Betterwood is a slightly different kind of wood trade: more sustainable, transparent and committed than traditional companies. Here we would like to give you a look behind the scenes and introduce you to the people who make Betterwood possible.
We founded our company in 2009. Our goal was to promote sustainable forest management in the tropics and thus stop the displacement of forests by agriculture. The idea came from Christian Körting, who tackled the project together with his sister Catherine Körting. Together with Philip Jaeger, Catherine's partner, was founded.
place of incorporation: Ganghoferstrasse 2, Berlin-Neukölln
Betterwood website for the year 2011
Our original business idea was to act as an agency and sell certified tropical wood to the timber trade. However, the established companies in the industry showed little interest in eco-tropical wood. This is how the idea of direct sales came about: Why not work without agencies, importers and wholesalers and deliver the good wood directly to private customers and their craftsmen? Our online shop Betterwood was the key to this: more transparent, direct and ecological. This is how the sustainable idea was able to unfold its power. Because unlike large parts of the trade, private customers are interested in whether forest is being destroyed or protected for their terrace.
While our sales department was always in Berlin (from Neukölln via Treptow and today in Moabit), our warehouse once moved across Germany. We stored our first container with FSC®-certified Cumaru decking from Bolivia at a shipping company in Hamburg. The camp then moved to Michendorf near Potsdam. In 2014 we moved into a warehouse in Nümbrecht in the Cologne area. And since 2021 we have been storing in Drolshagen near Olpe. The location, area and the local employees allowed us to put down roots there.
Our Nümbrecht warehouse before moving to Drolshagen
One of eight halls in our warehouse in Drolshagen
A lot has changed since we were founded a good ten years ago. The idea of sustainability has moved from the niche into the center of society. Online trading has become established. Thousands of customers know us and have recommended us. So far we have been able to do without advertising and prefer to use the money to support environmental projects. We grow every year, without outside investors and only through our own efforts. We have expanded our warehouse and now have 8.000 square meters of space available in Drolshagen. With our planning tools, we are also the technological pioneers in the industry. And we never lose sight of our founding idea: to promote sustainable forest management in order to protect the forest.
Founder and CEO
Marketing, HR
Catherine was born in Bogotá and grew up there with her brother Christian. After graduating from high school, she moved to Germany. After working in Hamburg and Munich, she now lives in Berlin. She is our managing director and is responsible for marketing and human resources for our company.
Founder and management
Purchasing, storage, sustainability
Christian grew up in Bogotá with his sister Catherine. Today he is in charge of purchasing and is responsible for working with environmental protection organizations and for our environmental projects. Christian is on the Advisory Board of the Import Promotion Desk (IPD) and on the Tropical Timber Committee of FSC® Germany.
Founder and management
Technology, finance, sales, logistics
Philip grew up in the Oberbergischer Kreis, near our current camp. He studied philosophy and history, founded a magazine and worked as a journalist for the business magazines Capital and Impulse. Today he is responsible for technological development, finance, sales and logistics in our company.
Head of Sales
Onno has known our company since its beginnings: it was founded at his kitchen table. The Hamburg native obtained a master's degree in philosophy and history from Humboldt University in Berlin, founded a magazine with fellow student Philip Jaeger and now heads up sales at Betterwood.
Warehouse and logistics manager
Timo started as a warehouse specialist and worked his way up to shipping manager in his previous company. Today he is responsible for storage, production and logistics at our location in Drolshagen.
Warehousing and Logistics
Colin organizes the internal processes in the warehouse and is the master of inventory. He started as an order picker with us and knows the processes inside out.
Logistics
Frank has a lot of experience in the field of logistics - he already ran a logistics company. Today he takes care of the smooth shipping of our products to customers and the processing of imports.
Marketing and Certification
Lorena is a trained musical singer and the wife of our purchasing manager Christian Körting. After working for Stage Entertainment in Stuttgart and on the Aida Cruises cruise ships, she is in charge of our social media presence and FSC certification.
