Software · Austria · COISS GmbH
COISS: How Austrian Startup Technology Turns Old Industrial Machines into Smart Machines
An Austrian startup straps a battery-powered, non-invasive sensor onto decades-old woodworking machines and turns them into connected IoT devices in under two minutes — no rewiring, no new machinery, no IT project.
The company is based at the Danube port in Linz.
In sawmills and joineries, ancient machines often sit right next to modern equipment, and nobody really knows which ones are running, which are idle, or which are quietly overheating and turning into a fire risk. COISS, founded in Linz in February 2024 by Marco Kner and Manuel Rohrauer after they went through a joint insolvency together, attacks that problem with a strikingly low-tech pitch for a tech company: stick a sensor on the old machine, let it talk over WiFi, and watch a dashboard fill with data. What started as a simple productivity tracker — is it running, is it idle, where are the bottlenecks — grew into a sensor that also reads vibration, humidity, power draw and temperature, the last of which doubles as fire prevention that some insurers already reward with lower premiums. The company bootstrapped itself without outside investors, picked up a real customer in veneer maker Rohol (ten sensors monitoring a veneer press, storage, fans, a lithium-battery cabinet, and power use), and has since layered on production software, energy-monitoring add-ons, an AI assistant for pattern detection, and both subscription (from €180/month) and outright-purchase pricing. Retrofitting a machine this way costs roughly €12,000–50,000, against potentially hundreds of thousands for buying new equipment — which is really the whole pitch in one sentence. COISS has now logged over 100 projects in the timber industry and won the i2b startup competition's overall prize in 2025.
Key facts
- COISS GmbH was registered in Linz on 1 February 2024 by co-founders Marco Kner (CEO) and Manuel Rohrauer (CTO), who met after a shared prior insolvency.
- The core product is a non-invasive, plug-and-play sensor that attaches to existing machines and transmits data via WiFi to a cloud dashboard, with installation now under two minutes.
- Sensors track machine run/idle status, productivity, vibration, humidity, power consumption and temperature; overheating detection is marketed as a fire-prevention/insurance benefit, already recognized by some insurers as a premium-reducing measure.
- Sensor batteries last approximately five years.
- Pricing includes a subscription starting at about €180/month or a one-time purchase with no ongoing costs; small energy-monitoring entry packages start around €3,000.
- Full retrofit projects cost roughly €12,000–50,000, versus potentially several hundred thousand euros to replace a machine outright.
- Veneer manufacturer Rohol is a documented customer, using ten COISS sensors on a veneer press, storage, fans, a lithium-battery cabinet, and power circuits, with automated alarms for threshold breaches.
- The company was fully bootstrapped as of early 2025, without external investors, and reports over 100 projects in the woodworking industry.
- COISS has expanded from pure monitoring into production software, energy analysis, and an AI assistant that detects patterns and flags problems.
- Originally positioned across plastics, wood and metal industries, COISS has since focused mainly on sawmills, joineries and carpentry businesses in the DACH region.
- COISS won the overall i2b startup competition in 2025.
Deep analysis
COISS is a startup from Linz, Austria, that helps wood-processing companies (sawmills, joineries, carpentry shops) turn their old machines 'smart' without replacing them. Many of these businesses run machines that are 20-30 years old sitting next to modern equipment, with no way to know if a machine is running, standing idle, or quietly overheating into a fire hazard. Instead of forcing companies to buy new machinery or rewire their electrical systems, COISS attaches a small, non-invasive sensor directly to the existing machine. Installation takes only a couple of minutes. The sensor sends data over WiFi to a dashboard, showing whether the machine is running, how productive it is, and where downtime happens. Over time, COISS expanded the sensor to also track vibration, humidity, temperature, and power consumption. The temperature feature is notable because overheating machines or storage areas can cause fires in wood businesses -- some insurance companies already reduce premiums for customers using COISS sensors as a safety measure. The company was founded in February 2024 by Marco Kner and Manuel Rohrauer, who reportedly teamed up after going through a joint business insolvency together. They bootstrapped the company without outside investors. A real customer example is Rohol, a veneer manufacturer, which uses ten COISS sensors to monitor its veneer press, storage, fans, a lithium-battery cabinet, and power use. COISS now reports more than 100 projects in the timber industry and won the overall prize at the i2b startup competition in 2025. The business model is simple and low-friction: retrofit an old machine with a sensor instead of buying a new one. This costs roughly 12,000-50,000 euros, compared to potentially hundreds of thousands of euros for new equipment. Customers can either subscribe (from 180 euros/month) or buy the system outright with no ongoing fees. COISS has also added an AI assistant to detect patterns and production software for wood processors. What makes this idea educationally interesting is less the specific sensor technology and more the underlying principle: 'retrofit instead of replace.' This idea could theoretically apply to many other industries with old machinery, such as bakeries, laundries, farming equipment, heating systems, pumps, cooling units, elevators, or workshops -- though COISS itself currently focuses specifically on the wood industry in German-speaking countries (DACH region).
