THE CONNECTION BETWEEN TECHNOLOGY MARKET AND MAN April 2021 | Volume 23 | Issue 2
SPECIAL SOUTHERN NETHERLANDS
THEME SHAPING THE OPTIMAL HIGH-COMPLEXITY MACHINE BUILDING SUPPLY CHAIN CLEANLINESS THANKS TO ECOSYSTEM, START-UP FASTMICRO IS PLAYING IN SEMICON CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ASIAN PERSPECTIVE ‘WE SEE EINDHOVEN AS THE EUROPEAN SILICON VALLEY’
THEO KNEEPKENS (KLA) ABOUT SUPERCYCLE OF GROWTH:
‘I HOPE THAT SUPPLY INDUSTRY EXPANDS ITS CAPACITY’
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CONTENTS
THEO
5 SHORTCUTS
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE SUPERCYCLE IN SEMICON REQUIRES OPEN COLLABORATION
10 THEME SHAPING THE OPTIMAL HIGH-COMPLEXITY MACHINE BUILDING SUPPLY CHAIN 10 Round-table: are Dutch system suppliers ready for the semiconductor ‘supercycle’? 14 Semiconductor OEM KLA: a global market leader because it is a global player 17 Burkhardt+Weber develops ‘most accurate’ high-precision machine with and for Masévon 20 Thanks to ecosystem, start-up FastMicro is playing in semicon Champions League 23 Servitization: large machine builders meet to discuss generating business from installed base 27 Dutch ‘feminine’ way of supply chain collaboration leads to better solutions faster 31 Netherlands: variegated global photonics cluster, strong in products and infrastructure
35 CROSSOVERS Eindhoven Engine unlocks ‘smartest region’s collective intelligence’
36 LOCAL FOR LOCAL China offers Dutch companies large market, but they have to become ‘Chinese’
38 CHAIN INTEGRATION Long-term partnership between SMC and Thermo Fisher continues to develop
41 HUMAN RELATIONS Dutch managers about their experiences in Asia
45 AGRITECH World-class horticultural ecosystem: building a vertical farming business case
48 ENERGY TRANSITION ENZuid launches action
So much has happened in a year ... It has now been more than a year since the outbreak of the corona virus and unfortunately it has had an unprecedented impact on all of our personal lives. And, while we have not yet gotten rid of the virus, vaccine rollouts are providing a light in the end of the tunnel hopes of returning to life as we knew it before the pandemic. I had my first vaccination last week here in Singapore and can't wait to travel again and see my colleagues and suppliers in the rest of the world again! Who would have thought a year ago that we would now be in a phase of strong growth with the high-tech industry? What corona has taught us is that technology is absolutely necessary to communicate effectively and keep us connected. All that working from home and the IT required has given an extra boost to the semiconductor industry and its supply chains. In addition, growth in AI, 5G and autonomous vehicles is driving the semiconductor industry into a growth cycle that is expected to last for at least the next three years. All in all, a great opportunity for the Dutch high-tech supply industry to grow together! And that requires cooperation and collaboration in the chain. It requires the timely sharing of the correct information, via IT systems and personally. Only in this way can we tackle problems such as component scarcity and increasing technological complexity.
At the invitation of Link Magazine, Theo Kneepkens, senior vice president of Global Operations at KLA, is the guest editor-in-chief of this special edition. Photo: Darren Francis
The open and direct Dutch are good at working together, in joining forces. Being vulnerable, asking for help from competitor suppliers if you don't get it right yourself is a strength. Leveraging this strength – of the Dutch high-tech ecosystem - can successfully reach out to the rest of the world. The Sino Dutch High-Tech Innovation Port that the Dutch high-tech industry wants to set up in Suzhou, in which various system suppliers work together in their typically Dutch way on the solution for the customer, is a great first step in this.
plan for radically more sustainable chemistry
51 INVESTMENT Nxtgen Hightech applies for 1.5 billion euro ‘to maintain our lead in high-tech’
THEO KNEEPKENS SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF GLOBAL OPERATIONS AT KLA IN SINGAPORE
52 CLEANLINESS ProCleanroom’s turnkey approach offers Anvil Industries the space it needs
55 ASIAN PERSPECTIVE ‘We see Eindhoven as the European Silicon Valley’
PUBLICATION INFORMATION Magazine COLOFON
This special issue is a supplement to the April 2020 issue of Link Magazine. Link Magazine is a management journal that discusses contemporary forms of co-operation between companies themselves and between companies and (semi)government bodies, universities and colleges of higher education. Link Magazine is published six times a year.
