and recovers pure copper for printed circuit board manufacturers. The offering combines the Oxidation Reactor System (using patented oxygen-gas oxidation in place of hydrogen peroxide) with solvent extraction and electrowinning units, buffer tanks, and control systems, and is complemented by tiered service packages, spare parts, consumables, and technical support delivered either directly or through regional sales agents.
Product overview
Sigma Engineering AB offers the Mecer system, a comprehensive portfolio of equipment and services for copper recycling and printed circuit board manufacturing. The core offering consists of the Mecer System (etchant regeneration system for alkaline and acidic etchant regeneration and copper recycling) and the Oxidation Reactor System (oxygen-based oxidation system for acidic etchant), both supported by auxiliary equipment including buffer tanks, automation equipment, and system control units. These systems are complemented by tiered service packages (Basic, Standard, Premium) providing support levels ranging from basic monitoring to 24/7 unlimited technical support with laboratory chemical analysis. Additional services include on-site maintenance, training, technical consultation, and consumables supply. The company has delivered over 100 Mecer systems across 4 continents since 1978.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Mecer: Equipment for copper recycling and modernization of hardboard plants, specifically for printed circuit board production.
Products and services
- Mecer System Industrial etchant regeneration and copper recycling system for printed circuit board manufacturing; supports closed-loop recycling of both alkaline and acidic etchants and plating of pure copper sheets as a by-product.
- Oxidation Reactor System Oxidation reactor that uniformly mixes and circulates acidic etchant with oxygen gas (from an oxygen generator or gas cylinders) to drive the oxidation reaction, used as part of the Mecer system.
- Buffer Tanks and System Control Units Auxiliary hardware including buffer tanks, automation equipment, and system control units that support the operation of Mecer systems in PCB manufacturing facilities.
- Spare Parts and Consumables Spare parts and chemicals used for maintenance and ongoing operation of Mecer systems, available for purchase individually or with discounts under service contracts.
- Service Package (Basic, Standard, Premium tiers) Tiered multi-year service contracts for installed Mecer systems, ranging from basic monitoring and reporting (Basic) to trend analysis, remote diagnostics, monthly reporting, and 10 hours of free technical support (Standard), up to unlimited 24/7 technical support, laboratory chemical analysis, and a chemical sampling kit (Premium).
- On-site Maintenance and Training Preventive on-site maintenance performed by experienced service technicians, including training of customer staff and creation of customer-specific operational routines for Mecer systems.
- Technical Support and Consultation Remote technical support and consultation from Sigma engineers to help customers resolve operational challenges on their Mecer systems without incurring on-site service costs.
Quantifiable outcome
- 100+ Mecer systems delivered and installed on 4 continents
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Sigma Engineering AB
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Sigma Engineering AB technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Sigma Engineering AB partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- CHEMPLATEcoreCHEMPLATE serves as sales representative for Sigma in Spain, providing local sales support and customer contact for Mecer systems.
- STEPANcoreSTEPAN serves as sales representative for Sigma covering Central & Eastern Europe market, with contact Torsten Kühn.
- IEC (International Equipment Corporation)coreIEC serves as sales representative for Sigma covering North America market, with contact Chuck Williams.
- SCB InterconnectioncoreSCB Interconnection serves as sales representative for Sigma covering India market, with contact Subhash Bhargava.
- AGEScoreAGES serves as sales representative for Sigma covering Taiwan and Eastern Asia market, with contact Albert Yeh.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Sigma Engineering AB competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Aurubis: Aurubis is one of the world's largest copper recyclers and refiners, using electrorefining and electrowinning. It is a broad incumbent peer because Sigma's copper-recovery technology is built on the same electrowinning principles applied at much smaller, distributed scale inside PCB plants.
- Huntsman Corporation (Electronics segment): Huntsman's electronics materials business supplies PCB and semiconductor process chemistry. It is a broad incumbent peer because it serves the same PCB manufacturing customer base with chemistry solutions that span etchants and related process consumables.
