Company Portrait

At a Glance

Geohumus International GmbH, headquartered in Frankfurt on the Main, develops and distributes innovative products for soil improvement.
The two main product lines are Geohumus and Geohorse.

Geohumus is a so-called soil additive which stores at least 30 times its own weight in water, releases is back to plant roots as needed and provides nutrients with the minerals contained in rock flour.

Geohorse optimizes riding grounds by significantly reducing dust formation while improving the tread resistance and elasticity of the riding grounds.

Milestones

  • After years of development work, in 2005 a hybrid material was produced from superabsorbers and rock flour for the first time with newly improved qualities for agrarian applications. With this invention, an entirely new and unique class of materials arose and was then comprehensively protected by patent law.
  • On the basis of this invention, Geohumus International GmbH was founded and Dr. Wulf Bentlage received the Business Founder's Award of the City of Frankfurt on the Main the same year.
  • Material for sampling and for distribution was first produced in 2006.
  • Four additional prizes followed in 2006: the Hessian Business Founder's Award, the German Business Founder's Award, Science 4Life Competition and the award for the Best Excellence Business Plan of the FAZ Institut.
  • In 2007 the Aqua Holding AG joined as a 10 % partner.
  • The 2007 Environmental Award of the Foundation of Labour and Environment and the award of the Selected Location of the Ministry of the Environment of North Rhine Westphalia for 2007" ("Germany – land of ideas" initiative under the patronage of Federal President Horst Köhler), as well as "The Best Business Idea" of the F.A.S. Foundation Initiative, 2007 were given to the company.
  • In 2008 work was begun on the large production plant on the grounds of AllessaChemie in Frankfurt/Main.The upscaling process from the pilot plant to a commercial plant represented a major engineering challenge. The annual production capacity, in the meantime, is 25,000 tonnes.
  • At the G8 Summit in 2008, Dr. Bentlage held the opening speech of the "Africa" panel in the "Power of Ideas" programme.
  • In 2009 Susanne Klatten became co-partner of Skion GmbH with a 28.9% share.
  • In 2009 subsidiaries were founded in the USA, new jobs were created and the production was certified for CO2 neutrality. As a positive conclusion to 2009, ZDF distinguished Dr. Bentlage in November in the "Abenteuer Wissen" (Knowledge Adventure) series as one of seven worldwide climate heroes.