Jan Louët, from Louët to Lojan

When enthusiasts hear the name Louët, they immediately think of spinning wheels and looms.

In 1973, Jan Louët designed his first spinning wheel, the S10.
In 1974 he founded Louët bv with Clemens, his friend and former classmate.
Half a century later, he teams up with his daughter Loes. He is 79 when they start Lojan bv.

Quitting work? Such a question causes Jan to dubiously raise his eyebrows.

To him, inventing and creating new products is not a job. It is his vocation.
Little five-year-old Jan looked at his friend’s new construction kit with eager eyes. He wanted that too. But how?
He thought about the wood in the attic. His father’s birch plywood.
Yes, he could make his own construction kit.

Enthusiastically he went wild … with an axe. He had to be rushed to the doctor with a large cut on his thumb.
The drive to make things has remained. Jan studied at the Dutch Design Academy in Eindhoven. He dreamed of making beautiful, smart products that would make people happy.
Jan repaired a 100-year-old spinning wheel and found the mechanism fascinating. “Could I turn that into a contemporary, modern product?” It resulted in the prototype of the S10.

To demonstrate it, he competed in the Dutch Championship of wool spinning. That way, he hoped to sell a few spinning wheels. Jan was a beginner. Yet he could easily spin an evenly thin and thick thread. Because the S10 could do something most wheels of that time could not. He finished in third place. The S10 became such a success that he started Louët bv.

The chicken coop at his parents’ house became the workshop of Louët bv. Friends and family members helped to keep up with the production of the S10. Employees joined, such as Theo who improved the business side of Louët and became co-owner.
Louët developed more products. The chicken coop was exchanged for a business premises. Louët’s products are sold all over the world.

Clemens was already retired. Jan and Theo were looking for a successor to Louët bv.
It became Paul, Theo’s son. A long takeover process followed. Jan retired from the company so Paul could shape his new position.
As of early 2022, Jan is no longer working.

He finds it difficult to have no purpose. Therefore, he plunges into writing a book. His view on the economy. Still, his thoughts regularly wander to thread tension, hand reels and cleverly expandable looms.

He enjoys brainstorming with his daughter Loes. She worked with him for about 15 years. It feels familiar and slowly a plan emerges. What if they start over together, just the two of them? Jan put his book on ice.
In early 2023, Jan and Loes founded Lojan bv. A new adventure.

Why not? He is only 79.

From Lojan website, 2024