ZAK-Kempten

What ZAK-Kempten does

Zweckverband für Abfallwirtschaft Kempten (ZAK-Kempten) is a municipal public-law corporation (Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts) founded in 1972 that operates as the exclusive waste management and energy utility for the city of Kempten and surrounding municipalities in the Oberallgäu and Lindau districts of Bavaria, Germany. The organization runs an integrated waste-to-energy platform anchored by the Müllheizkraftwerk (MHKW) thermal waste recovery plant, a Holzheizkraftwerk (HHKW) wood-fired heating plant processing approximately 37,000 tonnes of forest residues and bulky wood annually, a 45 MW peak-load heating center, and two 240 m³ thermal storage tanks that collectively feed a roughly 48–50 km district heating network supplying heat to approximately 17,770 households plus industrial, commercial, healthcare, and logistics customers such as Klinikum Kempten. Two co-generation units produce about 10 MW of electricity fed into the public grid, displacing an energy volume equivalent to roughly 31 million liters of heating oil and 70,000 tonnes of CO2 per year for the region.

ZAK operates within a five-entity group structure: ZAK Holding GmbH (parent), ZAK Abfallwirtschaft GmbH (waste operations), ZAK Energie GmbH (energy and district heating), ZAK Service GmbH (shared services), and BiVA mbH (biological waste treatment). The revenue model combines monthly subscription-based household waste collection fees, transaction-based facility disposal fees at over 30 recycling centers (Wertstoffhöfe) and transfer stations, subscription/usage-based district heating sales to enterprise and residential customers, usage-based electricity feed-in tariff revenue, and transaction-fee revenue from four ReUse second-hand stores (ZAK Kaufhäuser) in Kempten, Sonthofen, Lindau, and Lindenberg. Customer engagement is operated through a Service-Center, the ZAK Abfall App (iOS/Android), the ZAK Serviceportal for bin management, and a dedicated Fernwärmeportal for district heating customers. Operations are certified under Efb (waste management company status), SURE (sustainable biomass), IT Security, and WCAG 2.2/BFSG accessibility standards, and ZAK participates in regional renewable-energy initiatives including BioEnergie Oberallgäu, BioEnergie Allgäu, and SolarEnergie Allgäu.

The business is fundamentally a regulated, fee-driven municipal utility rather than a venture-scale commercial enterprise; its expansion is constrained to its member-municipality service area and is therefore organic and infrastructure-led rather than market-driven. Forward initiatives — including the 2024 thermal storage investment, the cloth-diaper subsidy program (Stoffwindel-Zuschuss), the 2026 single-use e-cigarette return service, ongoing district heating network densification, and certification maintenance — are consistent with operational optimization and policy-driven waste-stream expansion rather than new market entry. Revenue is not publicly disclosed; customer concentration is structurally low given the household and broad commercial subscription base, while district heating exposure to a few large institutional anchors (Klinikum Kempten, Daimlerstraße postal distribution center) introduces moderate enterprise-customer concentration risk.

Name

ZAK-Kempten

Legal name

Zweckverband für Abfallwirtschaft Kempten

Website

https://zak-kempten.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Waste Management Services

NAICS

Solid Waste Collection (562111), Biomass Electric Power Generation (221117), Steam and Air-Conditioning Supply (22133), Electric Power Generation (22111)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Cogeneration Services & Small Power Producers (4991), Steam & Air-Conditioning Supply (4961)

akta.pro primary industry

Waste-to-Energy (WtE) Combustion Facilities (BPALACAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Landfill Gas-to-Energy (LFGTE) (EUACAIAC), Yard Waste, Land Clearing & Green Waste Processing (Mulch/Compost Feedstock) (BPALAEAG), Landfill Gas (LFG) Capture, Flaring & Energy Utilization (LFG-to-Electricity/RNG) (EUAIACAL), Special Waste Transfer (Tires, Mattresses, Appliances) (BPALABAG)

Keywords

• Waste management services
• Waste-to-energy generation
• District heating supply
• Biomass energy production
• Recycling and reuse

Headquarters

HQ city

Kempten

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Household Waste Collection Fees: Monthly fees charged to households for waste collection services including residual waste, bio-waste, and paper collection.
2. District Heating Sales: Sale of thermal energy from waste-to-energy and wood-fired plants to industrial, commercial, healthcare, and residential customers via the district heating network.
3. Facility Disposal Fees: Fees charged for waste disposal at ZAK facilities including the waste-to-energy plant, transfer stations, and recycling centers.
4. Electricity Generation and Feed-in: Two generators producing approximately 10 MW of electricity fed into the public grid from waste-to-energy and wood-fired plants.
5. ReUse / Second-Hand Shops: ZAK Kaufhäuser (second-hand stores) in Kempten, Sonthofen, Lindau, and Lindenberg selling refurbished goods.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ZAK-Kempten is a municipal waste management utility that provides household and commercial waste collection, recycling center drop-off services, and re-use retail across the Kempten, Oberallgäu, and Lindau districts. It converts residual waste and wood into electricity and heat at its Müllheizkraftwerk and Holzheizkraftwerk, and distributes thermal energy to industrial, commercial, healthcare, and residential customers through an approximately 50 km district heating network.