APRIL 2021 PUBLISHED BY H&J Uitgevers Mireille van Ginkel Bosscheweg 76, 5151 BE Drunen The Netherlands +31 10 451 55 10 +31 6 51 78 41 97 www.linkmagazine.nl
ADVISORY COUNCIL ing. P.A.M. van Abeelen (ISAH), J. Beernink MSc (Golden Egg Check), ing. D.M. van Beers (Festo BV), J.C.A. Buis MBA (RR Mechatronics), ing. B. Draaijer (V en M Regeltechniek), F.M. Eisma (Trumpf Nederland), ir. R. van Giessel (voormalig ceo Philips CFT), H. Gijsbers (Thermo Fisher), ir. M.H. Hendrikse (NTS-Group, HTSM-boegbeeld), ing. J.B.P. Hol (Legrand Group), ir. T.J.J. van der Horst (TNO), ir. M.W.C.M. van den Oetelaar (Bosch Rexroth), dr. ir. M. Peters, dr. ir. D.A. Schipper (Demcon), E. Severijn (Siemens PLM Software Benelux), J.A.J. Slobbe VMI), H.G.H. Smid (Variass Group), ir. W.W.M. Smit MMC (DBSC Consulting), ir. H.H. Tappel (Bronkhorst High-Tech), W.B.M. van Wanrooij (IBN Productie), ir. S.J. Wittermans (ASML) EDITOR IN CHIEF Martin A.M. van Zaalen FINAL EDITING Lucy Holl, redactie@linkmagazine.nl
THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE CONTRIBUTED TO THIS ISSUE Jan Broeks, Hans van Eerden, Theo Kneepkens, André Ritsema, Wilma Schreiber TRANSLATION Powerling Nederland, Bunnik GRAPHIC DESIGN Primo!Studio, Delft PRINTED BY Veldhuis Media, Raalte SUBSCRIPTION € 73,75 per annum ADVERTISING OPERATIONS John van Ginkel john.vanginkel@linkmagazine.nl +31 010 451 55 10 +31 6 53 93 75 89 ISSN 1568 - 1378 No part of Link Magazine may be copied or reproduced without the publisher’s permission. This publication has been compiled with the utmost care. Nevertheless, the publisher cannot be held liable for any inaccuracies. No rights may be derived from this publication.
Special Issue - April 2021
3
LINK1_Inhoudsopgave_v1.qxp_LINK3 04-02-20 11:38 Pagina 4
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With almost 3,000 colleagues we work on complex and innovative mechatronic systems for high-tech production equipment for the further development of computer chips, breakthroughs in fighting diseases, study the universe and understanding the details in cells and molecules. Working at VDL ETG means a lot of freedom and diversity. Diversity in projects and customers, freedom through the amount of responsibility you will get within your job. The combination of engineering and high-tech production facilities is what makes VDL ETG a unique employer with lots of career opportunities at home and abroad.
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DVDLVDL_VDL_EVDL_ETVDL_ETGVDL_ETG_VDL_ETG_AVDL_ETG_AdVDL_ETG_AdvVDL_ETG_Adv_VDL_ETG_Adv_LVDL_ETG_Adv_LIVDL_ETG_Adv_LINVDL_ETG_Adv_LINKVDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_VDL_ETG_Adv_LIN DVDLVDL_VDL_EVDL_ETVDL_ETGVDL_ETG_VDL_ETG_AVDL_ETG_AdVDL_ETG_AdvVDL_ETG_Adv_VDL_ETG_Adv_LVDL_ETG_Adv_LIVDL_ETG_Adv_LINVDL_ETG_Adv_LINKVDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK DVDLVDL_VDL_EVDL_ETVDL_ETGVDL_ETG_VDL_ETG_AVDL_ETG_AdVDL_ETG_AdvVDL_ETG_Adv_VDL_ETG_Adv_LVDL_ETG_Adv_LIVDL_ETG_Adv_LINVDL_ETG_Adv_LINKVDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_ D DVDLVDL_VDL_EVDL_ETVDL_ETGVDL_ETG_VDL_ETG_AVDL_ETG_AdVDL_ETG_AdvVDL_ETG_Adv_VDL_ETG_Adv_LVDL_ETG_Adv_LIVDL_ETG_Adv_LINVDL_ETG_Adv_LINKVDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2 V V V V V V V VD V VDL VDL_ VDL_E VDL_ET VDL_ETG VDL_ETG_ VDL_ETG_A VDL_ETG_Ad VDL_ETG_Adv VDL_ETG_Adv_ VDL_ETG_Adv_L VDL_ETG_Adv_LI VDL_ETG_Adv_LIN VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_ VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2 VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_20 VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_201 VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2019 VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2019VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2019-1 VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2019-11 VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2019-11_ VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2019-11_2 VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2019-11_22 VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2019-11_225 VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2019-11_225x VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2019-11_225x3 VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2019-11_225x30 VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2019-11_225x300 VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2019-11_225x300+ VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2019-11_225x300+3 VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2019-11_225x300+3m VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2019-11_225x300+3mm VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2019-11_225x300+3mm_ VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2019-11_225x300+3mm_D VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2019-11_225x300+3mm_DE VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2019-11_225x300+3mm_DEF VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2019-11_225x300+3mm_DEF. VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2019-11_225x300+3mm_DEF.i VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2019-11_225x300+3mm_DEF.in VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2019-11_225x300+3mm_DEF.ind VDL_ETG_Adv_LINK_2019-11_225x300+3mm_DEF.indd V V V 1 V V V V V 1 12-11-201912 12-11-20191212-11-201912-1 12-11-201912-11 12-11-201912-1112-11-201912-11-2 12 12-11-201912-11-20 12-11-201 12-11-20 12-11-2 12-1112-11 12-1 1212-11-2019 2 1 11:13 1 11 11: 11:1
SHORTCUTS 3T STEPS UP HEALTHCARE ACTIVITIES IN 2021 3T has been active as a developer of customer-specific electronics and embedded software for third parties for more than 25 years. Clients are found in various sectors: from measuring instruments and devices and machine construction to communication systems, defence and security. ‘Products with a high technical complexity and high quality and involving a great deal of legislation and regulations. That suits us just fine. These focal points can also be found in medical products, which is why we will devote more attention to them this year,’ explains Richard Mijnheer, CEO at 3T. Back in 2016, 3T started a process to become medically certified. ‘We have already obtained the ISO 13485 certificate. You find that it makes it easier to enter the market. And that’s what we’re doing, because if you want to be successful in a market, you have to gain knowledge and experience in it.’ To this end, 3T has opted for a transition to a more marketfocused approach, with the company specifically targeting the high-tech industry, defence & security, testing and measuring
equipment and medical devices. The choice for healthcare has several reasons. ‘It is of course a growth market, because cure and care are becoming increasingly important. People are getting older, need more care, and so investments in care are stepped up. It is also a sector of many innovations. And as a company we like to develop instruments and products that help people to recover,’ says Mijnheer. Conversely, companies looking for an electronics partner that have found their way to 3T have definitely come to the right place. ‘We are no longer a small player. Including the flexible layer, we have about one hundred employees. Besides body, we also have the know-how and can offer customers continuity. Our company has always been healthy, we have never made a loss. That makes us a solid partner that companies can rely on for a long time,’ says Mijnheer. ‘And you have to, if you want to work for big parties.’ 3T has already carried out a number of high-profile healthcare projects. For Sirius Medical in Eindhoven, for example, it
‘3T wants to become a serious partner in healthcare,’ says CEO Richard Mijnheer.
