Ypenburg business park in The Hague recently saw the formal kick-off of the Technology Park Ypenburg programme. Airborne, KVE, Promolding, GTM and the fieldlab Digital Factory for Composites (DFC) are joining forces. Together, they want The Hague to become an international hotspot for products based on high-tech materials.
The programme focuses on automated and digitised manufacturing with advanced materials such as composites and fibre metallamines. There is also an important role for robotics. The overall aim is to strengthen the international position of the Dutch high-tech manufacturing industry.
The Ypenburg business park in The Hague is home to several high-tech companies and a field lab. Four companies (Airborne, KVE, Promolding and GTM) and the fieldlab DFC are joining forces to make The Hague an international hotspot for the manufacturing industry of products based on high-tech materials. High-tech companies are the companies of the future and also largely determine economic development and employment for the future. The demand for products made of high-tech materials will grow strongly in the coming years, both nationally and internationally. That is why a joint investment of 1.6 million euro is being made, which should form the basis for strengthening the regional innovation power and growth of companies, jobs, knowledge institutions and investments aimed at the innovative manufacturing industry.
Jobs of the future
With this programme, the initiators expect to create an attractive business climate for other companies at Ypenburg. They can benefit from the relevant infrastructure on the business park, mutual cooperation, collaboration with knowledge institutions and the municipality and the presence of a diverse workforce in the region. The programme also aims to give a positive boost to local and regional training institutes through internships and workplaces. In addition, innovative developments offer new employment opportunities for both higher and lower educated people.
Saskia Bruines, Alderman for Knowledge Economy, International Affairs, Youth & Education, Municipality of The Hague: "The Hague is an international city with a strong, innovative economy. Business plays a crucial role in this, as a municipality we can facilitate and stimulate that. This investment is good for The Hague's innovative strength, competitive position and employment. The fact that the companies themselves are also investing heavily shows the shared interest, commitment and confidence in the future. "
Regional knowledge
Part of the programme is the Digital Factory for Composites (DFC) field lab. Entrepreneurs, regional educational institutions and investors can visit this fieldlab for workshops, knowledge exchange and interesting investment projects. As part of Smart Manufacturing: Industrial Application in Zuid-Holland (SMITZH), the fieldlab will contribute to a strong region that can compete at global level. SMITZH aims to support South Holland industry in applying Smart Manufacturing. The ambition is to grow into a one-stop-shop where companies come for knowledge and technology to make their high-quality products competitive. Also in small series and/or single parts.
Working together
Harm van Engelen, director of KVE Composites Group: "As literally the first company to establish itself at this business park after the bankruptcy of Fokker, KVE has grown into a company with, among other things, unique knowledge in the field of thermoplastic composite welding. The cooperation project offers the opportunity to link this knowledge to, for example, Promolding's injection moulding knowledge, GTM's satellite design knowledge and Airborne's automation knowledge to realise completely new product-market combinations. Intensive cooperation with knowledge institutions in the region adds the missing input from adjacent knowledge areas, such as mechatronics, modelling, sensor technology and chemistry. KVE expects a lot from this cooperation. "
Jan Willem Gunnink, CEO/President, GTM Advanced Structures: "It is great that the city of The Hague supports the development of advanced products at the Ypenburg location. GTM is active in the field of advanced materials and structures for aerospace technology and appreciates this initiative by the municipality of The Hague. With this, it offers further opportunities to intensify the cooperation between the companies at Ypenburg and to serve national and international industry even better with the high-tech products developed and made at Ypenburg. Given the cooperation between GTM and the various training institutes in the Hague region (including the Advanced Hybrid Structures Centre of Competence (AHSCC) institute with TU Delft), GTM also sees an opportunity to further develop these collaborations in projects and student support."
Marcus Kremers, Chief Technology Officer, Airborne: "Automation and digitalisation of composite production are at the heart of our business strategy. This programme and the cooperation with the other companies at Ypenburg and DFC strengthen the technology base and enable us to develop and grow much faster. We very much welcome cooperation with partners, as the need for composites automation in the market is much greater than we can cover by ourselves alone. "Jac. Gofers, CEO, Promolding: "Now that the companies have grown up in Ypenburg, the time has come to make a joint proposal that represents a 'not-to-be-rejected offer' to the international business community. In the field of high-tech plastics and composites, top knowledge is available from both the companies and educational programmes in the region. It is great that we can now bring innovative products and processes to the Ypenburg Technology Park. "
Source: Airborne.
