Cordes
Family-owned German wood products manufacturer and distributor in Bremerhaven, producing planed timber, KVH/BSH structural timber, solid wood panels, OSB, and garden wood for trade businesses, construction companies, and private customers through direct sales and an on-site Fachmarkt.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1980
- HeadquartersBremerhaven, Germany
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Cordes does
Cordes GmbH & Co. KG, operating as Cordes Holz, is a family-owned German wood products manufacturer and distributor headquartered at Am Lunedeich 160 in Bremerhaven. Founded approximately in the 1980s and managed by Andreas Cordes and Christian Cordes, the company operates one of the larger wood processing facilities in northern Germany, spanning 450,000 m² with 5,200 m³ of annual production capacity and direct imports of roughly 2,500 containers of timber per year from international suppliers.
The company's product portfolio centers on processed wood products: planed timber (Hobelware) in Nordic spruce and Canadian Douglas fir; KVH® (Keilgezinkte Vollholz) and BSH (Brett-Schichtholz / glulam) structural timber produced in 200+ cross-sections and special lengths up to 16.00 m; multi-layer glued solid wood panels; OSB and other wood-based panels; garden wood products; and wood briquettes and pellets. The portfolio is unified through in-house production at Bremerhaven combined with import and trading operations, and is extended by a co-branded Mocopinus line of pre-finished colored surfaces.
Cordes makes money through one-time sales of its wood products via two main channels: a company-owned Fachmarkt specialty retail store serving private customers and small trade businesses, and direct B2B sales to construction companies, carpenters, and woodworkers. The company also generates ancillary revenue from industrial real estate rental (outdoor paved areas and heated warehouses with bridge cranes) at the Bremerhaven site. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and appears quote-based for B2B customers and retail-list-based for Fachmarkt transactions. The customer base is split between trade and craft businesses as the primary segment and private end customers as the secondary segment, with no disclosed anchor accounts.
Cordes firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cordes
- Legal name
- Cordes GmbH & Co. KG
- Website
- https://cordes-holz.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1980
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Family-owned German wood products manufacturer and distributor in Bremerhaven, producing planed timber, KVH/BSH structural timber, solid wood panels, OSB, and garden wood for trade businesses, construction companies, and private customers through direct sales and an on-site Fachmarkt.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cordes industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Wood Products Manufacturing
- NAICS
- Wood Product Manufacturing (321), Lumber, Plywood, Millwork, and Wood Panel Merchant Wholesalers (42331), Lumber, Plywood, Millwork, and Wood Panel Merchant Wholesalers (423310)
- SIC
- Lumber & Wood Products (No Furniture) (2400), Millwood, Veneer, Plywood, & Structural Wood Members (2430), Wholesale-Lumber, Plywood, Millwork & Wood Panels (5031), Retail-Lumber & Other Building Materials Dealers (5211)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Sawmilling & Lumber Production (IMADADAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Engineered Wood Products Distribution (LVL, I-joists, Glulam, CLT) (IMAMAIAD), Wood Remanufacturing (Mouldings, Millwork Blanks, Cut Stock) (IMAMABAI), Lumber & Timber Retail (Dimensional Lumber, Plywood, OSB) (CRAIAEAA), Plywood & Panel Products Distribution (Plywood, OSB, MDF, Particleboard) (IMAMAIAC)
Keywords
Where Cordes is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Bremerhaven
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Cordes business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Wood Product Manufacturing and Sales: Manufacturing and sale of wood products including planed timber (Hobelware), KVH structural timber, BSH engineered wood, solid wood panels, wood-based materials (OSB), garden wood products, and wood briquettes/pellets. Products are sold through company-owned specialty retail (Fachmarkt) and likely direct to trade customers.
- Wood Import and Trading: Direct import of approximately 2,500 containers of wood per year, trading in various wood products and species including Nordic spruce and Canadian Douglas Fir.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels1 record
Cordes product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cordes Holz manufactures and distributes wood products for professional and industrial use at its Bremerhaven facility, including planed timber (Hobelware), KVH®/BSH structural timber, multi-layer solid wood panels, OSB wood-based panels, garden wood products, and wood briquettes/pellets. The company combines own production, direct import of 2,500 containers per year, and a portfolio of 4,000+ items, selling through a company-owned Fachmarkt retail store and direct B2B sales channels.
