What Veiling Rhein-Maas does

Veiling Rhein-Maas GmbH & Co. KG operates Germany's only flower and plant auction, founded on 29 November 2010 as a joint venture between Landgard (Germany's leading horticultural cooperative) and Royal FloraHolland (the Netherlands' leading flower auction cooperative). The company consolidates the prior Landgard Herongen, Landgard Lüllingen, and FloraHolland Venlo auction locations into a single 220,000 m² facility in Straelen-Herongen, situated directly on the Dutch-German border in the Euregio region with A40 motorway access. It serves approximately 2,100 suppliers and 1,000 customers, processing more than 5 million transactions per year across 310,000 stacking trolleys of cut flowers and roughly 1 million CC containers of potted plants.

The core product is the traditional Dutch-clock auction conducted in an ultra-modern auction hall equipped with 8 LED clocks (4 for flowers, 4 for plants), supplemented by digital purchasing channels including KOA remote purchasing (Kopen-Op-Afstand), clock pre-sales (Uhrvorverkauf), a webshop, and a klokservice for tray-and-layer ordering. A central VRM customer portal handles supply reporting, clock pre-sales, and account management. Supporting services include quality control, Eco-Park waste disposal, assortment management, and CC container / stacking trolley logistics. Pricing is structured around per-transaction commissions, customer and supplier fees, service-center tariffs, and packaging sales, with packaging prices aligned to Royal FloraHolland's policy effective July 1, 2026.

The company generated €424 million in product turnover (Produktumsatz) in FY2025, slightly above the prior two years' high levels. Distribution is multi-channel and regional, blending on-site auction attendance with remote and pre-sale digital channels. Go-to-market relies on the live-clock auction mechanism, digital portal access, annual Customer and Supplier Days (attracting ~500 industry attendees), themed foyer presentations, and a Supplier-in-the-Spotlight video series. Governance is shared between two Managing Directors (Günther Esser and Cees Hoekstra), with elected Customer Representation (12 members) and an Advisory Board providing stakeholder input. The company holds EU organic certification (DE-ÖKO-039) and operates as a private limited partnership under the joint ownership of Landgard and Royal FloraHolland.

Name

Veiling Rhein-Maas

Legal name

Veiling Rhein-Maas GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://veilingrheinmaas.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Veiling Rhein-Maas operates Germany's only flower and plant auction, a joint venture between Landgard and Royal FloraHolland. It runs a traditional LED-clock auction and digital purchasing channels serving 2,100 suppliers and 1,000 customers in the German-Dutch horticulture sector.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Straelen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Auction Commissions: Veiling Rhein-Maas charges commissions on auction transactions conducted through its clock auction system
2. Service Fees: Service Center Leistungen und Gebühren (service center services and fees) for customers and suppliers
3. Packaging Sales: Sale of packaging materials including single-use packaging, CC containers, and stacking trolleys
4. Logistics Services: Fees for logistical services including supply and delivery handling

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Veiling Rhein-Maas operates Germany's only flower and plant auction, running a Dutch clock-based auction system in an ultra-modern auction hall with 8 LED clocks at its Straelen-Herongen facility. Suppliers (growers) deliver cut flowers and potted plants; buyers (florists, garden centers, and horticultural retailers) bid in real time on-site or remotely via digital channels. The service is rounded out by a customer portal, webshop, KOA remote purchasing, quality control, logistics handling, and Eco-Park waste disposal.

