Harteveld Automaterialen BV, founded in 1953, is a family company for over two generations. Its currently headed by Peter Harteveld; son of founder Piet Harteveld. The company laid its foundations specializing in spare parts for the American Army stationed in Europe. Expanding its operations and seeking a stabile business model for the future, Harteveld Automaterialen entered the market for spare parts, importing from former East Germany. It was during this time that the specialization for car light bulbs emerged.
With the reunification of Germany times changed. From the 1990’s onwards Harteveld Automaterialen expanded its supplier network and currently operates in the global market place with a network of suppliers and customers mainly in Europe as well as in emerging markets. Although the company has changed over time to meet the market’s demands, it still stays with its core competency: to maximize its role in the niche market of car light bulbs.
Quality is the number one criterion based on which we select our light bulbs. Aiming to be the cheapest in the market is not a challenge anymore these days. But buying high quality products while at the same time competing with the lower price segment is what separates Harteveld Automaterialen from our competitors. Providing the best value for money in the prime segment is the challenge we meet time and again.
On top of our supreme value for money, as a family company we also differ from our competitors in terms of flexibility and service. Each individual customer has its own expectation for quality, price and service. We meet these demands and expectations by representing several brands to operate at all price levels in the market; and keep a specialized inventory minimizing our delivery times and maximizing our flexibility.
The main brands supplied by Harteveld Automaterialen B.V. are: Philips, Osram, Tungsram and Toshiba. In addition we also sell bulbs produced in the Far East.
Apart from being a wholesaler in car light bulbs, Harteveld Automaterialen B.V. also offers other automotive related parts such as Michelin wipers, Varta batteries (buttoncells)and Grippaz work gloves to name a few. As this segment of the market is not our core business we always deal directly with manufacturers enabling us to offer these items at competitive price levels. Next to this, though not related to the automotive industry, through our specialization in light bulbs we also consider ourselves experts in special lamps and bulbs for industrial and marine applications.