What Fehr Umwelt Hessen does

Fehr Umwelt Hessen GmbH & Co. KG is the Hesse-region operating subsidiary of the family-owned FEHR Group, a German waste management and environmental services company founded in 1938 in Lohfelden near Kassel and now in its third generation of family ownership. The group provides a comprehensive suite of waste-related services through its subsidiaries and joint ventures: regional disposal operations via FEHR Umwelt Hessen and FEHR Umwelt Ost (Hesse and eastern Germany), industrial and municipal services via the 50/50 joint venture FEHR-KNETTENBRECH IndustrieService GmbH & Co. KG (container service, hazardous waste, commercial waste, canal cleaning, composting, recycling centers, street cleaning, winter service), and secure document and data-carrier destruction via the 100%-owned documentus GmbH Sachsen-Anhalt, which operates 16 locations across Germany with GPS-monitored transport in secured containers, air-locked unloading areas, and DIN-ISO/GDPR-compliant processes.

FEHR operates a fleet of special vehicles, secured access-controlled facilities, and certified infrastructure (EFB Entsorgungsfachbetrieb certifications valid through 2026-2027) to handle commercial, industrial, municipal, and residential waste streams across Hesse, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Saxony. The business model is transaction-fee based with quote-driven, contract-negotiated pricing dependent on waste weight, volume, type, and freight distance; there is no publicly disclosed pricing. The company serves commercial and industrial enterprises, German municipalities and public-sector entities, residential households, and organizations with strict data protection obligations. Revenue scale is anchored by the >€200 million figure associated with the 2005 acquisition of RWE's Hessen and Ost regional companies, but the company has not publicly disclosed current revenue.

Customer acquisition runs predominantly through direct enterprise and municipal sales, supported by multi-decade industry reputation, geographic presence, and a centralized service hotline (0800 3399770); digital marketing is limited to a corporate website (fehr.de). The group has 501-1,000 employees and pursues growth via joint ventures and subsidiary expansion, most recently consolidating eastern German operations into the FEHR-KNETTENBRECH JV (2022) and scaling the documentus data security subsidiary (2021).

Name

Fehr Umwelt Hessen

Legal name

Fehr Holding GmbH

Website

https://fehr.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1938

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Fehr Umwelt Hessen is the Hesse-region operating subsidiary of the family-owned FEHR Group, a German waste management company founded in 1938 providing disposal, recycling, hazardous waste, municipal services, and secure document/data destruction across Hesse, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Saxony via wholly-owned subsidiaries and the FEHR-KNETTENBRECH 50/50 joint venture.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Waste Management Services

NAICS

Waste Collection (5621), Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal (562211), Hazardous Waste Collection (562112), Solid Waste Collection (562111), Waste Treatment and Disposal (5622)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Hazardous Waste Management (4955), Sanitary Services (4950), Electric, Gas & Sanitary Services (4900)

akta.pro primary industry

Hazardous Waste Compliance, Profiling & Brokerage (Waste Characterization, Vendor Management) (BPALAFAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hazardous Waste & Universal Waste Handling (Batteries, Lamps, Aerosols) (BPABALAE), Universal Waste Management (Batteries, Lamps, Mercury-Containing) (BPALAHAL)

Keywords

• Waste management services
• Industrial waste disposal
• Recycling and material recovery
• Secure document destruction
• Municipal cleaning services

Headquarters

HQ city

Lohfelden

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Waste Disposal Services: Fee-for-service disposal operations where customers pay for waste collection, transport, and disposal based on weight/volume measurements. Revenue derived from commercial, industrial, and municipal waste disposal contracts with pricing based on quantity and type of waste.
2. Recycling and Material Recovery: Processing and recycling of various waste streams including commercial waste, bulky waste, electronic appliances, and compostable materials.
3. Document and Data Destruction Services: Secure destruction of documents and data carriers for businesses, with services including collection, transport in secure containers, and certified destruction. Priced per service or contract.
4. Municipal and Kommunale Services: Services provided to municipalities including street cleaning, canal/sewer cleaning, winter service, and community waste collection.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Fehr Umwelt Hessen, as part of the FEHR Group, delivers professional waste management and disposal services for commercial, industrial, and municipal customers across Germany. Core services encompass container-based waste collection, hazardous and commercial waste disposal, recycling and material recovery, bulky waste handling, composting, and municipal services such as street cleaning, sewer cleaning, and winter maintenance. Through its documentus subsidiary, the group also provides DIN- and GDPR-compliant secure document and data carrier destruction with GPS-monitored logistics.