developed a device for performing breast cancer operations more cosmetically sound, and for The 37 Company in Amersfoort it developed a device for managing patients’ body temperature.
‘In the near future we want to gain even more market knowledge and become a serious partner in healthcare.’ www.3t.nl
PARKER WANTS TO BE CO-MAKER FOR SEMICON F
The semiconductor industry has recently been facing a global shortage of raw materials. And so production falters while the market is growing and will continue to grow next year. The question is whether the scarcity can be properly dealt with, says Kurt De Lannoye, semicon sales manager at Parker Hannifin Benelux. Parker Hannifin Corporation is an industry leader in drive and control technologies. For the semicon industry – an important business segment for Parker – the multinational manufactures advanced shielding solutions for sensitive electronics, special sealants, packaging hardware and more. De Lannoye has noticed a rise in demand from his customers over the past few months. ‘The economy is recovering. And it’s a
growing business anyway, which is hardly cyclical.’ According to De Lannoye, Parker is taking a proactive approach: ‘We ask our customers for a forecast of a few weeks to a few months, in order to be able to respond effectively to their increasing demand.’ According to De Lannoye, Parker can anticipate the growing demand by increasing its own production. ‘If necessary, we can produce up to twenty percent more to meet customer demand. And even more, provided we are given the time to scale up.’ Parker itself is not part of the semicon industry, but a supplier to it, De Lannoye emphasises. ‘Our added value is largely in the co-engineering. Contributing ideas for a new design, a new application, right from the start. And being involved as a supplier
from the start. This gives the customer the opportunity to focus on their core technology. They don’t have to order 500 parts separately, but can place their order with us through one counter in order to assemble their complete product.
We believe this is the best support for putting together a new design. And fortunately more and more customers are relying on our support. You can’t do it alone, in any industry. You need co-makers.’ www.parker.com
Govers Govers Accountants/Consultants Accountants/Adviseurs Our rankbehoren among the industry Onzeclients klanten tottop de in toptheir in hun or we support development sector, of wij their ondersteunen huntowards ontwikkeling reaching their potential. This is achieved daar naar toe.fullest Dat doen we door een hoge through our de in-depth knowledge of the value kennis van waardeketens, door focus chains, a focus on performance en improvement op performanceverbetering, door actieve and active orientation towards thevan development oriëntatie op de ontwikkeling nieuwe of new business models attractive earnings businessmodellen metwith aantrekkelijke models. verdienmodellen. Beemdstraat 25 Beemdstraat 25
TT +31 504 504 040 (0)40 2 5042504
5653 MA MA Eindhoven Eindhoven
FF +31 504 599 040 (0)40 2 5042599 EE mencke@govers.nl mencke@govers.nl
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Special Issue - April 2021
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HIGH PERFORMANCE MACHINING EQUIPMENT
We manufacture high-tech components, modules and systems, with the highest precision.
We operate with the deepest conviction to make things better. Every Day.
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From a strategic and inspiring location - Brainport Industries Campus in Eindhoven - we operate with a passionate team as a partner for our customers. With our focus on industrial automation, Yaskawa offers integrated solutions for our customers in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.
