Betterwood " About us

About Us

Betterwood is the somewhat different timber trade: more sustainable, more transparent and more committed than the traditional companies. At this point we would like to give you a look behind the scenes and introduce the people who Betterwood make possible.

Our story

The beginning

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

Betterwood goes online

Originally, our business idea consisted of acting as an agent for brokering certified tropical timber to the timber trade. However, the established companies in the industry showed little interest in the 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 onlineShop Betterwood was the key: more transparent, more direct and more ecological. This allowed the sustainable idea 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.

Our Locations

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.

Small hall: our Nümbrecht warehouse before the expansion

Big hall: part of our current stock

Our perspective

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.

the people behind Betterwood

Catherine Korting

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.

Christian Korting Pacheco

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.

Philip Jaeger

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.

Onno Berger

Sales manager

Onno has known our company since its beginnings: it was founded at his kitchen table. Born in Hamburg, he earned a master's degree in philosophy and history from the Humboldt University in Berlin, founded a magazine with his friend Philip Jaeger and is now in charge of distribution Betterwood.

Tobias Ewerth

Warehouse and logistics manager

Tobias was one of our first employees in our Nümbrecht warehouse while he was still studying business informatics. Today he manages the warehouse and logistics on site.

Colin Honigmann

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.

Manuel Jurgens

Sales and design

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.

Pascal Dusold

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.

Lorena Mazuera-Koerting

Sales

Lorena studied musicals and is the wife of our purchasing manager Christian Körting. After engagements for Stage Entertainment in Stuttgart and on the cruise ships of the Aida Cruises, our sales department supports you in the season with terrace planning and customer questions.

Our team in the warehouse

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.

video about us

TV report about us

The team from the ProSieben show “Galileo” visited us in our camp and in one of our forests in Peru. The result is a film that describes our new path in the timber trade.

Our founder

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.

Blog posts about us

Betterwood is a pilot company for deforestation-free supply chains

Betterwood is a pilot company for deforestation-free supply chains!

Our sustainability: What is important to you?

For our sustainability report, we would like to know: What is particularly important to you about our rainforest protection?

Film team from ZDF with us Betterwood in Peru

A film team commissioned by ZDF accompanies our managing director Catherine Körting on her trip to South America.

FSC report on Betterwood

The FSC reports on the extraordinary concept of Betterwood: "Sustainable tropical wood, as direct and completely transparent as possible".

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

Our Products

ab 9,19 

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.

ab 3,68 

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.

ab 6,83 

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.

ab 6,41 

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.

7,88 

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.

6,83 

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.