At Atradius we have always received the best overall package of price, speed of service and trusting business.
Aims
Whenever there is something special to celebrate, Henkell & Co.-Gruppe is almost certain to be involved. The Wiesbaden-based company boasts a long tradition of producing high-quality sparkling wines, wines and spirits –products for which it is renowned in Germany and beyond. What began in 1832 as a wine merchants business in Mainz is today an international group with subsidiaries in 20 countries and sales activities in more than 100. Henkell & Co.- Gruppe is the only company in the world that produces and sells its own sparkling beverages. The group now has over 100 brands to its name. With the support of Atradius, it is seeking to drive the growth of these brands in the core market of Germany as well as abroad.
Our role
“The business operations of Henkell & Co.-Gruppe require a special solution,” explains Aloys Lunkenheimer, Regional Director at Atradius Germany, responsible for the central region. “The boom in sales that we see at the end of the year needs to be taken into account both in terms of underwriting and in the pertinent policy itself. We do this by compiling a customised offer and using our international network.” The business relationship between Henkell & Co.-Gruppe and Atradius goes back many years and is one characterised by mutual trust.
Working from our office in Frankfurt am Main, Aloys Lunkenheimer has managed the Henkell account for almost 30 years, supported by Account Manager Dr Katharina Krieg. They are assisted by Andrea Sebastian-Weigner, who is Henkell & Co.-Gruppe’s contact for matters pertaining relating to limits. Hans-Werner Maul sees this structure as key to the account’s success. “In the last 20 years, I’ve only had to deal with a handful of difficult cases for Atradius.”
Today, Atradius is Henkell & Co.-Gruppe’s main provider of credit insurance. Having started out serving only the domestic and foreign business operations of the group’s German companies, Atradius now also works for the group in numerous other countries. “We now insure most of our receivables through Atradius, sending any new companies we establish straight to them. It makes our daily operations easier if these matters are all managed by one partner,” says Hans-Werner Maul.
Results
Henkell & Co.-Gruppe has been continuously insuring receivables through Atradius for 50 years. “Of course, we regularly analyse the services of other providers, but we have so far always come to the conclusion that, in terms of cost, speed of service and trusting business relationship, we are better off with Atradius,” states Hans-Werner Maul. “In the entire time that we have worked together, there have hardly been any claims filed. And whenever there were, we were always able to reach a solution that was fair for both sides. In my opinion, an insurance policy is good if it runs silently in the background, springing into action when it is needed and resolving claims quietly and inconspicuously. This is just how it works with Atradius.”
About Henkell & Co. - Gruppe
Henkell & Co.- Gruppe is a major producer of sparkling wine, prosecco, wine and spirits, and is market leader in the relevant markets in many countries. The Henkell head office in Wiesbaden is home to the headquarters of Henkell & Co.-Gruppe, as well as to brands such as Fürst von Metternich, Mionetto Prosecco, Henkell, Söhnlein Brillant and Wodka Gorbatschow. The company registered sales of around 700 million euros for the 2016 financial year. For further information, please visit the website www.henkell-gruppe.com