Located in the beating heart of the manufacturing industry In 2020 Yaskawa reached the milestone of 20 million servo systems produced. Sigma-7 is the latest generation of High Performance servo systems that integrates seamlessly with the most common control systems. See more advanced features on our Sigma-7 microsite. Brainport Industries Campus
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Yaskawa Benelux BV · Brainport Industries Campus 1 · 5657 BX Eindhoven · +31 40 289 5500 · info.nl@yaskawa.eu.com · www.yaskawa.nl
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Special Issue - April 2021
SHORTCUTS 10 YEARS’ BRAINPORT INDUSTRIES: ‘THINK GLOBAL, ACT LOCAL, THAT’S OUR MOTTO’ The goal of Brainport Industries, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, is to ‘connect suppliers in the high-tech manufacturing chains in order to further enhance the professionalism and competitiveness of the chain together’. To this end, numerous projects have been launched in recent years under the headings of ‘technology’, ‘market’ and ‘people’. For example, several of the current 105 members are working together to increase knowledge of additive manufacturing, there is the innovation programme Factory of the Future in which suppliers explore the possibilities of digitising processes together, and a format has been developed in the field lab Smart Connected Supplier Network for safe and error-free exchange of data in the chain that will also be used on a European scale. Within the framework of market approach, the members have been joining marketing forces for years at trade fairs such as the Hannover Messe, MedtecLIVE in Nuremberg, and W3+ Fair in Wetzlar. A recent example is the participation in the ‘Green Chemistry, New Economy’
programme in which the major chemical companies are collaborating with high-tech SMEs on a fossil-free chemical industry by 2050. And, in the battle for talent, for example, a large number of members are working together with technical education institutions in Futuretec to innovate education so that it contributes optimally to strengthening the Brainport economy. In short, says John Blankendaal, managing director of Brainport Industries, a lot has been achieved in the past ten years. Whether all these activities have actually strengthened the professionalism and competitiveness of the companies in Brainport is something he cannot prove. ‘But I do think so, judging by the growth in the number of paying members. In contrast to, for example, regional development agencies, our organisation is not funded by the government but by our members. They evidently experience our added value. And when I look at the special innovations that our suppliers are working on worldwide and the multinational customers they are working for, whether or not in cooperation
RVS FINISH INVESTS IN CLEANING FOR ASML RVS Finish in Bergeijk in the southern part of the Netherlands is flourishing. Active in the field of blast cleaning, grinding and cleanroom cleaning, the company is investing in a larger building and has purchased an Ecoccore vapour cleaning machine. According to manager Driek Brouwers, this will enable the company to serve ‘the higher segment’ of the customer base. End customer ASML in particular is currently using the new machine, which can clean Grade 4 and Grade 2. RVS Finish and RVS Clean together form a sister company of Bax Metaal. And this comes in handy, because the relocation of Bax Metaal allows RVS Finish and RVS Clean to take over the production hall that Bax Metaal left in the spring. ‘The production
hall means an additional 2,000 square metres of surface area,’ says Brouwers. ‘We’re doubling our surface area. With our 25 FTEs we can expand our range of services even further.’ Half of the new accommodation will be set up as a cleanroom, where materials can be post-treated and cleaned under protected conditions. ‘The growth provides us with more capacity and allows us to focus on larger volumes. I think we’re definitely going to be busier,’ says Brouwers. If all goes well, RVS Finish and RVS Clean will move into their new accommodation on Galgenberg around the summer. www.rvsfinish.nl www.rvs-clean.nl
The opening of the BIC, in October 2019 by King Willem-Alexander (centre front), was an absolute highlight in the existence of Brainport Industries. Left front John Blankendaal. Photo: Brainport Industries
with each other, I see a globally highly competitive ecosystem in Brainport – not just the area around Eindhoven; we are open to the entire high-tech Netherlands. But I also note that we’re not there yet, that the world is changing rapidly and that we need to respond to these dynamics.’ ‘At the project level, it is sometimes a matter of taking three steps forward and then two steps back again, because the driving personalities start working elsewhere, or because the market changes for a few participants. In that case, projects are adjusted or new ones started. At the chain level, we are dealing with geopolitical tensions, with China where the industry is developing rapidly. That is why we are now working together with Sioux and others on a ‘Brainport Industries Hub’ in Suzhou. To maintain chain control. Because it is true that the level of knowledge of, for example, industrial automation has risen rapidly in China. But by being there with high-tech suppliers from Brainport, you can combine the knowledge from both continents, so that you don’t have to re-invent the same complex wheel in two places at the same time. This is the only way to maintain global leadership in the most complex technologies in areas such as semiconductor lithography, nanotechnology and quantum mechanics. For that you
need the pooling of the greatest talents worldwide. If you start to isolate yourself in areas like that, as the US tends to do, you will eventually fall behind. Think global, act local: that is Brainport Industries’ motto.’ In the past ten years Brainport Industries has remained a ‘lean’ organisation, now consisting of four people who initiate and supervise all advanced manufacturing activities. Activities that for almost two years have largely taken place at Brainport Industries Campus (BIC) in Eindhoven: 100,000 square meters where companies like KMWE and Yaskawa, but also the Summa Techniek College, are based and know to find each other. The opening of the BIC in October 2019 by King Willem-Alexander was an absolute highlight in the existence of Brainport Industries. In the meantime, the plans for a second building are being worked on with the municipality of Eindhoven and the province of Noord-Brabant. Plans that will undoubtedly receive the necessary attention during the Annual Conference scheduled for 7 October. The tenth anniversary will also be celebrated then. ‘Post-corona’, when everyone has been safely vaccinated, in an old-fashioned personal setting. Blankendaal is eagerly looking forward to it. www.brainportindustries.com
