As part of the JUNIOR competition of the Institute of German Business, 24 students from the Jungmannschule Eckernförde in Schleswig-Holstein founded the student company Rauteck (Recycled Auto Parts Eckernförde). With their idea of the "Fördeopener" - a bottle opener made from the tongue of discarded seat belts - the students became state and national winners of the competition and ultimately also won the European championship. The bottle opener, which is made from recycled car parts, is not the only product from Rauteck. Various versions of the opener as well as other products such as bags made from incorrectly produced seat belts were integrated into the production. Rauteck's production partner is Kompass 98, a facility for people with mental disabilities.
The interview:
A cooperative emerges from a student company. After the Eckernförde junior company "Rauteck" became the European champion of student companies, twelve students founded the "Rauteck" cooperative. How did this step come about?
RAUTECK: Due to the sensational victories in the JA Company Program, we were continuously encouraged from outside to take the extremely difficult step into self-employment. With these reinforcements and with the necessary self-confidence through the successes as a student company and in the knowledge that the economic potential of our unique, innovative and at the same time sustainable business idea is far from being exhausted, we finally got together after the official dissolution meeting of the student company in September A tax advisor friend of mine to determine the legal framework of our project and to find a legal form that is suitable for our existing structures.
Many orientation discussions took place internally during this time, so that ultimately from
Originally 24 employees only half took on the risk and the additional time burdens in the groundbreaking Abitur year and wanted to actively participate in the further development of RAUTECK.
After a few meetings with a representative of the cooperative association, we finally founded RAUTECK eG on November 7, 2015, as this legal form is most comparable to the very democratic structures of a student company; In addition, liability is limited to the company's assets, no mandatory minimum start-up capital is required, and personnel joining and leaving can be relatively flexible.
Regarding our project in general, it is always important to us to emphasize that this is always an experiment to establish a successful student company on the market and to rebuild or expand the structures under much tougher real conditions. At least in the short term, we are less concerned with profit than with the many valuable experiences in the private sector and personal development that makes working in your own company possible.
The bottle openers from the belt tongues form the basis for the company. Is recycling also conceivable for other car components?
RAUTECK: So far, we have concentrated our product development heavily on the safety belt systems as a whole, so that in addition to the various editions of our conveyor openers made from the metal belt buckle tongues, we have also had bags made from the seat belts themselves in many different colors and sizes in our range for over a year.
At the European competition at the end of July last year, we also presented prototypes of ties made of webbing material for the first time, the development of which has not yet been completed, which is why this type of product is not yet available on the open market. In the long term, however, we will of course also include other car components in our product development and are always open to suggestions.
As part of the JUNIOR competition of the Institute of German Business, 24 students from the Jungmannschule Eckernförde in Schleswig-Holstein founded the student company Rauteck (Recycled Auto Parts Eckernförde). With their idea of the "Fördeopener" - a bottle opener made from the tongue of discarded seat belts - the students became state and national winners of the competition and ultimately also won the European championship. The bottle opener, which is made from recycled car parts, is not the only product from Rauteck. Various versions of the opener as well as other products such as bags made from incorrectly produced seat belts were integrated into the production. Rauteck's production partner is Kompass 98, a facility for people with mental disabilities.
Production takes place in the neighboring workshop of the North German Society for Diakonia. What experiences have you gained from working with the workshop?
RAUTECK: So far and certainly only positive ones in the future. The cooperation with this main production partner already started in the project year and we have massively expanded it into a much more binding business relationship over the past six months.
While we thanked the facility with a large donation for the extremely successful cooperation in the project year, we now pay the workshop a fixed amount for each FördeOpener produced, which is almost exclusively manufactured by Kompass'98. As a result, we can now fully concentrate on the further development of our sales structures and professionalization of our company, while also completing our Abitur.
Even if we hardly come into contact with the production workshop employees, we have at least been able to gain valuable human experience in dealing with handicapped people by training these employees. Of course, not everything met our expectations straight away, but with a lot of patience and fun we continuously improve the quality of our products. Overall, we are very satisfied with the work of the facility - especially since the employees even make unsolicited suggestions for improvement and develop new prototypes.
Through our commitment, we enable such needy people to have a regular daily routine as well as a meaningful one
Employment with a certain degree of personal responsibility. For this reason, we are very happy to work with Kompass'98, are grateful for their support for our production and for their understanding in stressful phases of the project year and proud to be able to get involved socially. In the long term, we would like to outsource our production to the workshop to a large extent so that we no longer have to take over the bag production ourselves.
What potential do you see in the active recycling of automobiles?
RAUTECK: We see considerable potential in the active recycling or upcycling of automobiles, as the competition on the market is not yet too great and the car offers a lot of upcycling options. In addition, the aspect of sustainability in the automotive industry has always been neglected so far, so that with our business idea we not only set an example for a conscious and sustainable use of environmental resources, but also actively contribute to environmental protection by using both rejects from automotive suppliers and components that are more suitable for scrap Bring cars back into the business community and process them into innovative products.
Finally, a key question: How will “Rauteck” develop in the next few years?
RAUTECK: You can hardly foresee that at the moment. All employees are currently between the ages of 17 and 19 and will be leaving school with their Abitur this summer. Accordingly, some are initially drawn abroad for about a year, others to study in other regions of Germany and only a few stay in Eckernförde Spheres to study or for a gap year.
But as long as - and this seems certain at the moment - a few actually stay in Eckernförde for the next few years, Kompass'98 can continue to produce and look after it. In that case, the spread of our employees across Germany and around the world, thanks to modern communication media, would offer a huge sales opportunity whose potential would have to be exploited.
From a strategic point of view, we would first like to establish sales booths at intermediaries in many different regions, further professionalize our structures and, in the long term, expand our online sales as well as promote our products to business customers such as breweries or car dealerships as promotional gifts or similar.
Many thanks for the interview!
Addendum:
An image film from 2015
More information about Rauteck is available from the following address:
RAUTECK technology and ecology center
Eckernförde Marienthaler Str. 17
24340 Eckernfoerde
Questions and suggestions under 01575/287 3616 or by email to leser@greencarmagazine.de.
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