Comparison

DeSnipperaar vs Rhenus Office Systems: archive storage or pure destruction?

11 April 2026 · 6 min read · DeSnipperaar

Rhenus Office Systems is an international player in archive storage and document management. Part of the German Rhenus Group, active in dozens of countries, strongly rooted in the financial sector: banks, insurers, pension funds. With Rhenus, destruction is usually the final step of a longer archive-management process. DeSnipperaar is something quite different: a local, our own pickup service that collects paper, archives and data carriers on demand and destroys them offsite within 24 hours. This article explains when you want which model.

Rhenus in brief

Rhenus serves organisations that, for legal or operational reasons, hold large archives and want to outsource that storage. You hand over your archive, Rhenus stores it in a secure data centre or archive depot, keeps a register, and destroys at the end of the retention period. In addition Rhenus offers digitisation, scanning, workflow solutions and various forms of archive destruction (mobile and offsite).

Strong points: international presence, strict compliance procedures suited to regulated sectors (financial supervision, DNB, AFM), advanced tracking system per box or file, years of experience with long retention periods.

DeSnipperaar in brief

We are here for paper, archives and data carriers. Destruction is the core, but you can also have your archive stored with us or digitised first. We collect your material throughout the Netherlands and destroy it ourselves offsite, usually within 24 hours, with no pickup costs within 35 km of Amsterdam. DIN 66399 P-5 for paper, H-4/E-4 data carriers, certificate per job. Rhenus also offers mobile on-site destruction. We have that too.

Comparison table

Different audience, different model

Rhenus is built for clients who see archive management as a core risk. A bank that has to retain mortgage files for ten years, including audit facilities for DNB, needs a level of logistics and compliance that we simply do not deliver. We do not want to deliver that either: we are not the right fit for ongoing archive retention.

We are built for the final step: the moment the archive no longer has to be kept. Or for organisations that archive perfectly well themselves and only need professional destruction.

What does a difference in model cost?

Rhenus clients typically pay per metre of archive shelf per month, plus destruction costs on execution. That only pays off with a structural storage need over multiple years.

Our costs are simpler. Fixed rates per job, from € 30 per box and € 120 per roll container, with no subscription. For a one-off clear-out or a half-yearly round that is much more efficient.

When do you choose Rhenus?

• You have to archive large quantities of paper over long retention periods.
• You work in a heavily regulated sector (financial, pharma, government).
• You want archive retention and destruction with one party using one tracking system.
• You need scanning or digitisation services.
• You operate internationally and want uniform processes across multiple countries.

When do you choose DeSnipperaar?

• You archive yourself and only want to hire in professional destruction.
• You have an incidental or periodic job without a storage need.
• You are in Amsterdam or within 20 km of it.
• You want fixed, transparent rates without a quotation process.
• You do not want the overhead of an ongoing contract.
• You are a private individual and want the same professional destruction at the same rate.
• You work under professional secrecy and want a certificate of destruction per job.

Possible combination

Some Rhenus clients ask us in between for jobs where a local, our own pickup is relevant, for example a branch move or a one-off clear-out of a department that does not run through the central archive. That works fine as long as both chains are well documented. In that case arrange a separate processor agreement with us.

Honest advice

For a bank or large insurer with archive retention requirements Rhenus (or a comparable party) is simply the right choice. We are not a replacement for that. For SME, professional services and incidental corporate jobs within our region we are a fast, contract-free option. You choose on the basis of your own situation, not on the basis of who shouts loudest.

See also mobile versus offsite shredding for the underlying model choice.

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Unsure what fits? Call us. We are transparent if Rhenus or another party fits you better. Also compare with Shred-it or Archiefvernietiging.nl.