oilRoq

What oilRoq does

oilRoq GmbH is a privately held German process engineering company founded in 2010 and headquartered in Halle (Saale), with secondary offices in Laufenburg, Germany and a regional office established in 2023 in Hammam Lif, Tunisia. The company specializes in complete plant engineering, component supply, and engineering services for the oleochemical and vegetable oil processing industries, with core technical competencies in hydrogenation, interesterification, esterification, filtration, tank farm design, and reactor technology. Its proprietary offerings include Loop Reactor systems with Venturi-Nozzle mixing for interesterification, Duplex-Nozzle architecture for esterification, vertical pressure leaf filters manufactured in-house since 2010, and a container-based pilot plant at Bitterfeld for customer R&D trials.

oilRoq generates revenue through a mix of one-time complete plant sales, engineering services (process development, basic and detailed engineering), component and equipment supply, professional training, consulting, and usage-based rental of its pilot and test facilities. Plant capacities typically range from 50 to 400 tons per day, with reactor sizes from 100L to 40,000L operating across temperatures from -50°C to +300°C and pressures up to 200 bar. The go-to-market is sales-led and direct, with enterprise clients reached through industry conferences such as FITA in Tunisia, PIPOC in Malaysia, and Leuna Dialog in Germany.

The company is owned and led by founder Eberhard Roquette, a process engineer with more than 40 years of experience in food technology and fine chemical plant design, drawing on prior engineering positions at Krupp, Buss AG, and Sulzer Burckhardt. Customer references include Shell (R&D and ASKAT partnership), C1 (green methanol / Leuna100), an unnamed leading Malaysian vegetable oils company, and an unnamed large Tunisian agro-industrial holding. oilRoq operates without disclosed external funding and combines founder ownership with a small, specialized engineering staff.

Name

oilRoq

Legal name

oilRoq GmbH

Website

https://oilroq.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

oilRoq GmbH is a privately held German process engineering firm specializing in complete plants, proprietary Loop Reactor technology, and engineering services for oleochemical and vegetable oil processing clients worldwide. It serves enterprise customers across Europe, Africa, and Asia under founder ownership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Process Plant Engineering

NAICS

Oil and Gas Field Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing (333132), Petrochemical Manufacturing (32511)

SIC

Oil & Gas Field Machinery & Equipment (3533), Industrial Organic Chemicals (2860)

akta.pro primary industry

Oilfield & Refining Specialty Chemicals (IMAEABAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Oil & Gas Processing & LNG Facility Construction (IMAFADAB), Refinery Offsites, Storage & Loading (Tankage, Truck/Rail/Marine Loading) (EUALAGAK)

Keywords

• Process plant engineering
• Oleochemical processing
• Hydrogenation technology
• Vegetable oil refining
• Reaction engineering

Headquarters

HQ city

Halle

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Complete Plant Sales and Delivery: Design, manufacture and delivery of complete production plants for oleochemical and vegetable oil processing industries
2. Engineering Services: Process development, basic-engineering and detail-engineering services for process plant design
3. Test Facility Rental: Rental of test facilities and pilot plants on daily or weekly basis for R&D purposes
4. Plant Components and Equipment: Supply of individual components including reactors, filters, heat exchangers, samplers, catalyst dosing systems, and other equipment
5. Training Services: Training programs in hydrogenation, interesterification, safety assessment, reaction technology, and filtration technology
6. Consulting Services: Technical consulting for oleochemical plant design, operation, and optimization based on staff's extensive industry experience

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

oilRoq designs, engineers, manufactures and delivers complete processing plants and individual components for the oleochemical, vegetable oil and specialty chemical industries, centered on hydrogenation, interesterification, esterification, filtration and tank-farm technologies. Alongside these physical systems, the firm provides engineering services covering process development, basic and detail engineering, project management, erection supervision, commissioning, training and R&D, including rental of its container-based pilot/test facility in Bitterfeld.

