Germany-headed paper- and energy company Koehler Group has announced that its subsidiary Zollikofer Group has acquired French fuelwood and biomas supplier SAS REKO Energie Bois (REKO) for an undisclosed amount.
A Koehler Group company since 2021, Zollikofer is an international logistics and commercial company that focuses on sawmill byproducts and reclaimed timber, forest wood, and fuelwood.
REKO provides comprehensive solutions for supplying fuelwood and primarily specializes in utilizing wood in the French market, particularly to prepare fuels for biomass combined heat and power plants.
Founded in 2007, REKO is a leading company in French wood procurement, wood byproduct- processing, and trade.
With sites in Réding, Morville, and Strasbourg, REKO has 16 employees and handles around 120,000 tonnes annually playing a key role in the wood and biomass industry.
Strategic acquisition
The company provides a variety of wood processing and marketing processes and services including wood sourcing and purchasing ‘standing timber’, where the wood is purchased and felled directly on-site in the forest.
In addition, REKO markets all its wood stocks to material- and energy industries, thereby maximizing the material and energy-related benefits of the wood.
Another of their key activities is utilizing natural and recycled biomass. This biomass is processed for material recycling or as a biomass fuel. REKO is therefore making a significant contribution to the sustainable use of wood resources.
REKO trades in all log grades and biomass from natural and recycled sources, meaning it can offer a wide range of products and serve various market requirements.
With the acquisition of REKO, Zollikofer is tapping into the eastern French market.
This acquisition of REKO is a key strategic step for Zollikofer to expand its activities into the French market and an important step toward growing further in the biomass sector, explained Dr Philipp Hill, Managing Director at Zollikofer.
Secure biomass supply
The acquisition of REKO and the associated expansion of business activities into France will also further optimize and ensure the secure supply of the Koehler Group’s biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plants.
At the Oberkirch site in Germany, Koehler Paper’s CHP plant is being converted from coal to biomass.
This project will decarbonize one of the largest generators of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the entire Koehler Group and thus improve the family company’s climate footprint dramatically.
REKO’s additional resources and expertise in utilizing wood will also allow the Koehler Group even greater planning security in the future when it comes to the long-term supply of natural fuels for biomass plants.
Frank Andlauer, Head of Forest Wood at Zollikofer, will take over the operational management of REKO together with founder and previous shareholder Maurice Schott.
Maurice Schott will be with us every step of the way for another two years before starting his well-earned retirement. Over this period, we will work together to make REKO’s new journey both future-oriented and sustainable, ended Frank Andlauer.
