Digitization of the Construction Industry

The rental market for construction machinery in Europe has an annual turnover of 25 billion euros and is therefore twice as large as the car rental industry (see a sample of car rental company: leiebil Kirkenes). In Austria alone, construction machinery rental is currently around 400 million euros. However, downtimes of expensive special equipment and delays in using machines are still one of the cost drivers in the construction industry and for its clients.

Digitalisation in Construction

With the online platform and a special software solution for the construction industry, the Austro-German founding team of klarx has been successfully tackling this problem since 2015. Since then, thousands of construction machines have been successfully rented online via Klarx, making a significant contribution to the digitization of the construction industry. 250,000 machines and construction equipment are currently listed on klarx, which can be booked online and delivered directly.

With the “klarx Manager”, construction companies can also manage complex construction projects and quickly and easily find all the machines they need – from simple excavators to heavy special equipment – and rent them at short notice. Klarx’s customers include many small and medium-sized companies as well as industry giants such as Strabag, Unger Steel and Deutsche Bahn.

BCII is now supporting the further expansion of Klarx GmbH and is the main investor in a capital increase that has just been carried out together with the existing Klarx shareholders. The company will receive a total of 12.5 million euros for the further expansion of its technology platform and for Europe-wide expansion.

“With our entry as part of the capital increase, we enable growth and the further development of the klarx technology platform. This is now relevant for the entire construction industry and brings about impressive increases in efficiency. The Austrian-German founding and management team and the previous business successes of Klarx have convinced us. Now is the right time for the further expansion of the existing business fields and for expansion into other countries. The B&C Group is on hand to support Klarx on this path as an investor and also with experts from the industrial and construction sectors, ”says B&C Managing Director Thomas Zimpfer.

Florian Handschuh, co-founder and managing director of klarx: “With the B&C Group we have found a strong and competent partner in our current growth phase. With its investment in the context of the capital increase, BCII ensures that Klarx continues to advance digitization in construction and thus sustainably increases the productivity of the construction industry. “

Since it was founded in 2016, the BCII has invested in six technology and growth companies through direct investments . In addition to Klarx, investments in Flightkeys, Kinexon, Citrine, TTTech and Frequentis are held.