DAETWYLER SWISSTEC AG

What DAETWYLER SWISSTEC AG does

Daetwyler SwissTec AG is a privately held, family-owned Swiss manufacturer (third generation) that develops and produces precision doctor blades and related consumables for the rotogravure and flexographic printing industries. Founded in 1943 by Max Daetwyler in Dietikon and headquartered in Bleienbach, the company traces its printing-industry origin to 1960 and has held the global market leader position in MDC precision doctor blades since 1972. The product line spans MDC Rakel blades for rotogravure, flexographic, and special applications (with flagship MDC LONGLIFE and 2023-launched MDC LONGLIFE PRO), end seals, cleaning blades, GRP support blades, the Kombi rotary/flatbed screen printing squeegee family, and the 2024 PrintX line (Solar, Battery, SMT) for adjacent industrial verticals, as well as the forthcoming Paperstar coating blade for the paper industry.

The business operates under Daetwyler Global Tec Holding AG across three divisions: SwissTec (doctor blades and printing consumables), Rotoflex (printing inks and coatings for food, non-food, and security applications, integrated via the 2017 Rotoflex Color acquisition), and Industries (precision machine construction, which is being divested into SwissFactory.Group in 2024). Commercial activity is conducted through an enterprise field sales model combining direct on-site technical support with a network of over 55 distribution partners in more than 60 countries, backed by wholly-owned subsidiaries in Switzerland, Germany, the USA, Singapore, India, China, Estonia, and Turkey, with total group headcount of over 500 (over 400 in SwissTec). Pricing is quote-based under multi-year enterprise contracts, with no public tiered pricing. Recent strategic emphasis is on the doctor blade core and adjacent industrial verticals (paper, solar, battery, PCB), with the Industries division being exited.

Name

DAETWYLER SWISSTEC AG

Legal name

Daetwyler SwissTec AG

Website

https://daetwyler.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1943

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Daetwyler SwissTec AG is a privately held Swiss manufacturer of MDC precision doctor blades and consumables for rotogravure and flexographic printing, serving global printing, packaging, security, paper, and industrial customers via field sales and 55+ distribution partners across 60+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Printing Consumables and Precision Blades

NAICS

Cutlery and Handtool Manufacturing (33221), Paper Manufacturing (322)

SIC

Printing Trades Machinery & Equipment (3555), Coating, Engraving & Allied Services (3470)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYIMAMAEAI

Paper Finishing & Coating Services (Calendering, Coating, Supercalendering)

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Paper & Forest Products/Paper Manufacturing (Printing/Writing, Newsprint, Specialty)

Keywords

• Doctor blades manufacturing
• Flexographic printing consumables
• Rotogravure printing supplies
• Precision blade engineering
• Screen printing squeegees

Headquarters

HQ city

Bleienbach

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Doctor Blades and Accessories: Core business of Daetwyler SwissTec - production and sale of high-quality doctor blades (MDC brand) for rotogravure and flexographic printing. Includes uncoated and coated doctor blades, various types for different printing applications.
2. Rotoflex - Inks and Coatings: Division Rotoflex produces colors and coatings for printing applications, serving Food, NonFood and Security market segments.
3. Industries - Precision Machine Construction: Division Industries provides precision machine beds, custom assemblies, and special projects. Operates from Ursenbach (Switzerland) and Tallinn (Estonia).
4. Cheshire Anilox - Anilox Rollers: Production of high-quality anilox rollers, serving packaging, corrugated board, labels, envelopes, cans, and offset market segments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Daetwyler SwissTec develops and produces MDC precision doctor blades and related consumables for flexographic and rotogravure printing applications. The offering spans coated and uncoated blades, end seals, cleaning blades, screen printing squeegees, paper coating blades, and specialized industrial squeegees for solar, battery, and PCB production, supplemented by precision machine construction and printing inks/coatings via its Rotoflex division.

