OTTO KRAHN Group a new investor in Next Commerce Accelerator

29.04.2020

The OTTO KRAHN Group, which includes the companies ALBIS PLASTIC and KRAHN Chemie amongst others, has invested in Next Commerce Accelerator (NCA).

The Hamburg-based company supports digital commerce startups that have scalable business models and great market potential. 

Since 2017, it has successfully supported and accelerated 26 industry startups from all over Europe. In addition to intensive support, through NCA the founder teams gain access to an expert network of around 200 mentors, have the opportunity to cooperate with more than 20 corporate partners and can gain investments of up to 50,000 EUR. Participating startups benefit from direct contact with leading companies from trade and industry. In addition to the OTTO KRAHN Group, other participants include Beiersdorf, Creditreform, Novomind, Hamburger Sparkasse and Tchibo. 

“We are impressed by the concept, the work and the people behind NCA, and are happy to be a part of it,” says Matthias Schulz, Head of Digitization in the OTTO KRAHN Group. “At the same time, as an industrial enterprise, we are always interested in innovative, digital business models and sales channels, and enjoy communicating with startup founders and investors.”

“As a digital pioneer in the market, we are able to offer our 6-month Startup Acceleration Program in its usual quality, even in the current situation,” reports Thorsten Wittmütz, Managing Partner at NCA. “The decisive added value that we offer our founding teams is the access to a wide network of industrial enterprises such as the OTTO KRAHN Group, who are available to the startups as potential partners and customers, as well as a variety of mentors who can support the startups with their expertise – this time all exclusively using digital channels.”

In April 2020 we will start Batch #6 of the Next Commerce Accelerator with a total of five startups from the areas of services, e-commerce, advertising and technology.
 

Team NCA, © Linda David

OTTO KRAHN - a brief profile
Founded in 1909, OTTO KRAHN (GmbH & Co.) KG is the holding company of the OTTO KRAHN Group, which is involved domestically and internationally in the distribution and compounding of plastics as well as specialty chemicals distribution. The plastics operations are combined in ALBIS PLASTIC GmbH (ALBIS PLASTIC Group) and the specialty chemicals distribution in KRAHN Chemie GmbH (KRAHN Chemie Group). In total, the OTTO KRAHN Group, via the ALBIS PLASTIC Group and the KRAHN Chemie Group, is represented with operational branches in more than 30 countries and offers customers from the plastics processing industry, the paint and coating industry, the rubber processing industry, the lubricant manufacturing industry and other branches with a broad and deep product range as well as technical application advice and additional services. 

ALBIS PLASTIC - a brief profile 
ALBIS PLASTIC is a world leader in the distribution and compounding of technical thermoplasts and thermoplastic elastomeres. It offers the plastics processing industry a portfolio of products by renowned plastics producers, as well as its own diverse range of high-performance plastics, compound solutions, and master batches. During the 2018 fiscal year, the ALBIS Group generated a total of 1.1 billion EUR in revenue worldwide. With 26 subsidiaries and more than 1,400 employees, the Hamburg-based company is represented in many countries in Europe, Asia, and the US. ALBIS produces compounds and master batches at five German locations as well as in Duncan, South Carolina (US), and Changshu (China); many of its specialty products are high-quality recycling compounds and/or use green materials. All facilities are certified in accordance with IATF 16949 or ISO 9001 standards. In 2018, ALBIS was certified by the rating specialist EcoVadis in accordance with Europe-wide corporate social responsibility standards.

For more information, visit http://www.albis.com or http://www.albisamericas.com.