What Piab Group does

Piab Group is a Swedish-headquartered industrial technology company founded in 1951 and headquartered in Danderyd, Sweden, specializing in vacuum-based automation for gripping, lifting, and moving materials. The group operates through ten brands organized into four divisions — Vacuum Automation (Piab, Kenos, Joulin, Coval), Lifting Automation (TAWI, Manut-LM, Alum-a-Lift), Vacuum Conveying (Piab, IB Verfahrens-technik), and a dedicated China Division (Piab, Airbest, FeiYun). Core technology is vacuum generation driven by compressed air or electricity, deployed in suction cups, foam and soft grippers, end-of-arm tooling (EOAT), ergonomic vacuum tube lifters, mobile lifters, and piFLOW modular vacuum conveyors for powders and granules. The company holds 65+ patents and pursues hardware innovation alongside digital services through its proprietary piDIGITAL cloud platform, IoT-connected vacuum pumps and conveyors, the internal 'Pixie' generative-AI tool, and a strategic partnership with Cognite for predictive maintenance.

The business model is primarily B2B hardware sales of vacuum automation components and systems, distributed via direct sales subsidiaries in 25+ countries and a network of 900+ channel partners reaching customers in 100+ countries. Pricing is quote-based and project-specific, varying by configuration, volume, and industry. Customer segments span twelve verticals including Automotive, Battery, Chemical, Electronics, FMCG, Food & Beverage, Logistics, Metal Additive Manufacturing, Pharma, Plastics, Packaging, and Wood. Piab is a private company fully owned by Patricia Industries (part of Investor AB / Wallenberg sphere) since 2018, with net sales of approximately 3.4 billion SEK (~USD $320-340M) and 1,500+ employees as of the most recent reporting.

The company has pursued an active acquisition strategy under prior CEO Peter Laurin (2022-2026), completing six acquisitions including Manut-LM, Joulin, COVAL, IB Verfahrens-technik, Tianjin FeiYun, and Alum-a-Lift to broaden its technology and geographic footprint. As of May 1, 2026, Bengt Thorsson serves as interim CEO following Laurin's departure by mutual agreement. Most recently, organic sales declined 3% in constant currency in Q4 2025 amid margin pressure from FX, tariffs, and SEK 37M in restructuring charges, indicating that headline growth has been heavily M&A-driven while underlying demand has softened in cyclical end markets.

Name

Piab Group

Legal name

Piab Group AB

Website

https://piabgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1951

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Piab Group is a Swedish-headquartered industrial technology company that designs and sells vacuum-based gripping, lifting, and conveying automation components under ten brands, serving manufacturers and logistics operators in over 100 countries through direct sales subsidiaries and 900+ channel partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial vacuum automation equipment

NAICS

Other General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing (3339), Material Handling Equipment Manufacturing (33392), Overhead Traveling Crane, Hoist, and Monorail System Manufacturing (333923)

SIC

General Industrial Machinery & Equipment (3560), General Industrial Machinery & Equipment, Nec (3569), Misc Industrial & Commercial Machinery & Equipment (3590)

akta.pro primary industry

Vacuum Systems & Components (Vacuum Pumps, Ejectors, Cups, Grippers) (IMAHAGAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Bulk Material Handling Systems (Belt Conveyors, Feeders, Stackers, Reclaimers) (IMAHABAH), Controls, Monitoring & Condition Management (for Pumps/Compressors) (IMAHANAI), Motion & Machine Control (CNC, Robotics Controllers, Servo/Motion Controllers) (IMAGABAG)

Keywords

• Vacuum automation products
• Robotic gripping solutions
• Ergonomic lifting equipment
• Vacuum conveying systems
• Industrial material handling