Product overview

Daetwyler SwissTec is the world market leader in the development and production of MDC precision doctor blades for the printing industry, with over 50 years of expertise since 1972. The core product is the MDC Rakel line, encompassing blades for rotogravure (Tiefdruck), flexographic (Flexodruck), and special applications, with flagship products including the MDC LONGLIFE and MDC LONGLIFE PRO. The offering extends to accessories such as MDC Endseals, MDC Cleaning Blades, and GRP Support Blades. Under the Daetwyler IBOTec subsidiary, the company produces rotary and flatbed screen printing squeegees (Kombi-GR/GR+, Kombi-IR/IR+, Kombi-GF/GF+), as well as specialized PrintX products for solar, battery, and PCB manufacturing. The parent Daetwyler Group operates three divisions: SwissTec (precision doctor blades), Rotoflex (printing inks and lacquers), and Industries (precision machine construction with capabilities in welding, milling, grinding, and waterjet cutting via microwaterjet and MEWAG brands).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MDC Rakel: Swiss original doctor blades for printing applications since 1972
• MDC LONGLIFE
• MDC LONGLIFE PRO
• PAPERSTAR

Products and services

• MDC Rakel (Doctor Blades) High-quality precision doctor blades for rotogravure and flexographic printing, available in coated and uncoated variants. Core product line manufactured in Switzerland with global distribution since 1972.
• MDC Rakel for Rotogravure (Tiefdruck) Doctor blades specifically engineered for rotogravure printing, offering a broad palette of MDC blades for achieving perfect printing results.
• MDC Rakel for Flexographic Printing (Flexodruck) Doctor blades optimized for flexographic printing, with properties precisely tuned for the requirements of the printing room.
• MDC Rakel for Special Applications Specialized doctor blades for niche applications beyond standard rotogravure and flexo printing.
• MDC LONGLIFE Premium uncoated doctor blade known for durability and consistent print quality in rotogravure applications.
• MDC LONGLIFE PRO Advanced development of MDC LONGLIFE, specifically engineered for rotogravure printing with enhanced performance characteristics.
• MDC Endseals End seals for flexographic printing that ensure clean sealing of the chamber system and prevent ink leakage.
• MDC Cleaning Blade Cleaning blades for paper machines and printing equipment, developed for removing deposits and maintaining clean surfaces.
• GRP Support Blade Glass fiber reinforced plastic (GRP) support blade for industrial printing applications.
• Kombi Rotary and Flatbed Screen Printing Squeegees Rotary and flatbed screen printing squeegees (Kombi-GR/GR+, Kombi-IR/IR+, Kombi-GF/GF+) from the market leader, manufactured to the highest quality for demanding customer requirements.
• PrintX-Solar Screen printing squeegee in square form made of polyurethane specially developed for solar cell production requirements, available in 9.5x9.5mm and 9.65x9.65mm sizes, lengths 100-1200mm, hardness 65°/75°/85° Shore.
• PrintX-Battery High-performance plastic squeegee developed for the special technical requirements of battery production, available in various lengths, cut to length or as coil up to 100m; dimensions 0.35/0.5/0.7/1.0mm thickness, 20-60mm width.
• PrintX-SMT Corrosion-resistant strip steel squeegee developed for the special technical requirements of PCB production, available in various lengths, cut to length or as coil up to 100m; thicknesses 0.2/0.25/0.4/0.5mm.
• PAPERSTAR Streichklinge (Coating Blade) Coating blade for the paper industry, leveraging long-standing Daetwyler SwissTec expertise.
• Rotoflex Printing Inks and Lacquers Colors and lacquers for food, non-food, and security printing applications.
• Daetwyler Industries Precision Machine Construction Precision machine building and special projects including welding (MIG/TIG), milling for large parts, grinding, assembly, sandblasting, material preparation, annealing, and painting.
• Microwaterjet High-Precision Waterjet Machines High-precision waterjet cutting technology developed in collaboration with Waterjet AG, Aarwangen for industrial precision cutting applications.

