Robert Rath

STORR | Robert Rath

Website: www.storr.nl

STORR

Divider walls for trailers. The charm of niche production is what you find at STORR. The company produces dividing walls for food lorries that enable transportation of both frozen and chilled products in one load. As a result, fewer journeys are needed, which lowers transport costs and reduces CO2 emissions. Also, if the lorry is carrying a partial load, only part of it will need cooling, which can save up to 40% on refrigeration motor fuel.

It is important that the dividing walls can guarantee the required temperature, minus 20 degrees for frozen products and plus six degrees for chilled items. STORR is one of only four manufacturers in the world that can manufacture these walls. Robert Rath, Managing Director and owner of the company, has been involved in the transport sector for years, initially at a firm that focussed on securing goods during transport. It was there that he discovered the benefits of dividing walls. He specialised in this area for the firm but in 2005 he started up on his own.   STORR now has 10 employees based in Apeldoorn and Stadtlohn (Germany) and has a turnover of one to two million euros. It counts MacDonald’s, Albert Heijn, Sligro and HANOS as clients. It also supplies coachbuilders and even the United Nations - dividing walls are needed in food containers supplying military missions in warzones.  Currently 50% of total production goes abroad, including Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, France and the United States. The desired market share in the Netherlands has been reached, partly because dividing walls are eligible for the energy deduction tax scheme, which makes financial investment even more interesting. Rath expects exports to increase to 70% of turnover. He is particularly proud of exports to the USA. “I was approached during a seminar in the US by a company which asked if we could supply a specific application that was not available there. We did not supply the product at the time but were able to produce it. Now, shiploads of these products are being sent to customers in the US.”

STORR produces dividing walls for about 1200 lorries annually and the number is increasing year in, year out. Rath: “The transport companies, and particularly the drivers, are our best ambassadors. Thanks to word-of-mouth advertising, turnover is growing steadily.”  

Export countries: Europe, USA