About us
Louet is a 2nd generation manufacturing company
Louet Inc is the North Americain distributor for Louet spinning and weaving equipment. Louet Inc is owned by the manufacturer, Louet BV and operated by Pam and Dave Van Stralen.
Pam and Dave have been involved with distributing for Louet BV since the early 90’s and there is nobody in North America who knows Louet equipment better than Dave.
Dave operates much of Louet’s worldwide customer support and we are organized to have good communication wit the factory and even Jan Louet, when needed, to answer your questions.
Louët BV was founded October 1, 1974 by Jan Louët Feisser and Clemens Claessen. In the preceding spring, the development and first sales of the modern spinning wheel the S10 were so promising that Jan said goodbye to his job and asked his friend and fellow student Clemens (both of whom are industrial designers) to become part of the start-up company. The first production took place in a chicken coop designed as a workshop in the yard of Jan’s parents, who lived just in the country.
The success was partly due to “right time, right place, right product”; nowhere in the world did the hobby of spinning grow as explosively as in the Netherlands. But with its remarkable appearance and user-friendliness, the S10 has literally made spinning understandable and has aroused interest in the hobby for many. Orders came in. Friends and family assisted in production to meet demand. The chicken coop became tight and the double garage, which was built to expand the business space, only offered a temporary solution.
The idea was born, also supported by a growing wallet, to buy a large building somewhere where they could live and work. It was spring 1976 and it became a farm house in Laren, in the east of the Netherlands, large enough to live with 2 families after renovation, while the barn offered a large doubling of the business space. The production also expanded in width; more products were designed and interest from abroad led to growing exports. The staff also grew in number. Jan’s former employer came to visit, oversaw the performance and drew a line to the future. He gave wise advice: “You are entrepreneurs, but not real managers. Focus on the things you are good at. When your company keeps growing, you need someone who is good in taking care of the daily management and worries. This advice was taken to heart and thus Theo Vervoorn was found at Clemens’s former employer and brought in as a manager.
The company also outgrew the barn and under Clemens’ management the plan was worked out to build a factory building on the “Kwinkweerd” industrial area in Lochem. Kwinkweerd 139 was inaugurated in 1979. After a later expansion it still forms a suitable accommodation.
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