“ The waste disposal market has changed dramatically” - Interseroh

The newsletter for our employees worldwide
Issue No. 1, January 2012
1 ALBA Group Inside INTERNATIONAL | Issue No. 1, January 2012
INTERNATIONAL
“ The waste disposal market has
changed dramatically”
The two management segments Waste Operations and Trading & Processing
of the ALBA Group were merged in mid-January. ALBA Group Inside
used this occasion to ask the two responsible members of the Board of
Directors, Dr Eric Schweitzer (picture right) and Martin Becker-Rethmann
(picture left), about the background to this decision.
Dr Schweitzer and Mr Becker-Rethmann, you have
been running the ALBA Group segments Waste Operations
and Trading & Processing jointly since mid-January.
What is the biggest challenge in this merger?
Eric Schweitzer: I would first like to thank Hermann
Holstein for his good and successful time on the Board
of Directors. Under him the segment developed very
successfully, with double-digit growth every year. I am
therefore pleased that he is staying with the ALBA
Group to develop our international projects further.
Martin Becker-Rethmann: I can only agree.
As far as your question is concerned, the biggest
challenge will be to overcome the separation between
the procurement side and the sales markets within the
ALBA Group itself. We must process the raw materials
we receive from our customers in the Waste Operations
segment in such a way that we can market the material
optimally on the national and international markets.

Eric Schweitzer: Absolutely, the waste disposal market
has changed dramatically in the past few years. Today
the focus lies on recovery of raw materials, whereas
just a few years ago it lay on legally compliant disposal
of wastes. We have one of the leading trading
companies in Europe in our Trading segment. Now we
must use these advantages in the classical disposal
business by generating added value for our customers,
thereby attaining a singular position on the market. In
this way we want to grow profitably further as leading
supplier of raw materials and environmental services.
Why have raw materials trading and waste disposal
been merged? At first glance it would seem there are
more parallels between Waste Operations and the
segment Scrap and Metals Recycling ...
Martin Becker-Rethmann: The disposal market is determined
today by the question of who gets the best prices
on the raw materials market. That decides on who
offers the customer the biggest benefit. It therefore
makes sense to join the two ends of the supply chain –
where do the raw materials come into the ALBA Group
and where do they leave it – together.
Eric Schweitzer: It is also about positioning ourselves
better strategically vis-à-vis our competitors and playing
an active role in determining the further development of
the market. At the same time we are reducing the number
of interfaces with this step and they always involve
inefficiencies. It is now up to the employees in these
segments to use the advantages and to live the idea of
“One ALBA Group” more strongly than in the past.
What does the division of work between you two look
like? How do the managers know who they should
talk to?
Eric Schweitzer (laughs): That‘s easy – when they‘ve got
problems, Martin Becker-Rethmann, when they‘ve got
good news, me. Seriously, though: we both manage the
segment together. But we have naturally divided up the
tasks between each other: Mr Becker-Rethmann will
focus primarily on Trading & Processing, Wood Trade,
Central Eastern Europe and the Waste Operations Region
North-East, whereas I will concentrate on the Waste
Operations Regions West and South.
That does not mean that two segments will develop
again. Strategically we will coordinate our work very
closely with each other and we both bear joint responsibility
for everything.
2 ALBA Group Inside INTERNATIONAL | Issue No. 1, January 2012
Dr Schweitzer, in October we heard that you and
your brother would be withdrawing from work in the
operational segments and would concentrate on your
jobs as chairmen of the Board of Directors. Was that
perhaps too boring for you?
Eric Schweitzer: No, definitely not. As you know, I am
also the honorary president of the chamber of commerce
and industry in Berlin. But our company lies
closer to my heart than anything else and when it is
necessary, I will always be there to take an active part.
There is simply a necessity at the moment to adjust
the structure of our group to the changed conditions on
the markets. And Martin Becker-Rethmann is already
responsible for so many things that I didn‘t want to
load this task on to his shoulders alone. I still get a lot
of pleasure out of aligning our company for the future
and organising things.
Mr Becker-Rethmann, what is your aim for 2012 in
your new role? Where are there the biggest opportunities?
Martin Becker-Rethmann: My personal aim is to mesh
the corporate segments closer together. We also need
to manage the short-term fluctuations in prices on the
raw material markets better and increase our transaction
speed. In concrete terms: if I see that the prices
on the market are changing on the trading side, I can
take that into account when submitting proposals to
customers. Vice versa, we need to look at the material
coming in from the disposal contracts more closely to
see whether it is not possible to recover better qualities
through further separation and which our traders
can then market better.
Development in the Waste Operations segment was
very pleasing in the past few years. It contributes
more than 40 percent to the overall result. The early
retirement of Hermann Holstein from the Board of
Directors was therefore surprising for many ...
Eric Schweitzer: The Waste Operations segment has indeed
developed very successfully. Hermann Holstein’s
departure from the Board therefore has nothing to do
with his management qualities. What we wanted was to
adjust our ALBA Group structure to the changed conditions
on the markets. And that is our job as members
of the Board.
The interview was conducted by Verena Köttker.

Results of reader survey on
ALBA Group Inside
All readers of the German ALBA Group Inside had the possibility to give their views on
the ALBA Group’s staff newsletter in the last month in a computer-aided reader survey.
Almost 200 employees used this opportunity and gave the editorial team valuable feedback
in the process.
