Trill Impact partners with Kimbrer Computer to scale impact and growth within circular IT

December 13th, 2022.

Trill Impact partners with Kimbrer Computer to accelerate the company’s positive impact and growth. Kimbrer Computer is a trusted B2B supplier of refurbished IT Enterprise hardware. With sustainability at the very heart of the company’s circular business model, Kimbrer helps customers in more than 80 countries to reduce the negative environmental impact of the world’s increasing digital infrastructure.

Kimbrer Computer was founded by Peter Tølbøll Hansen and Morten Nøhr in 1995. Since then, it has grown to become one of Denmark’s leading suppliers of used and refurbished hardware. Kimbrer Computer purchases used enterprise hardware from suppliers which is then carefully sorted.  In the next step, the company securely erases data, tests, refurbishes, cleans and then stores the refurbished hardware  in its warehouse and ultimately sells to B2B customers in over 80 countries. On average, 96% of the hardware parts bought by Kimbrer Computer are either reused or resold on the global B2B market.

Refurbished IT devices have up to 90% lower CO2 footprint than new IT devices. The company therefore contributes to the circular economy by extending the life of enterprise IT hardware, reducing CO2 footprint, raw materials, e-waste, energy and water usage in comparison to the production of new hardware. As such, in 2021, Kimbrer saved 7,000 tons of CO2 for its customers with 400,000 used and refurbished units sold, equivalent to the energy consumption of more than 450 average Danish households.

Sustainability is a core value at Kimbrer Computer. Since 2020, the company has reduced its carbon emissions significantly. Last year it released its first carbon accounting and ESG reports and also became ISO 14001 certified in environmental management.

“We are excited to join forces with Trill Impact. They are a great match with Kimbrer Computer as our values and ambitions on both sustainability and growth align. Trill Impact wishes to build on our existing strong foundation enabling us to provide even more refurbished hardware to customers globally. Trill Impact has the experience and expertise to support both our growth and sustainability journeys towards growing the business, serving more customers, and scaling our positive impact on environment, people, and society,” states Bjarne Aarup, CEO of Kimbrer Computer.

Nina Hoffmann von Holten, Investment Director at Trill Impact Advisory, adds,

“We see a great potential in Kimbrer Computer both when it comes to scaling positive impact and continuing international expansion. Today, 24 out of 27 EU countries fail to meet the Union’s e-waste recycling targets. Trill Impact would like to change that number – and anticipate that Kimbrer Computer can play an important role in reducing e-waste and CO2 emissions. We believe that circular business models – like Kimbrer Computer’s – will be key in reaching the sustainability targets. Also, we think that the market for circular IT will continue to grow at a high and increasing pace. In our view, Kimbrer Computer has the potential to be a European leader and act as a successful consolidator within the industry, applying the same best practices when it comes to sustainability to these new family members.”

Sources include:
Kimbrer Computer - Sustainability Report.pdf
Waste statistics - electrical and electronic equipment - Statistics Explained (europa.eu)
E-waste in the EU: facts and figures (infographic) | News | European Parliament (europa.eu)