Boer Group

Boer Group has been collecting, sorting and preparing textiles, worn clothing and shoes for reuse for over 100 years. Our organization consists of three collection companies and seven sorting companies in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany and an innovative platform. The entire process, transparent under one roof. The 750 employees sort approx. 112.5 million kg of used textiles per year and together with our international partners, the people of Boer Group are constantly working on a sustainable solution to keep residual waste to a minimum.

In brief…

Boer Group is a family business with a long tradition. Once started as a collector of waste paper, metal and rags, Boer Group has developed over the past century into an international all-round textile recycling company. Our core activity remains the finely meshed sorting of clothing and all textile-related products.

Search for trade, seek opportunities for recycling ... it is in the genes of the now 4 e generation in combination with a nose for business is Boer Group has become an established name in the worldwide second hand textile market where not only the collection and sorting, but also trading and innovation is central.

Mission

By collecting and fine-meshed sorting of textiles, a transparent working method towards customers and suppliers and being able to respond flexibly to changing market conditions, Boer Group aims to keep the percentage of (textile) residual waste to a minimum and to maintain domestic employment within this sector in order to profitability of the organization.

In its interpretation, Boer Group attaches great importance to sustainability and safety, combining the terms 'People', 'Planet' and 'Profit'.

Vision

Over the next three years, Boer Group will focus on finding sustainable and efficient ways to sort the expected increase in the flow of subspecies, textiles of which the quality is not suitable for product reuse.

The aim is also to increase the share in the Dutch collection market. This policy statement has been communicated to all employees of Boer Group and is revised annually. An evaluation takes place every three years and this statement is updated and re-implemented if necessary.

Family history

The foundation for the current Boer Group was laid in the 1950s in Rotterdam with the collection and trade of metal, paper and rags. The first business premises were established on Jozeflaan, where a small team continued to specialize in sorting rags and looking for ways to reuse the products.

Gebotex was founded in 1965 by Gerrit Boer and was the first real textile sorting company. Gerrit was the grandfather of the current Boer Group CEO. Under the leadership of Gerrit's son Marinus, the organization took on its current form. Numerous new sorting companies were founded or acquired with the acquisition of FWS as a strategic milestone; the largest collection company in Germany.

As a result, the sorting companies within the group were assured of the supply of unsorted textiles in a market where this was by no means always self-evident. The continuity of Boer Group's core business, sorting, was thus guaranteed.

By the end of the 20 e  century the emphasis Boer Group was primarily on increasing efficiency in the sorting companies. All companies were thoroughly renovated and all supply and removal lines in the sorting process were fully automated.

The organization also went through a professionalization process. More structure was introduced and a personnel policy was introduced. Since 2016, the Boer Group has been complying with a combination of ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 by means of a well thought-out quality management system aimed at sustainability and safety of the production process.

Expansions in Belgium and Dubai followed in the past decade. Most recently, the partnership with Gebetex Collecte and Tri in the north of France and the establishment of Boer Group Recycling Solutions in 2015.

The management of the Boer Group has also undergone the necessary changes and in the meantime the management is in the hands of the 4 th  generation, which, with its own vision, ensures that the organization continues to develop and grows with the times.