In the sprawling warehouses of modular construction companies across Scandinavia, a peculiar transformation is underway. Where workers once tore through rolls of disposable plastic sheeting and hammered wooden boards over building modules destined for transport, they're now snapping on fitted covers that look something like oversized shower caps for prefab homes—covers that will be used again and again.
Looping, the Oslo-based startup behind this shift, just secured NOK 23 million (roughly $2.1 million) to bring its reusable packaging system to Germany and the Benelux countries. The January 2024 round, led by Nordic impact investor Norselab with NOK 8 million, also drew backing from Norwegian pension fund MP Pensjon and industrial family office Marius Maske AS. Existing shareholders participated as well, though founder Jens-Kristian Brustad declined to share what valuation the company commanded.
It's a modest raise by Silicon Valley standards, perhaps. But in the decidedly unglamorous world of construction logistics, Looping represents a bet that Europe's tightening environmental regulations will finally make circularity profitable—not just virtuous.
The timing, at least, appears deliberate. The EU's new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation was published in January 2025, with national application beginning in mid-2026, mandating that at least 40% of transport packaging be reusable by 2030. An even more ambitious target—70%—looms for 2040. For an industry that has long defaulted to cheap, single-use materials, that's a considerable mandate.
The Mechanics of Reuse
Looping's core product, the Modulcover line, tackles a specific pain point: protecting openings in prefabricated building modules as they move from factory to construction site. Traditionally, that meant plastic sheets, plywood, and a lot of manual labor with nail guns. Looping's UV-treated HDPE covers, by contrast, are designed to survive up to 20 uses. At the end of their life cycle, the company repairs or upcycles them.
What the startup is really selling, though, is convenience. Looping handles production (at a facility near Vilnius, Lithuania), warehousing (from Lørenskog, Norway), logistics tracking, and maintenance. Customers pay per use rather than buying the covers outright—"reuse as a service," in the company's framing. It's a model that offloads both the upfront capital and the operational headache of managing a circular system.
The approach appears to resonate with anchor clients. Ramirent, an early adopter, says it now avoids roughly 10 tons of plastic waste annually. Cramo, another major player in construction equipment rental, reported cutting its packaging time by more than half after switching to Looping's system. Whether those efficiency gains hold up as the company scales into more fragmented markets remains to be seen.
A Modest Track Record, Growing Ambitions
Since its 2017 founding, Looping claims to have eliminated over 100 tons of single-use plastic, with more than 8,000 Modulcovers now circulating across the Nordics and Baltics. The company grew its circular service model by 70% between 2022 and 2023, setting a revenue target of NOK 22 million for 2024, though specific revenue figures for prior years weren't disclosed. (Looping previously raised capital in 2021; details of that round were never made public.)
Now the startup is eyeing Germany and Benelux—larger, more competitive markets where established players and entrenched habits may prove harder to dislodge. Concurrent with the funding, Looping appointed Fredrik Wahl, formerly of DNB, as board chairman—a move that suggests the company is preparing for more complex market dynamics ahead.
Whether Looping can translate its Nordic traction into broader European success will depend on more than regulation alone. The construction industry is notoriously price-sensitive and slow to adopt new processes, even when the environmental case is clear. But with policy winds at its back and a functional model already in place, the startup has a rare advantage: it doesn't have to convince customers that change is coming. The EU has already done that.
What remains uncertain is whether a reusable cover can become as ubiquitous—and as forgettable—as the plastic wrap it's meant to replace. For Looping, that kind of invisibility would be the ultimate validation.
