Implementation of the disposal concept

The story of success started in May 1992 with the foundation of RETEK Verwertungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG by the Vehicle Guild of East Frisia; more than 100 automotive operations participated in this with the aim of putting the comprehensive disposal concept into practical implementation.

More than 230 car dealerships from the vehicle guilds of Aurich/ East Frisia, Aschendorf-Hümmling, Meppen, Cloppenburg, Ammerland, Wesermarsch, Frisia and Hanover have now joined RETEK as limited partners.

First of all, a modern industrial hall with adjoining administrative building was constructed over an area spanning 15,000 m². RETEK initially took the plunge as “social operation” with a workforce of nine. It aimed to meet both economic and ecological requirements with the additional intention of creating new jobs in a region that was lacking in infrastructure.

In the second phase, the disposal of waste requiring special supervision was co-ordinated with the relevant subcontractors, optimised container systems for collecting solid waste were established and work started on the logistics planning for the five vehicles that made up RETEK’s own fleet.

With the relocation to Ihlow of the world’s first industrial plant for the disassembly of vehicles that had emerged from the former Volkswagen pilot project in Leer, the spatial capacity had been reached by the end of 1994.

This area, which now spans 45,000 m², was extended twice. In three large industrial halls, up to 6,000 vehicles per year are now disassembled here, stored and then re-sold via a state-of-the-art computerised network in the form of quality-tested spare parts.

“In 2002, with the unanimous agreement of the shareholders, RETEK Verwertungsgesellschaft became RETEK AG, a public limited company with capital stock of € 1,250,000. Since then, the young company has had an ideal legal form that is a suitable reflection of its innovative ecological and economic area of activity.”