OTFLOW wins New Heroes Award

On Monday, November 18, Alderman Barbara Kathman presented the New Hero Prize to the fast-growing startup Otflow. The entrepreneurs behind this organization, Ronald Hagenstein and Otto de Groot, were praised by the jury for the sustainable business model. In the past two years, Otflow has successfully transported more than 60,000,000 kilos of fresh fruit through the innovative solution they developed: Otflow.

In 2017, Ronald and Otto devised a tool to optimize the air flow in refrigerated containers to keep fruit good for as long as possible. Today, 45 customers in 15 different countries use this innovation. The organization no longer focuses solely on fruit: other markets, such as vegetables, plant and flower bulb transport, have also discovered Otflow technology. "We are very honored that we can call ourselves the Newest Heroes of the Rotterdam region," says co-founder Ronald Hagenstein. "I am proud to represent Otflow and to promote our smart product against food waste."

Organization with a mission
The commitment to comply with the company mission - less food waste and less financial loss - not only went unnoticed in Rotterdam. Earlier this year, Otflow achieved a final spot in the Rabo Sustainable Innovation Prize program and a place in the KVK Innovation Top 100. The organization also won the Startup Funding Event, Otflow has a top coach from NLGroeit and is accepted by Tekdelta and the internationalization program Globaliser. Thanks to these initiatives, Otflow can continue to develop to combat global food waste in transport and shipping.

OTFLOW was founded by Otto de Groot and designer Ronald Hagenstein. After De Groot's many years of experience quality inspection on fruit, he decided to focus on innovations to improve logistics processes and thereby reduce the risk of claims. The OTFLOW came into being in 2017: an 11-meter-long mat made from recycled paper-cardboard that improves the air flow in refrigerated containers. The OTFLOW is the first solution that optimally maintains the temperature during sea transport by optimizing the air flow. This results in less food waste and less financial loss for exporting and importing parties: again OTFLOW's mission.