Quantifiable outcome

• Global market leader in MDC precision doctor blades
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature14 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• SwissFactory.GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 April 2023Daetwyler Industries and SwissFactory.Group formed a strategic partnership in Spring 2023, culminating in Daetwyler's equity stake in SwissFactory.Group. This partnership integrates Daetwyler's Industries division with SwissFactory.Group, with SwissFactory.Group taking over Daetwyler's Estonian factory. The Ursenbach facility in Switzerland is scheduled to close by June 30, 2025. This partnership addresses competitive pressure in European manufacturing by combining complementary manufacturing and assembly technologies.
• Heliograph Holding GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Daetwyler Group and Max Rid (owner of Hell Gravure Systems, K. Walter, and Bauer Logistik) combined their Graphics business activities into Heliograph Holding GmbH starting January 1, 2009. This brought together multiple rotogravure industry companies under unified ownership.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves15 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Apex Tool Group: Apex Tool Group is a large global manufacturer of industrial hand tools, saw blades, and precision blades. It is comparable to Daetwyler in the underlying engineered blade/strip-steel capability but operates across far broader end markets (automotive, construction, industrial) rather than specializing in printing consumables.
• Bobst Group: Bobst is a Swiss-based global leader in packaging printing and converting equipment, supplying flexographic and gravure presses worldwide. Bobst overlaps with Daetwyler at the customer level (its presses use MDC blades) but sits upstream as a press OEM, not as a consumables specialist.
• Hell Gravure Systems: Hell Gravure Systems is a global supplier of rotogravure printing cylinders, engraving equipment, and direct laser engraving systems, and is part of the same Heliograph Holding GmbH consortium as Daetwyler. They are broadly comparable as rotogravure ecosystem players but Hell focuses on cylinders/equipment while Daetwyler focuses on consumable blades.
• K. Walter: K. Walter is a German rotogravure cylinder and equipment manufacturer that is part of the Heliograph Holding ecosystem alongside Daetwyler. It is an adjacent incumbent serving the same rotogravure customers with cylinder technology rather than blades.

Emerging players

• Gallus Group: Gallus is a Swiss manufacturer specializing in label and narrow-web printing presses, supplying converters who are also Daetwyler customers. While Gallus is a press OEM rather than a consumables maker, it is comparable as a Swiss-based specialist serving the same flexographic/label printing customer base.
• Marabu GmbH & Co. KG: Marabu is a German specialty inks and coatings manufacturer for screen printing, pad printing, and digital applications. It is comparable to Daetwyler's Rotoflex division (printing inks/coatings for food, non-food, security) with overlapping customers in industrial and security printing.

Direct peers

• Trelleborg Engineered Coated Fabrics: Trelleborg's engineered coated fabrics division produces polymer-coated doctor blades and printing industry consumables that compete head-to-head with MDC LONGLIFE. Both companies supply global printing OEMs and converters with precision wiping/coating blades for rotogravure and flexo presses.
• Prime Blade Inc. Prime Blade is a Canadian manufacturer of precision doctor blades for the printing industry, directly competing with Daetwyler's MDC Rakel line across flexographic and rotogravure applications. Both companies serve global converters with engineered strip steel consumables and similar high-precision product positioning.
• SPM (Swedish Printing Mechanism): SPM is a Swedish precision blade supplier focused on rotogravure and flexographic printing consumables. As a niche European competitor with comparable technology heritage, SPM competes with Daetwyler's MDC product line for premium rotogravure customers.
• Kaduna Co., Ltd. Kaduna is a Japanese specialty manufacturer of precision doctor blades for printing and coating applications. It is one of Daetwyler's closest functional peers in the rotogravure blade category with overlapping end customers across Asian and global converters.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/14835239

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries11 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 DAETWYLER SWISSTEC AG