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MACHINE-CENTRIC ROBOTICS Robot and machine integration made easy www.br-automation.com/robotics
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SHORTCUTS
PROVINCE OF NOORD-BRABANT FIFTH MOST INNOVATIVE EUROPEAN REGION The province of Noord-Brabant remains the most important Dutch region in terms of patent applications, accounting for more than half of all Dutch applications (51.5 percent). Despite a clear decrease (-12.6 percent) compared to the previous year, Noord-Brabant is fifth on the list of all European regions at the European Patent Office (EPO) in 2020. In the Dutch ranking of regions, it is followed by Zuid-Holland with 16 percent (was 14.5 percent) and Limburg with 10 percent (was 8.8 percent). In the city rankings, Eindhoven is head and shoulders above the rest
with 2,495 patent applications (-6 percent), followed by Rotterdam with 381 patent applications (+16.5 percent) and Heerlen with 356 patent applications (+0.8 percent). This the information according to the recently published EPO Patent Index. The number of patent applications filed by Dutch companies at the EPO decreased by 8.2 percent in 2020. With 6,375 patent applications, the Netherlands still remains the third largest country of origin for patent applications among the 27 EU member states, and ranks eighth worldwide – as it did last year. As regards the ratio of patent
Patent applications per mio. inhabitants 2020
Largest EPO-applicants from The Netherlands - 2020 (number of applications)
applications to population size (indicative of a country’s innovative strength), the Netherlands, with 369 patent applications per million inhabitants, remains fourth on the list of all countries that filed patent applications with the EPO. Switzerland is clearly at the top with 966 applications per million inhabitants. The development of patent applications in technical sectors is also well reflected in the ranking of Dutch companies. Royal Philips again remains the most active applicant in the Netherlands with 1,419 European patent applications in 2020, a decrease of 8 percent compared to the previous year. ‘Although the number of Euro-
pean patent applications from Dutch companies and inventors stagnated in 2020, this should not overshadow the fact that the Netherlands remains a country with excellent innovation capacity,’ said EPO President António Campinos. ‘We see this in the strong position of some Dutch companies with a wide range of technologies, and the unchanged high ranking in terms of the number of patent applications per capita. That is good news, because research and innovation, supported by a strong Intellectual Property Rights system, will lead to a healthier world and drive recovery from the pandemic.’ www.epo.org
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HIGH-TECH ECOSYSTEM DEPLOYS ITS DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION POWER GLOBALLY
ARE DUTCH SYSTEM SUPPLIERS READY FOR THE SEMICONDUCTOR ’SUPERCYCLE’?
THEME ‘SHAPING THE OPTIMAL HIGH-COMPLEXITY MACHINE BUILDING SUPPLY CHAIN Without being overly chauvinistic, it is fair to say that the Dutch high-tech industry stands out worldwide as an ecosystem of extraordinary achievements – for instance
The semiconductor industry is in the midst of a three-year ‘supercycle’, with expenditure on high-tech equipment growing 12 to 16 per cent year on year. How do OEMs and system suppliers manage that growth? What is the optimal collaboration model for this? How do they best allocate their competencies across the world? At the end of March, these questions were the central topics of an online round table with representatives of the Dutch high-tech ecosystem, organised by Link Magazine in cooperation with guest editor-in-chief Theo Kneepkens of semicon OEM KLA.
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GROWTH AND SHORTAGES The other system suppliers at the virtual round table are also investing heavily. Firsttier suppliers are ready to absorb the growth, Kneepkens concludes. ‘Machines and facilities such as cleanrooms are sufficiently available, but I foresee a shortage of components such as linear guides, bearings and chips. How do we prevent second- and third-tier suppliers from causing unpleasant surprises in the supply chain and halting our shipments?’ Henk Jan Jonge Poerink from back-end semicon OEM Besi has the same concerns. ‘For the coming years, shortages of commodities such as chips will be the new trend.’ How can the chain better prepare for this, asks moderator Martin van Zaalen of Link Magazine. Jonge Poerink pleads for more integrated forecasting. ‘Each OEM does this in its own way towards its suppliers, but it is still mainly just sending lists. With an integrated system, it should be easier, especially with multi-tier management, to check whether sufficient demand has been announced to the component suppliers. We don’t have that insight yet.’ Growth is not only about expanding capacity,
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relatively small OEM’s at the front end of the supply chain containing relatively small system suppliers and their supply base, each specialising in a certain niche technology that is crucial for the success of the OEM’s complex machine. How does this ecosystem function? Of course, it does
BY HANS VAN EERDEN
he semiconductor industry is entering a supercycle of several years, says Theo Kneepkens, kicking off the discussion. ‘I wonder how suppliers respond to this.’ At system supplier VDL ETG Singapore there is a ‘can do’ mentality, Jadranko Dovic reacts. ‘In the previous semicon’s growth cycle, four years ago, I could agree a multi-million investment plan with the VDL family, which has been implemented and is currently fully utilised. We want to achieve double-digit growth through investments in machines and buildings.’
in semicon but also in photonics, agri-tech and med-tech. This ecosystem consists of
but also about making optimal use of the existing capacity in the supply chain, says Tjarko Bouman of system supplier NTS. ‘With scarce resources in the chain, you have to work well together to prevent waste of components and capacity. Can we learn from sectors such as automotive and retail, which have a fully integrated chain? If you combine integrated forecasting for more transparency in the chain, with investments, you’ll have the best of both worlds.’
not function perfect, so how can collaboration within be improved further? What barriers do the players from the Netherlands face after crossing the national border, and how do they overcome them? How can customers worldwide profit the most from the typically Dutch combination of competences of systems engineering and direct communication?