Product overview

oilRoq GmbH is a specialized process engineering company offering a comprehensive portfolio of chemical plant technologies and engineering services. Their core products consist of six major process technologies: Hydrogenation Technology, Interesterification Technology, Esterification Technology, Tank Farm Technology, Filtration Technology, and Reactor Technology, all complemented by Testing Facilities/Pilot Plants for R&D. These are complemented by engineering services including plant engineering, safety assessment, R&D, training, and consulting. The product range spans complete plant systems for oleo-chemical and vegetable oil processing (50-400 t/d capacity) down to individual components such as catalyst handling equipment, filters, and thermal systems. The company provides full lifecycle support from process development through basic/detailed engineering to commissioning and training.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hydrogenation Technology Tailor-made solutions for hydrogenation of vegetable oils, fats and fatty acids, using classical stirred-tank reactors or modern Loop-Reactor Systems for capacities from 50 t/d to 400 t/d. Offered to enterprise oleochemical and vegetable oil processors worldwide.
• Interesterification Technology Interesterification technology for oils and fats using Loop Reactor designs with a special Venturi-Nozzle for accelerated reaction, providing superior mixing rates, less soap formation and quicker heating and cooling. Targets food, oleochemical and specialty fat producers.
• Esterification Technology Esterification solutions for oils and fats with free fatty acid content from 15% to 85% down to 1–2%, using Loop Reactors with proprietary Duplex-Nozzle Technology for plant capacities of 50 t/d to 400 t/d. Serves cosmetics, food additives and specialty chemical producers.
• Tank Farm Technology Design, construction, and commissioning of tank farms for crude, semi-finished and finished products in vegetable oil processing, including storage with the lean contamination-free design required for margarine production.
• Filtration Technology Plants for filtration in oleochemistry and vegetable oil processing, including in-house manufactured vertical pressure leaf filters (5–55 m²) with dry, wet, or combination discharge, plus candle filters with metal or textile candles and bag-type filters. Produced in-house since 2010.
• Reactor Technology Broad reactor portfolio including stirred-tank reactors and loop reactors (10 L to 50 m³) for oleochemical and vegetable oil applications, with temperature range -50 °C to +250 °C, process pressure up to 50 bar, available in mild steel and stainless steel; broader reference list covers vessels from 100 L up to 40,000 L, -30 °C to +300 °C, up to 200 bar.
• Testing Facilities / Pilot Plants Container-based test facility with loop reactor and post-filtration unit for esterification, hydrogenation and interesterification R&D; active volume 30–120 L, pressure up to 35 bar, temperature up to 230 °C. Available for rent on daily or weekly basis from the Bitterfeld location.
• Engineering Services Process development, basic engineering and detailed engineering for filtration plants, pumping stations, gas distribution networks and catalytic processes, delivered by dedicated project managers to industrial customers.
• Safety Assessment Hydrogenation Expertise in design, construction and operation of hydrogenation and hydrogen generation plants, including explosion prevention philosophies and hydrogen hazard assessment.
• Research and Development Services R&D services using oilRoq's test facilities for developing new products, testing parameter changes, and producing product samples in oleochemistry, cooking oil technology and special chemistry. Rented to external customers on daily or weekly basis.
• Training Training programs covering hydrogenation, interesterification, safety assessment, reaction technology and filtration technology, drawn from decades of engineering and operating experience in vegetable oil production and processing.
• Consulting Technical consulting for oleochemical plant design, operation and optimization, drawing on know-how in hydrogenation, interesterification, esterification, reaction technology and vegetable oil processing.

Quantifiable outcome

• Plants with capacities from 50 t/d up to 400 t/d
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Antwerp Declaration SignatoriesminorOthers · 3 June 2024oilRoq GmbH signed the Antwerp Declaration alongside 1000+ industry leaders representing €550+ billion in value added and 7.8+ million workers, urging European decision-makers to prioritize a European industrial deal.
• DDDminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 April 2024Filter partner that exhibited together with oilRoq at Leuna Dialog 2024, presenting joint capabilities in filtration technology for chemical processing applications.
• C1coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 April 2024Customer partner in the Leuna100 project for green methanol production. C1 gave a presentation about their common project at Leuna Dialog 2024, indicating a strong working relationship in sustainable chemistry development.
• Institute for Non-Classical Chemistry e.V.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 January 2024Project sponsor for the ASKAT project (catalytically produced formic acid). The institute leads this federally funded research initiative with oilRoq as an industrial partner providing engineering expertise.
• Shell Catalysts & Technologies Leuna GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2022Network/cooperation partner in the federally funded ASKAT project for catalytically produced formic acid. Project involves demonstration of a cost-effective, climate-neutral process for formic acid production based on bio-based carbon.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Andritz: Andritz is a broad industrial process and plant supplier with separation, reaction, and refining technologies used in oil, fats, and chemical industries. Competes with oilRoq in selected equipment packages and full-plant EPC scopes.
• Sulzer: Sulzer supplies pumps, mixers, separation, and chemical process equipment including reactors used in oleochemistry. An incumbent where founder Roquette previously worked (Sulzer Burckhardt); competes at the component/reactor level for oleochemical plants.
• Alfa Laval: Alfa Laval supplies heat exchangers, separators, filters, and fluid-handling equipment widely used in oils/fats, oleochemical and HPC plants. An incumbent process-equipment supplier that competes with oilRoq in reactor and filtration packages as part of a broader portfolio.
• GEA Group: GEA engineers process plants and components for food, dairy, oils/fats, and chemical applications, including separation and reaction technologies. A broad incumbent that competes for oleochemical and vegetable-oil process packages.
• Wintershall Dea / Lurgi heritage EPC: Large energy/chemical EPCs with oleochemical and hydrogenation track records tied to former Lurgi capabilities. Source of high-value, multi-year oleochemical plant orders against which oilRoq must position its specialist niche.

Direct peers

• Desmet Ballestra: Desmet Ballestra is a global leader in process engineering and plant construction for oils, fats, oleochemistry, and bioenergy. Closest direct competitor to oilRoq across hydrogenation, interesterification, esterification, and edible-oil refining plant scopes.
• Bühler Group: Bühler designs plants and equipment for grain processing, oilseed preparation, and food/feed industry with overlapping edible-oil and oilseed-refining capabilities. Directly comparable on vegetable oil processing plant engineering and filtration.
• Crown Iron Works: Crown Iron Works provides oilseed preparation, extraction, and refining process equipment and engineering globally. A direct competitor for oilseed/vegetable-oil plant projects, particularly in edible-oil and hydrogenation contexts where oilRoq also operates.
• Harburg-Freudenberger (HF Group): HF Group provides machinery and plants for oilseed processing, fats, oils and animal-feed industry including hydrogenation and related process systems. A direct, more specialized peer competing in fat/oil processing plant engineering.
• Buss ChemTech: Buss ChemTech (successor to Buss AG, where founder Roquette worked) supplies process plants for chemical and oleochemical applications including hydrogenation and esterification. Direct competitor in oleochemical reaction technology and plant engineering, with strong technical overlap to oilRoq.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/oilroq

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 oilRoq