AfB France
AfB France is a non-profit IT refurbishment subsidiary (Annecy, est. 2012) of German group AfB gGmbH. It purchases end-of-life corporate IT equipment, performs Blancco-certified data erasure, refurbishes and resells devices, and employs ~70% people with disabilities across six French locations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersAnnecy, France
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What AfB France does
AfB France SAS, founded in 2012 and headquartered in Annecy, is the French subsidiary of AfB gemeinnützige GmbH, a German non-profit IT refurbishment group founded in 2004. The company operates a vertically integrated IT asset disposition (ITAD) business: it purchases end-of-life IT equipment from enterprises and public institutions, performs secure collection with its own GDPR-trained fleet, executes certified data erasure using Blancco (where it holds ITAD Platinum Partner status), and either refurbishes devices through a documented 10-step process or recycles them. Approximately 70% of AfB France's workforce consists of people with disabilities, which is foundational to the company's positioning and to its social mission.
The commercial model rests on three revenue streams: (1) IT asset buyback and recovery, where AfB pays enterprises and public institutions for end-of-life equipment based on condition, age, and configuration; (2) refurbished equipment sales through physical boutiques (Annecy, Grenoble, Caen, Strasbourg, Lyon, Nantes) and the afbshop.fr online shop, with 12-month warranties and rental options for professionals; and (3) certified data erasure services and short-term equipment rental for temporary public-sector needs. It accepts Chorus Pro procurement for French government buyers. Notable enterprise customers include Heidelberg Materials, Siemens, Deutsche Telekom, Symrise, DHL Group, Saint-Gobain, Solvay, Pfizer, Wieland, and FUNKE Mediengruppe.
AfB France holds ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 27001, Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher (10+ years, 500,000 Windows licenses deployed), GDPR compliance, and QualiRépar certifications. The company is led by Director Eric Laur and Sales Director Stéphane Pagès. The group reports ~728,000 devices processed in 2025, a 71% reuse rate, 68,200 tonnes of CO₂ emissions avoided, and 700+ employees across Europe. In February 2026 it inaugurated a new 5,400 m² French headquarters in Annecy consolidating all support functions and main depot.
AfB France firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- AfB France
- Legal name
- AfB France SAS
- Website
- https://afb-group.fr
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- AfB France is a non-profit IT refurbishment subsidiary (Annecy, est. 2012) of German group AfB gGmbH. It purchases end-of-life corporate IT equipment, performs Blancco-certified data erasure, refurbishes and resells devices, and employs ~70% people with disabilities across six French locations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
AfB France industry classification
Industry- Product category
- IT Asset Refurbishment & Lifecycle Services
- NAICS
- Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance (8112)
- akta.pro primary industry
- IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) Services (Data-Bearing Asset Handling) (BPALAIAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) & Secure Data Erasure (BPAEAOAK), Circularity, Refurbishment & Resale (Used Modules/Turbines/Components) (EUAMALAK), ITAD, Electronics Recycling & Parts Harvesting Retail (CRACAJAF), Certified Compliance & Reporting Services (R2/e-Stewards, Audit, ESG) (BPALAIAL)
Keywords
Where AfB France is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Annecy
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices6 records
Markets served
AfB France business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- IT Asset Recovery and Buyback: AfB purchases end-of-life IT equipment from companies and public institutions. Price determined by condition, age, and configuration of devices. Includes collection, certified data destruction, and refurbishment.
- Refurbished Equipment Sales: Sale of refurbished professional-grade computers, smartphones, and accessories to businesses, public institutions, associations, and individuals. Products tested, guaranteed, and available with 12-month warranty. Available for purchase or rental.
- Data Erasure Services: Certified data destruction services using Blancco solution compliant with international standards. Certificates provided for each operation. Physical destruction available when erasure not possible.
- Leasing Coordination Services: Coordination with leasing organizations for end-of-contract equipment take-back, simplifying processes for clients.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Professional refurbished equipment with 12-month warranty |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Enterprise IT asset recovery and data erasure |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
AfB France product offering
Product offeringCore offering
AfB France buys back end-of-life IT equipment from enterprises and public institutions, erases data in a certified manner using Blancco, refurbishes the devices through a 10-step quality-controlled process, and resells the refurbished computers, laptops, and smartphones to professionals, public-sector buyers, associations, and individual consumers via physical boutiques and the afbshop.fr online store. The model is wrapped in a social-inclusion mission that employs people with disabilities and produces RSE/CSRD-compliant environmental impact attestations for partner reporting.
Product overview
AfB France operates as a nonprofit IT refurbishment company (Société par Actions Simplifiée, first European nonprofit dedicated to IT recovery and resale) with a Social & Green IT model. The portfolio centers on three integrated service lines: (1) IT Buyback/Recovery — end-to-end handling of end-of-life IT equipment including secure collection, Blancco-certified data erasure, and professional refurbishment; (2) Refurbished Equipment Sales — professional-grade refurbished and new IT equipment sold to businesses, public entities, associations, and individuals through physical boutiques and the afbshop.fr e-commerce platform; and (3) Repair Services — QualiRépar-certified repair workshops. An RSE Impact Reporting add-on (Attestation d'engagement social et environnemental) provides partners with certified sustainability metrics for CSRD/RSE compliance. Short-term equipment rental addresses temporary public sector needs. The company operates physical retail locations across France (Annecy, Grenoble, Caen, Strasbourg, Nantes, Lyon), Germany, and Austria.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- IT Asset Buyback & Recovery Service (Rachat de parcs informatiques)
- Refurbished IT Equipment Sales — Professional
- Refurbished IT Equipment Sales — Individuals
- Certified Data Erasure Service (Effacement certifié des données)
- IT Repair Services (QualiRépar-certified)
- RSE Environmental & Social Impact Attestation (Attestation d'engagement social et environnemental)
- Short-term IT Equipment Rental (Locations temporaires)
Quantifiable outcome
- Up to 30% cost reduction on IT equipment spending
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use AfB France
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
AfB France technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature5 records
AfB France partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Poisy Handball ClubminorDonation partnership renewed for second consecutive year. AfB donates refurbished Dell Latitude 7490 to support club's administrative operations.