What did the extensive evaluation show? Firstly, that
more than 90 per cent of the respondents like Inside in
its current form – which we are naturally very pleased
about! The purpose of such a survey is, however, not
simply to fish for compliments from colleagues, but to
adapt Inside more to your requirements on the basis of
your feedback.
Now to the results: 85 per cent of respondents read
every issue of Inside. As far as reading habits are concerned,
the answers varied: 65 per cent of respondents
said they read only certain articles, while 22 per cent
read the newsletter completely.
More than 60 per cent of respondents rated the layout
and text content as “good” and 37 per cent even hold
the layout to be “very good”.
As far as content is concerned, readers want more
company news (54 per cent) and background on corporate
strategy (60 per cent), followed by more colourful
topics (30 per cent) and more news from the recycling
industry (also 28 per cent).
Generally speaking, staff like the extensive monthly
information given by Inside and are very interested in
news from the various companies in the group. They
miss stories from abroad, background on corporate
strategy, changes in the industry and above all stories
by and on colleagues. The readers would also like
reports on future prospects, for example projects or
ideas.
We are of course going to use your feedback to adapt
the coming issues of Inside more to reader needs.
We already made a start by featuring an interview with
Dr Eric Schweitzer and Martin Becker-Rethmann on the
strategy of the new ALBA Group segment Waste Operations
& Trading on the first two pages of this issue.
And we naturally welcome your ideas on possible
stories at any time – no matter whether they are about
new business ideas, company successes or colourful
topics from the world of ALBA Group employees.
3 ALBA Group Inside INTERNATIONAL | Issue No. 1, January 2012
Thanks to your help, it will already be possible to make
a number of changes and implement some of your
ideas in the next issues of the monthly newsletter
ALBA Group Inside. Below we have put together a small
collection of ideas from the survey and our comments
on them:
What topics would you like to read about more in ALBA
Group Inside?
“A presentation of all fields of business and companies.
More portraits on departments and locations to
get an even better idea.”
The editorial team of ALBA Group Inside can fully understand
the wish for stories from the different locations
and portraits on the different companies. We plan to
expand our reporting in this area in the future – this,
however, is only possible if we get more information
from the locations.
Would you like to present your company or write a
portrait of your location? Then contact us! We would be
glad to discuss the content of your article with you.
“More background on the people in the ALBA Group.”
The editors are interested in presenting exciting and
informative topics to staff every month – and that of
course includes reports on employees, their work and
even their activities outside the company.

Great stories on interesting employees are therefore
exactly what the editors are looking for. Here, again,
however: we need our colleagues’, i.e. your input.
You have an interesting hobby or do voluntary work?
You know of a colleague who has exceptional abilities,
from which other employees could also benefit? Simply
contact us so that we can put all other colleagues in
the picture.
How do you rate the text content of ALBA Group Inside?
“I don‘t like that the information/articles were already
available in the intranet or press review in advance.”
(so far, only in Germany)
It is the daily work of the Internal Corporate Communications
team to inform all staff comprehensively and
on all information channels (intranet, press review,
e-mail, Inside). Most of the industrial workers of ALBA
Group, for example, do not have access to the internet
during their work hours. At many locations, therefore,
the monthly newsletter is printed and hung on the
notice board – this double reporting is therefore quite
deliberate.
The editorial team is especially pleased about employees
who regularly use all channels of information and
4 ALBA Group Inside INTERNATIONAL | Issue No. 1, January 2012
who therefore see when the same stories appear on
different channels of communication.
What do you miss in ALBA Group Inside?
“More background on corporate strategy.”
The editorial team also sees a need for improvement
here. The above mentioned interview with Dr Eric
Schweitzer and Martin Becker-Rethmann is a first step
to get things going.
“More reports on ALBA Group companies abroad.”
The editors have already taken steps to correct this
point: in the new series “ALBA Group worldwide” Inside
plans to inform readers on various foreign companies.
The November issue already reported on Slovenia and
this issue covers Austria.
Further portraits will follow. In addition to this, the
English-language newsletter Inside International was
launched in October. Through this further channel of
communication we hope to present even more topics
from colleagues abroad.
Please contact Alexander Wood if you have any
questions.
“Developing sustainable products”
The services of ALBA and Interseroh are perfect complements to each
other and offer customers from trade, industry, commerce and property
management the complete spectrum of recycling and facility services. The
business unit Recycling Solutions (RSI) of INTERSEROH Dienstleistung
GmbH and operational companies in the ALBA division Facility Services
set out on a path of cross-selling within the ALBA Group in 2012.
ALBA Facility Solutions GmbH (AFS) and the business
unit RSI – both companies in the ALBA Group’s Services
segment – entered a unique cooperation on January
1, 2012: AFS has become the exclusive provider for
all facility services offered to the industrial customers
of RSI. “The main idea behind our thinking was why do
we award contracts with our customers to external companies
when we have proven experts in the ALBA Group
itself at AFS,“ says Maximilian von Rüden, the product
manager responsible for the project.
Apart from positioning itself successfully on the property
management market, the division Facility Services
will now also be able to expand further across Germany
in the trades sector. It is then planned to market the
product “Property Management” to customers in trade
and industry in a second step through RSI contacts.
“The aim of the cooperation is to develop new and
sustainable products for customers in order to tie them
closer to the ALBA Group over the long term,” says
Frank D. Masuhr, managing director of ALBA Facility Services
GmbH. “We have already made good progress in
developing a deposit take-back system for the property
management market.”
