What a celebration! The C.C. Group thanks everyone who contributed to this

On 20 September 2019, the C.C. Group celebrated its 50^th anniversary in a place steeped in history: the rooftop of a former coal preparation plant at the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex. Today, this historical coal-mining site is a World Heritage Site and popular event location.

Among the guests were customers, employees and shareholders of the C.C. Group as well as scientific partners. Economic and technical historian, Stephan Mlodoch, gave a lecture on how “simple” waste disposal evolved into today’s circular economy. Martin Faulstich, Professor of Environmental and Energy Technology at Clausthal University of Technology, Director of the Institute for the Future of Industrial Society (INZIN) and political consultant, followed with a talk on why slag from thermal waste treatment plants will be a coveted raw material in future.

The event then took a lighter turn with the performance of cabaret artist and theatre-maker Bruno “Günna” Knust. The former stadium announcer for German football club, Borussia Dortmund, explained the local “Ruhrpott” region in his very own way, which was certainly less scientific but therefore highly amusing. Guests were also given guided tours of the coal mine industrial complex, including its well-known Design Museum. The Duo Aphrodite provided the musical accompaniment for the evening, with Gilda Razani on saxophone and Hans Wanning on piano.

The management of the C.C. Group would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex and all their guests and speakers for helping to make this celebration such a special day. Here’s to another 50 successful years with our partners! Or, to use the traditional good luck wish of German miners: Glückauf!

“We can approach the next 50 years with our heads held high”

On 20 September 2019, the C.C. Group will celebrate its 50^th anniversary at the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in Essen. Here, Co-Managing Director Dieter Kersting talks about personal milestones, investment firm and new owner Novum Capital, and ambitious plans for the future.

Mr. Kersting, the C.C. Group will celebrate its 50th anniversary on 20 September. What do you have planned for the big occasion?

Dieter Kersting: From 10:30 a.m., we will be hosting an informative and entertaining event, followed by an evening of culinary excellence, as befits a 50^th anniversary celebration. As well as celebrating our company’s anniversary, we also want to acknowledge our corporate DNA, which is shaped by being a medium-sized company and characterized by competence, reliability and trust. This day will be the highlight of the year.

How many guests are you expecting?

We are expecting around 150 guests from all over Germany – longstanding and new customers, partners from politics, business, and science and, of course, our entire workforce.

You yourself have been with the C.C. Group for 30 years now. Is there anyone who has been with the company longer than that?

(Pauses to think, then laughs): Nope, I guess I am the dinosaur here!

Back in 1989, would you have thought that you would still be here 30 years later?

No! I was only 30 years old at the time. At that age, you still assume that your career will pass through various stages.

What are your reasons for staying with the C.C. Group for so long?

I immediately liked the environment of a medium-sized company and felt I was able to develop within the firm. I joined C.C. as a lawyer, but quickly became a sales representative. In this role, I was able to implement many projects that advanced the company and for which I received appreciation. From a career-perspective, this is very fulfilling.

What projects are you thinking of, specifically?

One contract imprinted on my mind is the very first contract I signed – with high-end appliance manufacturer Miele. A great company, back then and still now. Miele was already using a recyclable, cast-iron bearing cross as the “backbone” of its premium washing machines. We collected their foundry sand and disposed of it – and on the way back to the Miele foundry in Gütersloh, we picked up scrap metal from our Krefeld site, which Miele then melted down for its bearing crosses.

Circular economy at its best!

Absolutely. Although, at the time, this term wasn’t as commonly used as it is now. By the way, we still have the contract with Miele. It is one of the reasons the C.C. Group has such an exceptionally good reputation in the foundry industry.

Which other milestones have you helped the company reach?

I signed my first contract for the disposal of waste incineration slag in 1990 with the waste incineration plant in Bamberg. It was not at all difficult to persuade the waste incinerators to sign, because the C.C. Group has multimodal transport connections in Krefeld. Using ships in logistics has always had great advantages. Of course, I also remember the filter dust disposal contract we signed with the largest German coal mining corporation, Ruhrkohle AG, in 1992. This customer relationship was one of the reasons why the C.C. Group acquired stakes in the Bleicherode and Sollstedt stowing mines in Thuringia. These investments are also a great competitive advantage for us.

Let’s take a look at the more recent past: At the beginning of 2018, Frankfurt-based investment firm Novum Capital acquired the C.C. Group. How is your relationship with this new shareholder?

Very good, because our relationship is characterized by mutual appreciation. We are lucky to have been acquired by Novum Capital, as this is a shareholder that is willing to make big investments in the C.C. Group. This is important, because, being part of the waste management industry, we have to meet more and more legal requirements, which costs a lot of money.

So, without Novum Capital, you would be worse off financially?

