With effect from 1 July 2023, United Hardware, one of Ireland’s largest purchasing and marketing groups for DIY, home and garden shops, is cooperating with the EDE International AG. Both partners signed the agreement on the occasion of a visit to EDE’s headquarter in Wuppertal in May.

With group volume of around €450m, over 2000 shop staff and over 6000 products available, United Hardware is Ireland’s preferred hard goods buying group. Part of the group is the Homevalue DIY Stores & Builders Merchants brand with over 160 affiliated DIY stores, independently owned and operated by local entrepreneurs.

Freek Dekkers, Sales Director at EDE International for Northern Europe, knows: “With United Hardware, we have a strong partner at our side who is represented throughout Ireland. With its structures and suppliers, it offers the optimal conditions and thus the basis for effectively creating synergies!”

Annegret Franzen, CEO EDE International, summarises: “The success of E/D/E and EDE International AG is characterised by strong partnerships at eye level – we are very pleased to be able to enter into a promising cooperation with United Hardware in Ireland as well – with benefits for both sides.” A warm welcome United Hardware!

Within the framework of a perfectly organised members’ trip of CECOFERSA S.A. with members from Spain and Portugal from 11 – 14 May in Granada, the Annual Assembly took place on Friday, 12^th May 2023.

In addition to numerous participants from the CECOFERSA membership from the Iberian Peninsula, the entire CECOFERSA sales and administration team, as well as the shareholders EHLIS and EDE International also took part.

The meeting focused on information about the current situation in the sector, the resulting challenges and, in particular, the numerous services provided by Cecofersa to the Iberian members and by the shareholders EHLIS S.A. and EDE International AG in a difficult global market environment.

The central theme here: continuing to grow together, which is firmly anchored in CECOFERSA’s philosophy with the company slogan “Crecemos Juntos!”.

A constructive and fruitful meeting, in which Rafael Martin, as advisor to the CECOFERSA Board of Directors, emphasised the topic of transparency and stability and Javier Herrera, Managing Director of CECOFERSA, never tired of stressing the many opportunities for joint cooperation. Annegret Franzen, Managing Director of EDE International, praised the organisation, sound information of the meeting and the strong and numerous participation of the members: “We are and will remain a solid, strong and loyal partner for CECOFERSA and, together with our joint venture Delcredit España, are at the disposal of the Iberian members with all our services from Wuppertal and Spain.”

On 17.04.2023, the first personal visit of the TED Group with four Italian dealers finally took place in Wuppertal. Present were the Managing Director of the TED Group, Michele Caterino and four other dealers: U.D. DISTRIBUZIONE S.R.L. (Naples), CALLEA VINCENZO S.R.L. (Monopoli), MONTINARO LUIGI S.R.L. (Lecce) and Lomotec S.r.l.s. (Catania). The cross-departmental visit was actively accompanied by colleagues from the ETRIS Bank and the Building Services Division.

EDE International has been cooperating with the TED Group since 2022. It is a subsidiary of the IGH Group consisting of 12 dealers in the Italian region with a focus on plumbing, heating and installation.

The aim of the dealers’ first visit was to get to know EDE and the people involved and, in particular, to work out concrete starting points for a cooperation. In the unusually sunny weather for Wuppertal, the guests were given a guided tour of the warehouse and were able to see for themselves our modern and efficient logistics and other services from the financial sector provided by our sister company ETRIS Bank and the building services department.

Annegret Franzen (CEO EDE International), Martin Ochelski (Sales Director & Key Accounts, Cooperations AT + CH + IT and Eastern Europe) and Carmelo Palumbo (Representative and Internal Support Italy) were happy about the interesting exchange with the Italian guests, which was rounded off by a joint dinner. Michele Caterino concluded enthusiastically: “We are overwhelmed by the performance of the EDE in general and the eLC warehouse in particular!”

Martin Ochelski added: “The first meeting was essential to present the services of E/D/E and to start the cooperation. Now we will define the next steps and successively start the cooperation with the dealers on a bilateral level”.

Good luck and success in the young cooperation!!

Further info:

https://www.igh-eg.de/index.htm

https://www.tedgroupitalia.it/en/

On Friday 17 March 2023, the grand opening of the new EHLIS automated logistics centre took place in Illescas, Toledo. More than 400 enthusiastic visitors from home and abroad were present, including suppliers, the Regional Minister for the Economy, Enterprise and Employment, Patricia Franco, the Mayor of Illescas, José Manuel Tofiño, various members of the Regional Ministry and the City Council, employees of CECOFERSA, Delcredit España, EDE International and – as is always the case at EHLIS events – a large number of family members of the founding family.

In his welcoming speech, Alejandro EHLIS reported on the general data of the new logistics centre, which has been under construction for almost two years since the start of construction on 21 April 2021. EHLIS built the logistics centre on a total of 60,000 square metres of land, covering around 22,000 square metres, and thus still has sufficient free space for possible future expansion. The logistics centre has a 36-metre high, fully automatic high rack with a capacity of 30,000 pallets, a likewise automatic system for transport containers and a final conventional palletising area. All this, says Alejandro Ehlis, “equipped with the latest technology.”

In addition to the numbers, data and facts about the new modern location of the 125-year-old family business, EHLIS emphasised above all its own quality standards “If we want to double our anniversary one day and reach 250 years (even if we ourselves won’t live to see it), we must continue to work hard, continue to invest and, above all, fulfil all our commitments to our suppliers, our partners and our own employees.”

We warmly congratulate EHLIS on this successful event!

On the occasion of the dinner at the board meetings of CECOFERSA and the joint venture Delcredit España S.A. on 15.3.2023 in Madrid, Annegret Franzen, Managing Director EDE International AG, and Mayte Jakstait, International projects, business relations & communications Manager, had a special surprise in their luggage. They presented Alejandro and Ignacio Ehlis, Managing Directors of EHLIS S.A., with a gift for this year’s 125th anniversary in the form of a personalised skyline watercolour. The watercolour, which had been individually created for the occasion, was the skyline of Barcelona mirrored with the skyline of the Bergisches Land. A special feature was that the headquarters of both companies in Barcelona and Wuppertal had been inserted, thus building a bridge between the two companies.

EHLIS had already been started in 1898 by Reinhardt Ehlis as a small company in Barcelona, at that time as a commercial agent for German hardware products. This year, the owner-managed family business in its 4th generation looks back on 125 years of history and has developed into one of the most important purchasing and marketing organisations on the Spanish market.

 “Although our cooperation has only existed for a comparatively short time, we feel that our companies have a strong partnership due to the many parallels in our decades of history,” says Annegret Franzen. And further: “We congratulate from the bottom of our hearts and are happy and proud to be at the side of EHLIS on this special occasion”.

With effect from 15 May, there will be further growth from Belgium in the E/D/E Group: Bricks and Tools, an Association for construction equipment with over 60 members in Belgium.

EHLIS S.A. is taking over the majority shares of CENTRAL DE COMPRAS Y SERVICIOS PROFESIONALES S.A. (CECOFERSA) and is looking forward to the upcoming cooperation with the E/D/E Group and the opportunities of an international cooperation.