Wanzl acquires majority stake in WSL

On August 1, 2026, the Wanzl Group increased its stake in the former joint venture WSL from 30 percent to 51 percent, thereby acquiring a majority stake in the Group. The retail expert from Leipheim is thus deepening its long-standing cooperation with WSL and strengthening its position as an international solution provider for retail, particularly in the strategically important refrigeration segment. Wanzl and WSL have been working together successfully as part of a joint venture since 2019. During this time, WSL has evolved to become an established supplier of refrigeration appliances, refrigeration technology, and complementary shopfitting solutions. The Group has fostered long-standing customer relationships with leading retail companies in Europe and the Middle East and employs around 100 employees at several locations in Southeast Europe. With the majority acquisition, Wanzl is laying the foundation for making even more targeted use of joint growth potential. Particularly in food retail, the combination of refrigeration and shopfitting solutions opens up additional opportunities for integrated store concepts and a holistic customer approach. The refrigeration segment is becoming an increasingly important aspect of retail. Growing product ranges in the fresh and convenience sector, increasing requirements for energy efficiency and sustainability, as well as regulatory requirements are increasing the demand for modern, reliable, and serviceable refrigeration solutions. This makes refrigeration a central part of modern concepts, with a direct impact on product quality, operational safety, energy consumption, and customer experience.

“With the majority acquisition of WSL, we are strategically driving forward the expansion of our international business while reaffirming our long-term commitment to the refrigeration segment and our shared growth opportunities. The closer integration bundles our strengths and enables us to offer our customers in the food retail sector even more comprehensive solutions from a single source in the future,”says Peter Allaart, CEO of the Wanzl Group.

“As a shareholder, we have accompanied the development of WSL over many years and established a successful partnership together with Wanzl. The acquisition of a majority stake by Wanzl is the logical continuation of this joint path and creates an excellent foundation for further sustainable growth and the successful ongoing development of the company. We are convinced that WSL will benefit from its close integration into the Wanzl Group while maintaining its entrepreneurial strength, innovative drive, and customer proximity,” said Tomaž Smeh and Aleksandar Lazić, shareholders and members of the WSL Group Supervisory Board.

WSL brings a broad portfolio of services in the areas of refrigeration appliances, refrigeration technology, shopfitting, logistics, as well as installation and maintenance services, and will retain its entrepreneurial character, customer proximity, market knowledge, and agility even after the majority acquisition. Greater integration into Wanzl’s international sales and customer network opens up additional opportunities for the Group to provide customers with even more comprehensive support in the future, tap into new markets, and drive growth together. This underlines Wanzl’s long-term commitment to the retail sector and marks another step toward the targeted development of its international solutions portfolio.