Of course. In the past, we were organized as company-affiliated foundations, making us less financially strong. Now, with Novum Capital, we have already been able to modernize our Hagen site, for example by installing a dual-pass separator. And just a few weeks ago, in July, we took into operation our multimillion investment, “Stratego”. With this highly intelligent metal finishing equipment, we are now a technology leader in the field of slag recycling. And our journey continues!

Where to?

That is a secret for now! All I will say is this: we are working on new partnerships and things are looking good. We are also looking at possible new locations. And we are planning technological innovations to process mineral waste materials in such a way that they become very attractive as alternative construction materials in civil engineering.

50 years after its foundation, how important is the C.C. Group for the region?

For decades, our largest customers have been municipal waste incinerators. For this reason alone, our company is important for the region. As a brand, C.C. has a very positive image, so we have a good relationship with the local administration, too. For example, at our Hagen site, we have a joint venture with a municipality. Furthermore, our transshipment hub is very relevant for the ports in Krefeld and Würzburg.

Today, recycling is more important than ever. So, surely, another 50 years are on the cards?

Not for me! (Laughs) But all joking aside: Naturally, the current developments towards more climate protection and resource conservation speak for our business model, especially as waste incineration is now climate-neutral and municipal waste bins will continue to contain a lot of recyclables for a long time to come. I am convinced that we can approach the next 50 years with our heads held high.

Thank you for your time.

“Stratego is the cherry on the cake”

On 19 July, the C.C. Group took into operation its new metal finishing machinery, “Stratego”, at the company’s site in Krefeld. Here, Co-Managing Director Dieter Kersting tells us about the strategy behind it, political recognition and customer benefits.

Mr. Kersting, when you officially took “Stratego” into operation, there were customers, shareholders and even scientists present. What makes this machine so interesting?

Dieter Kersting: It is the result of a forward-thinking decision made by the C.C. Group: Stratego enables us to extract non-ferrous metals from incineration slag by type – for the first time in our 50-year history. Stratego separates the so-called light NF metals in the slag –

mainly aluminum – from the heavy NF metals, which are mostly copper, gold, silver, platinum and palladium. This new industrial machine also cleans the metals.

How did you proceed up until now, without Stratego?

Until now, we recovered the different NF metals as one big mixture. Other companies then sorted them by type and sold them on to metal smelters. Now, with Stratego, we can sell the extracted metals to the smelters themselves. From a strategic and economic point of view, this is a highly advantageous expansion of our business model.

What gave you the idea? After all, the C.C. Group had been successful for 50 years even without Stratego.

There is a saying: “To stand still is to fall behind.” This applies to us, too. We must progress in order to remain successful – which is why we are investing so heavily in our sites and equipment.

How much have you invested in Stratego?

Quite a high, seven-figure sum. About one third of this came from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, BMBF. We feel very honored that the BMBF decided to fund our quantum leap in the recovery of raw materials from incineration slags. This shows great appreciation for the work of the C.C. Group.

The machine now sits in a hall more than 2,000 square meters in size. How did you get it there? Did you buy it, then have it delivered and assembled?

If it were that easy, all our competitors would have one! The opposite is the case: Stratego is an in-house development. The great thinkers behind it are my Co-Managing Director, Roberto Grau, and Dr. Georg Rottländer, our Head of Sales and authorized signatory of C.C. Umwelt GmbH. They were assisted by environmental engineers Hamburg-Umwelt-Recyclingtechnologien (H-U-R) GmbH, and the Institute of Environmental Technology and Energy Economics at Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH).

What benefits does Stratego offer your customers?

Take the waste incineration plants, for example, who task us with the disposal of their slag and filter dust. They can write in their sustainability reports that they work with a partner – the C.C. Group – that has once again managed to increase its contribution to protecting the environment by reducing CO₂ emissions. With Stratego, we are able to meet the ever-increasing requirements for waste incineration plants far better than any of our competitors. And the customers to whom we sell the non-ferrous metals recover from the slag can trust that they have been optimally processed. In short, thanks to Stratego we see ourselves as a technology leader in slag processing and we are making a significant contribution to resource conservation and environmental protection.

How many hours a day does the machine operate?

It is run by two shifts, though it operates almost by itself. We have three specialized employees who operate the machine and sort the metals.

Where would you place Stratego in the 50-year history of the C.C. Group?

We will be celebrating this fabulous anniversary on 20 September 2019 at the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in Essen. This is going to be a bigger event than even the grand unveiling of Stratego! We are expecting around 150 guests; new and long-standing customers, representatives from trade associations and politicians. The celebrations will begin in the morning with a lecture event, followed by a cabaret show and a visit to the colliery museums, and crowned by an elaborate evening event. And Stratego will be like the cherry on top of a multi-tiered cake!

Thank you for your time.