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Dutch motor supplier sets up UK joint venture
Published:  12 April, 2011

A Dutch company that specialises in producing customised motors on short lead times has set up a UK subsidiary in a joint venture with former WEG managing director, David Ede, who has a 49% stake in the business, called Kolmer Electric Motors (UK).

“We are expanding rapidly,” says Kolmer’s sales director, Jerry Spanhaak, “and decided the time was right to increase our presence in the UK. David brings a wealth of experience which will help us grow quickly.”

Kolmer holds a stock of more than 20,000 motors, worth $2m, at its 3,700m2 headquarters in the Netherlands, which includes 460m2 of workshops for re-engineering the motors. “We can press a shaft out and machine a new one and press the new shaft in within a matter of days,” says Spanhaak.

Ede (above) expects to keep about £500,000 worth of stock in Kolmer’s UK warehouse in Lincolnshire, adding that he can also obtain motors quickly from the Dutch base.

In the early 1980s, Kolmer distributed motors made in Poland by the then state-owned Electrim Group. In 1989, Electrim was privatised and Italy’s Cantoni Group bought four of its six motor factories. Kolmer has continued to sell the motors under the Cantoni brand.

As well as the Polish-made motors, Kolmer also offers a range of standard motors made in China to its specifications and sold under the EMK brand, as well as flameproof motors from the Italian manufacturer, CEMP. Its portfolio includes LV and MV motors in ratings from 0.6kW to 4MW.

According to Ede, typical lead times for specials in frame sizes up to 90 will be about four weeks, while larger machines will typically take 6–7 weeks to deliver. He expects, specials to make up about half of Kolmer’s UK business. “There is a lot of choice for standard AC motors [in the UK], but very little choice for special or customised motors on short lead-times,” he points out.

Ede says he is interested in setting up other JVs and is looking to build up a portfolio of electromechanical companies in the UK.