Last month, this article appeared in Business Club Insights.
Van West Refrigeration.
The name itself may not tell you much.
And yet chances are, you use one of their products almost every day.
Owner Luke Blauw proudly talks about his company, which may blow out 100 candles in 2023. “Indeed, you can find our work all over the country. In fact, here in ‘t Harde we make air and water coolers for, for example, coffee and soft drink machines of well-known brands. But also for refrigerators, office and home ventilation water coolers and Bavaria’s keg cooling.”
Luke Blauw took over Van West Koeltechniek in early 2020 from his father Johan, who ran the company for more than 20 years. Started in shipping Van West has its roots in shipping.
In 1923, Wouter van West started a machine factory in Amsterdam.
There he repaired engine parts of steam engines and produced cooling equipment and piston rings for marine diesels.
The cooling equipment department moved to the Veluwe in 1971.
First to Heerde and in 1998 to the present factory in ‘t Harde. 
From anywhere “‘t Harde is an excellent location for us,” Luke explains.
“It’s in the middle of the Netherlands, right on the highway, so it’s easy to travel to. Also for our employees, who come from everywhere except ‘t Harde. I myself live with my family in Harderwijk. Here in our hall we have specialized in the development and production of coolers. Mainly for third parties, but also under our own label, from 1 to 2,500 pieces. The most important thing is, that we can and want to provide our customers with customized solutions. Our coolers do not fit approximately, but exactly in their machines. We are very keen on that.” Unique in the Netherlands In the market for serial small cooling technology, Van West is unique in the Netherlands.
There are companies that make larger coolers, but our direct competitors come mainly from Germany, Great Britain and Italy.
Luke: “Fortunately, Dutch companies know how to find us. We have good contacts with the manufacturers of larger coolers. We also recommend each other to customers if a product suits us or them more.” 
Quality Up Luke himself has been working at Van West Koeltechniek for years.
First as a part-time job, since 3 years full-time.
And now as owner.
“That’s how I slowly but surely got to know the company inside and out and took over with confidence from my father. Now it is my turn to bring my own vision to the company. I have started to standardize the work even more tightly. Every step in the process is defined so that we all work the same way. As a result, we work more efficiently and the quality is higher.” Ready for the next century “Van West Koeltechniek exists 100 years. Of course we are going to celebrate that, but that is not the most important thing for me. I want to get the company ready for the 100 years after that. Not by growing very fast or making a lot of money. That doesn’t suit us. We want to be a stable and sustainable company that stands for quality and craftsmanship.” Spreading opportunities Luke seeks stability primarily through product development and entering new markets.
“It is important that we spread our opportunities. Where we now mainly make water coolers, we also see opportunities in the development of air coolers. A very nice example are air coolers that are incorporated into green waste containers. This makes them suitable for indoor locations without smelling there.” Beyond the Netherlands “We are also spreading opportunities by looking abroad. A study that we commissioned shows that there are mainly opportunities in Germany and Sweden. The mentality in those countries is similar to ours and doing business within the EU is easy. We now have our first customer in both Germany and Sweden, but the focus is now first on northern and western Germany.” Challenges “In order to tap new markets, we are working hard on our online findability. Our website is there in two languages, Dutch and English, and soon also in German. We are also professionalizing our marketing through SEO, link building and sales funnel mapping. We also want to grow to a team of about 7 mechanics. And that is perhaps our biggest challenge. After all, good technical personnel are scarce.” Sustainability An important development in the refrigeration market is sustainability.
Luke: “Our customers want to reduce their carbon footprint and make their vending machines as environmentally friendly as possible.
We are responding to this by filling more and more coolers with propane.
That refrigerant is virtually CO2 neutral.
Moreover, we ensure top quality, so the coolers last extra long.
And at the end of their service life, they are almost completely recyclable.
With the exception of a few small parts, we never have to throw anything away. Rather close than cheap That sustainability is also in Van West’s choice of suppliers.
“Of course, we can often get material much cheaper in China or other countries in Asia. But I prefer to get it closer. Preferably from the Netherlands, but sometimes also from Italy, Portugal or Spain. That way we reduce transport movements and are less of a burden on the environment.” Cooperation on the Veluwe On the Veluwe, Van West Koeltechniek does not yet cooperate intensively with many companies.
If it were up to Luke Blauw, that would change: There is a lot of manufacturing industry in the region.
This includes companies that produce something that requires some form of refrigeration technology.
And that can be very broad.
If they are non-standard solutions, we are at our best.
We like to talk to companies like that.