- Special Olympics FrancecoreAfB serves as IT partner for Special Olympics, providing equipment for the French National Summer Games 2024. Special Olympics promotes well-being through sport for people with intellectual disabilities.
- SoluCirminorNetwork of circular economy actors in Savoie Mont-Blanc region. AfB participates in collaborative initiatives for sustainable development.
- ADIRAminorAssociation for Digital and IT in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. AfB engages with regional digital industry stakeholders.
- ADN OuestminorLargest network of digital professionals in Pays de la Loire and Brittany regions. AfB participates in regional digital ecosystem.
- Initiatives DurablesminorAssociation created in 2004, reference network in Grand Est region committed to economic, societal and environmental responsibility. Organizes Trophées RSE awards.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves10 records
Expansion highlights5 records
AfB France competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Sims Lifecycle Services: Global IT Asset Disposition specialist offering secure data destruction, refurbishment, resale, and recycling for enterprises and data centers. Comparable to AfB France's certified ITAD, Blancco-class erasure, and enterprise-scale recovery offerings, but operates as a commercial incumbent rather than a non-profit employer.
- Syndiego (formerly Sims + TES): European-headquartered ITAD and reverse-logistics group formed from the merger of Sims Lifecycle Services and TES Envirotec, providing enterprise IT asset recovery, secure data destruction, refurbishment, and resale. Comparable to AfB France as a direct ITAD competitor, but operating as a large commercial incumbent with a pan-European transport and processing network rather than a non-profit social enterprise.
- Iron Mountain: Global records and information-management company with a substantial IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) and secure data-destruction practice. Comparable to AfB France on certified end-of-life IT processing, data erasure, and enterprise customer overlap, though Iron Mountain operates a much broader storage and services portfolio beyond the ITAD/refurbishment niche.
Regional players
- Emmaüs France: Federation of French social-inclusion enterprises (including reconditioning cooperatives and Emmaüs' own IT re-use activities) operating in the second-hand and circular economy space. Comparable to AfB France on the French geography and the integration of social/employment mission with reuse and refurbishment of equipment, though Emmaüs operates a broader and less IT-specialized social economy portfolio.
Direct peers
- Refurbed: Austrian marketplace for refurbished electronics selling across DACH and other European markets. Comparable on refurbished consumer and prosumer IT/CE offering, warranty structure, and circular-economy positioning to AfB France's professional and individual channels.
- Back Market: French-headquartered marketplace for refurbished consumer electronics, including professional-grade laptops and smartphones. Directly comparable to AfB France on category (refurbished IT/CE), target customer overlap (price-sensitive B2C and prosumer), and pan-European go-to-market, though Back Market operates without AfB's social-inclusion employer model.
- Recommerce: French company specializing in refurbishment, buyback, and resale of used smartphones and connected devices with strong European retail and operator partnerships. Highly comparable to AfB France's device refurbishment, buyback, and retail/afbshop.fr channels on customer segment and circular-economy positioning.
- ReBuy: Germany-based retailer specializing in refurbished and re-certified electronics (laptops, smartphones, tablets, gaming). Peer on refurbished IT category, European consumer distribution, and warranty/refurbishment depth that overlaps with AfB France's B2B and B2C refurbishment operations.
- Asgoodasnew (asgoodasnew electronics): German-headquartered European retailer of refurbished smartphones, laptops, tablets, and consumer electronics with proprietary refurbishment processes. Directly comparable to AfB France on refurbished IT/CE category, European retail footprint, and warranty-backed resale model.
- Circular Computing: UK-based specialist in corporate laptop and PC refurbishment, re-imaging, and resale to large enterprise customers. Directly comparable to AfB France's professional refurbished equipment line on enterprise IT procurement, certification, and warranty-backed quality.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
AfB France social profiles
Digital presenceAfB France compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance8 records
AfB France financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
AfB France leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
AfB France funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
AfB France 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 AfB France
What does AfB France do?
AfB France buys back end-of-life IT equipment from enterprises and public institutions, erases data in a certified manner using Blancco, refurbishes the devices through a 10-step quality-controlled process, and resells the refurbished computers, laptops, and smartphones to professionals, public-sector buyers, associations, and individual consumers via physical boutiques and the afbshop.fr online store. The model is wrapped in a social-inclusion mission that employs people with disabilities and produces RSE/CSRD-compliant environmental impact attestations for partner reporting.
Is AfB France a public or private company?
AfB France is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was AfB France founded?
AfB France was founded in 2012. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is AfB France based?
AfB France is headquartered in Annecy, France, in the Europe region.
How does AfB France make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. IT Asset Recovery and Buyback is the primary driver. The others are refurbished Equipment Sales, data Erasure Services and leasing Coordination Services.
Who are AfB France's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Sims Lifecycle Services, Syndiego (formerly Sims + TES) and Iron Mountain. Emmaüs France is listed as a regional player. Direct peers are Refurbed, Back Market, Recommerce, ReBuy, Asgoodasnew (asgoodasnew electronics) and Circular Computing.
Does AfB France have an API?
No public API is recorded for AfB France.
What industry is AfB France in?
AfB France's product category is IT Asset Refurbishment & Lifecycle Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPALAIAA, IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) Services (Data-Bearing Asset Handling), with a secondary code of BPAEAOAK, IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) & Secure Data Erasure. Its NAICS code is 8112.