Rehlko Demo Days highlights broad range of engine applications

Group photo; attendees at Rehlko Demo Days 2026 (Photo: Rehlko)

Rehlko Demo Days is an event series intended to both highlight the latest technologies being introduced by the engine and power specialist, but also a chance to hear from OEMs about how their machines have been improved with the addition of Rehlko engines.

Held at the Rehlko engine assembly plant in Reggio Emilia, Italy, the day wraps up with an opportunity to get hands-on with those same machines and see firsthand how the selected power choice delivers usability, versatility and efficiency.

Six partner companies took part in this year’s event: Cormidi, MDB, Palfinger, Vermeer, Wacker Neuson and Weidmann. In a related statement about the event, Eric Fontaine, president of Engines at Rehlko, said: “Bringing together OEM partners, industry media and our engineering teams is one of the best ways to demonstrate what collaboration looks like in practise.”

He added: “These are the moments that continue to move our industry forward.”

Palfinger BM 214 remote-control truck-mounted forklift at Demo Days 2026 (Photo: Rehlko)

Event success

Power Progress has attended each of the four Rehlko Demo Days events to date, including this year’s edition. While there, we spoke to Eric Fontaine in an exclusive interview to find out more about his thoughts on the Demo Days gatherings, while also taking a look at current and future product strategies.

“If can be difficult to measure the success of events like this, calculate the return on investment. But I think that in this case the value is just obvious. What I like is that we try to get a variety of OEMs to join us so we can see different applications, different types of equipment.

“Having them here to explain how they benefit from using Rehlko engines, then being able to come outside and see how those machines perform is great exposure for the manufacturers. And it’s great for our employees; [Reggio Emilia] is our largest facility and our largest diesel engine production site, so it’s an opportunity for them to see the products and engines in action. It’s OK putting stats on some paper, but seeing them work is completely different.”

No downturn in innovation

From a press coverage perspective at least, it seems that there have been fewer recent product launches from Rehlko. Asked if that was due to the current engines meeting key emissions regulations and whether that compliance had eliminated the need for new products, Fontaine said that’s not the case.

“There are many ways to measure innovation. That can be a completely new product line, like the KSD series. In other cases, there are incremental improvements made to the products already on the market. I like that strategy a lot – we already have a good product out there, but then we work on it to make it even better.

Eric Fontaine giving the opening comments at Demo Days 2026 (Photo: Rehlko)

“That’s the case with the KDI engines, they’re rock solid in terms of sourcing, manufacturing, delivery, every element of the process. With the KSD, we’re still finding new applications for that engine, so we have to find ways to modify and adjust the engines to achieve optimum performance in the OEM products. This is not a ‘one size fits all’ business. Every application is different and we have to tune the engine to the application.”

Looking at tuning, Fontaine explains that this involves closer investigation of the ECU, the internal brain of the engine. Moving forward, the control unit will have improved capacity and functionality with regards to engine performance, sharing data with the end user so they can understand how the engine is being used and to support predictive maintenance.

Fontaine: “Machine applications are wildly different, some run for longer periods, some run at higher engine speeds. Bringing that improved [ECU control] tech to the market will help every customer.”

He further noted that there has been no reduction in the company’s annual research and development budget. That figure, Fontaine explained, is usually based on a percentage of annual turnover, with the flexibility to adjust as new projects come online.

Cybersecurity is critical

The capability to access engine data can help with machine management, but in many cases that information will be passed over a data network. This opens up issues related to cybersecurity which, if not addressed, could impact how and where a machine could be used.

“As soon as you get into data, cybersecurity has to be a part of that discussion,” says Fontaine. “That can be how the customer is accessing and using that information, through to whether we are permitted to access that data. It’s an on-going question, how we can help customers to be compliant with regulations and still use that data to be more efficient, more proactive and productive.”

Business review

Fontaine was brought in as president of the Engine division at Rehlko in February 2025. Speaking about company performance since his appointment, he’s pleased with the results.

“It’s been really good. I was very fortunate in that there were a lot of very good products in the pipeline when I joined and that was a benefit. Since then we’ve concentrated on being better with things around those products, on-time delivery through manufacturing, quality, product uptime and customer service.

Some of the machines available for testing at the Demo Days event (Photo: Rehlko)

“The final piece is getting more structure in how we deploy our strategies, making sure that we’re aligned and everybody’s goals are oriented to advance that strategy. On top of that, we’re continuing to use continuous improvement and kaizens as a means to working better.”

Future growth

Fontaine says that he sees the potential for growth in various areas across Rehlko, but the underlying drivers remain product design and quality.

“We had a new product come out at the end of 2025 and we have two new products scheduled for this fall. Across the three main categories in the turf market we’ll have the three best-performing engines.”

With each of these and across the full range, Fontaine points out how power density has improved. “We’re offering customers more power for their money then ever before. Just looking at the KSD series, the engine construct is more compact, but there’s still more torque. And better engine control via the ECU.

“I think OEM companies are becoming more aware that our engines are different from standard equivalents. Our products are far more flexible in terms of output and performance.”