What KS Kolbenschmidt US makes

KS Kolbenschmidt US, operating as Kolbenschmidt Pistons USA LLC, designs and manufactures engine pistons at a plant in Marinette, Wisconsin. The plant makes aluminum and steel pistons for gasoline and diesel passenger cars and for light- and medium-duty commercial vehicle engines, and it also supplies pistons for marine, industrial, and leisure applications such as motorboats, professional chain saws, and motorbikes. Its US quality certificate lists the scope plainly: design and manufacture of engine pistons.

The product range follows the Kolbenschmidt piston families. LiteKS aluminum pistons target modern gasoline engines with a light-weight, low-friction design and optional add-on technologies including the ContureKS cooling gallery with a variable cross-section, NanofriKS skirt coating, and a hard-anodized top groove or ring carrier. Steel piston systems and steel pistons cover heavy-, light-, and medium-duty diesel engines, engineered for higher peak firing pressures and lower friction. The company markets these as OEM programs developed as complete piston systems rather than catalog parts, which puts the Marinette plant in Tier 1 engine-component supply.

Ownership and history

Kolbenschmidt Pistons is an independent company owned by Comitans Capital AG, a Munich-based holding company that acquires automotive suppliers for long-term ownership. Comitans bought the small-bore piston business from Rheinmetall in a deal signed on December 20, 2023 and closed effective April 1, 2024. Before that divestiture, the piston unit was part of Rheinmetall, and earlier of KSPG, formerly Kolbenschmidt Pierburg. The business now runs under its own management as the Kolbenschmidt Pistons group, with plants in Germany, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Japan, and a Chinese joint venture, and roughly 3,650 employees across those sites.

The Marinette plant is one of six factories in that group and employs about 181 full-time workers. It has operated for roughly 70 years, a milestone the plant marked as its 70th anniversary, and it was Kolbenschmidt's established North American piston plant well before the group's 1999 acquisition of the separate Zollner piston business in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The plant recently completed a 35,000-square-foot expansion. The wider Kolbenschmidt piston brand traces to 1910, when Karl Schmidt founded the business in Heilbronn, Germany; the operation moved to Neckarsulm in 1917 and has manufactured pistons since 1920.

Certifications and quality

The Marinette plant holds IATF 16949:2016 certification, with product design, for the design and manufacture of engine pistons. The certificate is issued to Kolbenschmidt Pistons USA LLC by DQS, dated May 11, 2024, revised May 26, 2026, and valid until May 10, 2027. IATF 16949 is the automotive-sector quality management standard, and holding it with design scope is the baseline requirement for a Tier 1 piston program. The plant also holds ISO 14001:2015 environmental certification for the manufacture and assembly of engine pistons, valid from September 14, 2025 to September 13, 2028; per Wisconsin state records the site has maintained ISO 14001 since 2002. Piston programs of this kind normally run through PPAP approval before a part reaches series production.

Known customers

Piston makers rarely name their OEM customers, and Kolbenschmidt Pistons USA does not publish a customer list. One US program is documented in the company's own materials.

The order is a documented fact reported through trade coverage of the company; the buyer's name was not disclosed, so it is published here as a program rather than a named relationship.

Sourcing evidence

The Marinette plant's US import record reads like a piston manufacturer's, with components and castings coming in and finished pistons going out. US customs bill-of-lading records show the plant importing under two entity names across its 2024 ownership change: the legacy KS Kolbenschmidt US entity with 272 sea shipments from January 2015 through December 2025, and the newer Kolbenschmidt Pistons USA entity with 32 shipments from May 2024 through August 2026. Combined, the plant has an active, decade-long import history, with its most recent recorded shipment on August 25, 2026.

The most active suppliers on record are Clorindo Appo in Argentina, which ships automotive ring carriers, and Binzhou Yatai Art Power Parts in China. The record also shows intercompany flows from KSPG Automotive Brazil and Kolbenschmidt de Mexico, consistent with a plant that draws castings and components from sister sites in the group. Ring carriers and component castings, not finished consumer goods, dominate the bill of lading descriptions, which is the signature of a manufacturer rather than a distributor. For buyers weighing nearshoring and North American piston capacity, a Wisconsin plant with in-group Mexican and Brazilian supply is a relevant footprint.

Coverage caveats: these are US ocean-freight records only. Air, truck, and rail movements do not appear; some records name freight intermediaries rather than manufacturers; and product categories come from declared manifest codes, which are noisy. Absence of a record is not evidence of absence.

Frequently asked questions

What does KS Kolbenschmidt US make?

KS Kolbenschmidt US, operating as Kolbenschmidt Pistons USA LLC, designs and manufactures engine pistons at its Marinette, Wisconsin plant. It makes aluminum and steel pistons for gasoline and diesel passenger cars and light- and medium-duty commercial vehicles, plus pistons for marine, industrial, and leisure engines. Product lines include the LiteKS aluminum gasoline piston and steel piston systems for diesel engines.

Who owns KS Kolbenschmidt US?

Kolbenschmidt Pistons, including the US plant, has been owned by Comitans Capital AG, a Munich-based holding company, since April 1, 2024. Comitans bought the small-bore piston business from Rheinmetall in a deal signed in December 2023. The business had previously been part of Rheinmetall and earlier of KSPG, formerly Kolbenschmidt Pierburg, and now runs as an independent company under the Kolbenschmidt Pistons brand.

Where is KS Kolbenschmidt US located?

The plant is at 1731 Industrial Parkway, Marinette, Wisconsin 54143, in the United States. It employs about 181 full-time workers and recently completed a 35,000-square-foot expansion. It is one of six factories in the Kolbenschmidt Pistons group, which also has plants in Germany, Mexico, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Japan, and China.

What certifications does KS Kolbenschmidt US hold?

The Marinette plant holds IATF 16949:2016 certification, with product design, for the design and manufacture of engine pistons, valid until May 10, 2027 and issued by DQS. It also holds ISO 14001:2015 environmental certification, valid through September 13, 2028, and has maintained ISO 14001 at the site since 2002.

Who are KS Kolbenschmidt US's customers?

The company does not publish a customer list, which is normal for piston makers serving OEM programs. Its own materials document a follow-up order for gasoline-engine pistons for high-displacement eight-cylinder engines, with a lifetime volume of more than EUR 135 million, produced at the Marinette plant for the US market. The OEM buyer was not named.

How many employees does KS Kolbenschmidt US have?

The Marinette plant employs about 181 full-time workers. Across all of its factories worldwide, the Kolbenschmidt Pistons group employs roughly 3,650 people.

Last verified September 27, 2026. Is this your company? Request a correction.