5.6.10.3Vertical

Laser, Plasma & Waterjet Cutting Systems

Manufacturers of fiber laser cutters, plasma tables, and waterjet systems.

Market snapshot

These figures describe Metalworking Machinery & Machine Tools (5.6.10), the segment that Laser, Plasma & Waterjet Cutting Systems sits within. They are not figures for Laser, Plasma & Waterjet Cutting Systems on its own.

Market size
~$28B
Growth
~1.3%CAGR (2017–22, nominal)
Companies
~4,416 firms
Firms by employee count

72.8% of firms have fewer than 20 employees: 3,214 micro-businesses, below most mandates.

The investable universe1,202 firms with 20+ employees
20–99
84170%
100–499
22619%
500+
13511%

Barely grew in nominal terms, meaning real output fell. American machine-tool building has been losing share to imports for decades and this is what that looks like in the data. The businesses that persist are tooling, dies and fixtures made to a customer's part, where proximity and qualification beat price. Not a growth story; a niche-defensibility one.

NAICS 333514, 333515, 333517, 333519. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

Business model & economics

Revenue model

Machine-tool, tooling, and precision-component sales

Key economics

Revenue per firm
$6,251,475
Revenue per employee
$262,190
Employees per firm
23.8
Recurring revenue
Moderate

recurring tooling and replacement

EBITDA margin
Specialty- and precision-driven
Capex intensity
Moderate

Characteristics

  • Balanced cost base: payroll is 26% of revenue, leaving room to scale margin without cutting staff
  • Moderate strategic-buyer pool: 135 firms exceed 500 employees, so a scaled asset has buyers, but not many
  • Most fragmented heavy-equipment segment.
  • CNC, automation, and additive manufacturing reshaping it.
  • Tool-and-die ownership transition drives M&A supply.

NAICS 333514, 333515, 333517, 333519. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

Geographic concentration

AlabamaAlaskaArizonaColoradoFloridaGeorgiaKansasMaineMassachusettsMinnesotaNew JerseyNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOklahomaPennsylvaniaSouth DakotaTexasWyomingConnecticutMissouriWest VirginiaIllinoisNew MexicoArkansasCaliforniaDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaHawaiiIowaKentuckyMarylandMississippiMontanaNew HampshireNew YorkOregonTennesseeUtahVirginiaWashingtonNebraskaSouth CarolinaIdahoNevadaVermontLouisianaRhode IslandIndianaMichiganOhioWisconsin

The tool-and-die belt, anchored on Michigan at six times national concentration. These shops grew up around automotive and remain tied to it. Proximity to the customer's engineering team is the moat.

MichiganOhioWisconsinIndiana

U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses (firms by state), NAICS 333514/333515/333517/333519. Concentration shown by location quotient.

M&A deal context

Deal activityHigh

Who’s acquiring

  • PE-backed precision-machining platforms
  • Machine-tool & tooling strategics
  • Specialty consolidators

What’s driving deals

  • Roll-up of fragmented tool-and-die shops.
  • Reshoring and manufacturing-capex demand.
  • Automation and additive-manufacturing adoption.

Find Laser, Plasma & Waterjet Cutting Systems acquisition targets

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