20 Years of Apex Dynamics BV: From supplier to engineering partner
For over fifteen years, Eric Megens has been the face of Apex Dynamics BV for many customers. As a true technician, he speaks the language of engineers and designers. He has witnessed the product range grow from a manageable basic package to an impressive portfolio of 92 gearbox series, supplemented by racks and pinions, lubrication systems, and couplings. For Eric, technology is not a static given, but a constant search for the smartest, most compact solution for the customer. In this article, we discuss how he has experienced the past 15 years at Apex Dynamics.
Before Eric started at Apex Dynamics, he worked in an environment that was miles away from the current “Helmond mentality”. Coming from the world of industrial bakery lines and later packaging machines, he found exactly the freedom and agility at Apex that he was looking for:
“At my previous employer, I knew very quickly: I won’t stay here long. The culture was so rigid; you really couldn’t address a customer by their first name, and interactions were incredibly formal. At Apex Dynamics, it’s completely different. We are a small group where everyone can and does everything. We have no partitioned departments where you have to wait days for consultation. If a customer has a question about technology, delivery times, or specifications, they get an answer immediately. That agility is our absolute strength. In the worst case, an answer from us takes a day, whereas with large market players, it can sometimes take weeks through headquarters.”
From six to ninety-two series
When Eric started fifteen years ago, the product program was still relatively simple. The focus was on a basic package that met many requirements. Over the years, the factory in Taiwan has continued to develop, expanding the program and producing increasingly high-quality products. Today, there is a tailor-made solution for almost every challenge.
“In the beginning, we had maybe 6 series of gearboxes. That was the basis, the simplicity. Now there are 92. There is actually no one left who can ask a technical question for which we don’t have an answer. Just yesterday, I placed two relatively new gearboxes on a customer’s table. He immediately exclaimed: ‘I should have seen those two months earlier! And I can fit the one next to it into a project right now.’ That shows how quickly we innovate and expand our program. We now have solutions ranging from the high-tech industry to heavy port cranes, and everything in between. That diverse playing field still makes my work challenging after all these years.”
The ‘Porsche philosophy’ in practice
One of the most striking developments in recent years is the focus on compact construction and integration. Eric increasingly notices that customers are not just looking for a gearbox, but for a way to design their machines smarter and more cost-effectively.
“Take our new gearboxes with a hollow output shaft. In the past, you often had to build shaft-on-shaft for a drive, with a coupling and a bell housing. Now we can integrate that completely. It saves space, parts, and money. I often tell customers: we work according to the philosophy of Ferdinand Porsche. The best part is the part you can leave out. If you can integrate something smartly, you have less chance of failures and higher efficiency.”
From supplier to engineering partner
The real turning point in Eric’s work came about ten years ago with the introduction of racks and pinions. Suddenly, it was no longer just about delivering a component, but about calculating complete linear movements.
“With the arrival of racks and pinions, we truly started engineering. Before that, we were perhaps more of a traditional wholesaler: the customer asks for a certain gearbox, and we offer it. But with a linear drive, advice is required. A customer often asks for a specific rack, but then we ask further: what do you want to do with it? What does your load look like? Often, we then arrive together at a much lighter and more economical version that also lasts longer. That advisory work, truly thinking along with the designer, is what makes my profession so enjoyable. You have become an extension of their engineering.”
Eye on the horizon: a new market?
After fifteen years, you would think the surprises would be over, but Eric looks with great curiosity at what is appearing on the horizon from Taiwan. For him, the construction of a massive new factory—the third—is a sign that something big is coming.
“The owner of APEX DYNAMICS INC. in Taiwan, Robin Chang, has no hobbies other than drive technology. He is busy with innovation day and night. A factory was recently built that is larger than the other two combined. You don’t do that just for a few extra series of couplings. Something new is coming that will roll out of the factory in a year or two. What it is exactly, almost no one knows yet, but it could easily open a completely new market. It’s exactly those kinds of developments—figuring out something new and introducing it to our customers—that really excite me. We remain that challenger in the market.”
The power of a known name
Where Eric used to have to explain who Apex Dynamics was, the company now enjoys a reputation for reliability and speed. It is a position they have earned with the whole team by simply running harder for years.
“It’s great to notice that we have a foot in the door almost everywhere. People know us for those fast delivery times and personal contact. When I walk into a machine builder that we don’t yet supply directly but through one of our partners, the reaction is often: ‘Apex, yes, I’ve heard of you, you’re that group with the fast delivery times.’ That is a fantastic compliment for the work the five of us do here. We are the challenger that has matured but still has the flexibility of a small group.”
