Kohler Energy has officially rebranded under its new corporate name Rehlko, utilizing the same six letters that comprise the Kohler name. The name change marks a major milestone in the company's 100-plus-year history delivering energy solutions that provide independence, agility, and security to mission-critical infrastructure, facilities and residences.
Rehlko will continue operating as an independent enterprise. The company became a stand-alone entity in May 2024 when Platinum Equity completed a transaction with Kohler Co. to establish then-Kohler Energy as a stand-alone business. Platinum Equity is the majority owner of Rehlko with Kohler Co. remaining an investment partner.
"We are embracing our future as an independent company with the new Rehlko brand and celebrating our legacy and our commitment for tackling the most complex energy challenges, and the values that guide everything we do and stand for," said Brian Melka, Rehlko CEO. "Our company's new name is derived from the six letters of Kohler and reflects the reliability, resolve, reinvention, and resilience that have been – and will remain – the hallmarks of this organization in addressing the ever-evolving distributed energy needs of the marketplace."
Rehlko will continue to provide control, resilience and innovation through a comprehensive range of energy solutions, including power generation, energy storage, and renewable energy technologies among others.
Rehlko operates a broad portfolio of leading businesses including Power Systems, Engines, Uninterruptible Power, Home Energy, Clarke Energy, Curtis Instruments, and Heila Technologies. Kohler Power Systems and Kohler Engines will lead the enterprise portfolio brand transition by officially becoming Rehlko branded by the end of 2024.
"This rebranding is more than just a clever name change,” said Francis Perrin, chief brand and sustainability officer at Rehlko. “The letters that comprise the name Rehlko reflect our 100-plus years of rich heritage under the Kohler brand and represent a bold step forward in our journey to continue building and powering a sustainable energy future. Our new brand repositions our business at the forefront of innovation and energy resilience technology and showcases our proven ability to deliver to our customers with the energy reliability and control that they demand and require. The Rehlko brand is more focused and purpose-driven than ever before."
Melka officially unveiled the new enterprise Rehlko brand at the Fast Company Innovation Festival on September 17th and will soon launch its new corporate website – Rehlko.com. Over the coming weeks and months, the company will support its new enterprise rebranding through a multi-faceted marketing effort including a targeted advertising campaign to introduce Rehlko across top- tier business and trade industry media publications, with the theme "Resilience is Reinvention."
The company is also thrilled to continue its partnership with two of the Interpublic Group's global communications and branding agencies, The Weber Shandwick Collective and FutureBrand, who have been supporting brand launch and brand design efforts, respectively.
Headquartered in Wisconsin, Rehlko will maintain operations in more than 100 locations across the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. For more information go to Rehlko.com.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.