Eric Fontaine joined Rehlko as president of its engines division in January 2025, not long after the business was rebranded from Kohler. Fontaine came to Rehlko from electric-motor and power-transmission-component manufacturer Regal Rexnord where he was vice president of the industrial components division.
Global investment company Platinum Equity became the major shareholder of Kohler Energy in May 2024, with the Kohler Company remaining as a minority shareholder while retaining the Kohler name. The rebranding to Rehlko – which is an anagram of Kohler – was announced in September 2024.
At Rehlko, Fontaine was impressed with the company spirit of innovation and its products, together with the high quality of the engines. “For our products, within the package we provide, we really are best-in-class, especially around torque and power density,” he says, paying tribute to the talent and enthusiasm of the Rehlko engine team.
One such best-in-class product is Rehlko’s new high-power version of the KDI 1903TCR engine. It packs a big punch in a compact package, delivering 50kW of power and 250Nm of torque with three cylinders. The KDI range includes three-cylinder 1.9litre engines which deliver a power output of 42kW and 225Nm torque and four-cylinder 2.5litre engines which deliver 56kW and 315Nm torque. The high-power version of the KDI 1903TCR sits between the two.
The new version engine would be suited to a wide range of construction equipment such as small excavators, skid steers, telehandlers or pumps. The high power and torque densities mean that the machine can do more work within the same time window and with more efficient fuel consumption. The high-power KDI 1903TCR incorporates Rehlko’s diesel particulate filter (DPF) technology, engineered to meet EU Stage V emission regulations. The DPF enables efficient, automatic regeneration, even at low rpm, says Rehlko. The engine can also run on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), if required, to reduce emissions and its carbon footprint in operation.
