Equippo wants to conquer the world from Rotterdam

What if you are doing a large infrastructural project on the other side of the world and you need excavators, a roller or asphalt pavers in a hurry? How do you get those? Easy. With Equippo, the online marketplace for used equipment. Since early 2017 Equippo has an office in Rotterdam.

Equippo started in 2014 as an idea in the minds of two Swiss entrepreneurs, Michael Rohmeder and Philipp Knobel. One year later the company was officially established, with its focus mainly targeted on Germany and the Netherlands. The mission of Equippo was and is to make buying (construction) equipment on the global market simple. The way Euiqppo does this, is to bring together select manufacturers, dealers, leasing companies and other trusted sellers of heavy equipment with buyers from all over the world.

Michael Rohmeder about what makes Equippo special: “Our final price calculator is pretty cool. It makes it easy to trade online and for buyers to calculate to the end price for the equipment they need, including true costs for shipping and transport and logistics. What’s also special is that we have a money back guarantee. The client can always return equipment from all over the world, free of charge.”

"With its world port and all advantages of a large city but without the traffic, stress and over-crowdedness, and our choice for Rotterdam was made.”

Michael Rohmeder, Equippo

Deliberate choice for Rotterdam

Equippo made a very deliberate choice to expand in Rotterdam. “We were thinking Berlin or Amsterdam. But then we found out that it’s actually faster to travel between Schiphol and Rotterdam than it is to travel to Amsterdam, and also that Rotterdam has an abundance of logistical talent. That triggered our interest in Rotterdam. We also quickly learned that Rotterdam has top universities, many international people and a very strong entrepreneurial climate. Add the world port and all advantages of a large city but without the traffic, stress and over-crowdedness, and our choice was made.”

Not only for business

Michael loves coming to Rotterdam and not only for business purposes. “I love the modern architecture, and the fact that Rotterdam isn’t too big. It’s easy to get around and to meet both locals and internationals.” Asked about his favourite spot, Michael is quick to answer. “The Market hall!”

Ambitions

Another thing Michaels is clear on, are his ambitions for Equippo. “In 5 to 10 years time we want to conquer the world and become the world’s largest equipment marketplace. Our office in Rotterdam is certainly going to help us. We already got much support from the city and are still getting that. Rotterdam Partners and their Rotterdam Expat Centre have helped us get international colleagues to Rotterdam. And Rotterdam Partners has connected us to a network of potential investors. So as far as we’re concerned, Rotterdam is all about ‘Make It Happen’!”