Stronger international orientation

Since the beginning of this year Ulrich Päßler has been the new chief executive officer of Riegelhof & Gärtner (RUG) based at Weiterstadt, Germany. He is responsible for sales, marketing and product development. Responsibility within the new management team for production, finance, accounting and administration is in the hands of Ingmar Hinrichs.
Ulrich Päßler, RUG’s new ceo.
Päßler sees expansion of international activities as one focal point of his future activities. “This is an important means of hedging profitability in today’s increasingly tight markets.” Apart from this he intends to concentrate on further developing support for the company’s retail partners.
In particular, Riegelhof & Gärtner has made a name for itself in the DIY retail market by concentrating on the categories of aeration and ventilation as well as irrigation and drainage. The company manufactures the majority of products itself, making use of know-how that extends to metal processing and to plastics as well.
Distribution is carried out worldwide, in Canada, South Africa and Australia among other countries. The initiation of the company’s international expansion came in 1996 when the subsidiary Riegelhof & Gärtner GmbH was established in Austria to deal with the Austrian market in addition to the countries of Eastern Europe. An agency in Moscow followed in 1998 and RUG Polska near Posnan in 2000. The company currently employs a workforce of around 300 and achieved sales of just over 40 mio euro in 2001.