After relocation

Start-up plans its own “country” for composting toilets

Öklo founder Niko Bogianzidis with his colleague

(Bild: Öklo)

The Lower Austrian start-up Öklo, market leader in the field of dry toilets, recently moved to an even larger site and is now producing the popular composting toilets there. Following the move, further major projects are planned, such as Öklo-Land.

Start-ups in particular are struggling with the current difficult economic situation. The successful start-up Öklo from Wolkersdorf in the district of Mistelbach, which is doing big business with its dry toilets, is defying the tough times. Towns and municipalities are now slowly buying the ecological toilets instead of just renting them.

At the beginning of the year, Öklo founder Niko Bogianzidis and his team relocated to Wolkersdorf. To be more precise, the two previously separate locations at the train station and in the town center were merged. Work on the dry toilets is now underway at the new headquarters in Industriestrasse. "Managing the entire relocation in less than a month, and all this while business continued as usual, was a real achievement on our part. But of course, motivation is always particularly high when, as in this case, there is an improvement in terms of more space and better conditions," says boss Bogianzidis proudly. The new location is almost a third larger than the two previous locations.

How does the eco loo work?

The toilet is a purely dry toilet. Instead of water to flush down the toilet, sawdust is sprinkled over the waste. The whole thing doesn't smell at all, because the litter binds the liquid and solid substances and thus removes all moisture. The main smell in the Öklo is of wood.

Biomass recycling center in planning
Following the successful relocation, the next projects are already in the pipeline: "We are planning a completely new prototype of an ecological biomass recycling center, including research facilities, right on the outskirts of Vienna," announces Bogianzidis.

As things stand at present, construction is expected to start as early as next year. If everything goes as planned, the Öklo-Land project should open its doors in as little as two or three years. The rights to a suitable 10,000 square meter plot of land have also already been secured, according to reports.

Markets in Germany such as Bavaria are increasingly coming into focus, where legal requirements - for example in Munich - now stipulate dry toilets for events. From the Olympic Park to the English Garden in Munich - such events, some of which attract 10,000 visitors, are now routine for the successful local start-up. Four disabled-friendly eco-solutions have already been purchased in Bonn too. The city of Vienna now relies on 150 eco toilets.

Small success: first apprentice
"We have our first ever apprentice, Marina. She has just completed her e-commerce apprenticeship with us, looks after our website and CRM automation and, despite her young age, is already one of our best!" says the Öklo boss happily. "Slowly but surely we are outgrowing the classic start-up shoes!"