Founder Story
The founders built a non-invasive sensor that attaches to existing old machines and transmits data via WiFi to a dashboard, letting companies digitize production monitoring without replacing machinery or rewiring electrical systems.
Trigger: According to the source material, the founders came together after going through a joint insolvency ('gemeinsame Insolvenz').
The Problem
7/10
Wood-processing businesses like sawmills, joineries, and veneer manufacturers often operate old machines (sometimes 20-30 years old) alongside modern equipment. These old machines typically have no digital interface, so companies cannot reliably tell whether a machine is running or idle, how productive it is, or where downtime is occurring. Additionally, overheating machines or storage areas (including lithium-battery cabinets) can pose a real fire risk that goes undetected without monitoring.
The Solution
7/10
COISS offers a non-invasive, plug-and-play sensor that attaches to an existing machine in under two minutes without any wiring or integration into the machine's controls. The sensor transmits data over WiFi to a cloud dashboard, tracking whether the machine is running or idle, its productivity, vibration, humidity, power consumption, and temperature. Alerts are triggered when set thresholds are exceeded (e.g., overheating). The company has since added production software, energy-monitoring add-ons, and an AI assistant for pattern detection, plus a subscription or purchase pricing model.
Customer Willingness To Pay
8/10
Retrofitting with COISS sensors costs a fraction of replacing old machinery (roughly €12,000-50,000 vs. potentially hundreds of thousands of euros for new equipment), while also addressing real operational pain points: unclear machine utilization, downtime, and fire risk. The fire-prevention angle adds further value since some insurers already reduce premiums for companies using the sensors. (Both Subscription and One-time purchase are offered, depending on customer preference.)
Competition
4/10
Im Quellmaterial werden keine konkreten Wettbewerber genannt, was auf eine noch wenig besetzte Nische im DACH-Holzsektor hindeutet. Der Markteintritt erfordert jedoch Hardware-Entwicklung (Sensorik, Batterie, WLAN), eine funktionierende Cloud-/Dashboard-Software, Branchenwissen (Holzverarbeitung) sowie Vertrauen bei Kunden und Versicherungen. Die Kerntechnik (Sensor + Dashboard) ist grundsätzlich replizierbar, weshalb Nachahmer aus dem IoT-Bereich langfristig denkbar sind.
Market Size
6/10
Die Größenangaben beruhen auf der im Text beschriebenen Fokussierung auf Sägewerke/Holzverarbeiter im DACH-Raum sowie der expliziten Aussage, dass das zugrunde liegende Geschäftsprinzip branchenübergreifend übertragbar wäre. Konkrete Marktgrößen in Euro oder Kundenzahlen außerhalb der '100+ Projekte' werden nicht genannt.
Business Model
Subscription: Abo-Modell ab 180 €/Monat, One-time sales: Kaufvariante ohne laufende Kosten, Consulting/Zusatzleistungen: Produktionssoftware und Energie-Monitoring-Add-ons (ab ca. 3.000 €), Potenzielle zukünftige Lizenzierung des Retrofit-Prinzips auf andere Branchen (im Quellmaterial nur als Idee, nicht als aktives Geschäftsfeld beschrieben) -- Not evident in source material. Es werden keine konkreten Kosten- oder Margenzahlen für COISS selbst genannt; einzig die Retrofit-Kosten für Kunden (12.000–50.000 €) im Vergleich zu Neumaschinen (mehrere hunderttausend Euro) werden beziffert.
Copy Protection (Moat)
4/10
The core technology - a WiFi sensor reading vibration, temperature, humidity and power - is not patented and uses fairly standard IoT components, so it could be technically copied by a well-resourced competitor. The real protection comes from softer factors: deep knowledge of how to retrofit very old, brand-mixed machinery without touching their electrics, an early lead in industry trust and case studies, and a widening software/AI layer built on top. This is a moderate, not a strong, moat - it slows down copycats rather than blocking them.
Scalability
7/10
Ein KI-Assistent zur Mustererkennung und Alarmierung wird bereits erwähnt, was auf zunehmende Automatisierung der Datenauswertung hindeutet; die Installation selbst bleibt aber ein manueller, wenn auch sehr kurzer Schritt.
