Placed on Monday 27 September 2010
Rimas BV in Beringe, long active in the production and sale of modular building systems, is rapidly expanding its activities relating to solar energy. Following the development of a system to measure cracks in solar cells, there are now plans for a complete solar panel production system. The company expects to make substantial growth and in preparation for this has called upon the Limburg Investment and Development Company LIOF to provide them with extra financing. LIOF has provided the necessary venture capital and has thereby taken a 25% share in Rimas’ share capital. Eurotech in Venlo, specialist in aluminium sand casting, machining and modular construction, has taken a 12.5% share.
Rimas, set up in 1994, is active in the sale of mechanical components, such as aluminium profiles and frames. Alongside this the company develops and builds assembly lines and transfer systems for both manual and automated production processes.
In 2005 Mark Verstraten took over Rimas in a management buy-out from the former shareholders. Under his management Rimas has developed new activities in the area of solar energy. Since the takeover, the company has grown from 12 to 30 employees and has been able to more than double its turnover. During the next few years, the company aims to grow in the solar energy sector in particular.
With the modular building systems as a strong and solid basis, the company has been able to extend by developing its own innovations. In 2008, Rimas was able to obtain a contribution of € 230,000 from the OP-Zuid programme to develop the highly innovative system to measure cracks in solar cells (Resonance Ultrasonic Vibrations). The system is ready for the market and the first examples have now been installed at the end-users.
The new turnkey production system for solar panels (a set of solar cells that are fitted together and which are installed as an end-product on roofs, for instance) further develops solutions which have already proved successful in Germany, Italy, UK, Africa and Cyprus. Rimas aims specifically at the middle segment of the solar panel production chain, where semi-automatic production lines ensure a good price-quality basis. Two concrete projects, from Canada and Bangladesh, are already in the pipeline
Entrepreneur Mark Verstraten is happy with the fact that LIOF and Eurotech are supporting his company: “With LIOF I have gained financial muscle, which is essential to be able to carry out the intended expansion investment responsibly. In addition, LIOF can introduce me to relevant networks both within the solar sector and alongside it. Eurotech is enabling me, as a strong supplier and module builder, to grow flexibly and to control my costs.”
