Klasmann-Deilmann and Shakti Cocos cooperate
The Klasmann-Deilmann Group is entering into a strategic partnership with Shakti Cocos B.V. The Dutch-based company is transferring international distribution rights for high-quality coir raw materials to the world’s leading substrate manufacturer based in Germany.
Worldwide demand for growing media for commercial horticulture is rising. This also increases the demand for high quality raw materials. Against this background, the Klasmann-Deilmann Group is entering into targeted partnerships with selected suppliers in order to open up new sales segments and to secure its own supply of constituents for substrate production.
“In Shakti Cocos we have found a reliable partner with a very good reputation in the production and procurement of coir raw materials from India and Sri Lanka”, explains Ted Vollebregt, Managing Director of the Klasmann-Deilmann Benelux production and sales company. With effect from 1 February 2020, Klasmann-Deilmann will start the distribution of Shakti Cocos products. “Our own distribution network spans the whole world,” says Ted Vollebregt. “This enables us to reach horticultural businesses on all continents”.
Shakti Cocos is also known for extraordinary coconut products such as the patented low-pH coir Shakti Amla®. About 25 years ago, Shakti Cocos was one of the first companies to import coconut raw materials from India to Europe. Today, Shakti Cocos has several locations in India and Sri Lanka that produce under socially responsible conditions. The company has also built up a network of reliable suppliers and is distributing its coir products to a wide range of clients worldwide. With more than two decades of experience in coir production, Shakti Cocos is a solid established company in the coir industry. “In Klasmann-Deilmann we have found a partner with similar ideas on how to supply the market with good and reliable substrates. This enables us to increase our business in cooperation with a leader in the field of growing media”, says Jack van Batenburg, Managing Director of Shakti Cocos B.V.
Klasmann-Deilmann is the world’s leading producer and supplier of growing media for professional horticulture with its own production and sales locations in Europe, Asia and America. In addition to the proven peat-based growing media, Klasmann-Deilmann will increasingly sell alternative constituents, including wood fibres and coir.
“The demand for substrates will continue to rise in the coming years and decades, especially in the food industry”, says Moritz Böcking, Managing Director of the Klasmann-Deilmann Group. “Therefore it is essential to ensure secure access to raw materials suitable for substrate production at an early stage – and to familiarise oneself with any application possible.” As early as 2025, Klasmann-Deilmann’s raw material mix, which at present is dominated by peat, is to include 30% alternative raw materials.
Klasmann-Deilmann is also currently beginning to decentralise its own production sites. The large factories for substrate production in Europe will soon be supplemented by powerful units in Asia, for example. “We will use more and more local raw materials”, confirms Ted Vollebregt. “And in this context, Shakti Cocos is a very important partner in helping us to meet Klasmann-Deilmann’s proven quality standards with new raw materials in other countries, too”.
“The strength of Shakti Cocos in raw material production and Klasmann-Deilmann’s global sales network complement each other perfectly,” says Moritz Böcking. “This partnership is a real investment in the future for both sides.”