International trade & capital investment

From the 50s to the 80s of the last century Peja was responsible for the Dutch export of capital and consumption goods with a total value of over two billion German Marks by closing deals and contracts for exclusive representation with Heineken, Douwe Egberts / Sarah Lee, Stork and Nutricia.

Trading with the COMECOM countries was bound to barter obligations which stated that no transfer of money was allowed and goods could only be bought or sold with other goods. ln Kazachstan machines were traded for cotton. ln Kenia the cotton was traded for green beans which were sold to the European food industry.

Over time Peja developed specialized departments for the import of household machines, furniture, agricultural machinery, small airplanes and industrial electric motors. At this time 607o of the Dutch East-West trade went through Peja for a total amount of about 500 million German Marks per year.

Soon Peja became the biggest importer of furniture for the Benelux and acquired in 1964 the exclusive rights for importing and selling VEM electric motors from East Germany. To extend her network Peja founded companies in Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, Czechoslovakia, Mozambique, Angola, Vietnam, Cuba, the Sovjet Union and East Germany. Up until 1990 Peja employed about 500 FTE. After Glasnost, Perestroika and the fall of the Berlin wall, Peja was restructured into a financial holding. Today all commercial activities have shifted to the Peja daughter companies.

After the fall of the Wall Peja focussed her activities on the global electric motor sector which lead to a joint venture with a large Chinese factory. Dutchi Motors was born.

Within a few years Dutchi became the largest stockholding distributor in the world of low, medium and high voltage electric motors with sales departments and affiliate distributors in over 90 countries.

ln 2008 Dutchi Motors was sold to Regal Beloit; now world market leader in electric motors.