Rurex-stahl Dr. Otto Kukla Gmbh

What Rurex-stahl Dr. Otto Kukla Gmbh does

Rurex-stahl Dr. Otto Kukla GmbH is a German industrial engineering firm headquartered in Gelsenkirchen that designs, manufactures, and supplies specialized machinery, tooling, and wear parts for the glass industry. Founded in October 1949 and operating as a private limited company (GmbH), the firm employs approximately 17 people at its single location and serves glass producers globally across three application areas: container (hollow) glass, flat glass, and glass recycling.

The company's product portfolio is organized into two principal lines — Hohlglas (container glass) and Flachglas (flat glass) — with engineering capabilities spanning precision components, online measurement systems, and process control instrumentation. Named proprietary technologies include HVF cast material, the OGM (Online Glass Thickness Measurement) system, RMBC (Roller Measuring and Bending Control), and a patented counterweight system, indicating the firm positions itself as a technology-led engineering supplier rather than a commodity parts vendor.

The business model is built on direct B2B sales to industrial glass manufacturers, with a heavily export-oriented revenue mix: more than 80% of revenue is generated outside Germany and more than 70% of total sales are directed to non-EU markets. With annual revenue of approximately €4 million and current Managing Director Florian Zapadtka, Rurex-stahl is a small specialist supplier whose revenue base depends on industrial capex programs and wear-part replacement cycles across a globally distributed, though likely concentrated at the plant level, customer set of glass producers.

Name

Rurex-stahl Dr. Otto Kukla Gmbh

Legal name

RUREX-STAHL Dr. Otto Kukla GmbH

Website

https://rurex.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1949

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Rurex-stahl Dr. Otto Kukla GmbH, founded in 1949 in Gelsenkirchen, designs and manufactures specialized machinery, tooling, and wear parts for container glass, flat glass, and glass recycling. The 17-employee firm exports over 80% of output, mainly to non-EU markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Glass Manufacturing Equipment

NAICS

Flat Glass Manufacturing (327211), Glass Container Manufacturing (327213), Glass and Glass Product Manufacturing (3272)

SIC

Flat Glass (3211), Glass & Glassware, Pressed Or Blown (3220)

akta.pro primary industry

Flat Glass (Float/Sheet/Plate) Manufacturing (IMADAHAA)

Keywords

• Glass production machinery
• Container glass spare parts
• Flat glass equipment
• Wear resistant components
• Glass recycling systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Gelsenkirchen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Glass Manufacturing Machines: Sale of customized machines for solar glass, cast glass, wired glass, and profiled glass production. Includes assembly and commissioning services performed by experienced and innovative team.
2. Wear Parts and Spare Components: Worldwide supply of wear-resistant and heat-resistant spare parts for hollow glass and flat glass production, including shearblades, flatsprings, deadplates, orifice ring holders, rollers, and glass recycling equipment.
3. Assembly and Commissioning Services: Professional services for machine assembly and commissioning at customer locations worldwide.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

RUREX-STAHL designs and manufactures custom machines and wear-resistant components for the global glass industry. The portfolio includes complete production lines for solar glass, cast glass, wired glass, and profiled (U-glass) production, plus heat- and wear-resistant spare parts (shear blades, flat springs, dead plates, orifice ring holders) for high-performance IS container glass machines, along with glass recycling equipment. The company also provides worldwide assembly and commissioning services for the machines it builds.

