Dutch J.A. Raymakers & Co BV Acquired by Richard Oussoren
September 30, 2004
HELMOND, Netherlands – Royal Dutch Fabric Mills J.A. Raymakers & Co BV has been acquired by Richard Oussoren as of September 1 of this year. Oussoren, the former Business Unit Manager of Luxaflex® Europe, and member of the Management Team of Hunter Douglas Europe, assumes the general management of the company.
Oussoren feels his knowledge of the industry will serve the company well. "Raymakers is in about the same industry as Luxaflex," says Richard Oussoren. "I had good contacts with the former owners, Van Hout and De Kort, who managed the company successfully for over 15 years and knew what company I was buying."
Oussoren said both Van Hout and De Kort "will continue to support the company. The first of the two will do this with operational consulting, the latter with export sales consulting. I will bring in my 13 years of experience in various positions on marketing, sales and general management within the Hunter Douglas organization."
"My plan is to invest further in product development, both on the technical as well as on the design side. In doing this, the 'new' Raymakers will focus pretty much on what its previous owners already did, for Van Hout and De Kort already emphasized the need for high production standards and excellent customer service," he said. Just don't expect any major changes from the beginning. "In my first 100 days, I will mainly listen and learn," he says.
At Decosit in September, Oussoren won a "Trend Award" in the category "new values, new tradition," with Jaspé. Jaspé is a new development of a special garment, made of polyester and cotton. The materials are painted together, which results in a 'mixture', which brings a two-color effect to the forefront. It illustrates how the Dutch velvet specialist kept its finger at the pulse of the market before the acquistion.
"I am very pleased my new company immediately won an award," Richard Oussoren continues. "With Jaspé, an old product, velvet, that existed for hundreds of years already, begins a new life. By using our yarns in a different way and by giving it more color and extra designs, our velours meet the current market demand for softer fabrics and richer decoration. It illustrates how one can make an old product fashionable again, by investing in product development."
The Dutch company has been the leading supplier of cotton and Trevira CS velvets for both the residential and contract markets, and its production facilities consist of velvet, jacquard and dornier looms, as well as many dying and finishing techniques. Additionally, Raymakers also produces pile fabrics on polyester, wool, viscose and mohair. Flat woven fabrics are manufactured for both residential and contract use in Trevira CS and other polyesters.
With Raymakers, Oussoren acquires a company which dates back to 1773 and currently employs about 185 people. Part of the group is British Velvets Ltd., a British company which specializes in open-end cotton velvets.
Oussoren feels his knowledge of the industry will serve the company well. "Raymakers is in about the same industry as Luxaflex," says Richard Oussoren. "I had good contacts with the former owners, Van Hout and De Kort, who managed the company successfully for over 15 years and knew what company I was buying."
Oussoren said both Van Hout and De Kort "will continue to support the company. The first of the two will do this with operational consulting, the latter with export sales consulting. I will bring in my 13 years of experience in various positions on marketing, sales and general management within the Hunter Douglas organization."
"My plan is to invest further in product development, both on the technical as well as on the design side. In doing this, the 'new' Raymakers will focus pretty much on what its previous owners already did, for Van Hout and De Kort already emphasized the need for high production standards and excellent customer service," he said. Just don't expect any major changes from the beginning. "In my first 100 days, I will mainly listen and learn," he says.
At Decosit in September, Oussoren won a "Trend Award" in the category "new values, new tradition," with Jaspé. Jaspé is a new development of a special garment, made of polyester and cotton. The materials are painted together, which results in a 'mixture', which brings a two-color effect to the forefront. It illustrates how the Dutch velvet specialist kept its finger at the pulse of the market before the acquistion.
"I am very pleased my new company immediately won an award," Richard Oussoren continues. "With Jaspé, an old product, velvet, that existed for hundreds of years already, begins a new life. By using our yarns in a different way and by giving it more color and extra designs, our velours meet the current market demand for softer fabrics and richer decoration. It illustrates how one can make an old product fashionable again, by investing in product development."
The Dutch company has been the leading supplier of cotton and Trevira CS velvets for both the residential and contract markets, and its production facilities consist of velvet, jacquard and dornier looms, as well as many dying and finishing techniques. Additionally, Raymakers also produces pile fabrics on polyester, wool, viscose and mohair. Flat woven fabrics are manufactured for both residential and contract use in Trevira CS and other polyesters.
With Raymakers, Oussoren acquires a company which dates back to 1773 and currently employs about 185 people. Part of the group is British Velvets Ltd., a British company which specializes in open-end cotton velvets.