Product overview

FEHR is a family-owned waste management and disposal group offering professional environmental services through its operating subsidiaries and joint ventures. The core offering consists of FEHR (parent brand), with Fehr Umwelt Hessen and Fehr Umwelt Ost as regional subsidiaries, FEHR-KNETTENBRECH IndustrieService as a 50/50 joint venture for industrial disposal, and documentus as a 100% subsidiary for secure document and data destruction. Services span container services, hazardous waste disposal, municipal services, sewer cleaning, composting, bulky waste collection, material flow management, street cleaning, winter service, and recycling center operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FEHR - KNETTENBRECH: Joint venture brand offering container service, hazardous waste disposal, fecal waste disposal, commercial waste, household clearances, emergency damage service, canal cleaning, municipal services, composting, cooling/electrical appliances, hazardous substance collection, bulky waste collection, material flow management, street cleaning, system business, plant disposal, recycling center, wild dumping, winter service
• documentus

Products and services

• FEHR-KNETTENBRECH Industrial Disposal Services A 50/50 joint-venture service line between FEHR Group and KNETTENBRECH + GURDULIC Gruppe providing comprehensive industrial disposal services for commercial and industrial customers: container service, hazardous waste disposal, commercial waste, sewer cleaning, composting, hazardous substance collection, bulky waste collection, material flow management, street cleaning, winter service, recycling center operations, and emergency damage service. Operated primarily through the Bad Nauheim location.
• documentus Secure Document and Data Destruction DIN-compliant and GDPR-compliant shredding and data destruction service for businesses and organizations, offered through documentus GmbH Sachsen-Anhalt (a 100% FEHR subsidiary). Includes file destruction, data carrier destruction, archiving, and broader data protection and security services. Materials are transported in secured containers with GPS-monitored special vehicles; facilities feature air-locked unloading areas. documentus operates 16 locations across Germany.
• Municipal Cleaning and Environmental Services Municipal service portfolio for German municipalities and public-sector customers, including municipal waste collection, street cleaning, canal/sewer cleaning, winter service, bulky waste collection, and community recycling. Delivered through regional subsidiaries and the FEHR-KNETTENBRECH joint venture with explicit municipal-services competencies.
• Container Service and Commercial Waste Disposal Container-based collection and disposal service for commercial and industrial waste streams, including standard commercial waste, bulky waste, compostable materials, and electronic appliances. Sold via direct enterprise sales as a contracted recurring service.
• Hazardous Waste Disposal and Recycling Specialized disposal and recycling of hazardous substances and materials, performed under EFB certifications (EFB-Zertifikat for Fehr Umwelt Hessen valid through 2026-12-09 and for EFN Entsorgungsgesellschaft für Nordhessen mbH valid through 2027-04-19). Targets commercial and industrial customers requiring compliant handling of hazardous waste streams, including hazardous substance collection and material flow management.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• KNETTENBRECH + GURDULIC GruppecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017The FEHR-KNETTENBRECH IndustrieService GmbH & Co. KG joint venture was established in 2017 as a 50/50 partnership between the FEHR Group and the KNETTENBRECH + GURDULIC Gruppe. Both family businesses hold equal ownership. The joint venture expanded in 2020 by taking over the operational business of Fehr Umwelt Hessen, and further integrated four locations from Fehr Umwelt Ost in 2022. Services include container service, hazardous waste disposal, commercial waste, canal cleaning, composting, and industrial services.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• ALBA Group plc & Co. KG: Major German recycling and environmental services group with operations across Europe. Highly comparable to FEHR in offering waste collection, recycling, and industrial services to commercial and municipal customers in Germany.
• Veolia Deutschland GmbH: German subsidiary of global environmental services giant Veolia, providing waste management, water, and energy services. Competes with FEHR for municipal and industrial contracts across Germany with broader geographic reach and deeper capital resources.
• REMONDIS SE & Co. KG: One of Germany's largest private waste and recycling companies, offering water, waste, and raw material services across municipal, commercial, and industrial segments. Directly comparable as the dominant scaled player in the same German waste management space where FEHR operates.
• SUEZ Deutschland GmbH (now part of Veolia): Formerly an independent major waste and water services provider in Germany, now integrated into Veolia. Historically competed with FEHR for municipal and hazardous waste contracts across German Bundesländer.

Direct peers

• KNETTENBRECH + GURDULIC Gruppe: Family-owned waste management group that is FEHR's 50/50 JV partner in FEHR-KNETTENBRECH IndustrieService. Operates in industrial disposal, container service, hazardous waste, canal cleaning, and recycling — virtually identical service mix to FEHR's JV operations, making it the most directly comparable peer.
• TSR Recycling GmbH & Co. KG: German metal recycling and scrap management company serving industrial clients. Comparable in providing collection, processing, and material recovery services, particularly in the industrial waste and recycling segments where FEHR-KNETTENBRECH operates.
• Scholz Recycling GmbH & Co. KG: German metal and materials recycling company with industrial collection, processing, and trading operations. Comparable in industrial waste and scrap handling services, with overlapping industrial customer segments.

Emerging players

• PreZero Stiftung & Co. KG: Schwarz Group's environmental services division, rapidly expanding in German and European waste and recycling markets. Comparable service offerings (collection, sorting, recycling) and aggressive growth strategy position it as both a competitor and potential consolidation threat.

Regional players

• Stadtreinigung Hamburg AöR: Public municipal waste management company serving Hamburg and surrounding regions. Comparable in providing municipal waste collection, street cleaning, and bulky waste services — overlapping with FEHR's municipal service offerings though in a different geography.
• Berlin Recycling GmbH: Regional waste management and recycling company serving the Berlin-Brandenburg area. Comparable offering of municipal and commercial waste services, though geographically distinct from FEHR's Hesse/Saxony-Anhalt/Thuringia/Saxony footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mdl-mitteldeutsche-logistik-gmbh

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries2 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 Fehr Umwelt Hessen