PFEIFER: products, competitors, and their EPD reality
PFEIFER is a familiar name on job sites for lifting anchors, wire ropes, and cable systems. The portfolio is broad and highly engineered. The open question for spec-driven work is simple yet costly when unanswered: how well are these products backed by Environmental Product Declarations.
Company snapshot
PFEIFER is a German family company best known for rope, lifting and precast connection technology, active in more than 15 countries with around 1,350 employees and annual sales near €292 million (PFEIFER Group, 2025). The group spans wire ropes, lifting devices, precast inserts, tension rod and cable systems, and lightweight architecture. Their brand promise is reliability and field support, not just hardware.
What they sell, at a glance
Across the site you’ll find nine core product families covering attachment devices, lifting devices and winches, cargo lashing, fall protection, precast lifting systems, load lifting attachments, industry ropes, elevator ropes, and lightweight-architecture cable and rod systems. Within these, variants by size, finish, and load class push the SKU count into the hundreds. PFEIFER is not a pure play. It competes in several adjacent categories that often land on the same structural drawings.
EPD coverage today
As of December 2025, we could not locate product‑specific EPDs on major European program sites for PFEIFER’s lifting anchors, fixing systems, or architectural cable systems. What we do find is solid technical certification, for example the DB Anchor system carries a European Technical Assessment ETA‑11/0288 issued by DIBt in January 2024, which is valuable for compliance but is not an EPD (DIBt, 2024). If PFEIFER has unpublished or market‑specific EPDs, they are not easily discoverable where specifiers usually look.
Why it matters commercially
Project teams continue to request EPDs as an easy, comparable proof point, and industry groups now publish them at scale. PCI released regionalized industry‑average EPDs for architectural, insulated, and structural precast in May 2025, which reinforces buyer expectations around documentation (PCI, 2025). Verification queues at some operators are long, with IBU advising manufacturers to plan for several months to verification in 2025, sometimes about six months, so waiting until a bid asks for one is risky timing (IBU, 2025).
Competitors PFEIFER meets on drawings
In precast connectors and fixings, Leviat’s HALFEN range publishes EPDs for cast‑in anchor channels with validity to August 10, 2028, a simple signal to specifiers that documentation is ready for submittals (IBU via NBS Source, 2023). PohlCon’s JORDAHL line lists EPD references for mounting channels and shear reinforcement across multiple SKUs, visible right on product pages that engineers frequent (PohlCon, 2025). In column shoes and composite systems, Peikko publicly hosts EPDs for its DELTABEAM Green and related connecting parts across several plants, which specifiers can pull straight into their LCA workflows (Peikko, 2025).
A likely best‑seller without an EPD
PFEIFER’s thread‑system lifting anchors and the DB anchor family are workhorses in precast. If these do not carry product‑specific EPDs, they face a penalty on projects that prefer or require third‑party verified Type III declarations for accessories as well as concrete and steel. When a Leviat or JORDAHL anchor channel shows an in‑date EPD downloadable in seconds, it quietly wins tie‑breakers in LEED v5‑oriented and policy‑driven procurements, even when performance is comparable.
Portfolio coverage, roughly
Given the breadth of variants, PFEIFER likely serves 8 to 10 distinct product categories with hundreds of SKUs. Today’s public EPD coverage appears low relative to peers. That means some high‑volume items are probably getting screened out early by sustainability filters, and sales teams may never see those specs because the project accountant is scoring with conservative defaults.
Fastest path to close the gap
Start with the heaviest movers by volume and specification frequency. For PFEIFER that usually means thread‑system lifting anchors, Super Anchor variants, and the DB anchors, followed by tension rod or cable kits used in façades and membranes. Pick the prevailing PCR that competitors already use so buyers can compare apples to apples, then publish through an operator recognized in your core markets. PFEIFER Holding and PFEIFER Structures show up on IBU’s member list, which shortens the path to a familiar publication route (IBU Members, 2025). If internal resourcing is tight, prioritize a small set of SKUs that cover most revenue. One great, product‑specific EPD on a hero line will often unlock more bids than a dozen niche declarations.
Where PFEIFER talks responsibility
Their Responsibility and Compliance pages outline governance and customer stewardship. If you are building an EPD plan, fold that narrative into a simple public roadmap and link the first declarations the moment they publish. It’s a small but telling gap you can close quickly. See their responsibility page and company overview for context (PFEIFER Responsibility) and the group profile with key figures (PFEIFER Group, 2025).
Bottom line
PFEIFER’s hardware is everywhere, their engineering bench is deep, and the brand carries trust on site. Competitors have turned EPDs into a default submittal artifact. Closing that documentation gap on the anchor and cable mainstays is the quickest way to keep winning specs without price‑only fights. It’s definately low‑hanging fruit.
References used inline: DIBt ETA‑11/0288 for PFEIFER DB Anchors, issued 2024 (DIBt, 2024). Leviat HALFEN cast‑in channel EPD, valid to 2028 (IBU via NBS Source, 2023). JORDAHL product pages listing EPD codes (PohlCon, 2025). PCI 2025 regionalized industry EPDs for precast (PCI, 2025). IBU guidance on verification timelines in 2025 (IBU, 2025). Peikko EPD overview for DELTABEAM and connecting parts (Peikko, 2025).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does PFEIFER publish Environmental Product Declarations for its lifting anchors or DB anchors?
As of December 2025 we did not find product‑specific EPDs for these systems on major EU program sites. Their DB Anchors do carry ETA‑11/0288 from DIBt, which confirms performance but is not an EPD (DIBt, 2024).
Which competitors in precast connections visibly offer EPDs today?
Leviat’s HALFEN cast‑in anchor channels list an IBU EPD valid until August 10, 2028, and JORDAHL publishes EPD references across mounting channels and shear reinforcement on its product pages (IBU via NBS Source, 2023) (PohlCon, 2025).
What is a realistic verification timeline if we start now?
IBU indicates verification queues can run several months in 2025, sometimes about six months, so plan accordingly and choose the operator early (IBU, 2025).
Where should PFEIFER focus first for maximum commercial lift?
Prioritize thread‑system lifting anchors, Super Anchor variants, and DB anchors, then tension rod and cable kits. These see the most specs and would benefit fastest from product‑specific EPDs. Publishing where peers publish helps comparability and acceptance.
About the Author
Walker Ryan is a climate-tech entrepreneur focused on driving industrial decarbonization through better data. As the founder and CEO of Parq, he helps manufacturers generate high-quality, third-party–verified carbon disclosures at scale—accelerating a traditionally slow and expensive process. Before starting Parq, Walker led over $200 million in sustainability-focused investments as VP of Strategy & Growth at ReStream Solutions, following earlier experience in investment banking at Deutsche Bank. He brings a rare mix of capital markets expertise and hands-on sustainability knowledge to tackling the infrastructure of industrial emissions.
