History

Established in 1924 in Apeldoorn by Dirk Weweler, Dutch company Weweler started off as a wholesale business selling replacement parts for heavy commercial vehicles.

In 1948, the company started producing springs and later moved on to designing air suspension systems. Since 2001 VDL Weweler became part of VDL Groep, an international industrial family-owned Dutch company, founded in 1953 with four main divisions. VDL Groep is a conglomerate of flexible, independent companies, each with its own specialty. VDL Weweler belongs to the finished products division. The other divisions are car assembly, buses & coaches and subcontracting. The strength of VDL Groep lies in the mutual cooperation between the companies.

In 2013, VDL Weweler officially opened a new high-tech plant in Apeldoorn. With its unique one-off machinery and advanced robotics, state-of-the-art test facility, optimum logistics, a critical quality policy and world-class craftsmanship, the production plant provided the new basis to ensure VDL Weweler’s customers receive the added-value they so desire and deserve. The impressive 22,000m2 complex in the upmarket Ecofactorij district in Apeldoorn, some 80km west of the German border, is home to a world-unique innovative suspension arm production line that has allowed VDL Weweler to completely reinvent the Modular Bolt-On® Solution (MBS) concept for each target market. Using the very latest in 3D design and rolling & forming technology, VDL Weweler creates very strong but cost-effective and lean flexible trailing arms while increasing the product’s overall functionality.

The new three-dimensional metal shaping process does not only simplify the engineering process, but also helps improve VDL Weweler’s environmental footprint. By preventing waste throughout the forming process and using induction-heating, VDL Weweler saves up to 35% of energy for each suspension produced in the new factory and reduces waste to below 1%.