Known as a distributor of brands for the Dutch market, Jeveka has taken the big step of developing not one but two of its own brands – Jextar and Jeclin. Editor Will Lowry visited the company’s head office in Almere, 20km outside Amsterdam, to find out more.
With over 80 years’ experience within the distribution market, Jeveka B.V has been a long-term supplier of key brands within the Dutch market. “As a business we have grown through partnering with recognised brands. For instance, our first brand partnership was with Unbrako® in 1946,” mentions Stephanie Veltkamp, joint managing director at Jeveka. “In fact, in the Netherlands Unbrako and Jeveka are almost synonyms for each other to a lot of companies. From this, we have introduced other brands and products including the KATO range of torsion springs, wire forms and CoilThread® inserts. For every brand we make sure we have an in-depth stock so that we can answer all our customers’ needs.”
After working with leading brands within the market, Jeveka decided it was time to introduce its own. “It was a very big challenge for us, as there were a lot of steps we needed to take before introducing both products to the market,” explains Adriaan Veltkamp, joint managing director at Jeveka and brother of Stephanie. “First of all, for the Jextar we wanted to work with a manufacturer that would be able to consistently meet the exacting high standards we required.”
Jeveka spent 3 – 4 years researching manufacturers to see which had the capability and capacity to produce the Jextar. “We have a lot of technical knowledge within the company, and we also have our own in-house testing facility, so we could assess and qualify the suppliers and the products they produced,” points out Adriaan. “Once we had found the right manufacturer we started by focusing on one diameter to ensure we could achieve the necessary quality and also the reliability to consistently produce that quality going forward. Once we were happy we developed other diameters with the manufacturer.”
Jextar – a new champion in stainless steel
After extensive research and testing, Jeveka introduced the Jextar screw into the market in 2018. Jextar is a high-quality, high strength stainless steel cap screw of A4-80 quality with a tensile strength of over 900N/mm2. Sizes from M3 to M8 are available from stock, with Jeveka having the option to expand the range according to market demands.
“We developed Jextar because in many critical applications fasteners need to be stainless steel, but the normal A4-80 just isn’t strong enough,” states Stephanie. “The Jextar is a high-quality solution that is able to comfortably meet these demands and offers an alternative to other fasteners on the market. In addition, every batch of Jextar is tested and provided with a 3.1 certificate and tensile strength testing report.” Adriaan adds: “The Jextar is already experiencing good growth and we want to grow it even further. It is a very niche market, but we see a lot of potential. That is why we are giving samples to customers, so they can try the product first-hand and see for themselves how good it works. Most importantly, we have the full range in stock and we can provide a reliability in supply – in Jextar branded boxes, with no mention of Jeveka.”
Jeclin fasteners for cleanrooms
For the Jeclin brand, Jeveka used its experience in supplying the cleanroom and vacuum applications market to develop its own technology and range that would meet customers’ needs. “There are other companies worldwide that can produce vacuum products, but those products are lower grade A2 or A4-70,” explains Stephanie. “If you drill a hole in them the screw gets weaker. For the Jeclin brand we decided to use A4-80 and higher grades, which creates a much stronger product, even if you drill a hole through it.”
The Jeclin range includes socket, hexagon, nuts, captive, washers, pins and a wide selection of vented products – characterised by a standard quality of A4-80 and also available in stainless steel (AISI 316 en A4), inconel and titanium TiAl6v4 (Grades 2 and 5).
“Similar to Jextar, this is a very niche market and we found suppliers did not always have a wide range available,” adds Adriaan. “The reason is these types of products are usually considered specials and produced to order. However, we have both ranges in stock as a standard range, which means we can ensure quick efficient supply to customers.”
Guaranteeing a reliable supply
Establishing a full range of sizes and products for both Jextar and Jeclin – in stock – was a significant factor for Jeveka before launching the products. “You often find suppliers only have the quick selling sizes and products of a specific brand, rather than having the entire range available,” states Stephanie. “However, if you want to be a distributor of the brand, we think it is critical you have the entire range – providing a single source. That is why we have a full range of Jextar and Jeclin in stock, as well as the other brands we supply to the market – such as Unbrako and KATO.”
A big part of Jeveka’s stock capability, and the development of the company as a whole, is its modern warehouse, which it moved into in 2014. “Our previous location was near the Amsterdam Arena and other large venues and it had become too small, and we needed space to grow,” mentions Adriaan. “Amsterdam is also a very expensive and busy city, so transport was time-consuming. It was also difficult to attract new employees as the living costs were so high.”
The new warehouse provides easy access to trucks and makes the commute easier for employees. Jeveka has also been able to increase its stock across all products even further and there is still space for further expansion within the warehouse as and when required. “Over the last twelve months availability has become a major factor for customers, whereas before pricing was always the key,” says Adriaan. “Through our warehouse, as well as our wide and in-depth stock, we can supply throughout Europe within 24 hours as standard, with customers able to order until 16:00 – with the products shipped the same day.”
Stephanie concludes: “Being able to guarantee the product is where it needs to be, when it needs to be, is crucial. That is why we take stock availability seriously and also why we ensure we have a complete range to meet customers’ needs. The introduction of the Jextar and Jeclin brands gives us another opportunity to grow as a business, as well as establish both brands within their respective markets.”
Will joined Fastener + Fixing Magazine in 2007 and over the last 15 years has experienced every facet of the fastener sector - interviewing key figures within the industry and visiting leading companies and exhibitions around the globe.
Will manages the content strategy across all platforms and is the guardian for the high editorial standards that the Magazine is renowned.
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