Undercover Development Time
12-24 months -- COISS combines commodity IoT components (WiFi sensors reading vibration, temperature, humidity, power draw) with dashboard software - none of this requires secret manufacturing or years of R&D. A small team could build and pilot a first version quietly for a year or two, especially since the target customers (sawmills, joineries) are not tech-savvy early adopters who talk to competitors. Once real case studies (like Rohol) and awards (i2b 2025) become public, larger industrial IoT players or competitors could notice and copy the concept relatively quickly.
Founder Skills Required
Future Outlook
Retrofitting old machinery with non-invasive IoT sensors addresses a structural problem (aging machine parks in wood processing) rather than a short-term fad. The core principle 'retrofit instead of replace' is described in the source as transferable to many other industries (bakeries, laundries, agriculture, heating systems, pumps, cooling, elevators), which suggests long-term market potential beyond the current wood-industry focus. Technology risk is moderate: the sensor/dashboard approach is relatively simple and could be replicated by competitors or by machine manufacturers building in native connectivity over time. Currently COISS has deliberately narrowed focus to DACH-region wood processing, so the broader long-term trend is more of a stated opportunity than a proven multi-industry business yet.
AI Risk
Not evident in the source material that AI could replace the core business, since the value lies in physical sensor hardware, installation, and data collection from otherwise 'dumb' machines — this requires a physical retrofit that AI alone cannot perform. Not evident in the source material beyond the mentioned AI assistant; a reasonable estimate would be to keep expanding AI-driven predictive maintenance and anomaly detection features on top of the existing sensor data, but this is an inference, not stated directly.
Improvement Ideas
- New products: Expand the 'retrofit instead of replace' sensor concept into other industries mentioned as theoretically applicable, such as bakeries, laundries, agriculture, heating systems, pumps, cooling systems, elevators, and workshops.
- Technology: Further develop the AI assistant to provide predictive maintenance alerts based on patterns in vibration, temperature, humidity, and power consumption data, reducing unplanned downtime for customers.
- Pricing: Build stronger partnerships with insurance companies, since some insurers already reward the temperature/fire-risk sensors with lower premiums; formalizing this into a joint offering could become a distinct revenue and marketing channel.
- Pricing: Offer tiered energy-monitoring entry packages (already starting around €3,000) as a low-cost entry point to upsell customers into the full sensor and software suite.
- Internationalization: Explore expansion beyond the DACH region into other European countries with significant wood processing industries, building on the i2b competition win and existing 100+ project track record as credibility markers.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
- - Solves a concrete, everyday problem for wood-processing businesses: not knowing if old machines are running, idle, or overheating.
- - Installation takes only a couple of minutes and requires no rewiring or integration into the machine's controls, which lowers adoption friction for busy, non-technical shop owners.
- - Price point (12,000-50,000 euros for retrofit, or a 180 euro/month subscription) is dramatically cheaper than replacing machinery that can cost hundreds of thousands of euros, making the ROI case easy to explain.
- - Real, named customer proof point (Rohol, a veneer manufacturer using ten sensors) plus more than 100 reported projects gives credibility beyond a pure concept.
- - The fire-risk angle (overheating machines, lithium-battery cabinets) creates a safety-driven buying reason beyond pure efficiency, and some insurance companies reportedly reduce premiums for customers using the sensors -- a strong, tangible incentive that helps sales.
- - Flexible business model (subscribe vs. buy outright) lets customers choose based on their cash flow preferences.
- - Founders bootstrapped the company without outside investors, showing the business could reach 100+ projects and win a startup competition without needing large capital first.
- - Winning the overall prize at the i2b startup competition in 2025 adds independent third-party validation.
- - Product has expanded organically from a single sensor to vibration, humidity, temperature, power monitoring, an AI assistant, and production software, showing a natural upsell path.
Weaknesses
- - Currently narrowly focused on one industry (wood processing) and one region (DACH), which limits the addressable market at this stage.
- - The core technology (sensor + dashboard) is described in the source material as 'grundsätzlich replizierbar' (fundamentally replicable), meaning there is little inherent technical moat protecting COISS from copycats.
- - No information in the source material about team size, total revenue, profitability, or growth rate, making it hard to judge the company's actual financial health.
- - Not evident in the source material whether the WiFi-based sensor has been tested in more difficult industrial environments (e.g., heavy dust, metal enclosures, poor signal areas) common in older factories.
- - Not evident in the source material regarding any patents or proprietary technology protecting the sensor or software.
Opportunities
- - The 'retrofit instead of replace' principle is explicitly noted as theoretically transferable to many other industries with old machinery -- bakeries, laundries, farming equipment, heating systems, pumps, cooling units, elevators, and workshops.
