About three years ago Komptech launched Komptech Rental, and it has been a success all round. One example of this is the experience of Berlin entrepreneur Christian Büttner, who was able to get into a new line of business thanks to the programme.
Sometimes it’s little coincidences that lead to big developments, in business just as in every other area. Christian Büttner tells the story: “About two years ago Mr. Opitz of the container service company of the same name asked me if I could see myself taking over his company when he retired. After that everything happened quickly, and as of 1 January 2019 I found myself the new owner and CEO of Opitz GmbH!.” The container service was a very good fit with his father’s company Kurz & Co. KG, which does canal and pipe cleaning in Berlin and Brandenburg, and also has a solid footing in the demolition business. “Flexibility is the most important thing for us, and whatever I can do myself, I do” says Christian Büttner of his philosophy, to which Günter Bäcker adds, “we might just be a small family-owned company, but we have strong personal roots in the region and are well-known. And that’s why we demand so much of ourselves.”
The acquisition of Opitz GmbH brought Christian Büttner not just the container services, but also another much bigger challenge. “Opitz operated a green cuttings composting site. That was completely new, but also a very good fit for us. Finally we had our own facility where we could process green cuttings from our construction sites and container transports – but we didn’t have the right equipment for it.”
Büttner heard about Komptech from a colleague who had just started to use a rented Crambo and was very happy with it. It was one of those perfectly timed coincidences. Büttner quickly got in touch with Komptech, whose sales rep Karsten Runge suggested renting as a way to “get some experience and see how it works.” Büttner rented a Crambo 5200 in late 2018. The planned two-week term turned into eight weeks, before the shredder went back to Komptech at the turn of the year. Büttner rented another Crambo immediately, to “get the Eggersdorf site cleaned up” as he put it. Pretty soon he was looking at renting an Axtor as well. “It’s not really normally a rental machine,” says Karsten Runge, “but we were able supply one from our rental park that only had 50 hours on it. The important thing for us was that we could help the customer right away.”
Things happened quickly after that. In mid-March 2019, Büttner decided to get a new Crambo 5000 in the trailer version, “because the rented Crambo had worked out so well, and through contract services we were getting lots of green cuttings and wood processing business.” The decision to also buy an Axtor at this time might seem surprising, but absolutely makes sense. “After we got an order for 7000 loose cubic meters of chips, it was obvious that we would need something like the Axtor so that we could chip and shred with just one machine. It’s as flexible as you can get.” The rented Axtor had done 200 hours without problems, but had to be briefly sent out to fill a different customer order. It was back in less than three months, and Büttner purchased it on the spot. “At the moment we’re using the Axtor 6010 only for chipping, but we know that it can be converted quickly. Together with the Crambo it makes a great team, not just at our site but also on other jobs.”
“Renting was absolutely uncomplicated, and it really helped to us to be able to test something new and confirm that it was a fit for us. The whole process was pretty much ideal!”
You can tell that Christian Büttner is completely satisfied with Komptech’s advice, the rental process and the service that stands behind everything. He also likes the solid build quality of the machines and their thoughtful, practical design, not to mention the low fuel consumption. “Renting was absolutely uncomplicated, and it really helped to us to be able to test something new and confirm that it was a fit for us. The whole process was pretty much ideal!”
