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On 13 January, Veiling Rhein-Maas hosted its 12th Customer and Supplier Day. The event at the beginning of the year has long since become established as the first meeting of the green industry, with a clear focus on German-Dutch horticulture. It came as no surprise, then, that the auction hall in Herongen was almost completely full again this year.
As in the previous year, Eva Kähler-Theuerkauf, President of the 'Zentralverband Gartenbau' (ZVG), opened the event with her welcome speech. She spoke openly on the turbulent times currently facing the green industry. Rising costs, changing sales channels, increasing regulatory requirements, climate change and unresolved succession issues are all challenging many businesses. In this context, Eva Kähler-Theuerkauf described Veiling Rhein-Maas, Germany's only flowers and plants auction, as an anchor of stability during turbulent times, a pillar of strength and an economic powerhouse in Europe. At the end of her welcome speech, the ZVG President expressed her confident outlook: “Together, the sector will succeed in overcoming these challenges and in actively shaping its future. This future will not be formed at some random point in the future, but on every day in our businesses”. According to Eva Kähler-Theuerkauf, if everyone worked with all their heart, they could help the industry move forward again.
Further video messages were played at the Customer and Supplier Day by Sven Kreisig, Chairman of the Advisory Board, and Werner Schnitzler, spokesperson for the Veiling Rhein-Maas Customer representation. The management of Veiling Rhein-Maas closely coordinates its business activities and overall strategy with these two committees. In their welcome speeches, Sven Kreisig and Werner Schnitzler emphasised the high importance of Veiling Rhein-Maas for suppliers and customers, and said they looked forward to continuing to develop the company in close cooperation with the management in the future.
Review of 2025 and outlook
Cees Hoekstra and Günther Esser, the managing directors of Veiling Rhein-Maas, then looked back together on the 2025 financial year and outlined key topics and projects for 2026. Veiling Rhein-Maas achieved product sales of €424 million in 2025, slightly above the high level of the previous two years. “We are satisfied with product sales for the full year of 2025, but also see further potential held by our marketplace beyond that. Hopefully, this potential will be even better realised in 2026 thanks to the more favourable conditions across the board”, said Günther Esser and Cees Hoekstra.
The results of a customer survey conducted by Veiling Rhein-Maas in autumn 2025 provide ideas for further optimisation in areas such as purchasing, services, product range and communication. The results of this survey show an overall high level of satisfaction with Veiling Rhein-Maas.
In 2026, the development of new services for the Veiling Rhein Maas Service Centre will be an important focal point. In addition, Veiling Rhein-Maas will be presenting a new service package for potential new customers who are located further afield from the Lower Rhine region. With the new service, this customer base can be connected with Veiling Rhein-Maas in terms of purchasing and logistics. The launch will be marked in 2026 by a pilot project involving deliveries to customers in southern Germany.
Selection of the ‘Customer and Supplier of the Year 2026’
The highlight of the day was the vote on the ‘Customer and Supplier of the Year 2026’ by those present in the auction hall. At Veiling Rhein-Maas, companies were able to apply for the title of ‘Customer of the Year’ or ‘Supplier of the Year’ with their digitalisation measures. The finalists introduced themselves to the audience with short videos to demonstrate how they are implementing digitalisation in their businesses.
The 2026 prize winners
The florist Blumen und Floristik Luy from Kastellaun (Rhineland-Palatinate) won the ‘Customer of the Year’ award. The company’s owner Julia Luy, who is the third generation to run the business, made it clear in her video how important digitalisation is to her company. The company replaced the traditional loyalty card with a customer app that allows customers to collect points and communicate with the store at the same time. In addition, Blumen Luy operates a flower vending machine that makes flowers available around the clock. The company also manages these sales via an app, and has a strong online presence: Blumen Luy provides comprehensive information on its website and provides an order and delivery service. Social media channels such as Facebook, WhatsApp and TikTok are particularly important at the moment.
Other finalists in the “Customer of the Year” category include Uhrfrisch.de from Krefeld (DE) and Greenzone GmbH from Straelen (DE).
The title of ‘Supplier of the Year 2026’ was claimed by the Dutch company Van Son & Koot from Kaatsheuvel, represented at the Customer and Supplier Day by co-owner and commercial director Sebastiaan van der Heijden. The company invested in a modern ERP system that links together production, purchasing, sales, logistics and financial figures. All the relevant data is collated in a central dashboard. On this basis, Van Son & Koot uses AI to generate forecasts for cost, labour and revenue developments. The company also developed its own employee app for cross-location communication. An internal marketing department also manages the company's social media presence on LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest.
Other finalists in the ‘Supplier of the Year’ category included the Dutch companies Kwekerij Piet Vijverberg from Monster along with Villa Gerbera | Villa Curcuma from Honselersdijk.
“A huge congratulations to Blumen und Floristik Luy and Van Son & Koot on being named ‘Customer of the Year’ and ‘Supplier of the Year’”, said Cees Hoekstra and Günther Esser, managing directors of Veiling Rhein-Maas, congratulating the two companies. Both companies impressively demonstrate how digital measures can be meaningfully integrated into everyday operations – for faster, better-connected and more efficient processes. They represent several other companies in the green sector that are making targeted use of digitalisation to better position themselves for the future. We would also like to thank all the other finalists and applicants, whose ideas have provided a crucial boost to our industry.”
The second part of the Customer and Supplier Day focused on social networking among participants. For this purpose, Veiling Rhein-Maas had converted one of its logistics halls into an event space covering more than 1,100 square metres, complete with modern event technology, catering facilities and a central meet and match area.
Video
Click here to watch a video on Veiling Rhein-Maas' Customer and Supplier Day 2026.
Looking ahead to 2027
The next Customer and Supplier Day will take place on 12 January 2027. On this day, Veiling Rhein-Maas will pay tribute to the winners of the ‘Customer and Supplier of the Year 2027’ awards.