Product overview
Cordes Holz operates as a comprehensive wood products portfolio company with a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core offering centers on processed wood products including planed wood (Hobelware), construction timber (KVH®/BSH), solid wood panels, wood-based materials (OSB), garden wood, and wood fuels. The portfolio is unified through the company's own production capabilities at Bremerhaven combined with wood import and trading operations. A trade market (Fachmarkt) serves retail and craft customers. The Mocopinus sub-brand extends the offering with pre-finished surface treatments. Real estate rental at the industrial site provides additional services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Mocopinus: Sub-brand powered by CORDES, mentioned on homepage as 'Mocopinus powered by CORDES'
Products and services
- Hobelware (Planed Wood Products)
Companies that use Cordes
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Cordes technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Cordes partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- MocopinusminorMocopinus is a co-branded product line 'Mocopinus powered by CORDES' featured on the company website. This appears to be a branding/partnership arrangement for finished wood products.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Cordes competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Pfeifer Group: Austrian sawmill and engineered-timber group producing sawn timber, KVH, glulam beams, and CLT panels for construction — closely mirrors Cordes' structural-timber and panel offering into European builders.
- Binderholz: Austrian family-owned group and one of Europe's largest engineered-wood producers, manufacturing KVH, glulam (BSH), and CLT — directly comparable to Cordes' structural-timber production and customer base in the DACH region.
- Holzwerke Aschaffenburg: German sawmill and timber-processing company producing construction timber, planed products, and wood-based materials — comparable mid-sized manufacturer-distributor in the German market.
- Pollmeier Massivholz: German manufacturer of engineered hardwood products (laminated beech lumber LVL, sawn hardwood) using a similar production-and-distribution model to Cordes, supplying industrial wood buyers across Europe.
- Klausner Holz Niedersachsen: German sawmilling group operating large softwood sawmills in Lower Saxony, producing sawn timber and wood-based products for the German and European markets — a direct North-German peer to Cordes in dimensional lumber and planed products.
- Rettenmeier Holding: German sawmill and wood-processing group producing sawn timber, planed products, and engineered wood for the European construction market — a direct competitor in the same DACH segment Cordes serves.
Broad incumbents
- Stora Enso: Major Swedish-Finnish forestry and wood-products company with a significant CLT and engineered-wood division; overlaps with Cordes on structural timber and panels but operates across a much broader product and geographic portfolio.
Others
- Mocopinus: German manufacturer of pre-finished colour-treated wood products and surface-treated profiles — directly comparable to Cordes' Mocopinus powered by CORDES sub-brand partnership line of finished wood surfaces.
Regional players
- JAF Holz Group: Austrian-headquartered timber merchant with a growing German retail and wholesale footprint, distributing sawn timber, panels, and engineered wood products — comparable distribution model to Cordes' wholesale/Fachmarkt channels.
- Holz-Richter GmbH: German timber merchant and wholesale distributor of sawn timber, planed products, and engineered wood serving the German trade market — comparable wholesale-distribution arm of Cordes' B2B business.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Cordes social profiles
Digital presenceCordes financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cordes leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Cordes funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cordes M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cordes
What does Cordes do?
Cordes Holz manufactures and distributes wood products for professional and industrial use at its Bremerhaven facility, including planed timber (Hobelware), KVH®/BSH structural timber, multi-layer solid wood panels, OSB wood-based panels, garden wood products, and wood briquettes/pellets. The company combines own production, direct import of 2,500 containers per year, and a portfolio of 4,000+ items, selling through a company-owned Fachmarkt retail store and direct B2B sales channels.
Is Cordes a public or private company?
Cordes is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Cordes founded?
Cordes was founded in 1980. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Cordes based?
Cordes is headquartered in Bremerhaven, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Cordes make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Wood Product Manufacturing and Sales are the primary driver. The others are wood Import and Trading.
Who are Cordes's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Pfeifer Group, Binderholz, Holzwerke Aschaffenburg, Pollmeier Massivholz, Klausner Holz Niedersachsen and Rettenmeier Holding. Stora Enso is listed as a broad incumbent. Mocopinus is listed as an others. Regional players are JAF Holz Group and Holz-Richter GmbH.
Does Cordes have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cordes.
What industry is Cordes in?
Cordes's product category is Wood Products Manufacturing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMADADAA, Sawmilling & Lumber Production, with a secondary code of IMAMAIAD, Engineered Wood Products Distribution (LVL, I-joists, Glulam, CLT). Its NAICS code is 321 and its SIC code is 2400.