Press Release

Garden tool manufacturer VIKING extends contract with Rhenus ahead of schedule

From a lawn mower to a battery-powered chain saw: the manufacturer of high-quality garden tools VIKING is continuing to put its trust in the Rhenus Group and has extended the contract for managing the European central warehouse at its business site in Strasbourg ahead of time.

The partnership between the garden tool manufacturer, which is part of the STIHL Group, and the Rhenus managers goes back ten years. “Rhenus has provided huge support for us with its flexible logistics as we have grown during the past few years. As a result, we’ve been able to serve our customers in a reliable manner with consistently high quality levels at all times. The long-term relationship with Rhenus will also enable us to make plans with a high degree of certainty,” says Markus Hartmann, the Logistics Manager at VIKING, giving the reasons for the early renewal of the contract.

VIKING, which is a family-managed business, mainly manufactures goods in Europe and has strongly developed its production capacity at Langkampfen in Austria during the last few years. The premium brand produces and sells lawn mowers, robotic mowers, lawn tractors, scarifiers, garden shredders or tillers. About 350 different products are kept in storage at the central Rhenus warehouse in Strasbourg in Alsace. As many as 200 trucks leave the warehouse every week during the high season.

“The early renewal of the contract represents a particular mark of confidence in us. As a well-coordinated team, we can also quickly respond to short-term changes in quantities in daily business and find the suitable solution at all times. We’re delighted that we’ll be able to support the growth strategy at VIKING during the next few years too,” says Arsène Dahl, Managing Director of Rhenus Logistics Alsace.

The contract, which has been renewed for several years, covers the business management operations at the central warehouse for finished products for the European market and transporting consignments within Europe. Rhenus also stores selected units bearing the STIHL brand – some of them electrically-powered and some with rechargeable batteries – and dispatches them around the globe. The services provided also include customs clearance for exports and tracking serial numbers.

The Rhenus central warehouse in Strasbourg was built in 2004 and was extended to make available 17,000 square metres of shed storage space in 2010. Two of the three sections of the building are exclusively reserved for VIKING, while the other section serves as a multi-user area. The logistics centre provides 15,000 pallet spaces and 5,000 square metres of block storage space.

The AEO-certified warehouse site is located in the border region of the most important sales markets of Germany and France. It forms part of the Alsace logistics cluster within the Rhenus Group, which not only offers warehouse services for customers in the pharmaceutical, health care, chemicals and consumer goods sectors, but also transport services with its own fleet of vehicles, customs clearance and removal operations.

VIKING has developed into a leading manufacturer of high-quality garden tools since it was founded in 1981 and only sells its premium products through specialist retailers with their own service structure.

Press contact details for VIKING
Christian Dag
Head of Advertising & Brand
VIKING GmbH
Hans Peter Stihl-Strasse 5
A-6336 Langkampfen/Kufstein
Tel.: +43 (0) 5372/69 72 - 267
Fax: +43 (0) 5372/6972-9-267
Email: [email protected]

About Rhenus & VIKING

About Rhenus

The Rhenus Group provides logistics services around the globe and has annual turnover amounting to EUR 4.1 billion. Rhenus employs over 24,000 people at more than 390 locations worldwide. The Rhenus business areas – Contract Logistics, Freight Logistics and Port Logistics – manage complex supply chains and provide a wealth of innovative value- added services.

About VIKING

VIKING was founded in Kufstein (Austria) in 1981. Three years after the founding of the company, VIKING launched the development of its own range of lawn mowers. The company completely renewed its product line for garden tools after becoming part of the STIHL Group in 1992. VIKING produces and sells lawn mowers, robotic mowers, ride-on mowers, garden shredders, tillers and scarifiers. The specialist garden tool company exports approx. 98 percent of its goods at the moment and has business offices in about 60 different countries. The most important export markets are Germany, France, Russia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Great Britain, Norway and Sweden. VIKING generated turnover of EUR 153.9 million with its 329 employees in 2013.

Press contact Rhenus in Germany
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Herzog-Adolf-Straße 3
56410 Montabaur
Germany
Press contact Rhenus in Germany | additiv pr GmbH & Co. KG