Together, the Gollhofen-based company Frankana Caravan und Freizeit GmbH and its affiliated company Freiko are Europe’s leading wholesaler for camping and leisure accessories. Since it was founded in 1982, Frankana has been growing continuously and now supplies more than 3000 specialist retailers around the world.

1982 - 1983: Our beginnings in Eibelstadt

The structural change in the caravan industry at the beginning of the 1980s forced KNAUS to close down its main plants in Ochsenfurt and Marktbreit. This led five former employees of Knaus – Roman Angly, Werner and Dieter Galauke, Hans Geisendörfer and Wilfried Neumann – to join forces and found Frankana. Back then, they were focused on repairing recreational vehicles and selling leisure articles and spare parts by retail. Additionally, they supplied various West German specialist camping retailers with vehicles. 

From 1984: Our move to Marktbreit

Due to its rapid growth, the shareholders decided to move the company and its then 14 employees into the abandoned Knaus branch plant in Marktbreit just one year later. At that time, they were already increasingly supplying specialist retailers in German-speaking countries. During the first few years of its existence, Frankana already established itself as a competent, reliable partner, which resulted in a steadily growing volume of orders.

They also manufactured food trucks and car trailers, though this was outsourced in 1990 to its newly founded affiliated company Freiko (Freizeit-Kochgeräte = leisure cooking appliances). At the same time, a branch was founded in Thuringia. It has since specialised in fast shipping.

Over the next few years, Frankana grew steadily, so that new warehouses needed to be built every 2-3 years. In 2002, a new 700 m² camping shop was opened in Marktbreit. At that time, there was already another 1000 m² hall used for repairs on motorhomes and caravans.

Since 2014: The joint wholesale Frankana Freiko in Gollhofen

Due to the ever-increasing product range, the warehouse space in Marktbreit was at some point no longer sufficient. The company needed a new, larger warehouse. In November 2012, the then shareholders Wilfried Neumann, Hans Geisendörfer and Klaus Büttner started the construction of Frankana's new logistics and administration centre with the symbolic ground-breaking ceremony. The building is located in Gollhofen, only a few metres away from Frankana’s affiliated company Freiko.

The sale and renting of recreational vehicles, as well as the associated workshop and accessories shop, were outsourced to maincamp. This company kept its old location in Markbreit and, after several modernisation measures, still operates from there today.

In 2014, more than thirty years after Frankana was founded, a highly modern, central warehouse was built on a 40,000 sqm plot of land. At the same time, the company also built a completely new, three-storey office building and moved the employees there at the beginning of 2014. Thanks to yet another new building, which was completed in 2020, more than 13,000 different items relating to camping accessories and spare parts are now stored and dispatched there on a total of 30,000 m². Frankana is now particularly known for its company-owned vehicle fleet and its specialist retailer training courses and trade fairs.

At the end of 2016, Frankana urgently needed a technical update in the warehousing and picking process in the new warehouse. The goal was to increase efficiency, optimise the workflow and save time. Health, especially that of the employees, was an important factor as well. Thanks to the new conveyor technology, they can now work in an ergonomic way that is easy on the back and joints.

Freiko’s office building had also seen better days. The old building had been built as a lightweight construction in 1995 and was in need of a renovation. In addition, they started having space problems due to the company’s steady growth. That's why a spacious, climate-optimised new building was constructed about 50 m away from the old one. The new building is particularly environmentally friendly and energy-efficient thanks to its air conditioning through concrete core activation and a ventilation system with heat recovery. In autumn 2016, the Freiko team moved into the new building. The old office building was demolished in favour of a new warehouse.

Today, Frankana and Freiko operate exclusively as wholesale companies. Many different camping accessories are purchased from manufacturers, stored in Gollhofen and in Uhlstädt-Kirchhasel, and then delivered to specialised trade partners all over the world. The companies strongly support their trade partners and offer them training, direct deliveries and individual consultations with shop concepts.

The specialist retailer exhibition is an integral part of our company philosophy. The exhibition is unique in the industry – on 1100 sqm, we present current products at a height of 6 m in a surrounding gallery. You can inspect and test the products on site. Our in-house trade fairs and specialist retailer conferences also take place in the vicinity of the exhibition.

It is particularly important to us that the areas of storage and transport are well coordinated. Every specialist retailer benefits from a wholesaler who supplies them with goods quickly, after all. In addition to the transport and availability of goods, the variety of our product range is also a priority for us.

In keeping with our motto "Hand in hand with the specialised trade" (in the original: Hand in Hand mit dem Fachhandel), we support our specialist retailers with regular technical and sales training courses at our training centre in Gollhofen. Of course, we also offer distance training. And for technical questions, our team advises our retailers over the phone.

We are the right partner for you.