- - Expansion beyond the DACH region into other countries with aging industrial equipment.
- - Deeper partnerships with insurance companies could become both a differentiator and a sales channel, since premium discounts are already occurring.
- - Upselling existing customers with AI-based pattern detection, energy-monitoring add-ons, and production software creates a path to higher revenue per customer over time.
- - Being early in an apparently uncontested niche (no named competitors in the source material) gives room to build market share and brand trust before larger IoT players notice the space.
Threats
- - Because the underlying sensor-and-dashboard technology is replicable, established industrial IoT companies or new entrants could copy the approach once the niche proves profitable.
- - Reliance on the wood-processing industry means COISS's growth is tied to that sector's economic health and willingness to invest in monitoring technology.
- - Not evident in the source material whether large industrial automation companies are already developing competing retrofit products, but the case notes this as a long-term possibility.
- - Changes in insurance industry policy (e.g., insurers deciding not to offer discounts anymore) could remove one of COISS's key selling points.
- - As a bootstrapped company, COISS may have limited capital to defend its market position quickly if a well-funded competitor enters.
Final AI Evaluation
Business Potential
7/10
COISS addresses a real, underserved problem (unmonitored old machinery, fire risk) with a low-cost, low-friction solution, and already has 100+ projects and a real customer example (Rohol). The business potential is solid within its niche, though it remains concentrated in one industry and region.
Investment Attractiveness
6/10
The bootstrapped growth to 100+ projects and an award win are attractive signals, and the pricing model generates both recurring (subscription) and one-time revenue. However, the source material gives no revenue, margin, or funding figures, so a full investment case cannot be assessed -- Not evident in the source material regarding financials.
Beginner Friendliness
3/10
This is not an easy first business for a total beginner: it requires hardware/sensor development, WiFi and cloud dashboard engineering, industry-specific knowledge of wood processing machinery, and trust-building with both customers and insurance companies. It's more suited to founders with technical or industrial background.
Innovation
6/10
The individual components (sensors, dashboards, IoT monitoring) are not new technology, but applying them non-invasively to old wood-industry machinery, tying it to fire-risk insurance discounts, and packaging it as a 'retrofit instead of replace' business model is a clever and innovative repositioning of existing tech for an underserved niche.
Scalability
6/10
The subscription/hardware model can scale reasonably well since installation is fast and doesn't require custom engineering per client. The stated potential to apply the same 'retrofit' principle to other industries (bakeries, laundries, farming, etc.) suggests further scalability, though this is described only as an idea, not an active business line.
Long-Term Opportunity
7/10
If COISS or others successfully extend the retrofit principle beyond wood processing into other industries with aging machinery, the long-term opportunity is significant. Within its current niche, continued growth in the DACH wood sector and deeper insurance partnerships also offer a solid multi-year runway.
Risk
6/10
Moderate-to-high risk: the company is bootstrapped with no outside capital cushion, operates in a single industry/region, and its core technology is described as replicable, meaning competitors could enter without major barriers. Balanced against this, the company already has paying customers and proven traction, which lowers pure concept risk.
Competitive Pressure
3/10
The source material states no concrete competitors are named, suggesting COISS currently operates in a relatively uncontested niche within the DACH wood sector. Current competitive pressure appears low, though this could change over time given the replicable technology.
Customer Demand
7/10
Demonstrated demand is fairly strong: 100+ reported projects, a detailed real customer case (Rohol using ten sensors), and insurance companies incentivizing adoption all indicate that wood-processing businesses see genuine value in the solution.
Barrier To Entry
5/10
Entering this space requires hardware development (sensors, battery, WiFi), functioning cloud/dashboard software, wood-industry domain knowledge, and credibility with both customers and insurers. This is a moderate barrier -- not trivial, but not requiring massive capital or deep patents either, since the source notes the core tech is fundamentally replicable.
Overall Rating
7/10
COISS demonstrates a well-validated, low-cost solution to a real and specific industrial problem, backed by real customer use, an industry award, and a smart 'retrofit instead of replace' principle with broader applicability. Its narrow niche focus, limited public financial data, and replicable core technology keep it from scoring higher, but as an educational case study on identifying under-digitized niches, it rates strongly.
Why it matters
COISS shows that digitalization doesn't require ripping out old equipment or running a massive IT project — a cheap, fast retrofit sensor can be the entire value proposition, especially when it's framed not just as efficiency data but as safety and insurance savings. The underlying 'retrofit instead of replace' principle is explicitly portable beyond woodworking to bakeries, laundries, farms, pumps, cooling systems and elevators, making it a template worth studying for founders eyeing traditional, equipment-heavy industries.