The heavy machinery rental market in Europe is worth around €25 billion, and klarx, an online platform for construction equipment rental, is taking the first steps to digitise it.
The Munich-based startup has now raised €12.5 million in a funding round led by B&C Innovation Investments GmbH (BCII), alongside existing investor Target Global. The funding will be used toward further product development and the company’s expansion into new European markets.
Founded in 2015 by brothers Matthias and Florian Handschuh together with Vincent Koch, klarx is a digital platform that seeks to make the supply of construction equipment easier, faster and more cost efficient for the industry – its aim is to make procurement on construction sites as simple and straightforward as renting a car. The company’s business model vertically integrates more than 4,000 rental partners, digitising the entire value chain of equipment rental. As a result, construction companies can access, rent and manage more than 250,000 types of machinery online with just a few clicks.
To date, more than 50,000 rental requests have been handled for thousands of customers, including Strabag, Deutsche Bahn and Unger Steel.
“We will use the new funding to accelerate our international growth and to foster the development of our technology platform to empower the future of construction,” said Florian Handschuh, co-founder of klarx.
The startup plans to roll out new features onto its platform, including a disposition tool that will manage the equipment used across any given construction site, and record real-time telematics data from the machinery.
“The Austro-German founding team and the stunning success of klarx fully convinced us to invest,” said Thomas Zimpfer, managing director of BCII. “The time has come to push for further growth in Germany and Austria and to enter new markets in Europe. The B&C Group accompanies klarx as an investor with industry knowledge from our network.”
“We are excited to continue supporting klarx on its mission to digitise the construction industry,” said Ben Kaminski, partner at Target Global. “The team is at the forefront of transforming every aspect of the rental experience and thereby becoming a core part of the value chain for both customers and suppliers.”