Headquarters

HQ city

Danderyd

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices15 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Hardware Product Sales: Sale of vacuum automation equipment including vacuum pumps, suction cups, grippers, conveyors, tube lifters, hoists, and robotic end-of-arm tooling. Products are sold through direct subsidiaries and channel partners globally.
2. Vacuum Automation Products: Vacuum pumps, suction cups, large area vacuum grippers, cobot gripping solutions, tooling solutions and mechanical grippers under brands Piab, Joulin, Kenos, and Coval.
3. Lifting Automation Products: Vacuum tube lifters, mobile vacuum lifters, hoists, overhead systems, lifting trolleys and container unloaders under brands TAWI, Manut-LM, and Alum-a-Lift.
4. Vacuum Conveying Products: Vacuum conveying systems and spare parts/accessories for powder and bulk material handling.
5. Smart Services and Digital Subscriptions: Connected services including 'Delight' service for fleet asset management, full traceability data, eCommerce spare parts purchasing, software subscriptions, and monitoring services leveraging piDIGITAL platform.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Piab Group manufactures and sells vacuum-technology-powered industrial automation equipment under multiple brands, organized into gripping solutions (suction cups, foam grippers, EOAT systems), lifting solutions (vacuum tube lifters, hoists, lifting trolleys, ergonomic lifters), and moving solutions (modular vacuum conveyors for powders, granules and small parts). It serves manufacturers in automotive, battery, food & beverage, pharma, logistics, packaging, plastics, electronics and additive manufacturing through direct subsidiaries and a 900+ channel partner network, with growing digital services on its piDIGITAL cloud platform and embedded Cognite partnership for real-time monitoring and predictive maintenance.

Product overview

Piab Group is a world-leading industrial tech company with ten expert brands organized into four divisions: Vacuum Automation, Lifting Automation, Vacuum Conveying, and China Division. The portfolio centers on vacuum technology-powered solutions for gripping (Piab, Kenos, Joulin, Coval), lifting (TAWI, Manut-LM, Alum-a-Lift), and moving materials (piFLOW vacuum conveyors, IB Verfahrens-technik, FeiYun, Airbest). Key products include piCOBOT Electric (fully electric cobot gripper), piSOFTGRIP (soft grippers), piFLOW conveyor systems, and the AI-powered Pixie internal tool. The group serves over 100 countries across automotive, food & beverage, pharma, logistics, battery, and additive manufacturing industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Piab: Core brand providing intelligent flow to materials and skills to robots and machines through vacuum technology and gripping solutions.
• Tawi
• Joulin
• Kenos
• Coval
• Manut-LM
• IB Verfahrens- und Anlagentechnik
• Airbest
• Alum-a-Lift
• Tianjin FeiYun Powder Equipment

Products and services

• Piab vacuum automation products Core Piab brand offering vacuum pumps, suction cups, robotic gripping solutions and vacuum conveying systems that give skills to robots and machines and provide intelligent flow to materials. Used by industrial manufacturers across automotive, packaging, plastics and aeronautics.
• piCOBOT Electric Fully electric vacuum gripper platform designed for cobots and small industrial robots, offering high lifting performance without compressed air. Targets logistics and warehousing automation.
• piSOFTGRIP Soft gripper technology for handling delicate and irregularly shaped objects in food, packaging and logistics applications.
• piFLOW (piFLOWp, piFLOW AM) Modular vacuum conveyor range for moving powders, granules and small parts in production lines. Covers 3-56L batch volume with up to 15 tonnes per hour material handling capacity.
• Kenos vacuum grippers Kenos vacuum grippers designed to securely move all objects as standard or configured robot end-effectors. Expanded line uses lightweight recycled aluminum with integrated energy saving, reducing air consumption by up to 33%.
• Joulin vacuum gripping systems Joulin, the inventor of the foam vacuum gripper, manufactures handling systems from simple foam vacuum grippers integrated into palletizing robots to complete turnkey stacker systems for the wood industry.
• Coval vacuum handling Coval designs, manufactures and markets vacuum automation components and systems for handling in packaging, automotive, plastics and aeronautics industries, including suction cups, vacuum pumps and grippers.
• TAWI lifting equipment TAWI lifting equipment moves customers from manual handling to smart lifting solutions in production, logistics and distribution. Range includes vacuum tube lifters, mobile vacuum lifters, hoists, overhead systems, lifting trolleys and container unloaders.
• Manut-LM tube lifting solutions French leading tube lifting company. Designs, manufactures and distributes lifting tube handling solutions that help manufacturers reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders and improve productivity.
• Alum-a-Lift ergonomic lifting equipment Develops and produces ergonomic lifting equipment including advanced electric lifting trolleys for use in semiconductor, aerospace and logistics industries, from single custom units to entire lifting systems.
• IB Verfahrens- und Anlagentechnik bulk material systems Develops and builds customer-specific turnkey systems for filling, emptying, metering and conveying bulk materials. Partner in additive manufacturing providing ultra-sonic sieving and reclaim machines.
• Airbest vacuum components Provides a wide selection of vacuum components for automation serving customers in the Chinese market under the China Division.
• Tianjin FeiYun vacuum conveyors Provides vacuum conveyors for transporting bulk materials such as powders and granulates, and complementary products for weighing material. Serves additive manufacturing, battery, chemical, food & beverage and pharma industries.
• piDIGITAL platform In-house developed public cloud-based platform operating with open RESTful APIs, acting as a big-data store for enterprise and digital data and enabling creation of solutions in MVP fashion. Powers digital services including 'Delight' asset management, full traceability, eCommerce spare parts and predictive-maintenance monitoring.
• Piab smart services and digital subscriptions Connected digital services including the Delight fleet asset management service, full traceability data, eCommerce spare-parts purchasing, software subscriptions and monitoring services that leverage the piDIGITAL platform and embedded Cognite Data Fusion integration for real-time equipment monitoring and anomaly detection.

