Closing the Loop on IT

European Business: Mr. Wams, Mr. van Nieuwenhoven, Circular IT group is still a relatively young company. How did it come into being?

Daan van Nieuwenhoven: The group was founded in 2022, but the companies behind it had already been active in the market for decades. Some of them have more than 25 years of experience. What made Circular IT group special from day one was the idea of bringing together all elements of the circular IT lifecycle under one brand.

Dimitri Wams: Waterland Private Equity brought nine companies together with one shared vision: creating a true circular IT platform. Some companies specialized in supplying new IT hardware, others focused on IT asset disposition, logistics or recommerce. Together, we cover the entire lifecycle. That is still quite unique in Europe and will remain so for the coming period.

European Business: What exactly does the company do?

Daan van Nieuwenhoven: We focus strongly on ITAD, IT Asset Disposition. In simple terms, we take responsibility for IT hardware after its first life cycle. For companies, two things are critical at that stage: secure data removal and sustainability. We make sure all data is erased in a certified way and documented properly. At the same time, we prepare devices for a second, or sometimes even third life cycle.

European Business: So, re-use is more important than recycling in your business?

Daan van Nieuwenhoven: Exactly. Recycling is the last resort. We focus on extending the lifecycles of IT-Assets; we aim to provide every laptop or IT-asset a second life or more, as any device that can be reused avoids the emissions and raw materials required to produce a new device. That is where the real environmental impact lies.

Dimitri Wams: We often describe ourselves as covering the process from “cradle to grave.” We can advise companies on which devices to buy, manage those assets during their life cycle and then manage them responsibly at the end of it. The circle works at its optimum if all stages are connected. Our focus is on the cradle and the lifecycles, not on the grave, the latter is a clearly defined process of sustainable and compliant recycling. So, ninety-five percent of our business is about lifecycle management for new and refurbished hardware. ITAD is a substantial element within this ninety-five percent.

European Business: Who are your customers?

Dimitri Wams: Mostly large corporations, cloud operators, hospitals, and public organizations. These companies manage thousands of devices, and eventually all of them reach end of life. Many organizations put enormous effort into buying IT equipment, but much less attention goes into what happens four or five years later. We consider that is a mistake.

Daan van Nieuwenhoven: End-of-life management should be managed just as professionally as procurement. There is still value in these assets, there are important sustainability aspects and, of course, there is the security side. Companies need certainty that their data is truly gone. Data removal meeting compliancy standards is a must, the risk of data breaches is at its maximum at the end of the lifecycle, as not has 3, 4 or even 5 years of user data on the device when you talk about laptops. For IT infra equipment it can be even longer.

European Business: Circular IT group is active across Europe. How international is the business today?

Daan van Nieuwenhoven: Approximately 70% of our volume is generated outside the Netherlands. We have operations centres and offices in the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK and Denmark, and we operate across large parts of Europe. We are currently expanding further in the UK and are also expending our German team. Within the EU and UK, we operate with our own organization, for our global services we work with a certified and audited partner network.

Dimitri Wams: Germany is an exciting market for us. We see enormous potential there because sustainability and compliance are becoming increasingly important topics for companies and the public sector.

European Business: How do you position the Circular IT group brand in the market?

Dimitri Wams: That was a major challenge. We merged fifteen different brands into one new identity. Building recognition takes time. Today, however, Circular IT group is becoming a  recognized European brand. We invest heavily in digital marketing, LinkedIn campaigns, radio advertising, events, and outdoor campaigns. We want customers to understand that circular IT is not a niche topic anymore, it is becoming mainstream business practice, meeting today’s business requirements of always being sustainable, safe, secure, controlled, compliant and cost-efficient.

European Business: Sustainability is obviously central to your business model. How do you define your mission?

Dimitri Wams: We call ourselves “emission-driven pragmatists.” We are mission-driven, but we are also very pragmatic. We want to build a successful and profitable company. The two things belong together. Every asset we extend the lifecycle creates avoided emissions that are significantly higher than the emissions we produce ourselves. That is what motivates us.

European Business: What role does company culture play in such a fast-growing organization?

Dimitri Wams: A particularly important one. We now employ around 330 specialists from different companies and backgrounds. We are building one culture, one strategy and one shared set of values. Of course, systems and processes matter, but culture matters just as much.

Daan van Nieuwenhoven: People genuinely like the mission behind the company. There is a powerful sense that our work has impact beyond business alone. We all take pride in what we do.

European Business: What kind of impact do you mean?

Daan van Nieuwenhoven: One important topic for us is digital inclusion. Refurbished devices can help close the digital divide. We work with organizations that provide IT equipment to people who otherwise could not afford it. For many companies, the “S” in ESG is difficult to address. We can help them there as well. That makes the work meaningful on a very human level.