Other cooperation projects such as, for example, the
take-back of light bulbs and empty printer cartridges at
Potsdamer Platz in Berlin are already in the implementation
phase.
If you have questions on how to market your services
within the ALBA Group even better than at the moment,
please contact Maximilian von Rüden.

ALBA Group worldwide: Austria
They are Germany’s direct neighbours and important economic partners in
the EU – the Austrians. Many companies see the country as the “gateway
to the east”. ALBA Group entered the Austrian market with Interseroh Austria
in 1997, concentrating on the dispensation of commercial packaging.
Since entering the market more than 14 years ago,
Interseroh Austria (formerly EVA GmbH) has been
organising the collection, recycling and treatment of
packaging, waste electrical and electronic equipment
and batteries in compliance with regulations together
with its partners in the waste management industry in
Austria. The business is based on four pillars: advisory
service, system services, disposal services and trade
in raw materials. In the meantime more than 1,200
companies use the portfolio of services offered by
Interseroh in Austria. As far as the legal framework is
concerned, the German and Austrian waste management
and disposal markets are comparable, although
the packaging regulations in force in Austria distinguish
between “household packaging” and “commercial
packaging”.
“Compared to Germany, the market for the collection of
household packaging is still monopolistic in Austria.
Manufacturers are therefore not free to choose who
they want to contract to collect and dispense their
sales packagingin Austria,” says Franz Sauseng, managing
director of Interseroh Austria and business unit
manager of Interseroh Central Eastern Europe.
Another geographic peculiarity of the country is that
the main economic focus lies more in the east of the
country. This means the well-known waste management
and disposal companies are also mainly located
in the east of Austria. Many companies have used
the opening up of Eastern Europe and enlargement
of the European Union to expand and also offer their
waste disposal services successfully in neighbouring
countries to the east. ALBA Group has won a name for
itself with its large network and the know-how behind it.
“Major, internationally active companies usually operate
in both Germany and Austria. ALBA Group offers these
companies who operate internationally waste disposal
solutions from one supplier,” says Franz Sauseng.
In this regard Interseroh Austria has a further ace up
its sleeve: the Interseroh Austria location in Vienna
has also been the managing company for all Interseroh
companies in Central and Eastern Europe (Slovenia,
Croatia and Poland) since 2009. Market development
and growth in these regions is controlled by the head
5 ALBA Group Inside INTERNATIONAL | Issue No. 1, January 2012
office in Vienna. Operational management of the companies
is organised by the managers and colleagues in
the different countries. Interseroh Austria is responsible
for business management. A further focus lies on
the successful development of junior managers.
“We see our role as advisors and mediators between
implementation of the know-how of ALBA Group and
simultaneously the regional experiences of our employees
in the different countries,” says Martin Ulke,
manager of the business unit Central Eastern Europe
(CEE) and also managing director of Interseroh Austria.
“We want to build up the companies for the long term
and steer their development positively. It is said that
Austrians find it easier to deal with the East European
mentality because there have always been historic and
cultural ties.”
The advantages offered by Vienna as a location are
also important. All large urban centres on the Balkans
and in Eastern Europe can be reached by air within 45
minutes.
Future central issues and focuses for the experts of
Interseroh Austria will be conservation of resources
and shortage of raw materials in Western countries.
ALBA Group has grown into a valuable supplier of
raw materials for industry. There is also a demand
for this competence in Austria, thereby offering ALBA
Group a chance for further expansion on the market.
In this way it will also be possible to establish ties
to the important new markets in Central and Eastern
ALBA Group in AUSTRIA:
Name of the company:
INTERSEROH Austria GmbH
Location: Vienna
Established: October 13, 1997
Managing directors:
Franz Sauseng and Martin Ulke
Staff (2011): 19
Turnover (2010):
€ 7,655,000
Fields of business:
recycling and treatment of
packaging, waste electrical
and electronic equipment and
batteries; organisation and
optimisation of waste disposal
for stores, warehouses and
business locations for manufacturing
and trading companies.

Europe. Interseroh Austria also supports the efforts of
well-known manufacturers for more competition on the
household market and consistently calls for opening up
of the household collection system to competition.
An important factor here is the clear commitment of
customers to the international ALBA Group: the number
of customers and tonnages of materials pooled
6 ALBA Group Inside INTERNATIONAL | Issue No. 1, January 2012
and marketed has risen consistently every year since
the group joined the market in Austria.
The company’s clear aim is to maintain this success in
the coming years as well.
Please contact Franz Sauseng or Martin Ulke if you
have any questions.
New regulations in 2013:
action needs to be taken now
Some directives of importance to the recycling and waste disposal industry
have receded somewhat into the background because of the large
media presence of the Closed Substance Cycle and Waste Management
Act. To enable companies in the ALBA Group to make the necessary preparations,
CF Technics would like to inform them of the main changes.
Licensing law in Germany and the EU is about to face
decisive changes: The background to this is formed by
the EU Industrial Emissions Directive, which came into
force on January 7, 2011 and which must be translated
into national law within two years. To this end, a number
of German standards are to be changed, among them the
Water Resources Act, the law on environmental impact
assessment (EIA) and, of central importance for plant
permits, the Federal Immissions Protection Act.
It is already relatively clear now in which three areas these
changes will have an effect as from January 7, 2013:
1. Protection of vested interests will be softened: this
means that the state of the art of waste treatment
facilities will in future be defined and published at EU
level in the form of BAT conclusions (BAT = best
available technology).
