ALBA sets its course for the future

Berlin. The owners of the ALBA Group, Dr Axel Schweitzer and Dr Eric Schweitzer, are reorganising the group of companies in order to create agile units that also reflect their respective operational responsibilities in the ownership structure. Subject to the approval of the Federal Cartel Office, these will correspond to the market requirements and the individual focal points for the regions and the business models:

• in the future, Dr Axel Schweitzer will have sole ownership of the principal activities in Asia, including ALBA Group Asia in particular. The joint shareholdings in ALBA Services Holding (ASH) and especially the plastics activities of ALBA International Recycling (AIR) will also be transferred to Dr Axel Schweitzer, so that there the whole plastics recycling with all processing steps – from high-tech sorting to the returning into the raw material loop – will be concentrated. Here, the activities are therefore brought together that pursue the global corporate vision of a “world without waste” and growth in Asia.

• In the future, Dr Eric Schweitzer will hold all the shares in ALBA Europe Holding, which primarily operates the waste management business and important parts of the recycling business with innovative facilities to extend the value chain and a growing municipal business, as well as the steel and metal recycling. Since the foundation of the family business more than 50 years ago, this is where the greatest share of the turnover and the greatest number of employees are to be found. In addition to this, there are also certain activities from the area of the previous ASH and AIR.

The business units will continue to work closely together within the framework of a family grouping. Co-owner Dr Eric Schweitzer: "This reorganisation corresponds to our content-related priorities. I am very much based in Berlin, Germany and Europe, while in recent decades, Axel has become a recognised expert for Asia and a pioneer of a world without waste.” Co-owner Dr Axel Schweitzer adds: “Each of us can focus on what we are most passionate about. Eric has a more in-depth understanding of the waste management business in our home markets. As genuine ‘fraternal’ companies, we will continue to make the best use of the arising synergies.”

In the background to the reorganisation are the challenges that have emerged in recent years in the markets in which the companies operate under the ALBA and Interseroh brands. Competition has become even more intense in both the waste management and recycling business and in steel and metal recycling. The packaging licensing market is undergoing a strategic transformation. A significant degree of commitment is required in the Asian growth sector in order to realise the considerable potential.

To successfully rise to the challenges in the various areas of business, including at the personal level, as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ASH, Dr Axel Schweitzer has also initiated the start of the new “Interseroh+” dual system with the goal of closing material loops together with the worlds of retail and industry. With ALBA Group Asia, which has now been positioned alongside the ALBA Group as an independent unit since last year, he has significantly driven the expansion in Asia, including new projects in China, two orders in Singapore and the construction of a new plastics plant in Hong Kong. As the CEO of ALBA Europe Holding, Dr Eric Schweitzer is driving the successful strategy forwards. This encompasses numerous new municipal partnerships and the extension of the value chain through innovative recycling plants, for example.

About ALBA Group:

The ALBA Group, one of the leading recycling and environmental services companies as well as raw material providers worldwide, operates with its two brands – ALBA and Interseroh – within Germany, Europa and Asia. In 2020 its divisions generated an annual turnover of 1.9 billion Euros and employed a staff of approx. 8,700 employees. In 2019 alone ALBA Group saved 4.2 million tonnes of greenhouse gases compared to primary production and at the same time 32.3 million tonnes of primary raw materials through its recycling activities.

Further information on ALBA Group can be found at www.albagroup.com.

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