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De oprichting van Delkim

Aan het eind van de jaren 1970 voegden karpervissers DEL Romang en KIM Donaldson hun namen samen om DELKIM op te richten. Het bedrijf werd in eerste instantie opgericht om Del & Kim de geloofwaardigheid te geven om zelf ingrediënten en aroma's voor het maken van aas te verkrijgen, die in die tijd niet in hengelsportwinkels te koop waren. Het is een weinig bekend feit dat Del & Kim een belangrijke rol speelden in het ontdekken van een aantal beroemde vroege aasaroma's voordat ze algemeen verkrijgbaar waren, waaronder Cream, nu bekend als Scopex, Strawberry, Spice "B" enz.

Delkim reiger verbouwingen

At the time bite alarms were in their infancy and those electro-mechanical devices that were available were not suitable for the rigours of carp fishing. The “Heron” antenna alarm invented by Dick Walker in the 1950’s was virtually the only bite alarm available and was “state of the art” at that time, however it had shortcomings and anglers had already attempted to improve it in various ways. Del’s early DIY attempts at incorporating electronics into the “Heron” were being noticed by anglers at Darenth in Kent, which was a famous carp fishery, even in the 1970’s. Using LEDs, electronic circuitry and what were known as “GPO” speakers, the Delkim “Heron Conversion” was born and made commercially available via a service where anglers sent their own “Herons” to Delkim for conversion. This conversion service established Delkim in the bite alarm business.

De eerste Delkims?

In 1976 just before the name of Delkim was formed, Del made four sets of special handmade self contained antenna bite alarms which he, Kim and his angling friends used for many years. Del considers that these were the first true Delkims and he still has his original set which work to this day although they are no longer used in anger.

Delkim Zakken en Draagdoeken

It may surprise you to hear that at around the same time Delkim produced the first commercially available carp retaining sacks and weighing slings for a few years until the bite alarm side of the business took over totally. Del’s late wife Bev used to run these up on her domestic sewing machine on the dining room table in between looking after Del and the kids

Delkim Optonische Omzettingen

In the early 1980’s the revolutionary “Optonic” bite alarm had emerged which yet again had deficiencies which anglers had identified and asked Delkim to overcome. The result was the now infamous Delkim “Optonic” conversion, which included ground breaking features such as magnetic rotation sensing, mega low current drain and above all reliability! This set the standard against which all future electronic bite alarms would be judged and firmly established the reputation and name of Delkim in the history of specialist tackle development. Unfortunately due to legal problems the conversion of “Optonics” ceased in 1986 but there are still many of these almost vintage alarms being used today which is testimony to their reliability. Because of the uncertainty brought about by these legal difficulties at that time, Kim Donaldson decided to part company with Delkim in a totally amicable arrangement with Del Romang which still left them great friends.

De Delkim-vibratierevolutie

Although Del Romang had made a few handmade alarms of his own over the years he had long dreamt of using his inventive ideas to make his own bite alarms commercially rather than improve other manufacturers products by conversion. The idea for today’s Delkim actually came to him in a dream in 1983 when he woke up with a start in the early hours and ran naked downstairs to run a piece of fishing line across the stylus of his record deck. (remember vinyl?) The resulting Patent Application invented the Delkim Vibration System which took nine years of intensive development until 1992 for Del to perfect and of which he is so justifiably proud.

Erkenningen

Del's eerste vrouw Bev, die een groot deel uitmaakte van het familiebedrijf, verloor helaas een 2 jaar durende strijd met kanker in 1998. Bev Romang bezocht door de jaren heen veel tackleshows en er werd vaak ten onrechte aangenomen dat haar naam Kim was, wat voor veel hilariteit zorgde en de mensen die de verkeerde veronderstelling maakten, behoorlijk in verlegenheid bracht! Tragisch genoeg overleed Kim Donaldson ook in mei 2001 toen hij zonder enige waarschuwing een hersenbloeding kreeg terwijl hij aan het vissen was op karper (ik weet zeker dat we dat allemaal het liefst zouden doen - met onze laarzen aan! Hun onschatbare bijdrage aan het succes van het bedrijf leeft voort, niet alleen in de herinnering van families, vrienden, collega's en zakenpartners, maar ook in de naam van Delkim.

Delkim - Een echt familiebedrijf

Het succes van Delkim is in de loop der jaren enorm gegroeid, net als het managementteam van de familie.

Del Romang – Founder
Lee Romang – Commerce & Marketing (Del’s Son)
Carla Romang – Customer Service (Del’s Daughter)
Carol Romang – Finance (Del’s Wife)
Paul Carrington – Administration (Carol’s Son)
Robert Carrington – Technical Support (Carol’s Son)
Mark Carrington – Logistics (Carol’s Son)

Kleinkinderen (Productvernietigingstesten) en katten (Ongediertebestrijdingstechnici) maken onofficieel ook deel uit van het team!!!