Entrepreneurial freedom a priority for BDSV’s new president

Germany – Andreas Schwenter is the new president of the confederation of German steel recyclers BDSV in succession to Heiner Gröger who had served two terms. Schwenter was elected during BDSV’€™s yearly gathering held last week in the city of Magdeburg.

In his inaugural speech, Schwenter pledged to fight for the preservation of entrepreneurial freedom, noting that local authorities in Germany were increasingly laying claim to first rights on scrap. ‘The local authorities want an entirely different, state-regulated recycling system,’ he said. ‘However, it is not the task of the state to force private companies out of the market and to destroy jobs.’

On top of this, he added, the ‘dramatic’ fall in commodity prices had plunged recycling businesses into a ‘tough fight’. Schwenter is managing director of Frimberger GmbH, a medium-sized steel recycling company partly owned by the Thyssen Alfa Group and headquartered at Bad Toelz near Munich.