Feltest 20-year anniversary

We are blowing up the balloons and hanging the garlands, because there is something to celebrate: it is Feltest’s 20-year anniversary! For this special occasion, founder and owner Marcel Lensvelt was interviewed: 

How did Feltest start? What was the intention behind it?

‘In the 70s, my parents and I moved from the big city to a more wooded area. Since it was close by, my father started working in the chemical lab at Albany International. He eventually grew into a felt designer, and to design the felts better, he needed a way to measure the thickness of running felts. Together with Albany, he developed a measurement tool that would be useful for him: he called it the Caliper Gauge.

Later, he started working for a felt manufacturer in Switzerland, part of the Heimbach group. Naturally, he wanted a thickness gauge as he had in his previous job. The Swiss agreed, but my father had to make it himself and then Heimbach Group would buy it. At that time, young me was studying mechanical engineering. My father asked me to help him and in 1992, the first instrument was ready. Initially, we sold the measurement instruments to the Heimbach Group only, but within a short time, demand grew. Fortunately, Heimbach allowed us to sell the instruments to other PMC companies too. So, we had to think of a company name under which we were selling. That’s when I came up with ‘’Feltest’’.

From 1992 to 2002, we sold approximately 100 Caliper Gauges. However, we were both personally liable. That is why we established a limited company (LLC) in 2002, 20 years ago now. A side effect of an LLC is that, because of tax reasons, the company has to pay a minimum salary to the director. That was a bit difficult, as our company had only one product at that time and we did not sell a lot of it either. That is why I started with the first version of the AirSpeed. Nowadays, we have a much bigger product portfolio.

In the meantime, I also was an agent for the Heimbach Group and later for Huyck.Wangner, now known as Andritz. But running two companies simultaneously became a bit too much and in 2007, I stopped the agency and fully focused on Feltest.’

What was your biggest challenge so far?

‘I stopped being a representative of PMC suppliers in 2007, to focus solely on measuring instruments. Then, in September 2008, the worst financial crisis in history started. Back then, only nine months had passed since I started to take this company really seriously, and I made some beginner’s mistakes – for which I was severely punished at that time.

For example, I invested a lot in product development right before the crisis started. When sales dropped due to the crisis, I still had no product but also no money left to finish the R&D project. It seemed like a dead-end street for Feltest. It took several years for Feltest to become financially stable again.’

What was your biggest success so far?

‘The year 2009 was the absolute worst point of the crisis – the financial situation was at an all-time low, and I only had a little amount of money left. I decided to take a huge risk and I invested all of it in the development of the Capto. It turned out to be a very good decision because we sold more than 11 thousand pieces in the past twelve years and it made the jobs of machine operators a lot easier. The Capto is definitely, without discussion, the biggest success.’

What are you most proud of in these 20 years?

Feltest’s first measurement instrument ever made in 1992 is still being used! Only a month ago I received one from 1994 for a small repair. If you are curious about how it looked back then, I made a LinkedIn post about it. I am very proud of the quality and robustness of our products.

Ten years from now on, it would be Feltest’s 30-year anniversary! What do you think Feltest would look like by then?

‘I think that in about ten years, Feltest will be a bigger company with more digital tools using  Artificial Intelligence, to assess paper machine clothing. I also hope that Feltest products are going to be used by 50% of all paper mills worldwide. Of course, there will be new innovative measuring instruments as well. I really enjoy developing new technology!’