2. Stricter monitoring duties will come into force: the
period between two on-site inspections of licensed
plants by the supervisory authorities will be defined in
detail.
3. Status quo report in the case of changes to large
processing plants: of considerable significance here is
the obligation to attach a so-called status quo report on
the plant site to the application.
In future, therefore, an application for a permit will be
incomplete in the case of certain facilities if an expert
has not analysed soil and groundwater samples and
this analysis has not been attached to the application in
report form. Plant operators in the ALBA Group will not be
able to escape changes to the law in plant operation if
their plants exceed a certain minimum threshold. “Where
a company is affected and will have to submit a statusquo
report in future, Corporate Function (CF) Technics recommends
the company brings planned changes forwards so
that the application is submitted in the first half of 2012,”
says Michael Blöcher from ALBA Group CF Technics. In
this way it will be possible to avoid the changes coming
into effect on January 7, 2013
if the application procedure has already passed significant
hurdles by this point in time.
If you have any questions about the potential effect of
these new regulations regarding your company, please
contact Michael Blöcher and Andreas Wendt.
AUSTRIA AT A GLANCE
Area: 83,878.99 km²
Population: 8,405,500
Capital: Vienna
Official language:
German (regionally: Croatian,
Slovenian, Hungarian)
Form of government:
parliamentary federal republic
Currency: euro

Innovation management:
far more than wacky inventors
Petrol from yoghurt cups? Water-soluble packaging we can get rid of down
the toilet? Or collection and recycling of strategic raw materials such as noble
earths? Who knows what projects the research and development teams
of the recycling industry are currently working on? And even if these ideas
may sound somewhat unrealistic at the moment, one thing is clear: innovations
are extremely important for firms because they ensure that companies
continue to develop further and keep up with the markets – or in the ideal
case even keep one step ahead of them. Hanno-Christian Großeschmidt
has been responsible for the subject of “Innovation Management” in the
Services segment at INTERSEROH Dienstleistungs GmbH (ISD) since October
2011. In this interview he explains his role and why it is important for
the further development of the ALBA Group.
Mr Großeschmidt, how would you outline the term
“innovation management”?
Put briefly, innovation management is the development
and implementation of an idea through which a company
or its customer experiences a significant increase in
value. However, this involves far more than just generating
and managing ideas: it is a holistic management
process involving strategic, cultural and organisational
aspects.
Does innovation management play a role at all in the
recycling industry?
Generally speaking, the recycling industry is very
inward looking, by which I mean that, in my opinion, it is
primarily concerned with optimising internal processes.
Having said that, there is nevertheless a big potential
to realise higher added value from customers with
innovations in the form of new or improved products,
services, or business models.
What in your estimation is the current situation at ISD
in this regard?
Compared to other companies in the branch, ISD basically
already has a very good innovation base. This includes
many good and motivated employees, who have
already shown that they can develop and implement
innovative ideas on the market. Our services such as
the pooling system or the plastic granulate Procyclen
are good examples of successfully implemented innova-
7 ALBA Group Inside INTERNATIONAL | Issue No. 1, January 2012
tions. In many fields of business, however, we are still
too strongly driven by laws and regulations.
To make ourselves more independent of them, we want
to focus more strongly on a strategy to develop new
products that cannot be withdrawn from the market
from one day to the next because of a change in the
law or similar circumstance.
What is your role then as innovation manager?
Firstly I will develop innovation management in the
Services segment and drive it forward on an on-going
basis. I further see myself as the primary contact and
coordinator for innovation issues in the ALBA Group.
In so doing I will cooperate closely with the corporate
function New Venture under the management of Frank
Pickenhagen. Together we will coordinate the development
of new products and services at ALBA Group
level and in this way avoid dual developments. We will
further actively identify attractive fields of innovation
in which we can use as many skills available in the
whole group as possible. Finally we intend to establish
standard processes, for example to look for and find
possible innovation issues, and offer the individual
segments help wherever necessary.
Where are there starting points which you can build
on successfully?
Interseroh is fundamentally a strong brand that is
known on the market and which has a good reputati-
Hanno-Christian Großeschmidt,
(33), Innovation Manager for
the Services segment, joined
ALBA Group in October 2011.
Before, he worked for a big
business consultancy for
over six years, where he was
responsible for innovation and
growth topics

on as innovative service provider and problem-solver.
In addition to this, ISD can fall back on a broad and
strong customer and supplier base. A special bonus
is that we already cover the megatrends of “sustainability”
and “resource efficiency” today with our many
services and in this way are able to offer our customers
a complete solution. Nevertheless, there is still room
to develop our portfolio further in a structured way with
strategically managed innovation management, thereby
enabling us to offer new or improved services again
and again.
Do you think innovation management is a matter for
management alone, or can every employee contribute
to it?
Innovation is basically a question concerning the
complete corporate culture: if staff are animated and
are supported in partaking in it, that is the best basis
for the development of innovations – that you can see
in all large companies with an innovative bent of mind.
The following principle therefore applies: “There is no
such thing as bad ideas.” Employees should not be
afraid of approaching their supervisors with ideas for
8 ALBA Group Inside INTERNATIONAL | Issue No. 1, January 2012
improvements – and these supervisors should of course
also always have an open ear for the subject.
To end off, what are your next steps?
What are your goals for the near future?
At the moment we are working in the Services segment
on developing an innovation strategy and vision for
where we want to go in the coming years. One of the
first steps here is to eliminate the barriers obstructing
innovations. Because we want to support all employees
who actively participate in the innovation process. In
addition to this, we are setting up a functioning innovation
generation and evaluation system so that we can
categorise and evaluate ideas submitted to us systematically.
