How Feeß Achieved 80% Fewer Misclassifications with Optocycle

Some partnerships begin with a handshake and end with an order. And some change an entire industry. The collaboration between Optocycle and Heinrich Feeß GmbH & Co. KG from Kirchheim unter Teck belongs to the second category. Feeß was Optocycle's first customer – and at the same time the sparring partner who helped turn an idea into a market-ready product. Today, Eberhard Fritz, Material Flow Manager at Feeß, estimates 80% fewer misclassifications thanks to the Optocycle solution. No more arguments with suppliers. Robust data instead of gut feelings.

The Customer: Heinrich Feeß GmbH & Co. KG – Pioneer of the Circular Economy

Heinrich Feeß GmbH & Co. KG is no ordinary recycling company. The family business from Kirchheim unter Teck, located between Stuttgart and the Swabian Alb, has been regarded for decades as one of the most innovative players in mineral construction waste recycling in Germany. With six recycling centres and storage sites in the Stuttgart region, over 200 employees and a recycling rate of up to 80% on the input material, Feeß consistently delivers what many other companies are still only aspiring to: a genuine circular economy.

Managing Director and namesake Walter Feeß was awarded the German Environmental Prize by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) in 2016 – for his consistent strategy of processing construction rubble into recyclates that can be added directly to concrete. To this day, he is considered a pioneer in the industry.

And it is precisely this spirit of innovation that led Feeß to be involved from the very beginning – back when Optocycle was still a Tübingen-based startup with an idea and a camera.

The Beginning: When Feeß Showed Optocycle the Way

The history of this partnership began in 2022 – and it began with a geologist introducing a founder to the realities of the industry.

When Max-Frederick Gerken found his way to Feeß through a contact in the recycling industry, it was Eberhard Fritz, Material Flow Manager and Geologist at Feeß, who received him. What followed was more than an initial sales call: Fritz became the ideal sparring partner. He introduced the founder to the details of an industry that looks simple from the outside, but isn't – and he provided the raw material that every algorithm needs to learn: data.

Together with the Optocycle team, Fritz photographed countless materials from all angles, in various lighting conditions, wet and dry, in shade and in sunshine. Grain size, edge length, texture, degree of contamination – everything that a human eye can identify on a truckload first had to be learnt by the machine learning model. Fritz played a crucial role in shaping this learning curve.

This quote gets straight to the point of what Optocycle delivers: objectivity. No more two people with different assessments, no more subjective visual inspections, no more uncertainty in billing. Instead, reproducible, image-based facts – right at the moment of delivery.

The Technology in Action: Truck Imager Directly at the Weighbridge

Shortly after the initial contact, the first camera was installed above the truck weighbridge at the entrance to the recycling centre in Kirchheim unter Teck. Since then, every incoming truck passes the system – and is recorded automatically.

The Optocycle Truck Imager handles several tasks at the same time:

• Automated Delivery Recording: Every load is documented using images, without the weighbridge operator needing to intervene.
• EWC Classification: The system creates a reliable database for classification in accordance with the European Waste Catalogue – a key advantage regarding regulatory requirements and the Ordinance on Substitute Building Materials.
• Identifies Material Attributes in Real Time: The algorithm determines the composition of the delivered material and detects even very small grain sizes.
• Detection of Oversized Edge Lengths: Shipments containing materials that exceed the permitted dimensions are automatically identified.
• Legally Compliant Documentation: Image and material data are available and traceable at all times – providing a basis for billing and any potential complaints.

The Result: 80% Fewer Misclassifications

Since the introduction of the Optocycle system, Eberhard Fritz estimates around 80% fewer misclassifications during material intake. What used to happen: experienced inspectors differed in their assessments by up to 20%. Inexperienced or conflict-averse employees hesitated to reject loads or classify them correctly. The result: incorrectly evaluated materials in the processing stage, compromises in grade purity, unnecessary discussions with suppliers.

What happens today: the system delivers an objective, image-based assessment – regardless of the time of day, the inspector's level of experience, or the truck driver's negotiating skills. Misclassifications are drastically reduced. Arguments with suppliers are virtually eliminated. And since Feeß operates six locations, the technology opens up a further benefit for the future: standardised quality assurance across all yards – applying the identical standards everywhere.

More than Just Practice: Two DBU Research Projects with Feeß as Cooperation Partner

The collaboration with Feeß went far beyond operational usage. In two research projects funded by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU), Heinrich Feeß GmbH was the central practical partner – and was thus co-responsible for turning a pilot into an industrially mature technology.

DBU Project 1: Automatic Classification of Construction Waste

In the first DBU project, Optocycle developed an AI-based system for the automatic, reproducible classification of construction waste. The pilot plant was run directly at the Feeß facility in Kirchheim unter Teck – the business of the environmental award winner at the time, Walter Feeß. The entrance weighbridge was the first real-world testing point: here, the system was tested, improved and validated under real conditions.

During this phase, Eberhard Fritz provided the industry expertise that turned the machine learning model into what it is today: a detection system that understands the diversity and variance of real-world construction waste deliveries – not just idealised laboratory conditions.

DBU Project 2: Real-Time Monitoring of Recycled Aggregates

The follow-up project went a crucial step further: in collaboration with Feeß, Optocycle developed a fully validated prototype for real-time monitoring of recycled aggregates directly in the processing stage. The goal is to monitor the quality of the secondary raw materials produced continuously and automatically – no longer through random laboratory sampling, but seamlessly throughout ongoing production.

This means: Optocycle accompanies the material flow not just at the entrance, but right through to processing. For Feeß, which produces up to 40 different high-quality recycled construction materials, this is a major step towards consistent, certifiable product quality.

The cooperation partner in both projects is Heinrich Feeß GmbH – the company of the 2016 Environmental Prize winner, Walter Feeß.

Why this Matters for the Entire Industry

Germany generates around 220 million tonnes of mineral construction waste annually. A large portion of this ends up in landfills or is recycled at a low quality – because purity of grade is difficult to guarantee and fluctuations in quality are hard to monitor.

This is precisely where Optocycle comes in. And Feeß is proof that it works:

• Higher grade purity through objective, automated intake checks
• Better resource utilisation through precise allocation of materials to the correct processing lines
• Legal compliance through complete, image-based documentation in accordance with EWC and the Ordinance on Substitute Building Materials
• Standardisation across multiple locations – with identical quality assurance everywhere
• Fewer materials sent to landfill thanks to higher-value processing of more material

“With the knowledge gained about what is actually on the truckloads, recycling companies can start processing in a targeted and efficient manner, and categorise and bill the materials they receive more accurately.”

Max-Frederick Gerken, Co-Founder & CEO, Optocycle GmbH

Conclusion: Some Partnerships are More than Just Business

Feeß was Optocycle's first customer. Eberhard Fritz was the first industry expert who rolled up his sleeves and got involved – bringing his data, his knowledge and his critical questions to the table so that a good idea could become a working product. And Walter Feeß's facility was the first real proof that AI-supported material detection in construction waste recycling is not a pipe dream, but is making an impact here and now.

Today, Feeß benefits from a technology that they helped to develop. And through this partnership, Optocycle has set a standard that points far beyond a single business: transparency in material flow is not a luxury – it is the prerequisite for high-quality recycling.

Feeß and Optocycle are continuing to work on this together.

Would you like to find out how Optocycle can make your recycling company more efficient and transparent too? Book a no-obligation call now using THIS LINK.