Quantifiable outcome

• Kenos vacuum gripper made from lightweight recycled aluminum with integrated energy saving function reduces air consumption and environmental impact by up to 33%
• +2 more outcomes

Segments12 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• CognitecoreTechnology or Integration · 8 April 2025Piab Group and Cognite entered a strategic embedded partnership where Piab Group embeds Cognite Data Fusion® into its offerings to enable real-time equipment monitoring, anomaly detection, and predictive maintenance for vacuum systems. The partnership addresses unplanned downtime and inefficient maintenance, allowing Piab to scale digital services across Food & Beverage, Warehouse & Logistics, and Pharmaceuticals industries. A pilot was demonstrated at PackExpo using Cognite's Industrial Canvas.
• KTH Royal Institute of TechnologysupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 October 2024Piab Group collaborates with KTH Royal Institute of Technology, particularly with Professor Danica Kragic Jensfelt in AI, robotics, and machine learning. The collaboration focuses on exploring how AI, robotics, and machine learning can transform industrial automation, including humanoid robots, advanced sensing, and automation of tasks involving soft and deformable objects.
• HöganäscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 February 2022Piab and Höganäs formed a partnership to advance automation in Additive Manufacturing, combining Piab's piFLOW® vacuum conveying solutions with Höganäs' metal powder expertise. Together they develop bespoke solutions for metal powder management in 3D printing applications, including filling printers, sieving, hopper filling, and powder reclaiming. Solutions are printer-agnostic and cater to powder bed fusion, binder jetting, and laser sintering technologies.
• WASP – Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software ProgramsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerWASP (Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program) collaborates with Piab Group on research in AI, autonomous systems, and software. Piab participates in WASP-funded research programs alongside Swedish universities including KTH, Chalmers, Linköping, Uppsala, and others.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• OnRobot: Focused provider of collaborative-robot end-of-arm tooling including vacuum and soft grippers, overlapping with Piab's cobot gripping solutions.
• Piezosystem / Soft Robotics: Develops soft/adaptive grippers for handling delicate and irregular objects, intersecting Piab's piSOFTGRIP soft-gripping technology.

Broad incumbents

• Festo: Broad industrial automation supplier with vacuum generators, grippers and handling systems, overlapping Piab's vacuum and gripping lines as part of a wider catalog.
• Atlas Copco: Swedish industrial group with vacuum pump and compressed-air technologies; overlaps Piab's vacuum generation within a far larger diversified portfolio.
• SMC Corporation: Global pneumatics giant offering vacuum ejectors, pads and components within a much broader automation portfolio overlapping Piab's vacuum products.

Direct peers

• SCHUNK: Leading maker of gripping systems and end-of-arm tooling for robots and cobots, directly overlapping with Piab's Kenos/piCOBOT gripping portfolio.
• J. Schmalz GmbH: German market leader in vacuum gripping, ejectors, suction cups and vacuum lifting systems; competes head-to-head with Piab across gripping and lifting automation.
• Zimmer Group: Supplies grippers and handling components for industrial automation and robotics, competing in Piab's core gripping/EOAT category.
• Gimatic (Barnes Group): Specialist in grippers, vacuum components and end-of-arm tooling for robotic automation, closely comparable to Piab's gripping business.
• DESTACO (Dover): Manufactures grippers, end effectors and automation tooling for material handling, comparable to Piab's gripping and EOAT offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/piab-group
• Xx.com/PIABUSA
• Facebookfacebook.com/PiabVacuum

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Subsidiaries6 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 Piab Group