What Hertex does

Hertex AG is a privately held Swiss trading company headquartered in Frauenfeld, Switzerland. The firm has operated for over four decades and is led by the Herculeijns family, with Jeroen Herculeijns serving as CEO and Alexander Herculeijns as CFO. Core activity is the global trading of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) — specifically virgin PET, recycled PET (rPET) granulate, and PET flakes — alongside high-density polyethylene (HDPE), serving industrial buyers in the plastics recycling and packaging value chain.

Operationally, Hertex runs a lean B2B trading platform with a workforce in the 11–50 employee range. The company reports moving approximately 3.5 billion PET bottles per year through more than 4,000 truck shipments, with commercial activity spanning 25 countries. Its product catalogue is anchored on rPET granulate, PET flakes, virgin PET, and HDPE. The offering is complemented by a service stack that includes pre-financing, logistics, warehousing, and quality assurance — embedding the firm into customer supply chains rather than competing purely on spot tonnage.

The business model is a sales-led, transaction-fee commodity trading operation in which revenue is generated from spreads and fees on matched buy/sell volume across the PET and HDPE complex. The company distinguishes itself with a sustainability narrative, claiming up to 80% CO2 reduction when substituting R-PET for virgin PET, positioning the firm to capture demand from packaging producers responding to European recycled-content and single-use plastics regulation.

Name

Hertex

Legal name

Hertex AG

Website

https://hertex.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hertex AG is a family-controlled Swiss trading firm specializing in PET materials — virgin PET, recycled PET (rPET) granulate, PET flakes, and HDPE — serving industrial packaging and recycling buyers across 25 countries via logistics, warehousing, and pre-financing services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Plastic Materials Trading

SIC

Plastic Materials, Synth Resins & Nonvulcan Elastomers (2821)

akta.pro primary industry

Food-Grade & rPET/rHDPE Recycling (Decontamination/SSP, Bottle-to-Bottle) (EUAIAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Recycled & Reprocessed Polymer Resin Manufacturing (rPET, rPP, rPE; PCR/PIR resins) (IMANAAAH)

Keywords

• PET resin trading
• Recycled plastic materials
• Industrial logistics services
• HDPE regrind supply
• Packaging materials distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Frauenfeld

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. PET Trading Services: Revenue generated through trading PET virgin material, recycled PET (rPET), PET flakes, and HDPE. Services include pre-financing, logistics management, quality assurance, and warehousing for business customers. The company operates as an intermediary in the global PET supply chain.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Hertex AG is a Swiss-based international trading company that supplies recycled PET (RPET) granules, PET flakes, virgin PET resin, and HDPE regrind to businesses in the packaging and fiber/filament industries. The company complements its material trading with end-to-end services including pre-financing, quality assurance, logistics management, and warehousing, delivering products across 25 countries via ship, train, and truck.

Product overview

Hertex AG operates as a full-service trading partner for PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and fiber products, offering both recycled and virgin plastic materials. The product portfolio comprises RPET Granulat and PET Flakes (recycled materials), PET Neuware/Virgin PET in various grades including 25% recycled blends and PET G, and HDPE regrind. The company also provides complementary services including pre-financing, logistics and warehousing, and quality assurance. With over 40 years of experience trading in 25 countries, Hertex positions itself as a specialist in the global PET trade market.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• RPET Granulat Recycled PET (RPET) granules available in clear and mixed colors, with IV values of 0.78-0.88 for bottles and sheets, and 0.65-0.84 for fibers, sheets, and strappings. Used in packaging industry and fiber/filament production.
• PET Flakes Recycled PET flakes in clear and mixed colors, with bulk density of 250-350 kg/m3, suitable for bottles, sheets, and strappings applications.
• PET Neuware (Virgin PET) Virgin PET resin in various grades including standard (IV 76-84), 25% recycled content blend, and PET G (amorphous, IV 0.78-0.84). All standard PET resins available with fast reheat (FRH) properties for bottles, sheets, and containers.
• HDPE (PO Mahlgut) HDPE regrind in mixed color flakes (denier 4, 51mm cut length), used in various plastic processing applications.
• Pre-financing (Vorfinanzierung) Financing services providing flexible financing models tailored to customer needs for PET and fiber product transactions.
• Logistics and Warehousing Complete end-to-end logistics management and storage solutions customized for customer requirements, leveraging 40+ years of international logistics experience.
• Quality Assurance Quality control through close contact with carefully selected production facilities, ensuring compliance with specified parameters and guidelines.

Quantifiable outcome

• 80% CO2 emissions reduction using R-PET compared to virgin material
• +3 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Indorama Ventures: Indorama Ventures is the world's largest PET producer with significant rPET and HDPE operations and direct customer relationships in packaging and fibers. Hertex competes with Indorama on rPET and virgin PET supply while sourcing from similar partner facilities.
• ALPLA Group: ALPLA is one of Europe's largest packaging manufacturers with vertically integrated rPET recycling operations (PET Recycling Team). It overlaps Hertex in rPET supply and trading while also competing in finished packaging, making it a larger incumbent in Hertex's core rPET market.
• M&G Chemicals: M&G Chemicals is a major global PET resin producer with plants in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Its direct sales to converters and bottle makers compete with Hertex's distribution role, particularly in virgin and recycled PET.
• Far Eastern New Century: Far Eastern New Century is a major Taiwanese integrated PET/resin producer with growing rPET capacity. It competes with Hertex on global virgin and recycled PET supply, particularly for fiber and packaging customers.

Emerging players

• Teijin Limited: Teijin is a Japanese materials group with rPET recycling (Eco Circle) and fiber-grade PET operations. It intersects Hertex in rPET supply to fiber and packaging customers, particularly where food-grade recycled content is required.
• CarbonLite: CarbonLite operates large-scale food-grade rPET recycling facilities supplying beverage and packaging customers. While US-headquartered, it is a comparable rPET producer competing for global brand-owner rPET supply alongside Hertex's trading book.
• Novapet: Novapet is a Spanish PET resin producer focused on bottle-grade and specialty PET, including rPET offerings. It is a comparable supplier to Hertex's customer base in packaging and fibers across Southern Europe.

Others

• Veolia Environnement: Veolia operates plastic recycling infrastructure across Europe that produces rPET feedstock feeding into the same supply chain Hertex trades. It is an upstream ecosystem participant whose collection and processing decisions affect Hertex's rPET availability and pricing.
• Suez: Suez provides waste collection and plastics recycling services in Europe, producing rPET feedstock for downstream converters. Its infrastructure investments and recycled-content offerings shape the European rPET market that Hertex trades in.

Direct peers

• Polytrade GmbH: Polytrade is a Hamburg-based distributor and trader of plastics (PET, polyolefins) serving European converters. Like Hertex, it operates as a non-manufacturing intermediary sourcing from production partners and supplying packaging and fiber customers across Europe.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hertex-ag

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Hertex