Kohler Energy, Kohler, WI, officially rebranded under its new corporate name Rehlko. 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 Company 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, in the press release. “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 offer a broad portfolio of energy solutions, including power generation, energy storage, and renewable energy technologies. The Rehlko businesses include 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. 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,” said Francis Perrin, chief brand and sustainability officer at Rehlko, in the release. “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 press release said that in 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 will continue its partnership with two of the Interpublic Group’s (IPG) global communications and branding agencies, The Weber Shandwick Collective and FutureBrand, which 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.
Founded in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity is a global investment firm with more than $48 billion of assets under management and a portfolio of approximately 50 operating companies. Over the past 28 years Platinum Equity has completed more than 450 acquisitions.