history

The success story of the SOEX Group begins at the end of the 1970s, with the founding of the company by the businessman Sourein Ohanian. Over the course of the decades the company grows into an international corporate group with a workforce of 2,300, spread across partner companies in 11 countries on four continents.

The beginnings and the expansion of the company
1977	Founding of SOEX Textil- und Autohandels GmbH, Lippstadt. (...) more The businessman Sourein Ohanian founds SOEX Textil- und Autohandels GmbH in Erwitte, North Rhine-Westphalia, laying the foundation for the success story of the present-day SOEX Group.
1982	The company moves to Bad Oldesloe. (...) more After successful initial years of business the headquarters are relocated to the north of Germany. In search of larger and more strategically favorable warehouse and office space SOEX moves into the plant of a former iron foundry in Bad Oldesloe.
1982	The sons Nerses and Hagop Ohanian join the company. (...) more In the following ten years they join their father in expanding the trading of the company in the markets of Europe, South America and the Middle East.
1993	The founder, Sourein Ohanian, hands over management (...) more of the company to his sons. The Ohanian brothers continue to focus business on the textiles segment. Beginning with five employees, the position of SOEX in Germany is reinforced. In addition, SOEX also develops further markets in Africa and Eastern Europe.
1993	Acquisition of EFIBA in Bassum. (...) more As initiator of Germany-wide clothing collection, EFIBA has decades of experience in the collection and logistics of used textiles. The investment of SOEX in EFIBA sees an expansion of the range from marketing to collection and the laying of a further foundation stone for continued growth.

The most modern and largest sorting and recycling plant in the world
1997	Laying of the foundations for SOEX-Sortierbetriebsgesellschaft (...) more mbH in Wolfen/ Bitterfeld. International trading and the associated volume of textiles lead to a major decision that will have a key relevance for future direction. Together with the RWE group, which is expanding into the recycling market, SOEX constructs the largest textile sorting and recycling plant, propelling it to the position of worldwide number one.Production is relocated to the center of Germany, logistically at the heart of Europe. The company headquarters in Bad Oldesloe remains in existence as administrative headquarters. Following a change in the group strategy of RWE SOEX continues to operate the sorting plant in Wolfen by itself.
1998	Start and development of the sorting plant. (...) more In 1998 there are 153 employees at the Wolfen plant, with the number already reaching 360 by the following year. Sorting is conducted in two shifts.
1999	Commissioning of the recycling plant. (...) more The high-performance recycling plant enters operation in Wolfen, with the goal of saving resources and increasing utilization rates. Clothing that can no longer be worn is processed into insulation materials, waste is avoided and the used clothing receives a new lease of life. The plant now runs almost the whole year through, handling an annual volume of 11,000 tons.
2000	SOEX is now marketing its products in over 70 countries worldwide
2002	Acquisition of Retextil. (...) more The purchase of Retextil, which specializes in commercial collection, sees SOEX further expand its collecting activities – and subsequently its market leadership.
2004	A third shift is introduced. (...) more The growing volumes collected lead to a third shift being introduced at the Wolfen sorting plant. Sorting is now carried out around the clock, with production volume increased to approximately 300 tons per day.

International expansion
2007	Commissioning of the sorting plant SOEX West USA, (...) more Los Angeles. With the experience gained in international markets the Ohanians continue their policy of expansion, setting up a similar textile sorting and recycling business in the USA.
2007	Founding of SOEX International AG, Baar, Switzerland. (...) more In recent years SOEX has developed into a globally-active group with various subsidiaries and shareholdings. To manage and co-ordinate these centrally SOEX International AG is founded in Zug, Switzerland.
2008-10	Further shareholdings are acquired. (...) more SOEX now employs a workforce of over 2,300 at 11 sites or shareholdings in the following countries: · Switzerland · Germany · USA · United Kingdom · France · United Arab Emirates · India · Austria · Bulgaria · Poland · Lebanon
2009	Founding of I:Collect AG. (...) more I:Collect represents a new approach to recycling, as I:CO collects textiles in the same place as it sells, offering the end customers incentives in the form of purchasing vouchers to recycle the products again at the end of their use. This minimizes the consumption of resources, protects the environment and enables sustainable consumption. Closed loop production is the solution for the future – I:CO and SOEX already offer the necessary infrastructure for this innovative idea.
2011	Significant further investments are implemented at the (...) more Wolfen plant. Workplaces are given an ergonomic design and new sorting procedures are introduced, resulting in a production increase.
2012	Today, over 750 employees work at the Wolfen plant. (...) more This year has seen the 400-ton per day mark reached in sorting for the first time. In total the SOEX Group processes 1,000 tons of used textiles every day.