CUT UP THE CHAIN? The question is where the investment risk will lie and how reliable agreements and predictions are, says Sven Pekelder of total solution provider Settels Savenije. ‘A forecast is great, but if you expect suppliers to make certain investments and commitments to follow them, then in my view a broader cooperation is part of this. In the automotive industry, outsourcing takes place at a much higher level and suppliers are involved with a complete automobile platform, which gives them a proper understanding of how to set up and manage their own supply chain. The semicon industry isn’t that mature yet, and the question is whether suppliers are ready for the ramp-up. Are they able to collaborate with more parties to make better use of the existing capacity? Could it be an idea to cut the chain into smaller pieces? In recent years there has been an enormous boost among large system suppliers to become even bigger, to be able to supply larger modules in an integrated fashion. I wonder whether that has benefited flexibility. My concern is that larger first-tier players create greater bullwhip effects further down the chain. Cutting up the chain is then part of the solution to dampen the fluctuations in the forecasts.’
CREATING LEVERAGE The global growth of the semiconductor industry translates for ASML into pressure on both production and development. Frans van Lierop sees the shortage of components as a temporary problem. The idea of dividing large modules into smaller modules and sub-modules to improve growth control makes him uncomfortable. ‘That will make our lives more difficult, because then we have to coordinate many more little things. We believe in high-level qualified buys.’ Pekelder understands: ‘I am not in favour of ASML splitting 100 modules into 1,000 smaller modules, because they cannot manage that. But there is a coordination burden that we have to manage as a chain. Suppose a component occurs in four modules, of which 100 each have to be produced. Then the supplier will receive four times the demand for 100 pieces for the component in question. If you are not careful, he might think it’s the same demand every time, so he’ll reserve 100 pieces and the chain will fall short of 300.’ Dovic understands the concerns, but does not see the solution in lower-level outsourcing. ‘We need a more integrated approach. Our highmix, low-volume, high-tech industry has to
Martin van Zaalen
Sven Pekelder
Eric Tielemans
Henk Jan Jonge Poerink
Frans van Lierop
Jadranko Dovic
Theo Kneepkens
Tjarko Bouman
compete for scarce components with other industries approaching suppliers for much larger numbers. So, we can only create leverage if we together ‘attack’ those suppliers with a good forecast, in order to obtain a better negotiating position, which will benefit all of us.’
SUPPLENESS Bouman: ‘What the automotive offers us is not the only solution, but the high-tech must provide more transparency to ensure that the chain can operate more flexibly. By sharing forecasts in the chain, you can achieve more efficiency, minimising the risk of capacity loss and optimising availability. Otherwise, further down the chain, at tier 3 and 4, you’ll end up with uncontrollable bullwhip effects on demand. You have to combine that transparency with the strength of cooperation towards customers.’ Kneepkens: ‘There are all kinds of supplier collaboration models for OEMs, but suppliers must show the willingness to work together, while being each other’s competitors. That is possible, because the growth is so great that there’s enough work for everyone. The only question is how you can optimise that cooperation.’ Pekelder: ‘At least among OEMs, there should be more awareness about how intertwined our supply network is. We have to tell each other better how that network works and how we can manage it, in order to be able to fulfil our growth challenge. I think we can really do that, with suppleness, but what I sometimes experience is that the big boys only ask for more, more, more, on strength and sometimes lose sight of the flexibility in their hinterland.’
TRUST Then there still is the problem of the change process in engineering that plays a role in forecasting, adds Eric Tielemans of high-end
‘TEAMS’ PLAYERS Participants in the online round-table Teams session: • Tjarko Bouman, CEO at NTS; As a first-tier system supplier, NTS, headquartered in Eindhoven (NL), develops, produces, assembles and tests complex (opto-) mechatronic systems and mechanical modules. • Jadranko Dovic, Managing Director at VDL ETG Singapore; As a subsidiary of system supplier VDL ETG, headquartered in Eindhoven and part of the Dutch industrial conglomerate VDL Groep, VDL ETG Singapore supplies parts, modules and systems to most semiconductor OEMs and first-tier suppliers. • Henk Jan Jonge Poerink, Senior Vice President Global Operations at Besi and Managing Director at Besi APac in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia); BE Semiconductor Industries (Besi), headquartered in Duiven (NL), is a leading supplier of semiconductor assembly equipment. • Theo Kneepkens, Senior Vice President Global Operations at KLA in Singapore; KLA is a global OEM, headquartered in Silicon Valley (USA), providing advanced process control and process-enabling solutions to the semiconductor and electronics industry.
technology supplier Demcon. ‘If changes are underway that have not yet been incorporated in the forecast, the transparency ends. In that case, you could have ordered the chips for a particular module that suddenly turns out to be obsolete. You have to keep close to each other, build a network, continually share information with all parties involved, including your own suppliers. When there is mutual trust, suppliers are willing to reserve components for us, enabling them to react
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Frans van Lierop, Senior Vice President Sourcing & Supply Chain at ASML; ASML, headquartered in Veldhoven (NL), is the world-market leader in lithography and wafer metrology solutions. Sven Pekelder, CTO at Settels Savenije group of companies; Settels in Eindhoven (NL) is a total solution provider to the high-tech industry, covering R&D, development and production of advanced systems, and manufacture of precision parts. Eric Tielemans, managing director at Demcon advanced mechatronics (DAM) in Best (NL); DAM is part of the Demcon group, headquartered in Enschede (NL), which develops, produces and supplies technology and innovative products. Martin van Zaalen, Chief Editor at Link Magazine (moderator).
