Expansion in Europe

The first foreign company was acquired in 1967, and by 1983 five additional foreign companies had been established. After GEHE Aktiengesellschaft (todays Celesio AG) acquired KAISER+KRAFT in 1985, expansion in Europe increased rapidly. In 1987, the company established a subsidiary in Italy and the first central warehouse for Europe opened in Weiterstadt. In the same year, KAISER+KRAFT also took over the gaerner Group thus considerably expanding its customer base in Europe. Regional expansion continued with the takeover of the Scandinavian Gerdmans Group in 1998.