And the first results are already visible: in the
short time available to us we have already identified a
number of promising ideas that support our strategic
orientation – and which we will hopefully find on the
market in the not too distant future.
Please contact Hanno-Christian Großeschmidt if you
have any questions on the subject of innovation management.
ALBA Group is
looking for your talents
You play sport and are very successful in your discipline? You do social work and want to
tell your colleagues more about it? Then read on!
The ALBA Group is growing together more and more
and is the workplace for around 9,000 employees.
Every employee is someone special and with his or her
abilities and personality helps to characterise cooperation
within our community.
ALBA Group Inside International is therefore looking for
interesting personalities and the hidden talents that
are to be found among our colleagues.
Inside offers you the possibility to present your
interests and fields of activity to the rest of the ALBA
Group. Tell us your story and inspire your colleagues.
How you can do this? Simply contact the Corporate
Communications team and we will then discuss with
you how your interest can become an article for the
internal newsletter ALBA Group Inside International.
If you are interested, please contact Alexander Wood.

Logistical precision –
day after day
A major logistical player has developed under the umbrella of ALBA Group:
the company ALBA Supply Chain Management GmbH (ASCM). Growing
from the ALIS project “Centralisation of Outbound Logistics”, the project
activities were merged at the beginning of 2010 under the auspices of
ASCM as central logistics provider in the ALBA Group.
The objective of ASCM is to ensure cost-optimised
transport logistics for its customers. This is achieved
on the one hand through the lean and efficient internal
organisation of ASCM, and on the other through consolidation
and optimisation of the extensive transport
network of the ALBA Group. In so doing ASCM places
high value on cost transparency vis-à-vis its customers.
A team of 20 specialists ensures that around 13,000
truck loads and sea containers reach their destinations
every month, which means about three million tons are
moved per annum. The logistical tasks range from “24hour
just-in-time deliveries” for the Berlin MPS plants,
through truck transportation of lightweight packaging,
plastics, waste paper and substitute fuels to management
of export and seagoing logistics from throughout
Europe.
However, the portfolio of services offered by ASCM
go far beyond simple transport management. ASCM
also handles many logistics-related matters such as
customs clearance, preparation of notifications and
letters of credit, substance flow management, keeping
of mass flow verification documents and processing of
material complaints. This extensive spectrum of activity
is made possible at ASCM by a pooling of know-how,
which is vital for professional working of the market.
The legal and financial risks in export business also
play an important role here.
“The example of ASCM shows what potentials can be
tapped through inter-company collaboration within the
ALBA Group,” says ALBA Group director Martin Becker-
Rethmann. “A competence centre has developed in
ASCM in which the employees pool their know-how and
continue to develop in the corresponding work processes.”
9 ALBA Group Inside INTERNATIONAL | Issue No. 1, January 2012
Like everywhere else, the customers of the ALBA Group
also place value on low (freight) costs. In many cases it
is the logistical costs which decide whether a transaction
comes into being or not, which is why every single
cent is important. ASCM faces this challenge every day
anew, achieving results really worth looking at: in spite
of the immense increase in the price of diesel, the
transport costs still lie below the level in 2009 in most
areas.
Around 400 forwarding companies and carriers currently
work together with ASCM in Europe in order to avoid
dependencies and ensure intact competition among
suppliers and to ensure there is adequate freight space
available to the ALBA Group at all times.
By pooling various customers within the ALBA Group,
ASCM currently handles 1,000 to 1,500 containers a
month in the direction of Asia in the area of seagoing
logistics – a magnitude that has also captured the
interest of large shipping companies.
Apart from this positive development and success story,
it is the strategic and operational objective of ASCM
to continue to set logistical standards for the complete
branch in the future and to secure a competitive advantage
for the ALBA Group in the process.
“We are willing to integrate further companies in
the ALBA Group in our service in order to raise the
cost-efficiency of the ASCM competence centre,” says
Martin Becker-Rethmann. “In this way the subsidiaries
can also convince themselves of the excellent service
we offer and concentrate on their core processes.”
Please contact Dirk Damaschke or Heiko Bergemann if
you have any questions.

Waste or not waste?
When does scrap iron stop being waste and what are the consequences
of the EU end-of-waste regulation for scrap iron, steel and aluminium for
the waste industry? These questions were discussed by policymakers and
practitioners at a joint conference of the Austrian Water and Waste Association
and the Austrian Ministry of Life (comparable to the German Environment
Ministry). Also there: Bernd Ofenloch of ALBA Group.
The expert from INTERSEROH Rhein-Neckar-Rohstoff
GmbH spoke as representative of ALBA Group on the
“European end-of-waste regulation for metals” from the
point of view of the steel and metal recycling branch in
general and the ALBA Group in particular.
According to the EU regulation, scrap iron and aluminium
stops being waste when it has passed through
a recycling process, there is a market or demand for
it and it fulfils technical or legal requirements and
standards for products – in other words, when it can be
used again. The aim of this is to support the recycling
markets and to implement EU waste law more effectively.
In his presentation Bernd Ofenloch discussed the problem
behind the theory. He stated that the manpower,
organisational and technical costs required to separate
foreign matter according to end-of-waste criteria and
to establish a special quality management system
were extremely high. For scrap iron, for example, the
total fraction of foreign matter may not exceed two per
cent of the total weight. The scrap must also be free
of excessive iron oxide as well as oil, oil emulsions,
lubricants and grease.