- Element Solutions Inc: Element Solutions supplies specialty chemicals and process solutions to the electronics industry, including PCB fabrication. It is a broad incumbent peer because it competes with Sigma in the chemistry and process services serving PCB manufacturers and has the scale to bundle etchant management with other offerings.
- JX Metals (Nippon Mining & Metals): JX Metals is a major copper refiner and supplier of copper materials for the electronics industry. It is comparable because Sigma's electrowinning-based copper recovery competes — at the margin — with refined copper supply from large refiners, and JX also serves PCB and electronics manufacturers as customers.
- DuPont Electronics & Industrial: DuPont's electronics business supplies PCB materials and processing chemistry to global manufacturers. It is a broad incumbent peer because it serves the same PCB manufacturing customer base and offers process chemistry that overlaps with the chemistry space Sigma's Mecer systems serve.
- Atotech (MKS Instruments): Atotech, now part of MKS Instruments, is one of the largest global suppliers of chemistry and equipment for PCB manufacturing. It is directly comparable to Sigma because it supplies the etchants and process solutions that Sigma's Mecer systems regenerate, making it both a complementary and competing supplier to PCB manufacturers.
Emerging players
- ESMA Group: ESMA provides electroplating and metal-finishing equipment and chemistry to industrial customers. It is an emerging-player peer because it overlaps with Sigma's electrowinning and metal-recovery technology base, though it primarily serves surface-finishing rather than PCB-specific etchant regeneration.
Direct peers
- Uyemura International: Uyemura is a global supplier of plating and surface-finishing chemistry for the PCB industry, including etchant-related solutions. It is a direct peer because it competes with Sigma in supplying PCB manufacturers process chemistry and recycling-adjacent capability for copper and etchant management.
- MEC Company: MEC Company is a Japanese supplier of PCB manufacturing equipment and chemistry, including metallization and surface-treatment systems. It is a direct peer because it provides process equipment and consumables to PCB manufacturers in the same value chain that Sigma serves with its Mecer systems.
Regional players
- TIB Chemicals: TIB Chemicals supplies process chemistry and metal recovery solutions to European industrial customers, including segments adjacent to PCB manufacturing. It is a regional peer because it competes in metal-finishing and metal-recovery chemistry relevant to Sigma's etchant regeneration and copper recovery use cases in Europe.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Sigma Engineering AB social profiles
Digital presenceSigma Engineering AB financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sigma Engineering AB leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Sigma Engineering AB funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sigma Engineering AB M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sigma Engineering AB
What does Sigma Engineering AB do?
Sigma Engineering AB designs, manufactures, and services the Mecer system — an industrial installation that regenerates alkaline and acidic etchants and recovers pure copper for printed circuit board manufacturers. The offering combines the Oxidation Reactor System (using patented oxygen-gas oxidation in place of hydrogen peroxide) with solvent extraction and electrowinning units, buffer tanks, and control systems, and is complemented by tiered service packages, spare parts, consumables, and technical support delivered either directly or through regional sales agents.
Is Sigma Engineering AB a public or private company?
Sigma Engineering AB is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Sigma Engineering AB founded?
Sigma Engineering AB was founded in 1978. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Sigma Engineering AB based?
Sigma Engineering AB is headquartered in Karlstad, Sweden, in the Europe region.
How does Sigma Engineering AB make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Equipment and System Sales are the primary driver. The others are service and Support Contracts and consumables and Spare Parts.
Who are Sigma Engineering AB's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Aurubis, Huntsman Corporation (Electronics segment), Element Solutions Inc, JX Metals (Nippon Mining & Metals), DuPont Electronics & Industrial and Atotech (MKS Instruments). ESMA Group is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Uyemura International and MEC Company. TIB Chemicals is listed as a regional player.
Does Sigma Engineering AB have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sigma Engineering AB.
What industry is Sigma Engineering AB in?
Sigma Engineering AB's product category is Industrial Etchant Regeneration & Copper Recovery Equipment. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAKADAF, Copper Refining (Electrorefining & Fire Refining). Its NAICS code is 33324 and its SIC code is 3550.