• www.asml.com • www.besi.com • www.demcon.com • www.kla.com • www.nts-group.nl • www.sttls.nl • www.vdletg.com quickly’ Of course, VDL also talks with the customers about customer commitment, Dovic adds. ‘But bottom line there are mostly no hard purchase orders for justifying generic investments like milling machines. Ultimately, we invest with both feet on the ground and on the basis of trust and understanding the market.’ That trust is abundant in the greater Eindhoven ecosystem, TO BE CONTINUED ON PAGE 13
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CHINA JAPAN TAIWAN
GERMANY CZECH REPUBLIC MALAYSIA SINGAPORE
SWITZERLAND
Map showing the global coverage of the Dutch high-tech ecosystem, as represented by development and production locations of the Dutch participants in the online round-table. (In the Netherlands headquarters only, and excluding global sales and service locations).
CONTINUATION OF PAGE 11
Tielemans agrees. ‘But further down the chain you have to deal with large international component suppliers. Our “trust game” is much more difficult to play with this kind of suppliers.’ Collaboration is important and it helps if the partners already know each other, says Van Lierop of ASML. ‘Then you automatically get more certainty as to whether they can turn their “great stories” into orders.’
SHARING RISKS Can OEMs take over parts of the risk that system suppliers run with investments based on those great stories, Van Zaalen wants to know. That is already happening, says Van Lierop. ‘There are models for that. Obviously, everyone is looking for a healthy spread of risks and securities. Just as we talk to our customers about long-term large investments, we also enter into discussions with our suppliers.’ Kneepkens thinks it is logical that suppliers take their own responsibility. ‘But the more unique an investment related to a particular customer and the greater the risks, the greater the need to talk about models in which risks are shared.’ Risk sharing starts with sharing information, Pekelder emphasises once again. ‘OEMs can, for example, share their technology roadmap more with suppliers, tell them what their vision is and what role they envisage for parties such as VDL, Settels, NTS and Demcon.’ Eric Tielemans is of course also happy to see that commitment. ‘But it must be on a case-by-case basis, because Demcon must remain our own enterprise. So, the OEMs are willing to invest in the supply chain, but does that also happen from the first tier to the second tier?’ Such second-tier management is crucial in the mechatronics chain where first tiers purchase the majority of their parts, according to Van Lierop.
NEXT FLAVOUR OF COOPERATION It helps when OEMs have roadmap discussions with first- and second-tier suppliers, to
help them prepare for the demand to come, Van Zaalen concludes. ‘They don’t have to open their wallet themselves, unless it concerns highly customer-specific investments by their suppliers.’ That is correct, as long as there is a reasonable balance between investment risk and growth opportunities, says Kneepkens. ‘At ASML, the investment was so substantial in two cases that this OEM decided to do it themselves by taking over the relevant supplier.’ He is referring to the American Cymer, which is building the EUV source for ASML, and Berliner Glas, a renowned German supplier of key optical components and systems. To steer clear of sensitive information, Van Lierop of the listed ASML only wants to respond in general terms. ‘We sometimes use unique competencies of partners. If the demand for this is largely driven by ASML and involves substantial investments, we may consider partnering with such a party permanently (through a takeover, ed.).’ That is an extreme case, however, says Kneepkens of fellow OEM KLA. ‘It doesn’t apply to the parties here at the table. We as OEMs prefer to have strong suppliers who invest themselves instead of us having to do so.’
DUTCH COOPERATION CULTURE Interesting industry issues, so Jadranko Dovic of VDL ETG thinks, but he would like to highlight once again the Dutch high-tech ecosystem, which has its focal points in the south and east of the Netherlands. ‘It is unique on a mechatronic level, especially in the philosophy of collaboration. This has been embedded in higher education and training courses for decades and cannot simply be built up somewhere else, for example in China. We can all get even more out of it if we work together more closely and try to find customers together.’ ASML would never have been so successful without the ecosystem, Van Zaalen concludes. Van Lierop: ‘There are so many things that ASML is not the best at, so we gather companies around us in the
ecosystem. We really want to do a few things ourselves, such as system design and integration, and we leave a lot of things to partners for good reasons. Eighty percent of our added value comes from outside.’
CONTINENT-TO-CONTINENT COPY Can the Dutch cooperation culture be copied ‘local for local’ to the various continents and should the semicon industry be organised per continent, just like the automotive supply chains, Van Zaalen wants to know. ‘We do not find medium-sized mechatronics companies in the Beijing yellow pages,’ says Van Lierop. ‘We already know them from the south of the Netherlands, so we are going to talk to them about cooperation on other continents.’ For production, those supply chains are already available per continent, says Theo Kneepkens. ‘I wonder whether it is also necessary for development and the real top competencies. Our world and our volumes are perhaps too small for that. Our suppliers have one location where they really build up their knowledge and do their high-end development.’ Location is just one aspect, Van Lierop continues. ‘Of course, we first look at the competencies; a party must be able to do what we ask for in terms of technology development. When it comes to mechatronics and electronics competencies, we are blessed in the south of the Netherlands. If something is knowledgeintensive, we naturally want to work on it closely together. Other considerations come later, such as cost leadership and ‘local for local’ for service business. So, it is important that our partners themselves invest in global expansion and believe in it.’ Kneepkens: ‘In the Netherlands, more than in some other cultures, I see the willingness to cooperate and to expand globally. Numerous Dutch system suppliers have set up branches elsewhere in the world to develop together close to the customer or to do production in lower-cost countries. That is a unique combination.’
