“Environmental awareness in Denmark is even stronger than among Norwegian consumers, so the Danish market is attractive for a company like ours,” says Tommy Paulsen, who runs the reuse business together with his son.
The business idea first saw the light of day in 2006.
In some respects, the Danish market is easier to manage than the Norwegian market.
“In Norway, used white goods sometimes have to be transported over very long distances. This is both a logistical and environmental challenge because of the long transport routes. In Denmark, it takes at most four hours to drive from one end of the country to the other, whereas in Norway it can take days. Logistics is a key component in making reuse a sustainable business, both economically and environmentally,” says Tommy Paulsen.
Another very important component in the reuse industry is the sorting of used white goods, so that Recirk can ensure that they can be repaired and reused.
The company has agreements with several major Danish reuse operators to take over used white goods. The collaboration appears to be working. According to Tommy Paulsen, many of the used machines can be reused. When it comes to returned goods from the company’s retail partners, the figure can be as high as 90%.
Recirk’s CEO sees significant potential in working with Elretur to take used white goods from the two special Preparation for Reuse (PfR) facilities that Elretur is establishing together with its partners in eastern and western Denmark.
“The collaboration with Elretur is very important for Recirk. It enables us to develop the Danish market, reach larger parts of the market and obtain enough good used products to maintain sustainable production. The collaboration with Elretur also gives us strong credibility in relation to Danish operators. And we share the same goal of environmental responsibility,” says Tommy Paulsen.
Recirk’s current core area in the Danish market is Zealand, but the company plans to cover the whole country during 2022/23. Recirk also plans to offer new services within logistics and transport. The company will announce more about this at a later date.
Traceability of used products is another key area in the reuse industry. The authorities require operators to be able to track used products.
Recirk ApS (Greentrace) has a registration system that records everything the company does with the products from cradle to grave – including assigning a new serial number – to ensure sustainability and to document to the authorities that everything is handled properly and lawfully.
The company has a particular competitive advantage in the Danish market compared with other reuse operators. It has developed a special method to solve the challenges created by hard Danish water, which causes limescale deposits in machines and shortens the lifetime of white goods.
Recirk offers its customers a two-year warranty on refurbished products – the same warranty as the white goods industry offers customers for new white goods.
Tommy Paulsen’s plan is to expand the business in Scandinavia and Germany in the coming years, provided the growth curves in the Norwegian and Danish reuse markets continue to point upwards.
Tommy Paulsen, CEO and founder of Recirk, tel. +47 4581 9880 or email tp@recirk.com.
Or Lea Bruun Nielsen, press contact at Elretur, tel. +45 4414 0013 or email lbn@elretur.dk.