Norwegian quad bike on its way to market

After a cycling accident in 2015, Sigurd Groven lost all sensation from the chest down, but his desire to stay active and enjoy the outdoors with his family remained strong. Sigurd had tried various vehicles, including a French-made quad bike, but none of them met his needs.

When Mattias Storvestre and his girlfriend, who uses a wheelchair, became parents for the first time in 2016, they gradually realised how difficult it was for the family to enjoy the outdoors together with the wheelchair. Mattias, a former aircraft mechanic, therefore developed a fully electric four-wheeler for his partner, based on a French-made frame.

A little later, Mattias and Sigurd met at an activity camp for people with spinal cord injuries. Sigurd had the same French-made quad bike and asked Mattias if he would modify his too. Mattias adapted several models before eventually developing his own frame to provide the best possible mobility and comfort. The result was Exoquad.

‘The new quad bike opened up a whole new world for me,’ says Sigurd.

The men concluded that there was a gap in the market and founded Exotek in 2020.

‘We want as many people as possible to have access to Exoquad, but as it is quite expensive, we will explore different options, such as renting it out and selling it to foundations, activity parks and organisations, as well as to private customers,’ says Sigurd.

Funding advisor Mari Dorte Jønland Michaelsen at Innovation Norway Møre og Romsdal has been in dialogue with the company throughout.

'The Exotek team has demonstrated a strong ability to deliver from the outset, and they are genuinely committed to meeting customer needs. They have planned thoroughly and used relevant services at every stage of development. We are now seeing exciting growth as they establish production to meet demand,' she says.

Eelco Van Weerdhuizen later joined the new company. With a background in consultancy and many years in the oil and gas industry, he was well suited to the role of CEO.

‘Exotek had already received a market clarification grant from Innovation Norway and had entered Sparebanken Møre’s Næringsteft competition. Their story, product and vision were so impressive that I was eager to help them – initially as a volunteer in my spare time, and later as both a partner and employee of the company,’ says Eelco.

The company later received a commercialisation grant from Innovation Norway, won the Næringsteft competition and its NOK 1 million prize, and secured a growth guarantee from Innovation Norway and Sparebanken Møre.

‘It takes a considerable amount of money to develop a product like this from scratch, set up a production line and start selling. That is why securing support is essential, followed by bringing in investors so we can scale up the company,’ says Eelco.

Exotek has established itself in Sunnmøre and works closely with local partners on manufacturing, brand design, marketing, funding and business development. It has launched a pilot project with an Oslo-based company to reuse batteries from electric scooters.

Recently, the company has been working intensively to improve and further develop its first prototype. The new version of the ‘Exoquad’ forms the basis for the market-ready product, which is due to be completed before summer 2022. Several orders have already been placed for the four-wheeler.

At the same time, Exotek is seeking investors and is currently working on a share issue.

'We will soon enter a scaleup and growth phase. In line with our current growth plan, we will need fresh capital going forward. This is particularly important for scaling up production, but also for bringing in more people and specialist expertise in key areas. We have bold ambitions and a clear long-term goal to expand our product portfolio,' says Eelco.

Exotek has also received a number of enquiries from abroad, and interest appears strong, even though the company has yet to invest much time in active marketing. The clear ambition is to offer the product globally.