AZO manufactures plants, machines and systems for the automatic raw material handling of bulk solids and liquids.
AZO GmbH & Co. KG
Osterburken (Headquarters) · Laatzen · Neuenburg am Rhein · Antwerp · Vallet · Burton-upon-Trent · Memphis, TN · Tianjin · Bangkok · Pune · JakartaNew on Amplifa
Raw material automation from a single source
AZO GmbH & Co. KG, headquartered in Osterburken, specializes in the automation and logistics of raw materials in production processes. Founded in 1949, the company manufactures plants and machines for storing, discharging, sifting, conveying, dosing and weighing bulk solids as well as for dispersing, mixing and homogenizing liquids and semi-solid products. The portfolio includes pneumatic dense-phase conveying systems such as AZO®MULTIAIR and AZO®SaugPlus, eddy-current sifting machines (Type E, DA, FA, TW, FLF), gravimetric dosing systems (AZOGRAV®, AZODOS®), silo and big-bag systems, and the robot-based dosing system AZO®RoLog. The offering is complemented by engineering, a bulk solids laboratory, control and process control technology, digitalization, assembly and after-sales service through to turn-key solutions. Customers come from the food, pharma, cosmetics, chemical and plastics industries. With more than 1,100 employees, AZO is represented worldwide through its own subsidiaries and sales partners.
- Site
- Osterburken
- Processes
- Bulk solids storage and discharge (silos), Pneumatic conveying systems (AZO®MULTIAIR dense-phase conveying, AZO®SaugPlus dense-phase conveying), Sifting of bulk solids (control and protective sifting, fractionating), Dosing and weighing of raw materials (continuous gravimetric dosing systems AZOGRAV®, AZODOS®), Mixing, dispersing, homogenizing of liquid and semi-solid products, Big-bag filling systems with inertization (pre-/post-gassing, gassing systems), Big-bag discharge systems, Bag, big-bag, drum and container product feeding systems
- Materials
- PVC powder, Epoxy resin powder, Milk powder (spray-dried agglomerates), Eddy-current sifting machine, Dense-phase conveying system AZO®MULTIAIR, Dense-phase conveying system AZO®SaugPlus, Continuous gravimetric dosing systems, Minor ingredient dosing system
- Certificates
- ISO 14001:2015, ISO/IEC 27001:2022, ISO 9001, EMAS, AEO, ATEX certificate, DIN EN ISO 3834-2:2021, EN 1090-1, EN 1090-2, EN 1090, DIN EN ISO 3834-2, ATEX (FSA 26 ATEX QS)
- Founded
- 1949
- Employees
- 1100
- Industries
- Food, Dairy products, Confectionery, Beverages, Spices/flavors, Pharma
- 01
Raw material analysis in the bulk solids laboratory
- 02
Engineering and feasibility studies
- 03
Design and plant engineering
- 04
Control technology and automation
- 05
Digitalization (digital twin, simulation)
- 06
Assembly and commissioning
- 07
Maintenance, retrofit and after-sales service
Products and Processes
Eddy-current sifting machine
For control and protective sifting, fractionating and dissolving of lumps in food, plastics, pharma and chemical applications.
Dense-phase conveying system AZO®MULTIAIR
Gentle pneumatic conveying of sensitive bulk solids such as spray-dried milk powder agglomerates over distances of up to 60 m with capacities of more than 6 t/h.
Dense-phase conveying system AZO®SaugPlus
Pneumatic conveying with gentle, segregation-free transport of powders for filling.
Continuous gravimetric dosing systems
Continuous dosing processes with the AZOGRAV® and AZODOS® series.
Minor ingredient dosing system
Automated minor ingredient dosing and logistics with DosiBox®, DOSINENTER® and DosiLogistic®.
AZO®RoLog
Robot-based system for dosing of micro-quantities in mixer feeding.
Big-bag connection system
Dust-tight docking and safe emptying of big bags with integrated vibration sifter.
Eddy-current sifting machine Type FLF
For the separation of solids from liquids.
AZO ManDos
Computer-assisted manual dosing system for batches and small quantities.
Intelligent conveying system
Test system at the Osterburken technical center for trialing intelligent conveying technology.
