Continuing on a green growth path
The GRAF Group, Teningen, increased its turnover by 20 % in the past financial year and generated a consolidated net turnover of 180 million euros. At the end of 2022, the family-owned company employed 700 people worldwide, two thirds of them in Germany. A further 100 employees joined at the beginning of the year. The GRAF Group has acquired a majority stake in the RBB Group. The Luxembourg-based company specialises in solutions for decentralised wastewater treatment.
"This makes the GRAF Group the market and innovation leader in Europe for solutions for rainwater management and decentralised wastewater treatment. With this strong position, we will continue on our green growth path," Otto P. Graf, owner and Managing Director of the GRAF Group, is convinced. The turnover has grown in all product areas and regions. The company is active in over 80 countries worldwide. GRAF is represented by its own companies in France, Great Britain, Spain, Poland, Australia, Malaysia and China. Last year, a sales company was also founded in Italy.
The family-owned company invested heavily in the region last year. In July 2022, the fourth location was inaugurated. In the BA-SIC Kehl-Neuried industrial park, a production and logistics site with 38,500 m² of usable space was built on an area of 10 ha for 30 million euros. Currently, 80 people are employed there.
The new location is conveniently situated between the headquarters in Teningen, the Competence Centre Raw Materials in Herbolzheim, where the company processes recycled plastics for its own production, and the plant in Dachstein (Alsace). According to GRAF's own estimates, this enables the company to avoid more than 2,000 truck journeys per year and thus CO2 emissions. The effects of CO2 emissions on global warming can be seen in longer dry periods and more frequent heavy rainfall events. Climate change leads the company to expect a strong increase in demand for solutions for stormwater management and water protection.
Despite strong growth in a year of unexpected political and economic challenges, the GRAF Group is entering the new financial year with cautious optimism. "Above all, the volatility in raw material and energy prices is the biggest challenge. That is why we are stepping up our efforts to produce as much recyclate as possible ourselves and to reduce energy consumption in manufacturing," emphasises Otto P. Graf, owner and Managing Director of the GRAF Group.
