Wachtmann Rohstoffhandel GmbH in Herford was founded in 1922 by Friedrich Wachtmann and is now run by the fourth generation as a family business.

As an owner-managed company, it is important to us to always maintain personal and long-term contact with our customers. Trusting and transparent action is just as important to us as flexible adaptation to the needs of our customers.

Steel and metal scrap of all types and qualities are sorted, checked and processed according to the requirements of our customers on an operating area of ​​approx. 45,000 m². We have an extensive machine park with scrap shears, parcel presses, screening and sorting systems and eddy current separators at our disposal. This is constantly being modernized and expanded.

With our extensive fleet of trough, container and crane vehicles, we ensure that our customers are supplied on time. We employ 42 qualified employees in the areas of goods receipt, preparation, transport and administration.

As a specialist disposal company, we ensure the legally compliant and environmentally compatible recycling of metals, always under the premise that scrap is a raw material.

CORPORATE PHILOSOPHY

Customers and suppliers

Our customers and suppliers determine the success of our products and thus the future of our company.
In long-term and trusting relationships, customer orientation and customer satisfaction are both a challenge and an obligation.

By continuously improving our services and processes, we meet our customers' expectations for timely and quantity-based deliveries of quality products at competitive prices.

We work constructively and in partnership with our customers and suppliers. We want to learn from them and be among the best in a competitive comparison.

Employee

The employees are our most important potential. We want well-trained, motivated and committed employees. We are a team! Communication, collaboration and personal responsibility lead to a common goal with high productivity. Every employee is committed to quality!

Health and safety at work

The health and safety of our employees is a top priority in our company. That is why we do everything we can to protect our employees from accidents and illness through coordinated working methods and operational procedures.

Environmental Protection

In the recycling industry in particular, responsible environmental protection is an essential task that not only benefits the general public, but is also a prerequisite for continuous success.

Our environmental protection measures include:

• Energy and resource savings through the recycling of raw materials
• Protection of the soil and groundwater through the widespread use of water treatment systems
• Control of all goods flows for ionizing radiation using a stationary radiation measuring system
• Reduction of emissions through regular renewal of the fleet with low-pollution and consumption-friendly industrial trucks and road vehicles
• Monitoring of legal requirements and regulations

Certification

As proof of compliance with all legal regulations and for the safety of our customers and suppliers, we carry out an annual check in accordance with the Waste Management Company Ordinance (EfBV).

HISTORY

1922
Already in 1922 the company founder Friedrich Wachtmann collected rags, iron and paper with a handcart.

1940
August Diekmann joins the Friedrich Wachtmann raw products company.

1946
After Friedrich Wachtmann's death, Wilhelm Wachtmann and August Diekmann take over the business at Schulze-Delitzschstraße 4.

1950

External warehouse at Bünder Str. 112 is rented.

1969
Karl Heinz Wachtmann and Egon Diekmann take over the business from their fathers. At this time, 20 employees were working at Wachtmann & Co.

1972
Relocation to the company premises at Bünder Str. 112 after the construction of the administration and warehouses. Installation of the first scrap shears.

1994
Andreas Wachtmann and Michael Diekmann join Wachtmann Rohstoffhandel GmbH as partners. In the same year, the 33,000 m² site at Bünder Strasse 112 in Herford was purchased.

2006
Expansion of the company premises by 12,000 m² through the purchase of the neighboring property.

Today Wachtmann Rohstoffhandel GmbH with 42 employees recycles approx. 75,000 t of steel scrap and approx. 10,000 t of non-ferrous metals.