We are a real child of the sector.
ETRIS BANK is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the medium-sized family-owned company E/D/E (Einkaufsbüro Deutscher Eisenhändler GmbH), which is based in Wuppertal, Germany. As a result, the history of ETRIS BANK is very closely linked to that of E/D/E.
The company’s successful history began with a vision. Because Ferdinand Trautwein dared to make a new start on his own in the midst of the Great Depression, he established E/D/E on 11 November 1931. He was convinced that joint procurement could be made professional to everyone’s benefit — an assessment that turned out to be correct.
Within a year, 115 hardware businesses had becume members of E/D/E. On its 25th anniversary, the company already hat 130 employees.
A new era began for E/D/E when it bought a 30,000-square-metre property in Wuppertal-Langerfeld. In January 1964, new warehouses and administrative buildings were inaugurated at the site, which is today the headquarters of both E/D/E and ETRIS BANK.
In 1967, Ferdinand Trautwein was succeeded by his son, Dr. Eugen Trautwein, who represents the second generation of the family-run enterprise.
In the late 1960s, E/D/E focused on rapidly expanding its organization. The big investments were followed by rising turnover and a steadily growing membership.
The company also continued to grow in terms of space. On its 50th anniversary, the firm had 60,000 square metres of useful storage space. The state-of-the-art high bay storage system and associated haulage track were exemplary technical facilities at the time.
This was followed by further logistics milestones. In 1998, for example, E/D/E began to construct the eLC logistics centre, which ensures that goods can be delivered around the clock. The centre was built at the same time as the new administrative building.
In 2009 E/D/E completed and inaugurated its eLC. logistics centre, thereby marking another key step in the strengthening of the company’s activities.
The €35 million logistics centre is the biggest single investment in the company’s history. The new eLC not only standardizes and accelerates processes but also makes them more secure as well. For the members, this means improved delivery capacity and better quality of delivery.
Today, E/D/E is Europe’s largest purchasing and marketing association. Its members include more than 1,000 associated medium-sized trading companies that are active in the area of industrial wholesale distribution, as well as 354 additional retailers.
Serving as a link between trading firms and suppliers, E/D/E has, for many years, been offering central payment services with del credere liability. With the establishment of ETRIS BANK, E/D/E is ensuring that it will be able to provide its members with an even more comprehensive range of financial services in the future.
Like its parent company, ETRIS BANK’s primary mission is to strengthen its members’ competitiveness.