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulk solids storage and discharge (silos)Plant engineering | – | – | – | – | Bulk solids, Milk powder |
| Pneumatic conveying systems (AZO®MULTIAIR dense-phase conveying, AZO®SaugPlus dense-phase conveying)Plant engineering | – | 60 m conveying distance | – | – | Bulk solids, Milk powder, PVC powder, Epoxy resin powder |
| Sifting of bulk solids (control and protective sifting, fractionating)Plant engineering | – | – | – | – | Bulk solids, PVC powder |
| Dosing and weighing of raw materials (continuous gravimetric dosing systems AZOGRAV®, AZODOS®)Plant engineering | – | – | – | – | Bulk solids, Liquids |
| Mixing, dispersing, homogenizing of liquid and semi-solid productsPlant engineering | – | – | – | – | Liquids, semi-solid products |
| Plant engineering | – | – | – | – | Bulk solids |
| Big-bag filling systems with inertization (pre-/post-gassing, gassing systems)Plant engineering | – | – | – | – | Milk powder, Bulk solids |
| Big-bag discharge systemsPlant engineering | – | – | – | – | Bulk solids |
| Bag, big-bag, drum and container product feeding systemsPlant engineering | – | – | – | – | Bulk solids |
| Control technology, automation, process control and visualization technologyEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Physical raw material analysis in the bulk solids laboratoryTesting | – | – | – | – | Raw materials, Bulk solids |
| Engineering: pre-engineering, new planning, expansion, renovation, feasibility studiesEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Digitalization: digital twin, simulation, virtual reality, data analyticsEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Assembly and commissioning of plants (worldwide)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Maintenance, inspection, retrofit, remote maintenanceAssembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Small container filling and weighing station with a certified (verifiable) scalePlant engineering | – | – | – | – | Bulk solids |
18 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eddy-current sifting machine Type E | AZO Typ E | – | – | – | – |
| Eddy-current sifting machine Type DA (with self-dosing) | AZO Typ DA | – | – | – | – |
| Eddy-current sifting machine Type DA...Vario | AZO Typ DA...Vario | – | – | – | – |
| Eddy-current sifting machine Type FA (in the conveying stream) | AZO Typ FA | – | – | – | – |
| Sifting machine Type TW (control sifting in pneumatic conveying streams) | AZO Typ TW | – | – | – | – |
| Eddy-current sifting machine Type FLF (separation of solids from liquids) | AZO Typ FLF | – | – | – | – |
| Eddy-current sifting machine with ultrasonic assistance | AZO | – | – | – | – |
| Dense-phase conveying system AZO®MULTIAIR with tandem pressure vessels | AZO MULTIAIR | – | Conveying distance 60 m, capacity > 6 t/h | – | – |
| Dense-phase conveying system AZO®SaugPlus | AZO SaugPlus | – | – | – | – |
| Robot-based dosing system AZO®RoLog | AZO RoLog | – | – | 2018 | Osterburken |
| Continuous gravimetric dosing systems AZOGRAV® / AZODOS® | AZO AZOGRAV®, AZODOS® | – | – | – | – |
| DosiBox® / DOSINENTER® minor ingredient dosing system | AZO DosiBox®, DOSINENTER®, DosiLogistic® | – | – | – | – |
| AZO ManDos computer-assisted manual dosing system | AZO ManDos | – | – | – | – |
| Standard silo | AZO | – | – | – | – |
| Big-bag filling system with pre-/post-gassing | AZO | – | – | – | – |
| Big-bag connection system Type BBA...VS with vibration sifter | AZO BBA...VS | – | – | – | – |
| Hopper Type ET...VS GA with vibration sifter | AZO ET...VS GA | – | – | – | – |
| Test system intelligent conveying system 'Prometheus' (technical center) | AZO Prometheus | 1 | – | 2020 | Osterburken |
Additional services
Standards and Certificates
AZO operates with certified management systems (ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO/IEC 27001, EMAS) and welding and structural certificates according to DIN EN ISO 3834-2 and EN 1090-1/-2. The AEO certificate and the ATEX certificate (explosion prevention), as well as an in-house bulk solids laboratory for physical raw material analysis, complete the quality assurance.
| Evidence | Osterburken |
|---|---|
| ISO 9001 | |
| ISO 14001:2015 | |
| ISO/IEC 27001:2022 | |
| EMAS | |
| EN 1090 | |
| DIN EN ISO 3834-2 | |
| AEO | |
| ATEX (FSA 26 ATEX QS) |
History
- 1949
Company founded by Adolf Zimmermann in Osterburken.
- 1978
Founding of the first foreign subsidiary, AZO Inc., in Memphis, Tennessee (USA).
- 1979
Founding of AZO SOLIDS.
- 2004
Founding of the subsidiary AZO CONTROLS GmbH for process control and visualization technology.
- 2007
Founding of the China company in Tianjin.
- 2008
Founding of AZO LIQUIDS, headquartered in Neuenburg am Rhein.
- 2013
Death of company founder Adolf Zimmermann on 15.03.2013.
- 2014
AZO Group with 1,027 employees; AZO SOLIDS exceeds €100 million in revenue for the first time, group approx. €150 million.
- 2015
Founding of the AZO e&s (Engineering & Services) business unit; development of the small container filling and weighing station with a certified (verifiable) scale.
- 2018
New management under Rainer Zimmermann; exhibition of the robot-based dosing system AZO®RoLog.
- 2020
Successful completion of the SMETA audit; installation of the intelligent conveying system 'Prometheus' in the technical center.
- 2023
Founding of AZO Global Product Center GmbH & Co. KG; Lukas Zimmermann joins the company; groundbreaking for a new logistics hall.
- 2024
75th company anniversary in September.
- 2025
Inauguration of the new logistics hall in April.
- 2026
Lukas Zimmermann takes over the role of CEO at the beginning of the year.