Flexibility: Elbtainer's recipe for success

Within just eleven months after Elbtainer Trading was founded in 2013, the company had reached a turnover of one million euros. At the beginning of this year, its boss - 28-year old startup entrepreneur Andreas Atrott from Hamburg - was feeling confident about a successful second year for the container business. But then, Western countries imposed sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis, and Andreas Atrott's thriving business almost collapsed.

"Luckily we were able to build up a cushion over the last year. We had to survive on that," he now told DW.

Luckily for Atrott the sanctions were concentrated on the food sector. Business suffered most for those working with refrigerated containers. The standard container sector recovered quickly. "In July the bookings shot up and are still high," Atrott said.

Using containers efficiently

Business with Russia makes up around 35 percent of Elbtainer Trading's total sales. The company rents and sells new and used containers. Efficiency is Andreas Atrott's trump card. "We work with the shipping companies that stop at Russian ports, for example," he said, adding: "By making our containers available for ships making one way trips to Russia, we can avoid empty containers making the journey."

Efficency comes from ensuring the containers are not transported empty. The shipping companies are then able to rent them for a one way journey, and on their arrival in Russia, Elbtainer sells the containers without having had to pay to transport them there. This means Russian customers are also able to buy the containers at a more favorable price.

Reacting flexibly to the market

Efficienty is one thing, flexibility is another, the young entrepeneur emphasised. He was able to react quickly to the new business situation at the beginning of the year. "During this time the customers didn't buy many containers, but there was a lot of demand for transporting them."

Atrott explained that many container companies were selling containers based in Munich or Stuttgart, but that is was then up to the customer to transport the containers to where they are needed. Having previously worked in a haulage firm, Atrott and his colleague Lars Graulo were able to use their old contacts and set up a wide spanning container transport network. Cutting out the middle man makes the business more attractive to potential customers, boosting sales. "Customers prefer to have just one contact person rather than having to deal with several different ones," Atrott said.

Depots everywhere

Elbtainer Trading has made sure to set up container depots all over Germany. "Of course we thought about it carefully and entered into contracts with shipping depots so that we would be in a position to open a depot to store out containers in every economically important site," Atrott told DW.

Within just a few months, Atrott and Graulo have built up 26 depots in Germany, meaning they always have 300 to 400 containers ready to go. The number of private customers is also increasing. "Many private customers want a container for storage purposes, or set up the containers on small plots of land where they can adapt or extend them."

First merger

In an effort to tap into this new customer market, Elbtainer Trading is planning its first merger with a company in Stuttgart, Containerbasis, which runs an online service for people interested in buying containers. The deal is set to be completed this week.