
Gardena GmbH, based in
Ulm,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, is a manufacturer of
gardening tools and has been a subsidiary of the Swedish
Husqvarna Group since 2007. With an annual sales of 8,343 million Swedish krona (approximately 790 million euros) in 2019, Gardena is the European market leader.
Company history
In 1961 the company Kress + Kastner GmbH was founded by the merchants Werner Kress and Eberhard Kastner (1928-2004). Five years later the brand name Gardena was created; the company was renamed Gardena Kress + Kastner GmbH. In 1968 the water hose plug-in system (Original GARDENA System) was introduced. The new, patented plug-in coupling became the basis of a whole system of gardening tools. The advantage of the system is that only the rubber O-rings have to be replaced in the event of leaks. The interchangeable handle connection (GARDENA combisystem) followed eight years later. Both were designed by Dieter Raffler, today Professor Emeritus of Industrial Design. Raffler was responsible for the design of Gardena products for 20 years.
The IPO as Gardena Holding AG took place in 1996, and
Wolfgang Jahrreiss was the chairman of the board from 1999 to 2004. Three years later, Gardena was acquired from the founding families by
IK Partners (formerly Industri Kapital) through the IK 2000 Fund. In 2003, the Gardena shares were delisted and the company was renamed Gardena AG. One year later, the US subsidiary "Melnor Inc." was sold and a new chairman of the board,
Martin Bertinchamp, was appointed.
In 2007 Industri Kapital sold Gardena to Husqvarna for 730 million euros. The AG was converted back into a GmbH.
German Trade Register entry
/ref> As part of a restructuring of the group, the various functional areas were further integrated into the global organization of the Husqvarna Group. Since 2015, the Gardena Division has been managed as a largely independent division of the Group.
Subsidiaries worldwide
Subsidiaries include Gardena Manufacturing GmbH in Ulm (with three manufacturing sites in Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
), Advanced Plastics s.r.o., Vrbno pod Pradědem (with plants in the Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
), Husqvarna Logistics GmbH (formerly hortus GmbH) and Gardena Deutschland GmbH in Ulm (responsible for sales in Germany). In many other countries Gardena is represented by the respective sales companies of the Husqvarna Group.
See also
* Hozelock
References
External links
Gardena company website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardena company
Companies based in Ulm
Manufacturing companies established in 1961
German brands
Tool manufacturing companies of Germany
1961 establishments in West Germany
Irrigation