Above: REMONDIS team members in Sweden welcome new Veolia staff and look forward to working together closely.

An update to a piece of news that we brought you in the last edition of the REMONDIS International Newsletter: our acquisition of Veolia Recycling Solutions Nordic AB in Sweden closed on 16 December 2021. The addition of 65 sites in Sweden and a large number of new colleagues to our company means that customers in Scandinavia will enjoy a broader portfolio of services ranging from collecting, processing and marketing recycled raw materials to industrial cleaning. The deal allows REMONDIS to strengthen its foothold in the Nordic region, particularly in Sweden.The integration is making good progress, with teams from both sides already working together closely.

REMONDIS's Swedish team is already exchanging experience with numerous group departments and entities in areas including electronics recycling, plant engineering, truck and bin procurement, biofuels and plastics with the Region North in Kiel, Germany. Staff in Sweden have also forged connections with their counterparts at our German subsidiary TSR Hamburg (metal scrap business), with representatives from both companies visiting each other's scrap yards to discuss ways to analyse inbound refuse streams and maximise recycling quantity and quality. These new capabilities in Sweden, REMONDIS's existing activities in Denmark and partnership with the North region in Kiel are helping to make northern Europe the place where more and more recycled raw materials are traded on the Kiel - Gothenburg - Malmö - Copenhagen - Hamburg route.

Below: The integration is making good progress, including at this location in Gothenburg, Sweden.

One of the new trains that will transport travelers in Hanover. © Transdev Hannover GmbH

The quality of S-Bahn (regional train) services in the city of Hanover, Germany is improving thanks to Transdev Hannover GmbH. On 12 December 2021, the regional Transdev subsidiary took over operating three S-Bahn lines, S3, S6 and S7, with the first of 15 new vehicles departing from the main train station just after midnight. These trains offer guests more leg room and fast internet, and also cater to the special needs of travelers with mobility restrictions. Starting in June 2022, Transdev Hannover GmbH will be responsible for running the entire S-Bahn network for the capital city of the Lower Saxony region, covering around 9.3 million train kilometres and carrying over 30 million passengers each year.

Taking a holistic approach drives everything we do at REMONDIS – our water services are a prime example. We cover the entire spectrum of needs and value chains from planning to operating water infrastructure for industry, local governments and the general public. From sourcing and producing process and drinking water all the way through to treating effluent in sewage treatment plants or on site at our industrial customers. And we also provide material management services, including generating energy from sewage sludge, phosphorous recovery and biogas generation. 

At the same time, we are working on many innovations, technologies, digital and smart applications, modern methods and services to conserve water and protect the environment. We are a strategic provider of sustainable and innovative services for infrastructure in the public and industrial domain, deploying control technology and smart metering solutions. We have even developed our SCADA system called i-View in-house to gather and analyse data and perform remote control of crucial electrical and mechanical components. 

REMONDIS Aqua International is taking steps to strengthen its management team too: Dr Michael Rose has joined the management team at REMONDIS Aqua International as COO at the beginning of this year, bringing wide-ranging experience in the water operations around the globe. After almost nineteen years in various divisions of our group, Dr Rose will now be taking on further challenges within the REMONDIS Group. Most recently, Dr Rose worked for REMONDIS International in the Netherlands. There, he developed and expanded the public water transport activities of REMONDIS Smart Infra as Managing Director.

Dr Michael Rose, COO of REMONDIS Aqua International, added, "I look forward to working on the REMONDIS Aqua International management team supporting REMONDIS Aqua on its international growth trajectory. The future of water has many challenges, which we want to turn into opportunities. For instance, our goal is to support our customers in the construction and management of forward-looking and state-of-the-art water infrastructure projects even more. In particular the impact on our environment and society will play an increasingly important role within the services that we offer. Sustainability certainly is one of our key focus points, supported by digitalisation and data analysis. By taking these cornerstones into account at all times, we are absolutely sure we will be meeting customer demands in the future even more."

Just as it is in many countries around the globe, REMONDIS is a full-service provider with a variety of water, recycling and service activities in Turkey. Our company is safeguarding its future growth around the world by making forward-looking investments in research and development, technology and training, which will ultimately benefit the general public, employees and the environment as well as industry. We provide services for local authorities, including in the form of Public Private Partnerships and have countless partnerships with industrial businesses worldwide.

REMONDIS works with different sectors of industry in Turkey, ranging from automotive, wood products, tobacco, food and beverage and textiles, to provide total water and recycling management services. One case in point is our partnership with Oerlikon Welding Electrodes Manisa, which selected REMONDIS as its recycling management provider this year. Originally from Switzerland, Oerlikon makes materials and technology for the aerospace, automotive, energy, tooling and medical industries. Its Turkish operations produce welding electrodes. Under the terms of the contract, REMONDIS will handle paper, plastic and wood packaging as well as post-production materials such as electrode and electronic refuse. These kinds of strong partnerships promise a strong future for our company.

From left to right: Dr Frank Ehlers (Managing Director, Müllverbrennung Kiel), Sabine Schirdewahn (Plant Manager at Kiel’s Eigenbetrieb Beteiligungen), Wolfgang Steen (Managing Director, REMONDIS) and Dr Ulf Kämpfer (Mayor of Kiel). © Thomas Eisenkrätzer 

The northern German city of Kiel is moving forward on its path to net zero by building and operating a sewage sludge incineration plant with an integrated phosphorus recovery system - together with REMONDIS. The cooperation with the city of Kiel is nothing new – both entities have been working together successfully and closely at the Kiel‘s refuse incineration plant for over 20 years. 

