Friess GmbH

What Friess GmbH does

Friess GmbH is a privately held German industrial-equipment manufacturer founded in 1974 and headquartered in Monheim am Rhein, Germany. The company develops, designs, and manufactures systems for cleaning industrial process fluids across five proprietary product lines: oil skimmers (belt-type removal of floating oils and greases), magnetic filters (consumable-free particle removal using magnetic attraction), oil separators (removal of emulsified, non-floating oils and fats), electrostatic oil cleaning systems (purification of hydraulic and non-conductive liquids), and oil dewatering systems (separation of water from oil). The underlying technology is rooted in mechanical and physical separation principles rather than chemical or AI-based processes.

The company serves primarily enterprise industrial customers across three core verticals — CNC machining and metalworking, automotive OEMs and tier suppliers, and general industrial manufacturing — with adjacent exposure to steel and heavy-metal production. Reference customers disclosed on the company website and materials include Audi, BMW Group, Mini, ZF, BOCK, BPW, ArcelorMittal, Sonplas, Mayfran International, Outotec, Brückner, KELLER, Duerr, GMH, KME, WHQ, and Dr. Baus. The company states more than 10,000 projects have been delivered worldwide across its approximately 50-year operating history.

Friess generates revenue through one-time sales of capital equipment, with pricing not publicly disclosed and quotes provided via phone or email consultation. The go-to-market combines direct enterprise field sales — supported by a US toll-free number and dedicated sales email — with a global distribution-partner network that can be searched by region on the company website. Localization is signaled through multilingual web properties including dedicated English, French, Turkish, and Chinese (friess.cn) experiences. Headcount is reported in the 1–10 employee range, and there is no public funding history, no disclosed institutional investors, and no parent company, consistent with a traditional German mittelstand operating model.

Name

Friess GmbH

Legal name

Friess GmbH

Website

https://friess.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Wörth Am Rhein

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Industrial Equipment Sales: Sale of fluid cleaning equipment and systems including oil skimmers, magnetic filters, oil separators, electrostatic oil cleaners, and oil dewatering systems. Products are manufactured in Germany and sold globally.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Friess GmbH develops, designs, and manufactures industrial fluid cleaning systems in Germany, offering five product lines: oil skimmers for floating oils/greases, magnetic filters for consumable-free particle removal, oil separators for non-floating oils and emulsions, electrostatic oil cleaners for hydraulic oil and non-conductive liquids, and oil dewatering systems for water removal. The company sells these manufactured systems worldwide to industrial manufacturers under the FRIESS Fluid Cleaning Systems brand.

Product overview

FRIESS is a Fluid Cleaning Made in Germany company offering five core product lines for industrial fluid purification: Oil Skimmers for removing floating oils and greases from process liquids, Magnetic Filters for consumable-free particle removal, Oil Separators for non-floating oils and emulsified contamination, Electrostatic Oil Cleaning systems for hydraulic oil purification in non-conductive liquids, and Oil Dewatering systems for removing water from oil. These products work together to reduce oil consumption by up to 90%, extend machine and tool service life, and optimize industrial processes while reducing operating costs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Oil Skimmer Industrial belt-type oil skimmers that remove floating oils and greases from process liquids. Multiple models including the S100 for process wastewater pretreatment and the 1U for small emulsion containers. Designed for industrial manufacturers needing to skim floating contamination from coolants and process liquids.
• Magnetic Filter Particle removal systems using magnetic attraction without consumables, designed to clean cooling lubricants, washing and cooling water, and fuels. Used by industrial manufacturers (e.g., Audi, BMW Group, ArcelorMittal) for consumable-free particle filtration.
• Oil Separators Separator systems that remove oils and fats that do not float on liquids, handling emulsified contamination. Includes Skimmtelligent separators for degreasing applications. Used by industrial manufacturers for non-floating oil removal.
• Electrostatic Oil Cleaning Electrostatic oil cleaning systems designed to eliminate contamination in hydraulic oil and non-conductive liquids by removing even the smallest particles and resins. Used by industrial manufacturers for hydraulic oil purification.
• Oil Dewatering Systems for removing water from oil to make oil water-free, addressing water contamination in industrial oils. Used by industrial manufacturers to remove water from oil and extend its usable life.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduce oil consumption by up to 90%
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Donaldson Company: Large US filtration OEM with industrial process-fluid filtration, coolant filtration, and fluid management solutions that overlap with Friess' skimmers, magnetic filters, and separators as part of a much broader portfolio.
• SKF: Swedish bearings and rotating-equipment services leader with industrial lubrication, oil conditioning, and fluid cleanliness solutions that overlap with Friess' dewatering and electrostatic cleaning offerings.
• Parker Hannifin: Global motion and control technology leader with hydraulic filtration, fluid conditioning, and separation products overlapping Friess' electrostatic oil cleaning and dewatering offerings.
• Festo: German pneumatics and industrial automation specialist with compressed-air and fluid preparation products serving similar German industrial OEMs and automotive customers, though focused on pneumatic rather than process-fluid cleaning.
• Bosch Rexroth: German industrial hydraulics and factory automation leader; offers hydraulic oil filtration, condition monitoring, and fluid conditioning that intersects with Friess' electrostatic oil cleaning and dewatering solutions.
• Mann+Hummel: German-headquartered global filtration specialist with industrial fluid filtration, coolant management, and separation products that compete with Friess' full portfolio across automotive and industrial OEMs.

Direct peers

• Eclipse Magnetics: UK-based manufacturer of magnetic filtration and separation products for industrial fluids, competing with Friess' magnetic filters in CNC, automotive, and process-water applications.
• Oil Skimmers Inc. US-based manufacturer of industrial oil skimmers and related fluid cleaning equipment, with overlapping product line (belt, disc, drum, and tube skimmers) and a similar mid-market industrial customer base in metalworking, automotive, and steel.
• Absortech Group: Swedish-headquartered specialist in oil absorption and process-fluid cleanliness solutions, competing head-to-head with Friess' oil skimmers and separators in industrial coolant and lubricating-oil applications globally.
• Eriez: Global manufacturer of magnetic separation, filtration, and material handling equipment; directly comparable to Friess' magnetic filter line used for cleaning coolants, washing water, and fuels in machining operations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/friess

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Friess GmbH