Develops and manufactures weatherproof aluminium transport boxes for cargo bikes for courier, trade and promotion
Hessel's Cargofornia GmbH
Berlin (Boxberger Straße 13)New on Amplifa
About rhino®
Hessel's Cargofornia GmbH (brand rhino®, 'Made in Berlin, since 2015') develops and produces modular transport boxes for cargo bikes made of weatherproof, lightweight aluminium. The range comprises more than 90 model variants in four product lines – The Courier for courier services, The Craftsman for trades and electricians, The Host for catering and breweries, and The Vendor for market and street vending – with volumes of around 118 to 450 litres and weights of 12.5 to 25 kg. The boxes are lockable and optionally available with a reinforced base plate and interior insulation; colour design and custom builds are available on request. Development, design, sales and customer service are based in Berlin; production is carried out with a long-standing partner in the same building using regional sheet metal and machinery from Europe, with 100 % green power as the goal. Before series production, prototypes are tested in real-world use; every box is checked by hand. Fleet customers include Cyclofix, Shimano and DHL.
- Site
- Berlin
- Processes
- Laser applications for plastics and metal processing (box production), Sheet metal working (sheet metal from the region, production with partner in the same building), Prototyping and product development of transport boxes, Manual quality inspection of the boxes, Custom builds and customer-specific adaptations on request, Colour selection according to customer preference, Optional reinforced base plate, Optional interior insulation
- Materials
- weatherproof aluminium, Aluminium (high quality, lightweight), Sheet metal (regional, material not further specified), Weatherproof aluminium (high quality, lightweight), Plastics
- Certificates
- Manual quality inspection of every box
- Founded
- 2015
- Industries
- Courier and delivery services, Trades (including electricians), Catering and breweries, Market and street vending/promotion, Cargo bike fleet operators
- 01
Engineering and design (Berlin)
- 02
Prototype construction and testing
- 03
Sheet metal working of regional aluminium (partner in the same building)
- 04
Laser applications for plastics and metal processing
- 05
Assembly of the boxes
- 06
Manual quality inspection
- 07
Sales and customer service
- 08
Repair service
Materials and processes
Weatherproof aluminium (high quality, lightweight)
Main material of all rhino® transport boxes; guarantees stability at low weight and is rust-free.
Plastics
Processed in conjunction with laser applications for the production of the boxes.
Locations
Berlin
DEHead office with development, design, production (partner in the same building), sales and customer service
- Part weight / size
- 12,5–25 kg
- Lot size
- Custom builds and series models
- Materials
- Aluminium
- Laser applications for plastics and metal processing (with partner)
Transport boxes
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joining | – | – | 12.5 kg – 25 kg | – | weatherproof aluminium, aluminium sheet |
| Laser applications for plastics and metal processing (box production)Machining | – | – | – | – | Aluminium, Plastics |
| Sheet metal working (sheet metal from the region, production with partner in the same building)Forming | – | – | – | – | Aluminium |
| Prototyping and product development of transport boxesEngineering | – | – | – | – | Aluminium |
| Manual quality inspection of the boxesTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
Additional services
Reference customers
Quality
Every box is checked by hand, not waved through on the assembly line. Before series production, new models undergo prototype construction and testing in street service.
| Evidence | Berlin |
|---|---|
| Manual quality inspection of every box |
History
- 2010
Sven sees a Bullitt cargo bike for the first time and becomes curious.
- 2011
Sven rides a Bullitt cargo bike himself.
- 2014
Construction of the first setups (mobile bar); master's thesis on urban mobility.
- 2015
The bar becomes the first promo box; founding of the rhino® brand ('Made in Berlin, since 2015').
- 2018
Cyclofix becomes a fleet customer.
- 2020
Shimano becomes a fleet customer.
- 2021
DHL becomes a fleet customer.
- 2025
Official renaming to Cargofornia GmbH as of 1 September 2025.