Cirplus announces seven-figure funding round

Cirplus GmbH, a Germany-based digital procurement platform for recycled plastics, has secured a seven-figure funding round.

The lead investors include Igus GmbH, a manufacturer of energy chain systems and plain bearings made from lubrication-free and low-wear high-performance plastics based in Cologne, Germany; and Wepa Ventures, an Arnsberg, Germany-based venture capital company supported by the family-owned Wepa Group. Cirplus, which did not disclose the funding total, says it intends to use the capital to develop its platform further and expand geographically.

The company says its goal is to establish a comprehensive digital procurement solution for recycled plastics, to reduce the transaction costs for using recyclables on a global scale and secure their use in the long term. To meet its goal, Cirplus 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 company's business-to-business platform already is used by more than 3,000 companies in the plastics and recycling industries from over 100 countries.

“Igus, Wepa Ventures and Cirplus share the vision of completely closing the plastics loop with digitization,” Cirplus founder and CEO Christian Schiller says. “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 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.”

Wepa Ventures CEO Carl-Luis Rieger says the circular economy will be the new normal, and its investment in Cirplus is a way to address growth potential in various sectors, particularly in the packaging industry and business-to-business products and services. “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," he says.

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.”