Rethmann AG & Co. KG

What Rethmann AG & Co. KG does

Rethmann AG & Co. KG, legally RETHMANN SE & Co. KG, is a German family-owned holding company headquartered in Selm, North Rhine-Westphalia, founded in 1934 and operating across four independent divisions: REMONDIS, Rhenus, SARIA, and Transdev. Each division is run as a standalone brand with its own sales, operations, and corporate identity, while the holding coordinates governance, succession, and capital allocation across the group. Family control is exercised through an Executive Board led by Klemens Rethmann (Speaker) and Ludger Rethmann, with a Supervisory Board chaired by Dr. Martin Rethmann; succession from patriarch Norbert Rethmann to grandson Lukas Rethmann was completed effective January 1, 2021. Ownership is retained within the Rethmann family and the entity does not publicly disclose consolidated financial statements.

The group's functional scope spans four large industrial and infrastructure markets. REMONDIS provides recycling, water management, hazardous-material disposal, and industrial maintenance services, anchored by the Lippewerk in Lünen — described as the largest recycling centre in Europe. Rhenus offers integrated multimodal logistics (warehousing plus road, rail, waterway, and air transport, customs clearance, value-added services) under a 4PL supply-chain model serving automotive, life sciences, healthcare, consumer goods, chemicals, energy, and high-tech customers. SARIA produces sustainable bio-industrial products for human and animal nutrition, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and industrial applications, alongside renewable energy generation. Transdev, in which RETHMANN holds a 66% majority stake (34% acquired in January 2019, additional 32% finalized July 2025), delivers bus, tram, rail, cable car, and ferry transportation across 19 countries and is developing e-mobility, autonomous driving, and mobility-on-demand solutions.

Revenue is generated primarily through service-based contracts (B2B enterprise logistics, B2G municipal concessions for recycling and public transport) supplemented by product sales (SARIA) and product/alternative-fuel sales (REMONDIS). Pricing is not publicly disclosed. GTM is enterprise field sales tailored to each division's sector, with direct relationships in heavy industry, chemical parks, energy, automotive, healthcare, FMCG, and the public sector. Geographic footprint is anchored in Germany and spans the EU, UK, USA, Australia, and New Zealand, primarily via Transdev's mobility operations and Rhenus's global logistics network.

Name

Rethmann AG & Co. KG

Legal name

RETHMANN SE & Co. KG

Website

https://rethmann-gruppe.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1934

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Rethmann AG & Co. KG is a German family-owned holding company founded in 1934 that operates four independent divisions — REMONDIS (recycling and water services), Rhenus (global integrated logistics), SARIA (sustainable bio-industrial products and renewable energy), and Transdev (public and private mobility across 19 countries, 66% owned) — serving municipal, industrial, and enterprise customers primarily in Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Selm

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. REMONDIS - Recycling and Environmental Services: Services include waste-derived recyclables, innovative recycling products, alternative fuels production, water supply, wastewater treatment, and industrial maintenance services for heavy industry, refineries, chemical parks, and energy sector.
2. Rhenus - Integrated Logistics Services: Global logistics services including warehousing, road, rail, waterway, and air transportation, customs clearance, value-added services, and 4PL model for integrated supply chain management serving automotive, life sciences, fashion, consumer goods, chemicals, energy, and high-tech sectors.
3. SARIA - Sustainable Products and Services: Production of high-quality products for human and animal nutrition, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and industrial applications. Includes new energy production and future-oriented services for agricultural and food industry, with dense logistics network for organic material collection and processing.
4. Transdev - Mobility Services: Public and private transportation services including bus, tram, rail, cable car, and ferry operations. Also develops innovative mobility concepts such as e-mobility, autonomous driving, and mobility-on-demand solutions.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Rethmann AG & Co. KG is a family-owned holding company that operates four independent divisions: REMONDIS (recycling, water management, and industrial maintenance services), Rhenus (global integrated logistics including warehousing, multimodal transportation, customs clearance, and 4PL supply chain management), SARIA (sustainable products for human/animal nutrition, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and industrial applications plus renewable energy), and Transdev (public and private mobility services including bus, tram, rail, cable car, ferry, e-mobility, and autonomous driving across 19 countries).

