Location/Region: Spring, TX
Industry: Energy Control Systems Manufacturing
Apps implemented: Studio, Sales, Inventory, Accounting, Manufacturing, Purchase, PLM, Approvals, and Sign
Company size: >100
Hosting type: Odoo On-Premise
Software replaced: Project management software
From Stuttgart (Germany) to Spring (Texas), EKU Power Drives has built a reputation for helping industries optimise their use and generation of energy. With Odoo at the center of its operations, the company has achieved seamless integration across production, purchasing, and inventory, boosting efficiency by 33% and freeing its teams to focus on innovation rather than administration.
Founded in 2015, EKU Power Drives emerged from an ambitious university project. Its three founders, alumni of the University of Stuttgart, were part of the Green Team: a student group that designs and builds high-performance electric race cars. What began as a passion for clean energy and engineering excellence evolved into a business with a bold mission: to make energy use smarter and cleaner across industries.
Today, EKU Power Drives designs and manufactures energy control systems used across oil and gas, construction, and mining sectors. The company helps clients reduce emissions, improve energy efficiency, and operate more sustainably in challenging environments, from the oil fields of Texas to remote Australian mining sites.
Smart Energy Systems for Every Industry
In the oil and gas sector, EKU Power Drives focuses on engine control systems that efficiently start and stop large industrial motors, significantly cutting CO₂ emissions. The company also offers on-site power generation solutions, allowing clients to produce their own energy from gas sources.
In construction, EKU Power Drives enables remote job sites to run off-grid through solar-powered systems. Modular site offices and heavy machinery can now operate independently, drawing energy from panels integrated directly into the workspace design.
And in mining, their technology helps capture and reuse kinetic energy from massive transport trucks:
"When the truck goes downhill, it moves in neutral. We store that energy in a battery and reuse it when it goes up. It only gives 1 or 2 km/h more speed, but that’s enough for one extra trip per day, and that makes a difference worth millions."
Before Odoo: Disconnected Systems, Limited Visibility
Before adopting Odoo, EKU Power Drives faced growing complexity as its teams expanded across Germany and the United States. The company initially relied heavily on an internal project management tool, using it not only for task coordination but also to handle inventory, sales, and purchasing, functions far beyond its original purpose.
"We were using a single project management tool for almost everything. It worked at first, but we needed to specialize the processes by orchestrating inventory, purchases, and sales more efficiently."
While initially adequate, EKU soon outgrew the tool. Managing custom and series-based production created purchasing challenges: series products followed predictable procurement cycles, while customized projects demanded precise timing and coordination between production and suppliers.
The lack of specialization and integration between systems made it difficult to maintain control over stock and cash flow, especially with operations spanning Stuttgart and Spring, Texas (The Woodlands region). EKU Power Drives also faced accounting complexities due to differing financial regulations in Germany and the U.S.
“Odoo gave us what we needed most: integration”
When EKU Power Drives began exploring enterprise solutions, it was drawn to Odoo’s European origin and open-source culture, a natural fit for a company rooted in Germany’s engineering ecosystem.
"We’ve known Odoo since version 9. We liked that it was configurable, and aligned with the open-source culture we value."
The flexibility of Odoo allowed EKU Power Drives to tailor its digital operations without compromising structure or control. The company has been using Odoo for more than six years, steadily expanding its use of modules as its global presence grew.
Across its two main hubs, EKU Power Drives runs nearly all its operations on Odoo. In the United States, the company manages inventory, purchasing, sales, accounting, and manufacturing through the platform. Meanwhile, the team in Germany relies on Odoo for inventory, purchasing, sales, manufacturing, PLM (Product Lifecycle Management), Approvals, and Sign. Together, these modules cover most of the company’s operational needs, ensuring consistency and transparency across continents.
Customizable Efficiency
One of the most impactful tools for EKU Power Drives has been Odoo Studio. This module allows their teams to adapt processes to evolving industry requirements without depending on external developers or long implementation cycles. Beltrán highlights a recent example involving new U.S. import regulations:
"We needed to track the percentage of metal content from each country of origin for every component. In another ERP, that would have been a huge project. In Odoo, it was simple: we built the model in Studio, tested it, and moved to implementation quickly."
That agility has allowed EKU Power Drives to respond rapidly to compliance changes and client requests. The team is now finalizing reporting templates to automatically display material composition for every shipment to the United States.
Quantitatively, Odoo has delivered measurable gains: “Before, we needed three people for purchasing. Now we do it with two, and with the same level of control,” Beltrán explains. That represents a 33% improvement in efficiency just in procurement. Similar gains have been observed across inventory and sales coordination, as automation reduces manual work and ensures real-time visibility across sites.
Streamlined Collaboration Across Continents: With Odoo, both EKU’s German and U.S. teams operate within aligned workflows despite their geographic and accounting separation. The platform ensures unified processes, consistent data, and smoother collaboration.
"Even though we’re split between two databases for now, Odoo has helped standardize our accounting and operational processes. It’s made the business more transparent and easier to manage."
Next Stop: Innovation at EKU Power Drives
After stabilizing operations and strengthening internal processes, EKU Power Drives is now focused on long-term sustainability and growth. The company now counts over 100 team members and continues to expand strategically in its key sectors.
"Growth for us now means long-term sustainability. Our size gives us the agility to adapt quickly to the changes shaping our industry."
"Looking ahead, the next major milestone is to implement accounting in Germany using Odoo, unifying both entities under one fully integrated system. Our goal is also to expand Odoo across additional applications and further embed it within our core processes,” Beltrán explains. “This deeper integration will make our operations even more efficient and cohesive.”
By combining Odoo’s integrated suite with the company’s engineering expertise, EKU continues to lead the way in sustainable energy solutions for oil and gas, construction, and mining. For growing companies in any industry, especially those operating internationally or managing complex production cycles, this story is proof that Odoo can transform challenges into opportunities for efficiency, agility, and long-term growth.