Sales
Manuel studied industrial design at the University of Fine Arts in Braunschweig and founded a start-up for innovative furniture in his hometown of Berlin. Today he accompanies our customers in their projects and creates the 3D models of our products and construction instructions.
IT Support & Website
Matthias has been producing music for a long time and then presenting it live as a DJ or in bands. After completing his training as an IT specialist for application development, he now supports us in the IT area and in the further development and maintenance of the website.
Sales
Pascal studied Economics and Business in Amsterdam and Environmental Sciences at the Humboldt University in Berlin. He is the contact person for our customers and develops our sustainability concept together with Christian Körting.
Sales
Tobias was one of our first employees in our Nümbrecht warehouse while he was still studying business information technology. Today he works in sales and is the first point of contact for our customers in our warehouse in Drolshagen.
picking and production
Nine employees in the warehouse ensure that our customers receive hand-sorted goods and that the custom-made products also fit. They don't want to see photos of themselves on the internet - but our forklifts are also important helpers.
A ZDF film team accompanied our managing director Catherine Körting to Peru and to our warehouse in Drolshagen. The result is a report about our supply chain and how our sustainable forestry can help protect the rainforest. The report was broadcast on the show in April 2024 Plan B.
The ZDF report was dubbed into English for Deutsche Welle and broadcast in 160 countries. We are pleased that our non-German speaking customers can now also see a TV report about us.
The team from the ProSieben show “Galileo” visited us in our warehouse and in one of our forests in Peru. The result is a film that describes our new path in the timber trade.
In the late summer of 2016, our founder Catherine Körting Pacheco was portrayed by the WE Project (Womenentrepreneurs Project) of the European Commission. The co-founders Christian Körting Pacheco and Philip Jaeger also have their say.
From now on, Cumaru wood must be proven to be of sustainable origin when imported into Switzerland. Betterwood is the first [...]
Our AI assistant Woody is constantly learning and helping our customers with answers to their questions.
A TV report about Betterwood was broadcast in over 160 countries - and we received many encouraging messages from all over [...]
Tropical wood is not only bad - the Tagesspiegel reports about Betterwood, our wood and our sustainability.
Know where it comes from
We are proud that our wood comes exclusively from sustainable forestry. That's why we're happy to show you where the tree grew and what we're doing for the rainforest.
Our commitment to the environment
from 8,75 €
Cumaru decking, FSC 100%
Price from: €70 per m2, resistance class: 1
Advantages: ✓ best durability ✓ particularly robust and scratch-resistant
Disadvantages: ✗ partly rough surface ✗ high power development
Tip: Sand the floorboards after they have been exposed to the weather for the first time.
from 3,60 €
Teak decking, FSC 100%
Price from: €130 per m2, resistance class: 1
Advantages: ✓ Best durability and dimensional stability ✓ Lowest risk of cracks and splinters
Disadvantages: ✗ relatively expensive ✗ not very long boards
Tip: Lay decking boards together.
from 6,65 €
Teak decking, FSC 100%
Price from: €130 per m2, resistance class: 1
Advantages: ✓ Best durability and dimensional stability ✓ Lowest risk of cracks and splinters
Disadvantages: ✗ relatively expensive ✗ not very long boards
Tip: Lay decking boards together.
7,50 €
Teak wood tiles, FSC 100%
Price: €83 per m2, resistance class: 1
Advantages:✓ Best durability and dimensional stability ✓ Lowest risk of cracks and splinters
Disadvantages: ✗ slightly more expensive
Tip: Terrace oil is not necessary if silvering is desired.
6,50 €
Cumaru wood tiles, FSC 100%
Price: €72 per m2, resistance class: 1
Advantages: ✓ best durability ✓ particularly robust and scratch-resistant
Disadvantages: ✗ partly rough surface
Tip:Sand tiles after initial exposure to weather.