“Both the legal pitfalls and open questions as well as
the considerable extra costs that come with the end-ofwaste
regulation have given rise to a situation in which
neither the steel and metal recycling industry nor steel-
10 ALBA Group Inside INTERNATIONAL | Issue No. 1, January 2012
works, foundries and melting plants have a big interest
in scrap as a product,” said Ofenloch in his speech.
Since the regulation came into force, scrap has been
sold, as before the regulation, almost exclusively as
“waste” for recycling.
At the end of his speech Bernd Ofenloch concluded
that the regulation had in its current form missed its
targets of reducing bureaucracy in the field of scrap processing
and strengthening the recycling idea.
Please contact Bernd Ofenloch if you have any
questions.
Bernd Ofenloch speaks in Austria
on regulations in European
waste law
Save the Date: ALBA Group Management Meeting 2012
The annual meeting of ALBA Group‘s top managers will most likely take place between June 24 and 26, 2012, in Neu-Isenburg
near Frankfurt am Main/Germany. The aim of the meeting is to actively devise the future perspectives of ALBA Group and to discuss
higher-ranking topics. The meeting also offers the possibilty for an intense exchange of experiences and thoughts.
The relevant group of participants will be invited personally in short future. For more information, please contact Verena Köttker.

ALBA Group helps schools
In its campaign “Wirtschaft macht Schule – machen Sie mit” (“Economy
goes to school – take part!”) the chamber of commerce and industry in
Reutlingen cooperates with schools and companies to form fertile partnerships.
The ALBA Group company ALBA Neckar-Alb is one of the educational
partners involved in the campaign.
In the wake of the noticeable shortage of skilled
personnel, ALBA Neckar-Alb joined the campaign as
an educational partner in November 2011. Through
this partnership the company hopes to cover its future
personnel needs, primarily in the industrial sector.
To this end the project aims to improve vocational counselling
for pupils and companies are able to influence
the qualification of their future apprentices proactively.
“By participating in this campaign ALBA Neckar-Alb is
able to arouse interest in the waste disposal industry
11 ALBA Group Inside INTERNATIONAL | Issue No. 1, January 2012
among pupils and present itself as a company from
the region that trains young people,” says Thorsten
Spallinger, sales controller/projects at ALBA Neckar-
Alb. “In addition to that, the partnership and sharing of
experiences between companies and schools that goes
with it means we keep in touch with the latest trends in
training.”
This could, in turn, lead to advantages in the competition
for junior staff. In the campaign ALBA Neckar-Alb
cooperates with the Neugreuth school from Metzingen.
As a junior high and technical secondary school, the
school is the ideal partner for the company because of
its future personnel needs in the industrial sector. In
the partnership projects are arranged and implemented
with the school. In addition to this, apprentices at ALBA
Neckar-Alb act as envoys for the company by presenting
the company as training company at school events and
in classes.
Please contact Thorsten Spallinger if you have any
questions.
Reusable pooling in motion
A new company film on reusable pooling at ALBA Group is now available.
The customised reusable pooling solutions from
Interseroh are leaders in their field both economically
and ecologically. The advantages and strengths of our
customer-specific and optimised logistical concepts
and reusable transport systems are presented concisely
and comprehensibly in a new product film. Use this
interesting and informative film in your contacts with
customers or business partners and in presentations
on the ALBA Group. The film is available with immediate
effect in German and English from the Interseroh and
ALBA Group media library.
Please contact Kai Bastuck or Thomas Möller if you
have any questions.
The president of the chamber
of commerce and industry in
Reutlingen, Christian Erbe
(left), thanks Michael Stutz,
general manager of ALBA
Neckar-Alb GmbH & Co. KG, for
the company’s support with a
certificate
You can find the ALBA Group’s
media library on the internet at
www.albagroup.de/en/press/
mediathek-presse.html.