"This lighthouse project will ensure that the municipal sewage sludge in Kiel will soon be treated using a net-zero process and that the energy produced from this process will be able to be fed into Kiel's network as district heat. Besides providing a supply of green district heat, this plant will also be reusing the water recovered during the sludge pre-treatment stage in its own operations – a further step towards protecting the environment and tackling climate change. This project is being supported by the EU LIFE programme as part of the European Union’s Green Deal," remarked Kiel's Mayor, Dr Ulf Kämpfer, at a ceremony to sign the contracts.

Left: Aloys Oechtering, Managing Director of RETERRA, right: COMPO's Group CEO, Stephan Engster. © COMPO

RETERRA, a wholly owned subsidiary of REMONDIS and leading biological raw material specialist, and COMPO, a leading European provider of branded products for plants in the home and garden, have forged a long-term partnership with the ultimate goal of reducing emissions and conserving resources. The companies will work together in two main areas: firstly, developing, manufacturing, and marketing plant substrate, potting soil, soil improving agents and liquid and solid organic fertiliser made out of recycled raw materials and, secondly, finding ways to improve packaging recycling.

The companies' research and development efforts will focus on the launch of innovative organic fertiliser and additives. The partners intend to shorten delivery routes and times by providing natural materials on a regional basis. This approach will both cut emissions and ensure even greater supply chain reliability and flexibility. The companies also plan to further their efforts to make sales packaging even more recyclable. In the medium term, the companies aim to create a closed loop for packaging material after already receiving many prizes for their efforts to date. Other members of the REMONDIS family will also play a special role by sharing their expertise as specialists in licensing and recycling plastic packaging - creating an important and sustainable partnership for dynamic growth.

Above: Photovoltaic panels are helping to reduce energy consumption at water treatment plants in Huesca and Tarragona, Spain.

REMONDIS has long been committed to energy efficiency and reducing electricity consumption at its water treatment plants. These projects have not just lowered direct costs, but also helped to advance the search for better and more efficient processes that have less of an impact on the planet.

From left to right: Andreas Bankamp, Philippe Girard, Bernd Fleschenberg, Fady Lahame, Philippe Varin, Ludger Rethmann, Matthias Ebach, Egbert Tölle.

At the start of April, Philippe Varin, Head of the French Governmental Mission about the Future of European Raw Materials Supply, Chairman of the World Materials Forum and former President and Chairman of old Suez (EUR18bn in revenues in 2020), and Fady Lahame, Head of Macquarie Capital France – Advisory & Capital Solutions Group, visited REMONDIS's Lippe Plant in Lünen, Europe's largest centre for industrial recycling. REMONDIS was represented in the talks in Lünen by Ludger Rethmann (President and CEO REMONDIS Group), Egbert Tölle (Vice President REMONDIS Group and President REMONDIS International Group), Andreas Bankamp (CEO REMONDIS Aqua), Philippe Girard (CEO REMONDIS France), Bernd Fleschenberg (COO TSR Recycling) and Matthias Ebach (Member of the Board REMONDIS Maintenance Services, Managing Director BUCHEN).

All attendees were interested in discussing the advances in sustainable battery and magnet recycling in Europe. The conversations were enriched by Philippe Varin's experience in the automotive industry and as former president of ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers' Association) and RETHMANN's expertise in this sector including in automotive logistics via Rhenus Automotive and in end-of-life vehicle recycling via REMONDIS's subsidiary TSR Recycling (a leading metal recycler) and in other segments of the value chain.

Beyond these issues, the participants also delved into nuclear services, another area where there were many overlaps in expertise: Philippe Varin served as Chairman of Areva, then Orano for a few years, a leading international group and a key player in the nuclear energy sector. REMONDIS, via its subsidiaries Buchen and Xervon, offers customers a portfolio ranging from the planning and implementation of all types of decontamination work all the way to the drafting and execution of full-scale decommissioning and dismantling projects.

All in all, this lively dialogue offered plenty of promise for Europe's raw materials policy.

From left to right: Krzysztof Falenta, President of the Board REMONDIS Świdnik, Andrzej Trzesicki, Member of the Board REMONDIS Poland, Dr Marek Gębski, Member of the Board REMONDIS Poland, Waldemar Jakson, Mayor of the City of Świdnik, Leszek Pieszczek, Member of the Board REMONDIS Poland, Marcin Dmowski, Deputy Mayor of the City of Świdnik, Leszek Gryta, Member of the Board REMONDIS Świdnik.

REMONDIS has been working with the City of Świdnik, Poland in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) since 1995. Waldemar Jakson, who has served as Mayor of Świdnik since 1998, has represented the city in this robust and successful partnership for 27 years now. The PPP provides services to the Świdnik municipal area (40,000 residents) and to all companies, offices, shops and schools in the city. It also serves the neighboring community of Mełgiew (10,000 residents) and all enterprises and institutions in its area. REMONDIS ŚWIDNIK has now moved to a new office located in a modern building at Lotników Polskich Avenue, Poland. The office has already been officially opened.