From first land sheep to cash cow

Not everyone knows Marco Scheel by name, but almost everyone in the industry knows that we can't all develop the next dating app with a latte macchiato, but have to touch things. An entertaining founder talk including critical follow-up questions.

In a fascinating YouTube video, Marco Scheel takes us into the exciting world of Nordwolle GmbH, a company that has already been featured in an NDR documentary. On PitchLab, Marco Scheel shares the impressive origin story of Nordwolle, revealing the beginnings, challenges and crucial turning points that have made the company what it is today. In the process, it becomes especially clear how his passion for sustainability and quality has been instrumental in shaping Nordwolle.

Since his own desire for textiles made from Pomeranian sheep's wool was great, but Scheel could not find any suppliers for it, he occupied himself evening after evening with the actually very old subject of wool processing. He taught himself to spin, embroider and crochet and made his first hats and socks. More and more he was convinced of wool clothing and now he wanted to use weaving and fulling as a processing method. He found a few companies in Germany that still do this on a small scale. After a personal visit to a spinning and weaving mill, he bought without further ado several hundred kilos of Pomeranian sheep wool and had it processed into the first Nordwolle loden.

The Pomeranian sheep is an endangered breed of livestock whose wool was destroyed in the past partly because it can only be dyed and processed to a limited extent. Another important aspect in the philosophy of Nordwolle Rügen is the refusal to import expensive wool from New Zealand. The company is convinced that German raw materials are just as good for textile production and that it makes no sense to destroy them. Instead, Nordwolle relies on local resources, thereby not only supporting the local economy but also contributing to the sustainability of the industry.

In addition, the company is actively involved in the preservation of ancient land sheep breeds, some of which are kept on pasture all year round. These sheep are able to manage without South American concentrated feed and make an invaluable contribution to the preservation of biodiversity and landscape conservation. Nordwolle Rügen thus not only produces high-quality textiles, but is also committed to preserving nature and culture in Germany.

Format Pitchlab

PITCHLAB is a remarkable format that regularly provides a platform for founders, entrepreneurs and visionaries to share their experiences and ideas in compact 15-minute presentations. With a clear mission to foster exchange and inspiration in the world of startup and entrepreneurship, PITCHLAB brings together people who want to share their stories from building and philosophizing their businesses. Not only the successes, but also the challenges and obstacles along the way are highlighted in detail. PITCHLAB is the result of a dedicated initiative of freelancers and self-employed people in collaboration with digitization centers and is organized and produced by a passionate volunteer team. More information and the team can be found on the Pitchlab website.