The range of services offered by the drone-based delivery project LieferMichel in Germany continues to grow: as of this week, DIY enthusiasts can now also have urgently needed small items from the DIY store PROFI MERTINS in Michelstadt sent to them quickly and easily using a Wingcopter delivery drone and an electric cargo bike. Users can choose from a range of products weighing up to 4 kilograms – from screws and light bulbs to cordless screwdrivers.
PROFI MERTINS is a specialist DIY and home improvement store that is run as an independent family business in their third generation. The company has been known in the Odenwald region for decades as a reliable partner for both DIY enthusiasts and professional users.
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Most recently, non-prescription medicines from a local pharmacy were added to the LieferMichel range at www.liefermichel.de. The grocery store chain REWE, the local supplier of regional produce, Odenwaldbox, and Bundesliga club SV Darmstadt 98 are also represented on the platform.
“We are delighted to be part of this innovative project and to be able to offer our customers in Würzberg and Rehbach an additional service. When my grandfather opened our first store 90 years ago, he very quickly purchased a small van to be able to deliver to customers further away. Today, we make shopping easier for customers by flying orders for smaller goods to them by drone – a great development,” comments Stephan Mertins, Managing Director of PROFI MERTINS.
“It’s great that more and more retailers from a wide range of product categories are taking part in this pilot project. This underlines the fact that companies, especially in rural regions, are open to new approaches and are thinking about how they can make life easier for their customers,” says Ansgar Kadura, co-founder and Chief Services Officer of Wingcopter.
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Prof. Dr. Kai-Oliver Schocke, President of the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, adds: “The project shows how necessary it is to supply the population in rural areas with all the products they need on a daily basis!”
LieferMichel is a pilot project by Wingcopter and the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) as part of the “Innovative Air Mobility” funding directive. The aim of the research project is to test the use of delivery drones in regular operations and to gain important insights for the future commercialization of such a delivery service. In addition to Wingcopter and the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, the city of Michelstadt, REWE, Vodafone and Riese & Müller are also involved in the project.
