Low carbon promotes new energy

With its range of batteries for devices and appliances, rechargeables, chargers and flashlights, VARTA Consumer has succeeded in establishing itself among the top international players in its field while remaining true to its origins as a German brand.

Made in Germany – as true now as it was all those years ago

VARTA Consumer, as Germany’s only manufacturer of batteries for devices and appliances, has complete confidence in the benefits of producing in Germany – each year, our production facility in Dischingen, certified to DIN EN ISO 9001 and 14001 standards in confirmation of its compliance with internationally recognized quality and environmental management criteria, turns out approximately one billion alkaline batteries. Working up to three shifts seven days a week, specialists with considerable experience in battery technology make use of top-level manufacturing standards to produce the basis of premium-quality products. When mobility and independence in energy solutions for all kinds of electronic devices are top of the agenda, there’s no better place to turn than to Germany’s market leader, placed third in the market in Europe.

A synthesis of tradition and innovation

Over the course of the last few decades, VARTA has evolved from a German company with a long-standing tradition into a top international brand. Our site in Ellwangen, southern Germany, is the hub for direct deliveries for our customers and 20 countries and for deliveries via our subsidiaries or distribution partners to a further 70. In peak periods, over 50 trucks a day are cleared to leave the facility. In this way, we can deliver to the majority of customers in Europe within 48 hours. VARTA Consumer employs a total of 700 people in Ellwangen and Dischingen, making it one of the region’s important employers.

A great set-up for international success

As part of the international Spectrum Brands group, which has a wide range of well-known brands sold in over 100 countries around the world, VARTA Consumer, with the VARTA and Rayovac brands, is among the leading European producers of batteries for devices and appliances. We have recently entered into a cooperation agreement with Carrefour, Europe’s largest retail corporation. VARTA quality products, made in Germany, benefit greatly from the group’s development department, while global organization of raw materials purchasing means retailers and consumers enjoy the advantages of better prices. This set-up harnesses a high number of synergy effects and opens the door to substantial cost savings, benefiting retailers and customers.

Constant innovation equals top-quality products

Our innovations set trends for the entire sector: “We’re constantly working to optimize our products and their performance for our customers’ individual and mobile use,” says Patrick Bochet, International Marketing Director for batteries at VARTA Consumer. Right across our business, this commitment has generated innovative products and concepts which bear witness to our mission: VARTA Consumer’s TriEnergy concept, which helps customers choose the right batteries and represents long product life, power and precisely targeted energy, the V-Man (Powerpack) series comprising four devices: two Power Packs, one Home Station and one Universal Plug charger which provide energy for mobile devices, and the “Indestructible” flashlights we launched at the end of 2011, ideal for use anywhere and everywhere and extraordinarily durable.

A sustainable approach to the future

VARTA Consumer’s sustainability strategy states that innovation can only happen in interaction with people and the planet. The company’s sustainability policies are embodied by three central pillars: product responsibility; responsibility to people in general and the company’s employees in particular; and commitment to active involvement in society and the community. Long before sustainability entered the public eye, VARTA Consumer was engaging with the issues by, for instance, focusing in product development processes on considerably reducing or eliminating the use of pollutants. Our Dischingen facility has been producing mercury-free batteries since 1992. We make ongoing savings on raw materials, and benefit the environment, by means of continuous packaging optimization processes, such as those carried out for the 2011 relaunch. When organizing transportation and logistics processes for raw materials, VARTA Consumer chooses shipping over air transport and prioritizes rail before road transportation. VARTA Consumer has been actively involved in creating return systems for batteries since these systems’ inception. Training for employees and involvement in charitable projects at local community and national level are also high on VARTA Consumer’s agenda. 

You can find further information at www.varta-consumer.com

About VARTA Consumer Batteries GmbH & Co. KGaA

VARTA Consumer Batteries is a provider of innovative, high-quality products in the battery, rechargeable battery, charger and torch sectors. Controlled from its European head office in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, its 1,200 employees across 30 countries generate annual sales of around 400 million euros. The German sales company is based in Ellwangen. With powerful product ideas, developed from over a hundred years’ worth of experience, VARTA keeps the mobile energy market moving. Besides its power to innovate, VARTA is unique thanks to the breadth of its range and the quality and design of its products. The secret of a successful product mix: an intensive focus on the lifestyle of one’s consumers and close co-operation with retailers. This makes it possible for VARTA to respond quickly and flexibly to current device trends in the dynamic Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) market and offer the perfect energy solution. VARTA Consumer Batteries GmbH & Co. KGaA is a part of the Spectrum Brands Group, a global company in the consumer goods market and a leading provider of batteries and high-quality garden and pet products as well as shaving and personal care products.