Product overview

Veiling Rhein-Maas operates Germany's only flower and plant auction as a unified marketplace combining physical and digital sales channels. The core offering is the traditional Dutch clock-based auction system conducted in an ultramodern auction hall with 8 LED clocks (4 flower clocks and 4 plant clocks). This is supplemented by digital purchasing channels including KOA (Remote Purchasing), Uhrvorverkauf (Clock Pre-sales), and Webshop for online buying. The VRM-Portal serves as the central customer platform for accessing these services. Supporting services include Quality Control, Eco-Park waste disposal, and Sortiment Management. The auction handles approximately 310,000 stacking trolleys of flowers and 1 million CC-containers of plants annually across over 5 million transactions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Clock Auction System (Versteigerung) Traditional Dutch clock-based auction of cut flowers and potted plants run in an ultramodern auction hall with 8 LED clocks, where approximately 2,100 suppliers and 1,000 buyers transact over 5 million times per year. Intended for commercial flower and plant buyers such as florists, garden centers, and horticultural retailers, and for growers supplying the auction.
• KOA Remote Purchasing (Kopen-Op-Afstand) Digital channel that allows buyers to participate in the live auction from a distance, bidding on flowers and plants without being physically present at the Straelen-Herongen auction hall. Designed for commercial buyers who cannot attend in person.
• Webshop and Clock Pre-Sales (Uhrvorverkauf) Online purchasing platform (webshop.veilingrheinmaas.com) that lets customers buy flowers and plants through clock pre-sales and product orders before the live auction. Built for commercial buyers who prefer a self-service, e-commerce style procurement workflow.
• Clock Service (Klokservice) Supplementary ordering channel that lets customers purchase flowers and plants by tray or layer as a complement to their auction purchases. Aimed at commercial buyers who want additional procurement flexibility beyond clock bidding.
• VRM Customer Portal (Kundenportal) Central digital portal for suppliers and customers, providing access to supply reports, clock pre-sales, auction information, and customer management functions. Provided to registered Veiling Rhein-Maas suppliers and buyers.
• Quality Control (Qualitätskontrolle) Quality assurance service that monitors flowers and plants delivered to the auction, enforces product photography and certification guidelines, and maintains display standards. Used by suppliers selling through the auction and by buyers relying on standardised quality.
• Eco-Park Waste Disposal (Eco-Park und Entsorgung) Environmental service providing waste disposal and recycling facilities for packaging materials at the Straelen-Herongen site, supporting sustainable operations for suppliers and buyers handling flowers and plants.
• Assortment Management (Sortimentsmanagement) Product-range management service that helps suppliers optimise their offerings and provides guidance on weekly supply reporting. Delivered to flower and plant growers delivering to the auction.
• Packaging Materials Supply (Single-use packaging, CC containers, stacking trolleys) Sale of single-use packaging, reusable CC containers, and stacking trolleys used to deliver and handle flowers and plants through the auction; pricing aligned with Royal FloraHolland and adjusted 1 July 2026. Sold to suppliers delivering product and to buyers collecting purchased product.

Quantifiable outcome

• 424 million euros product turnover in 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• LandgardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGermany's leading horticultural cooperative. Landgard merged its Herongen and Lüllingen auction locations into the Veiling Rhein-Maas joint venture in November 2010. Represents German horticulture interests in the partnership.
• Royal FloraHollandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetherlands' leading flower and plant auction cooperative. Royal FloraHolland merged its Venlo location into the Veiling Rhein-Maas joint venture in November 2010. Represents Dutch horticulture interests in the partnership and sets packaging pricing policy that Veiling Rhein-Maas follows.
• Zentralverband Gartenbau (ZVG)minorOthersGerman Central Horticultural Association. ZVG President Eva Kähler-Theuerkauf delivers opening remarks at annual Customer and Supplier Day events, positioning Veiling Rhein-Maas as stability anchor for German horticulture.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Gasa Group: Danish horticultural cooperative distributing flowers and plants across Northern Europe. Comparable as a Northern European grower cooperative with overlapping supplier base in the cross-border horticulture trade.
• New Covent Garden Market: UK's largest wholesale flower, fruit, and vegetable market in London. Comparable as a physical flower/plant marketplace serving professional buyers, but geographically focused on the UK.
• Japan Flower Auction: Japanese flower auction operating in Tokyo and other regions. Comparable as a national clock-based flower auction in a different geography, illustrating the global persistence of the auction model Veiling Rhein-Maas operates.
• Flora Duisburg: Regional German flower wholesale market serving the Rhine-Ruhr region. Comparable as a German regional marketplace for flowers, though structured as a wholesale market rather than clock auction.

Broad incumbents

• Dutch Flower Group: Largest Dutch floriculture trade and wholesale group. Comparable through flower/plant supply chain participation, but operates a broader bouquet manufacturing and wholesale model rather than auction-only.

Emerging players

• Floriday: Royal FloraHolland's digital B2B platform connecting growers and buyers globally. Comparable as the digital evolution of the traditional auction model, representing both an opportunity and a disruptive threat to clock-based auction flow.
• Bloomit: Dutch digital platform for direct flower trade between growers and florists. Comparable as an emerging digital intermediary in the floriculture supply chain, targeting the same SMB buyer segment.

Direct peers

• Royal FloraHolland: The world's largest flower and plant auction cooperative based in Aalsmeer, Netherlands. Directly comparable business model (Dutch clock auction), and also a parent of Veiling Rhein-Maas — making it both a strategic ally and the most direct competitive reference point.
• Plantion: Dutch flower and plant auction in Ede, Netherlands. Operates a similar clock-based auction model for flowers and plants, serving growers and buyers across the Netherlands and Germany.

Others

• Landgard: Germany's leading horticultural cooperative and 50% parent of Veiling Rhein-Maas. Operates wholesale distribution of flowers, plants, fruit, and vegetables, making it an adjacent cooperative peer with shared supplier relationships.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=IZqbJk8xUPM
• Instagraminstagram.com/veilingrheinmaas
• Xx.com/rheinmaas
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/veiling-rhein-maas

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Veiling Rhein-Maas