Welex - On firm ground

14 December 2018


Welex, established in the 1920s, takes its name from the name of the owner at the time, Westerhout, and the place where the company is situated, Lexmond. It started selling railway sleepers and dragline mats, and now trades crane mats internationally.

Welex B.V. has grown to an international trading company and market leader in the area of crane mats in Europe. It started off with one office and production facility in Lexmond, the Netherlands, and currently has seven locations spread across Germany, England and the Netherlands. Among these are two locations for production purposes, and the others are yards from where the mats can be rented.

At the base of this growth is the owner Rob Koolmees, who has a history with the Dutch crane company Van Seumeren—the company which has now grown into Mammoet, one of the biggest crane companies in the world. He saw the simplicity and necessity of crane mats and decided to step into the timber mat business for himself.

The good quality of our crane mats is something we are sure of. For years we have been producing crane mats; we understand timber and steel, and we have experienced staff. We have taken this experience to broaden our assortment of services to include transport, this involves setting up the matting on a construction site.

We have a repairs department. When the mats are broken and cannot be used we offer a brand new reconditioned mat, with old (re-used) timber for a fraction of the price. This way we minimalize the use of new timber and the mat can be used for many more years to come.

We also work on special projects, varying from wedges (to drive on to the mats) to steel framed mats and many more, all to the wishes of our customers.

Unity, simplicity and continuity.

In the present day, Welex has grown into a real family business, because all three sons have decided they want to succeed in the family business. Unity has been the base of the new chapter of the new generation in Welex and is something that is shared with our colleagues, suppliers and above all our customers.

A no-nonsense way of working is something we hold dear, we say what we think and we do what we say. In a market that is increasingly complex with contracts and regulations we strive for clear communication, transparency and honesty.

Since Welex started off small and gradually increased in size, we know where we have come from and where we want to go, and we are in this for the long run.

This is the reason why we are able to stay close to our suppliers, customers and colleagues. You can create and achieve more in cooperation.