Rehlko: New brand ushers in a new era

The Kohler name evokes 100-plus years of history across a variety of markets, including in energy solutions. So, the announcement that Kohler Energy would be moving away from the iconic brand and changing its name to Rehlko came as a surprise to many.

Photo: Becky Schultz

Yet, it’s not as big a departure as it may initially seem. “Rehlko is actually an anagram of Kohler. We reshuffled the Kohler letters,” said Francis Perrin, chief brand and sustainability officer. But, as he was quick to add, “it’s much more than that because there’s a lot of meaning behind it.”

More than a clever play on letters, the name signifies both the organization’s heritage under the Kohler brand, he said, and represents “a bold step forward in our journey to continue building and powering a sustainable energy future.”

Embracing autonomy

The business formerly known as Kohler Energy was established as a standalone company in May 2024, when Kohler Company announced completion of a transaction in which Platinum Equity became Kohler Energy’s majority owner and Kohler remained an investment partner.

Still headquartered in Wisconsin, the newly independent business maintains its operations in more than 100 locations across the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Its portfolio includes Power Systems, Engines, Uninterruptible Power, Home Energy, Clarke Energy, Curtis Instruments and Heila Technologies.

With the rebranding to Rehlko, the company is embracing its autonomy, with its attention fully focused on providing energy solutions – including power generation, energy storage and renewable energy technologies, among others – to help its customers meet complex energy challenges.

Franics Perrin (Photo: Becky Schultz)

“The strategic imperative was… allowing Kohler Co. to focus on what they do best – kitchen, bath, plumbing, lifestyle products. And on our side, to focus on what we do best – provide energy solutions where and when the grid doesn’t,” Perrin said. “Now we have our own brand, we have our own strategy, we’re very optimistic. We think there’s a lot of growth in front of us – a lot of opportunities.”

The new brand is intended to reposition the business “at the forefront of innovation and energy resilience technology,” Perrin asserted, and showcase its ability to deliver the energy reliability and control that customers want and need.

“We think the [Rehlko] brand will enable us to do all this,” he said, adding that the company “is more focused and purpose-driven than ever before.”

The Power Systems and Engines divisions are scheduled to lead the transition in rebranding to Rehlko by the end of 2024, with select other divisions following in future.

Continuity for customers

From the outside in, it appears the company is undergoing a major transformation in a very short period of time. But Perrin assured that the changes are largely on the surface; it’s still the same company with the same expertise and offerings.

“Right now, our focus is actually continuity – making sure we tell the story to our customers nothing is changing... We’re still commercializing the same, reliable products. We’re not reorganizing. Our customers are going to be dealing with the same people; the ways of working will be the same,” he emphasized.

In fact, the biggest change customers are likely to notice, Perrin said, is more focus and more speed. “As a standalone, more autonomous company, we’ll be able to make decisions faster. That’s going to be a key benefit.”

While Rehlko’s products and people remain the same, industry dynamics continue to change. It’s required the shift to a partnership approach with more and more OEMs.

“Our engineers sit with their engineers and come up with solutions. We’re almost evolving towards a service industry, providing engineering and help with their important projects,” Perrin noted.

The Power Systems and Engines divisions are scheduled to lead the transition in rebranding to Rehlko by the end of 2024. (Photo: Becky Schultz)

The ability to capitalize on synergies between the different divisions within Rehlko is enabling it to deliver more complete packages to customers. For example, take Curtis Instruments, a company specializing in integrated systems for electric vehicles and hybrid applications that was acquired by Kohler Co. in early 2022. Likely to retain its current name due to its brand equity with customers in its markets, this equity is now being used to open doors to broader solutions.

“Among many things, [Curtis produces] great controllers for off-highway vehicles. So more and more we’re meeting with OEMs with a representative of our Engines business and a representative of our Curtis business and looking at solutions,” Perrin explained. “It obviously opens opportunity for both companies.”

It can also open new markets; for example, Curtis previously had little presence in the turf industry. “We’re introducing them. A lot of our turf OEMs are looking for more electrification and more electrified solutions,” Perrin said. “It’s happening slowly, but it’s happening organically. It’s two organizations, two cultures, sure, but we’re very optimistic about the future growth there.”

Looking to the future

Rehlko is optimistic about ongoing innovation, as well, including the potential for future fuels such as hydrogen.

The first REhlko Fuel Cell System - the result of a collaboration between the company formerly called Kohler Energy and Toyota - will be installed at Klickitat Valley Health in Goldendale, Washington. (Photo: Rehlko)

The company previewed its KDH hydrogen internal combustion engine at Agritechnica 2023 last November, plus announced in early 2024 its collaboration with Toyota Motor North America for fuel cell power systems. “We have actual projects where we’re going to be commercializing some backup generators with hydrogen fuel cell solutions by the end of this year,” Perrin stated.

Electrification is another area being explored. “We see the market, especially in smaller engines, electrifying so we’re looking at that closely,” said Perrin.

“At the same time, we’re very confident, on the larger engines, that currently a clean diesel engine offers great value and allows our OEMs to achieve their goals very efficiently,” he continued. “Instead of thinking we’re going to unplug all fossil fuels from one day to the next, it’s more about an energy transition. No one has a crystal ball to know whether it’s going to take 10 or 50 years to get that transition. So, we see our goal as a company as to enable that transition at the right pace and the pace of our customers.”

To that end, he pointed out that all Rehlko diesel engines are certified for use with hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) for those customers seeking further sustainability from traditional power sources.

Perrin went on to hint at more in store, with advancements in both traditional and new power system technologies to come.

“Right now, on the engine side, it’s a lot of R&D preparing for the future. This is really important because these changes are going happen,” he said. “So, we’re going to [continue] R&D to make sure we always look at more and more sustainable solutions going forward.”