Product overview

ZAK-Kempten operates as a municipal waste management authority providing comprehensive waste collection, recycling, and energy services across the Kempten, Oberallgäu, and Lindau regions. Its service portfolio centers on two integrated systems: waste management (Entsorgung) encompassing household waste collection, specialized recycling facilities (Wertstoffhöfe), hazardous waste collection, and ReUse retail stores; and district heating (Fernwärme), a ~50 km network distributing heat from waste-to-energy and biomass plants to ~17,770 households. Key digital touchpoints include the ZAK Abfall App, online service portal, and district heating customer portal. The waste-to-energy plant (MHKW) and wood heating plant (HHKW) together supply 10 MW of electricity and heat for over 17,770 households, with peak load backup from a 45 MW heating center and heat storage optimization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Curbside Waste Collection Service

Quantifiable outcome

• 70,000 tonnes CO₂ reduction per year for the region
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• BioEnergie Oberallgäu (BEO)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerZAK participates in the operation of BioEnergie Oberallgäu (BEO), a biomass heating plant in Sonthofen. This partnership supports regional renewable energy production and diversifies the energy supply portfolio.
• BioEnergie Allgäu (BEO)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerZAK collaborates with BioEnergie Allgäu (BEA), which operates a biomass heating plant in Scheidegg, contributing to regional renewable energy objectives.
• SolarEnergie AllgäuminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerZAK is involved in SolarEnergie Allgäu initiative, promoting solar energy adoption in the Allgäu region alongside other partners.
• Greiter Bau- und Transport GmbHminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCommercial businesses can dispose of single-use e-cigarettes at Greiter Bau- und Transport GmbH in Immenstadt as part of the e-waste collection network.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves5 records

Direct peers

• Entsorgungsbetriebe Wien (MA 48): Municipal waste management utility for Vienna operating refuse collection, recycling, and waste incineration with energy recovery — directly analogous in mission and integrated energy outputs to ZAK.
• Abfallwirtschaftsbetrieb München (AWM): Bavaria's largest municipal waste management utility operating waste collection, recycling, and energy recovery for the Munich metropolitan area — a regional, in-state counterpart to ZAK.
• Stadtreinigung Hamburg: Hamburg's municipal waste management and street cleaning utility, running a waste-to-energy plant and energy generation assets — closely comparable in structure to ZAK's Zweckverband operations in Kempten.
• Berliner Stadtreinigung (BSR): Largest municipal waste management utility in Germany, operating refuse collection, recycling centers, and waste-to-energy facilities with district heating — directly comparable in mandate and integrated business model to ZAK.
• Zweckverband Abfallwirtschaft Region Hannover (aha): Regional Zweckverband providing waste collection, recycling centers and waste-to-energy services for the Hannover region — peer in legal form (public-law Zweckverband) and integrated waste-to-energy business model.

Broad incumbents

• MVV Energie AG: German municipal energy company with significant waste-to-energy and district heating operations across multiple regions — comparable in integrated utility model but operates at materially larger scale.
• Veolia Umweltservice Deutschland: German arm of global environmental services group providing waste collection, treatment, and energy recovery — operates similar municipal and commercial waste contracts, but as part of a broader international portfolio.
• PreZero (Schwarz Group): Environmental services division of the Schwarz Group offering waste management, sorting, and recycling across Europe — overlapping with ZAK's waste and recycling operations but operating under a private retail-anchored parent.
• Remondis GmbH: Germany's largest private waste management and recycling operator with extensive waste-to-energy, biomass, and circular-economy operations — comparable in service portfolio but as a private-sector national incumbent rather than a municipal utility.

Regional players

• Allgäuer Überlandwerk (AÜW) / Stadtwerke Kempten: Regional energy utility serving the Allgäu region — ZAK partners with AÜW on the SolarEnergie Allgäu initiative and they jointly operate biomass plants in the same service geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xinstagram.com/zak_kempten
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCWYuEftljNK9Yizp3lxZ8NA
• Facebookfacebook.com/zak.kempten
• LinkedInde.linkedin.com/company/zweckverband-f%C3%BCr-abfallwirtschaft-kempten
• Instagraminstagram.com/zak_kempten

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries5 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 ZAK-Kempten