New international player

With effect from 1 January 2005 Europet Benelux of Gemert, which has a branch in Nuremberg, and Wilhelm Naumann GmbH of Iserlohn have been integrated to form the new company Europet Bernina Holding B.V., based in Gemert. Operating under this umbrella will be Europet Bernina International B.V. Netherlands, with a branch in Germany, and Europet Bernina International GmbH Germany.
“The merger of the two companies Europet and Wilhelm Naumann has not come about on a whim, but is the result of planning and careful preparation that has been underway for well over two years”, Herbert Ellerstorfer told PET in Europe. The corporate structure now in place creates a common denominator for all interests. More than 125 staff are employed by the new EBI at its locations in Gemert, Iserlohn and Nuremberg. The management team is composed of Helene and Steffen Ellerstorfer, Frank van Hek, Holger Passia and Hartmut Simons, with Herbert Ellerstorfer on hand in a consultancy capacity. Helene Ellerstorfer and Holger Passia are responsible for administration, and Holger Passia will also take overall charge of distribution. Buying, marketing, product management for Europe and logistics for Germany are the responsibilities of Hartmut Simons. And Frank van Hek will take care of distribution in Belgium, the Netherlands and France, logistics for the Netherlands and marketing and product management for Belgium, the Netherlands and France. Steffen Ellerstorfer is responsible for buying, marketing and product management overall and in particular for the Far East.
While German customers will be supplied from 1 March from the 7,400 m2 warehouse in Iserlohn, foreign customers will receive their goods from Gemert, where the new company has 21,000 m2 of warehouse space at its disposal.
Over 5,000 customers now have a range of more than 6,000 articles to choose from in the dog, cat, small animal, aquatics and reptile segments. The new company will be unveiled to the speciality trade in the coming months at the Expozoo (Paris), Zoomark (Bologna) and DeZooFa (Wiesbaden) trade fairs. Some spectacular new products are also expected to be introduced there, such as a jumbo cat litter tray.
Europet was previously represented in 34 countries worldwide, including the whole of Europe. The core markets of Wilhelm Naumann GmbH, which has been in existence for 132 years and enjoys a good reputation in the dog segment with its treats, accessories and care products, were Germany, Austria, Switzerland and…