Career opportunities
The ALBA Group currently has the following vacancies:
– Chief financial officer/Chief commercial officer (m/f) Turkey,
ALBA Group plc & Co. KG, Turkey
– Czlonek Zarzadu ds. Sprzedazy,
ALBA Group plc & Co. KG, greater Katowice, Poland
– General manager (m/f) for disposal,
ALBA Group plc & Co. KG, greater Katowice, Poland
– Head of international business development/corporate
development (m/f), ALBA Group plc & Co. KG, Berlin
– Head of property management (m/f),
ALBA Property Management GmbH, Berlin
– Waste paper buyer (m/f),
repaper SEKUNDÄRROHSTOFFE GmbH, Berlin-Neukölln,
Königs Wusterhausen
– Sales rep (m/f), ALBA Stuttgart GmbH, Waiblingen
– Driver (m/f), ALBA West GmbH, Grevenbroich
– Driver (m/f), ALBA West GmbH, Pulheim
– Call centre agent for tenant hotline (m/f),
ALBA Facility Solutions GmbH, Berlin
– Chemist (m/f),
ALBA Schwarzwald GmbH, Bavaria/Baden Württemberg, Dunningen
– Building cleaner (m/f) for routine cleaning,
ALBA Facility Solutions GmbH, Region Ost, Berlin
– Key account manager/Marketing representative (m/f),
ALBA Stuttgart GmbH, Stuttgart area
– Driver (m/f), special wastes, ALBA Nordbaden GmbH, Karlsruhe
– Logistics worker/driver (m/f) on 400 euro basis,
ALBA Stuttgart GmbH, Stuttgart area
– Mechatronics technician (m/f) (commercial vehicles),
ALBA Niedersachsen-Anhalt GmbH, Magdeburg
– Employee in internal sales (m/f), ALBA Consulting GmbH, Berlin
– Employee in sales/sales rep (m/f),
ALBA Niedersachsen-Anhalt GmbH, Hannover
– Employee in internal sales (m/f),
ALBA Niedersachsen-Anhalt GmbH, Braunschweig
– Employee in recruiting (m/f), ALBA Group plc & Co. KG, Berlin
– Employee in waste disposal (m/f), ALBA Stuttgart GmbH, Waiblingen
– Supervisor/Sorter (m/f), ALBA Consulting GmbH, Berlin
– Object manager (m/f), ALBA Property Management GmbH, Berlin
– Logistics clerk (m/f), ALBA R-plus GmbH, Eppingen
– Administrative clerk (m/f), ALBA R-plus GmbH, Eppingen
– SAP logistics consultant/in-house (m/f),
ALBA Management GmbH, Berlin
– Mechanic/Vehicle mechatronics technician (m/f),
ALBA Stuttgart GmbH, Waiblingen
12 ALBA Group Inside INTERNATIONAL | Issue No. 1, January 2012
– Senior project manager infrastructural facility management (m/f),
ALBA Facility Solutions GmbH, Berlin
– Employee in supply and disposal (m/f),
ALBA Schwarzwald GmbH, Bavaria/Baden Württemberg, Dunningen
– Sales rep (m/f), ALBA R-plus GmbH, Eppingen
– Sales rep (m/f) for Romania, ALBA Trade CEE Sp. z o.o.
– Trainees (m/f), ALBA Group plc & Co. KG, Berlin
– Interns (m/f), ALBA Group plc & Co. KG, Berlin
– Network planning manager (m/f),
INTERSEROH Management GmbH, Cologne
– Team leader (m/f) IT service desk,
INTERSEROH Management GmbH, Cologne
– Human resources assistant (m/f),
INTERSEROH Management GmbH, Cologne
– Accountant (m/f), Wagner Rohstoffe GmbH, Frankfurt am Main
– Trader in steel and metal (m/f),
INTERSEROH Management GmbH, Cologne
– Area manager for northern Germany (m/f),
INTERSEROH Dienstleistungs GmbH, Cologne
– Trader in non-ferrous metals (m/f),
INTERSEROH NRW GmbH, Dortmund
– Trader in non-ferrous metals China (m/f),
Europe Metals B.V., Heeze, Netherlands
– IT developer (m/f) SOA and portals, PL/SQL, HTML/Java,
INTERSEROH Dienstleistungs GmbH, Cologne
– IT in-house consultant CRM (m/f) ORACLE CRM on Demand,
INTERSEROH Dienstleistungs GmbH, Cologne
– IT junior in-house consultant CRM (m/w) ORACLE CRM on
Demand, INTERSEROH Dienstleistungs GmbH, Cologne
– Truck driver in Mühlheim (m/f),
INTERSEROH NRW GmbH, Dortmund
– Employee in IT support (m/f),
INTERSEROH Management GmbH, Cologne
– Employee (m/f) in sampling and evaluation on 400 euro basis,
REPASACK GmbH, Wiesbaden
– Industrial sales employee (m/f),
INTERSEROH Dienstleistungs GmbH, Cologne
– Intern (m/f), INTERSEROH Management GmbH, Cologne
– Apprentices (m/f),
INTERSEROH Management GmbH, Cologne, Worms, Berlin,
Dortmund, Sennfeld
You can find further vacancies (in German), information and direct contacts on the ALBA Group website:
www.albagroup.de/karriere/stellenangebote.html. If you have any questions, please call the Human Resource Service
Phone under the number: +49 (30) 35182-611 for ALBA or +49 (2203) 9147-1118 for Interseroh.

