E/D/E (Einkaufsbüro Deutscher Eisenhändler GmbH), Europe’s largest purchasing and marketing association in the industrial business-to-business category, operates in 26 countries across the European continent. Ferdinand Trautwein established the company in November of 1931 amidst the Great Depression.
E/D/E grew quickly; within its first year, it was operating 115 hardware businesses. The company’s growth has expanded its purview beyond simple fixtures into covering tools, machines, factory equipment, plumbing and heating, steel and fastening technology, occupational safety products and even their own banking.
E/D/E has invested in several major expansion projects since the mid 1960s, including massive warehouses and logistics centres. It boasted a total trading volume of 6.3 billion euros in 2019 and oversees 956 affiliated B2B companies and 233 retail traders.
The company is headquartered in Wuppertal, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany and has maintained its focus specifically in Germany and Europe. E/D/E generates an average of $527.54 million in sales annually.
- Family name: Trautwein family
- Sector: Professional Firms & Services
- Founded: 1931
- Founder: Ferdinand Trautwein
- Country: Germany
- Company headquarters: Wuppertal, Germany
- Chairman: Andreas Trautwein
- Revenue: US$6 billion
- Family ownership: 75.5%
- Employees: 10,000
- Website: https://www.ede.de/startseite.html