Product overview

Rethmann AG & Co. KG is a family-owned holding company organized as a platform of four independent divisions that operate under their own brands. The four core divisions—REMONDIS, Rhenus, SARIA, and Transdev—share a commitment to reliable service, customer focus, and innovation but operate independently. REMONDIS provides recycling, water management, and industrial maintenance services. Rhenus offers global integrated logistics including warehousing, freight transport, and supply chain management. SARIA produces sustainable products for food, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and generates renewable energy. Transdev delivers mobility and public transportation solutions including buses, trams, trains, and emerging e-mobility and autonomous driving services. Together, the divisions serve industrial, municipal, and private customers across multiple sectors globally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• REMONDIS Holistic service provider for recycling, services, and water. REMONDIS recovers raw materials from waste, develops innovative recycling products, produces alternative fuels, and provides water supply and wastewater treatment services. The division also handles disposal of residual and hazardous materials and provides complex maintenance and industrial services for heavy industry, refineries, chemical parks, and the energy sector. The REMONDIS Lippewerk plant in Lünen is the largest recycling centre in Europe.
• Rhenus Leading global provider of integrated logistics services specializing in innovative solutions across the entire supply chain. Rhenus offers warehousing logistics, transportation by road, rail, waterways, and air, customs clearance services, value-added services, and a 4PL model enabling transparency and integrated management of goods flow across the entire value chain. The division serves automotive, life sciences and healthcare, fashion and lifestyle, consumer and FMCG, chemicals and energy, and high-tech sectors.
• SARIA Worldwide operator providing innovative, sustainable solutions for high-quality products in human and animal nutrition, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and industrial applications. SARIA also produces new energy and provides future-oriented services for the agricultural and food industry, with a focus on resource conservation, environmental responsibility, and consistently high product quality through modern processing technologies.
• Transdev Leading private company in mobility and public transportation, operating in 19 countries. Transdev offers individualized transportation services including bus, tram, rail, cable car, and ferry transport for private and municipal customers in urban and rural areas. The division is actively developing future mobility concepts including e-mobility, autonomous driving, and mobility-on-demand solutions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Conserves natural resources and makes optimum use of recycling raw material sources
• +2 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Transdev GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 January 2019Transdev is a fully consolidated subsidiary (66% owned) of RETHMANN Group, operating in 19 countries as the leading private mobility and public transportation company. Services include bus, tram, rail, cable car, ferry transport, and innovative mobility solutions.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Veolia Environnement: Veolia is the largest global environmental services group, with water, waste and recycling operations that directly overlap with RETHMANN's REMONDIS division; both serve municipalities and heavy industry with recycling and water management across Europe.
• SUEZ: SUEZ provides water and waste management services, including recycling and recovery operations, that compete directly with REMONDIS; both target municipal and industrial customers in Europe with circular-economy solutions.
• Waste Management, Inc. Waste Management is the largest waste and environmental services provider in North America, with materials recovery and recycling at scale analogous to REMONDIS's Lippewerk operation; both run integrated collection, processing and disposal networks.
• Renewi plc: Renewi is a European-listed recycling and waste-to-product company operating across Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK; comparable to REMONDIS's materials recovery and secondary commodity business in Europe.
• Kuehne + Nagel International AG: Kuehne+Nagel is a top global freight forwarder offering integrated logistics, contract logistics and 4PL solutions that compete with Rhenus's integrated logistics and supply-chain management portfolio for enterprise customers worldwide.
• FirstGroup plc: FirstGroup is a major UK-listed public transport operator running bus and rail services under concession contracts in the UK and North America, directly comparable to Transdev's contract-based public mobility business.
• FCC Environment (FCC Servicios Medio Ambiente): FCC Environment is a leading European waste management and recycling company serving municipalities and industrial customers across Spain, the UK and other European markets, directly comparable to REMONDIS's recycling and industrial services.
• Darling Ingredients Inc. Darling Ingredients is a global rendering and sustainable ingredients producer turning animal by-products into proteins, fats and fuels; the closest publicly listed analogue to SARIA's organic-material processing into food, feed, pharma and renewable energy products.

Broad incumbents

• DHL Group (Deutsche Post DHL): DHL Group is the world's largest logistics company offering express, freight, supply chain and e-commerce solutions; overlaps broadly with Rhenus but at much larger scale across multiple logistics segments.

Regional players

• ComfortDelGro Corporation Limited: ComfortDelGro operates bus, rail, taxi and point-to-point mobility services primarily across Asia and Australia; comparable to Transdev's multi-modal public transport operations, though in a different geographic footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rethmann AG & Co. KG