Product overview

RUREX-STAHL is a worldwide operating manufacturer of customized machines and components for the glass industry, operating as a single unified product portfolio rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The product range is organized into two main product groups: (1) Container Glass (Hohlglas) products including shear blades (Scherenmesser), flat springs (Flachfedern), dead plates (Übergabeplatten), and orifice ring holders (Tropfringhalter) for IS machines; and (2) Flat Glass (Flachglas) products including cast glass machines (Gussglasmaschinen), profile glass machines (Profilglasmaschinen), rollers (Walzen), roller cleaning systems, and glass recycling equipment. The portfolio also includes specialized subsystems like the patented counterweight system for main rollers, online glass thickness measurement (OGM), and roller measuring/bending control (RMBC). The company supplies both complete production lines and individual spare parts using wear and heat-resistant HVF cast material.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Shear Blades (Scherenmesser) Feeder knives and shear blades made from corrosion-resistant special steels for highest performance, precision, and quality in drop cutting on container glass IS machines. Available in various special designs including wave-shaped cutting edges, cooling slots, and HSS solid blades.
• Flat Springs (Flachfedern) Flat springs for neck ring holders available in stainless steel or Ultra grades, providing consistent high spring force and long service life. Also available in pressure spring variants.
• Dead Plates (Übergabeplatten) Dead plates made from fully hardened stainless steel offering extremely long tool life and high productivity, manufactured to individual customer specifications for container glass production.
• Orifice Ring Holders (Tropfringhalter) Orifice ring holders made from heat-resistant stainless steel castings in solid single-block construction, offering extremely long service life, high efficiency, and no distortion. Available in 5", 7", 9" and 10" sizes.
• Cast Glass Machines (Gussglasmaschinen) New generation machines for solar, ornament, and wired glass production with frequency-controlled drives, synchronized main rollers, maintenance-free bearings, and automatic wire mesh unwinding. Gross width: 1,600mm to max. 3,000mm; melting capacity: 60 to 300 tons/day.
• Profile Glass Machines (Profilglasmaschinen) Infinitely variable machines for all profile widths from 220-500mm with frequency-controlled drives and maintenance-free bearings. Produces U-glasses per DIN/EN (U22, U30 to U50) with gross width approximately 800mm and melting capacity approximately 40 tons/day.
• Rollers (Walzen) All roller types including main rollers (plain and engraved), transport rollers, table rollers, lehr rollers, forming rollers, smoothing rollers, and aggregate rollers (ceramic coated or borated). Wall thickness tolerance control: +/- 0.1mm max.
• Glass Recycling Equipment (Glasrecycling) Glass crushers for reprocessing all flat glasses including wired glass, laminated glass, ornament glass, automotive glass, and bulletproof glass with complete wire and metal separation using highly wear-resistant HVF cast material.

Quantifiable outcome

• Online glass thickness measurement system enables continuous quality control during production
• +1 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Bottero: Italian manufacturer of glass processing machinery for flat glass (cutting, breaking, laminating) and hollow glass. Comparable to RUREX in offering customized machines, spare parts, and global field service for the glass industry.
• LiSEC: Austrian manufacturer of flat-glass processing lines for cutting, edging, insulating glass, and laminating. Comparable to RUREX as a mid-sized specialized machinery OEM serving global flat-glass fabricators with engineering-led solutions.
• Heye International: German specialist in container-glass production technology with a focus on IS machine performance, gob delivery, and process optimization. Direct peer to RUREX's hollow-glass segment in serving global bottle and jar manufacturers with engineering services and components.
• Glaston: Finnish-listed supplier of glass processing machines and services for architectural, automotive, and solar/display glass. Most direct global competitor to RUREX in flat-glass and solar-glass machinery, with overlapping product lines in tempering, laminating, and architectural glass equipment.
• Bucher Emhart Glass: Swiss/US-based supplier of container-glass manufacturing equipment, including IS machine technology, inspection systems, and spare parts. Directly comparable to RUREX's container-glass (Hohlglas) division in supplying wear parts and engineering to IS machine operators.
• Horn Glass Industries: German specialist engineering firm supplying complete glass-melting plants, container-glass production lines, and forehearth technology. Closely comparable to RUREX in serving hollow-glass producers with customized equipment, IS machine feeding technology, and turnkey plant capabilities.
• Grenzebach: German-based supplier of machinery and automation for flat-glass production, including glass sorting, conveying, and finishing systems. Overlaps with RUREX in serving flat-glass manufacturers with capital equipment and process know-how.
• Forglass: Polish-based engineering firm supplying glass furnace technology, batch plants, and container-glass production equipment. Comparable niche specialty OEM with similar customer profile to RUREX, particularly across Eastern European and emerging-market glass producers.

Broad incumbents

• Saint-Gobain: French multinational and one of the world's largest glass producers, which also develops proprietary glass-manufacturing equipment internally. Represents the broad-incumbent end of the customer/competitor spectrum, sourcing similar machinery specifications that RUREX competes to fulfill.
• Bystronic Glass: Swiss-based division of Bystronic supplying comprehensive flat-glass processing solutions (cutting, breaking, stacking, insulating-glass lines). A larger, broader-line incumbent that competes with RUREX on the architectural-glass side but operates at significantly greater scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rurex-stahl-dr.-otto-kukla-gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Rurex-stahl Dr. Otto Kukla Gmbh