Congratulations to our
long-serving employees
We congratulate the following colleagues in December 2011 and January
2012 on their anniversaries in the ALBA Group:
10 years:
Janin Brunner, ALBA Facility Solutions
Ralph Brzezinski, ALBA Nord
Waldemar Buss, IS Jade-Stahl
Marco Carganico, ALBA Facility Solutions
Alexander Danderfer, ALBA R-plus
David Engelmann, IS Evert Heeren
Christian Gmeiner, ALBA Schwarzwald
Matthias Gärtner, IS Management
Karl-Patrick Kalk, IS Management
Olaf Knüttel, ALBA Baustoffrecycling Nord
Michael Lev, Wagner Rohstoffe
Beate Maas, ALBA 2 Energy
Manuel Mendes-Francisco,
ALBA Neckar-Alb GmbH & Co. KG
Guido Meyenburg, ALBA Nord
Jose Carlos Monteiro de Pina,
ALBA R-plus GmbH
Paolo Musumeci, ALBA Stuttgart
Rafal Niesmak, ALBA Nordbaden
Roberto Parisi, ALBA Stuttgart
Klaus Przybylak, IS Jade-Stahl
Norbert Ries, IS Franken Rohstoff
Michael Rudi, ALBA Nordbaden
Andrea Schallenmüller-Synek, ALBA Stuttgart
Andreas Schuetz, IS Jade-Stahl
Antje Schulz, AWU Ostprignitz-Ruppin
Detlef Schultz, ALBA Facility Solutions
Heike Schmidt, ALBA West
Timo Schneider, IS Jade-Stahl
Michael Wanner, ALBA Neckar-Alb
Jutta Wessely, ALBA R-plus
Matthias Wieczorek, ALBA Neckar-Alb
Franz Zednik, ALBA Heilbronn-Franken
13 ALBA Group Inside INTERNATIONAL | Issue No. 1, January 2012
15 years:
Birgit Abend, ALBA Facility Solutions
Artur Gross, ALBA Braunschweig
Jürgen Epstein, ALBA West
George Igbinake, IS RNR
Marco Muth, ALBA West
Ilona Schurig, AVL Abfallverwertung Leipzig
20 years:
Mehmet Aybey, ALBA Nordbaden
Jörg Bluta, AWU Ostprignitz-Ruppin
Roland Breszgott, ALBA Cottbus
Miroslav Djikic, ALBA Neckar-Alb
Burkhardt Domke, AWU Ostprignitz-Ruppin
Peter Döhring, ALBA Group plc & Co. KG
Ute Elgert, ALBA Nord
Henry Enehizena, IS BWRR
Dieter Frahm, AWU Ostprignitz-Ruppin
Andreas Gall, ALBA Recycling
Michael Gose, ALBA Stuttgart
Carmen Haase, IS MAB Ost
Sadik Hatic, ALBA Stuttgart
Kurt Herzberg, IS Jade-Stahl
Harald Hochberger, IS MAB Ost
Jennifer Johne, ALBA Berlin
Mara Katinic, ALBA Stuttgart
Hannelore Kaus, ALBA Wertstoffmanagement
Jens Kerwin, IS Jade-Stahl
Hartmut Lemm, AWU Ostprignitz-Ruppin
Ralf Marsel, AWU Wittenberg
Adolf Mössner, IS Management
Klaus Noeske-Wuest, IS Franken Rohstoff
Marianne Pfeiffer, ALBA Wertstoffmanagement
Stanislaw Rakiec, ALBA Schwarzwald
Juergen Rieken, IS Jade-Stahl
Alfred Rösler, IS MAB Ost
Peter Steinmöller, ALBA Facility Solutions
Ewald Schneider, AWU Wittenberg
Helmut Schröder, AWU Ostprignitz-Ruppin
Holger Schwebs, AWU Ostprignitz-Ruppin
Ralf Steffenhagen, IS Jade-Stahl
Tom Stielow, AWU Ostprignitz-Ruppin
Frank Weichert, IS MAB Ost
25 years:
Jörg Balig, ALL Abfall-Logistik Leipzig
Reinhard Gensler, ALBA Stuttgart
Siegfried Hoffmann, ALBA Recycling
Lothar Klostermann, AWU Ostprignitz-Ruppin
Siegfried Krüger, ALBA Cottbus
Werner Piechota, ALBA Cottbus
Hans Pleyer, ALBA Stuttgart
Reinhard Schulz, AWU Ostprignitz-Ruppin
Claudia Wölfel, ALBA Braunschweig
30 years:
Gerd-Christian Clar, ALBA Nord
Bernd-Dieter Elzmann, ALBA Braunschweig
Jürgen Rohrberg, AWU Ostprignitz-Ruppin
35 years:
Karl-Heinz Boesche, ALBA Nord
Norbert Hipke, ALBA Leipzig
Burghard Pötke, AWU Ostprignitz-Ruppin
Heinz-Peter Renn, IS MAB Ost
Peter Setzkorn, AWU Ostprignitz-Ruppin

Effective advertising on
three wheels
Unusual advertising is a real eye-catcher. ALBA Facility Solutions GmbH
applied this principle in selecting its new “company car” for Leipzig: a
small motorised trike.
ALBA Facility Solutions GmbH took over care of around
300 dwelling units in Leipzig for the company DOMIZIL
Property Management GmbH at the beginning of October
2011 and is now responsible for routine cleaning,
caretaker service, garden, footpath and driveway
maintenance and winter service for them. To get from
district to district in the city to perform his duties, the
caretaker uses a very special and eye-turning vehicle,
namely an “Ape” bearing the names ALBA and DOMI-
ZIL.
In this way ALBA Facility Solutions fulfilled a demand
by DOMIZIL that the presence of a caretaker be made
visible to tenants in exemplary fashion. This Italian cult
trike, which literally means “bee”, is a mixture of scooter
and transporter and for the team of ALBA Facility
Solutions the perfect helper to get from place to place
quickly. The first “Ape” was built by Piaggio in 1947 and
came on to the market one year after the legendary
“Vespa” (Italian for “wasp”). The “Ape” can – like a
IMPRINT
Publisher: ALBA Group
ALBA Group plc & Co. KG, Bismarckstrasse 105, 10625 Berlin
GERMANY
Responsible for content: Verena Köttker
Editor-in-Chief: Alexander Wood
Layout: Alexander Wood
Translation: Bastian Übersetzungen, Cologne
Photos: ALBA Group, fotolia
14 ALBA Group Inside INTERNATIONAL | Issue No. 1, January 2012
busy bee – also transport heavy loads and negotiate
winding alleyways without effort. Many lovers of Italy will
no doubt know the unusual vehicle from their holidays
in the country or pizza advertisements.
Please contact Helmut Haussmann if you have any
questions.
Your contact in the editorial team:
Alexander Wood
Manager Internal Communications
Tel.: +49 2203 9147-1867
Alexander.Wood@albagroup.de
www.albagroup.de