Cirplus Gains New Strategic Partners, Investors
Cirplus, Europe's largest digital procurement platform for recycled plastics, has secured a seven-figure funding round. The lead investors include igus GmbH, the world's leading manufacturer of energy chain systems and plain bearings made from lubrication-free and low-wear high-performance plastics; and WEPA Ventures, a venture capital company supported by the European family-owned WEPA Group. Cirplus intends to use the capital to develop its platform further and expand geographically.
Cirplus' goal is to establish a comprehensive digital procurement solution for recycled plastics, to reduce the transaction costs for using recyclates on a global scale and secure their use in the long term. To accomplish this, the company aggregates and qualifies manufacturers and traders of recycled pellets and regrind, among other products, and offers buyers simplified access to high volumes in fragmented markets. The B2B platform is already used by more than 3,000 companies in the plastics and recycling industry from over 100 countries.
"igus, WEPA Ventures, and Cirplus share the vision of completely closing the plastics loop with digitalization. The experience of igus in engineering plastics, coupled with our knowledge of digitalization, is the ideal basis for moving toward a digitalized circular economy across all industries. As a family venture capital firm, WEPA Ventures invests in innovations in circularity and sustainability, among others, and will also support us with its wide-ranging industry contacts. The European family business WEPA behind WEPA Ventures is an industry pioneer in the field of sustainability and the circular economy and is already increasingly working with circular raw materials made from paper and plastic. All in all, we are strengthening our roots in the industry and, conversely, supporting our partners in digitalizing their own business and innovation processes," says Christian Schiller, founder, and CEO of Cirplus.
"Circular economy will be the new normal and with our investment in Cirplus we are addressing growth potential in various sectors, particularly in the packaging industry and B2B products and services, as well as in the circular economy. We see a high relevance for the circular transformation of the industry and are pleased to be on board as an investor in Cirplus to help shape further development towards a circular economy," says Carl-Luis Rieger, CEO of WEPA Ventures.
Michael Blass, CEO of e-chain systems at igus, says: "Thinking about how we can expand our activities and make them available to everyone brought us together with Cirplus. With this investment, we are setting an example of considering sustainability together and creating a network to achieve more."
The plastics recycling market is characterized by high costs and often inadequate quality compared to virgin material. Through this cooperation, the partners underscore their understanding that green and digital change are inextricably linked to a successful transformation towards a genuine circular economy.