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THEME SHAPING THE OPTIMAL HIGH-COMPLEXITY MACHINE BUILDING SUPPLY CHAIN
SEMICONDUCTOR OEM KLA KNOWS WHERE IN THE WORLD WHICH STRENGTHS ARE, AND CAPITALISES ON THEM
A GLOBAL MARKET LEADER BECAUSE IT IS A GLOBAL PLAYER Semiconductor OEM KLA is competitive precisely because it is a global player. Precisely because it is able to combine the world’s highest-quality metrology and inspection knowledge with the world’s best manufacturing technology. Hence the collaboration with suppliers who have the most advanced technology, some of which is located in the southern Netherlands region. An interview with KLA chief executive Theo Kneepkens about acting in an eminently global sector.
BY MARTIN VAN ZAALEN
Theo Kneepkens has formed a clear picture of where in the world the strengths are. ‘Mechatronic knowledge is located in the south of the Netherlands.’ Photo: KLA
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heo Kneepkens, senior vice president of Global Operations at the listed company KLA, cannot disclose much about it, but he does have the following to say about the current geopolitical relations: ‘If you want to be a leader in the semiconductor industry, you have to be able to bring together the best innovations from the best specialists from all over the world.’
WORLD PLAYER KLA is a manufacturer of inspection tools and metrological and data analysis systems for the semiconductor sector. With its headquarters in Silicon Valley, and both production and R&D facilities in the US, Singapore, China, Germany, Israel and Wales, it can rightly call itself a global player. That is why Kneepkens is often on a conference call late at night, with colleagues and suppliers in Europe and America, or early in the morning with the head office in California. ‘No, this is not my last meeting today,’ he says via Teams from Singapore where it is five in the afternoon. ‘I have another one scheduled for tonight at eleven.’
WHERE WHICH STRENGTHS It is precisely the combination of the world’s highest-quality knowledge with the production technology with the best price-value ratio in the world that has earned the company
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a solid competitive position in a highly competitive sector. Kneepkens has therefore formed a clear picture of where in the world the strengths are. ‘Mechatronic knowledge is located in the south of the Netherlands. Very fine motion control for a wafer stage, for example, that is technology that VDL ETG has mastered, but companies like NTS and Frencken have similar knowledge. And Demcon has a strong engineering team in this area. KLA is also looking at other suppliers in the southern Netherlands. ‘Tecnotion’s linear motors are known worldwide. And we look with interest at the capabilities of companies such as Aalberts Advanced Mechatronics and Hittech. We see the greatest growth opportunities for those suppliers that can combine the high-tech knowledge of the Netherlands with a global footprint.’
ISRAEL AND US IMPORTANT For laser sources, KLA has key suppliers in Germany, as it does for critical optical modules. Robotics, optics and imaging technology are sourced in Japan. Israel also accounts for some of the optics. ‘There are more than a thousand of us there, including R&D. Israel has extensive knowledge in the field of optics and imaging technology. It is also a country with a population with a very strong will to survive, to be successful, to
create jobs at home, with people who can do business at the cutting edge.’ KLA is also supplied from its home base in Silicon Valley for just about every technological discipline: optics, lasers, sensorics, robotics, mechatronics, etc. ‘For the Dutch OEMs, the primary ecosystem is in the south of the Netherlands, but for us it is in California.’
BUILD TO SPECIFICATION The supply from Europe, Japan, Israel and the US mainly involves knowledge and production, by co-developing suppliers. ‘No, the term build to roadmap is not common here, I only hear it used by Dutch suppliers. But the shift from build to print, to build to specification, to build to roadmap is definitely a trend I recognise, also at KLA. We involve our suppliers more and more in the design and try to make sure that the development roadmap of our suppliers corresponds with our product roadmap. The current level of outsourcing in these knowledge-intensive regions is mostly build to specification. The contribution of manufacturing knowledge is the most important – companies such as NTS and VDL ETG have their roots in manufacturing. That’s why that type of supplier is also very keen to take on volume production, because that’s where their strength lies.’
SUPERCYCLE Due to the current shortages of semiconductor products, Kneepkens believes that capacity expansion is necessary. ‘We are in a multi-year supercycle of growth, driven by AI, 5G, automotive and now accelerated by COVID due to the sharply increased demand for
homework electronics and medical technology.’ However, entirely in keeping with KLA’s own motto of ‘Keep Looking Ahead’, he does have a concern. ‘These developments do, of course, provide great opportunities for our global supply chains, but given the current tremendous growth, I do worry
about supply chain shortages. I sincerely hope that the supply industry sees this as a great opportunity and does not hesitate to expand their capacity!’
• www.kla.com
EVERY CONTINENT ITS OWN CHIP FABS? The shortages of chips mainly concern microcontrollers, based on technology from the company Arm, which are now at the heart of almost every end product. ‘A big problem’, says Wilfred Poot, country manager of the Dutch branch of Future Electronics, a global company that purchases and distributes electronics from some two hundred electronics manufacturers. These controllers are manufactured by a small number of foundries, Taiwanese TSMC being the largest. ‘This manufacturer can’t handle the demand. The demand for components with Arm technology is now much greater than the supply. It looks like a perfect storm.’ There are major concerns in the semiconductor equipment sector and beyond about the concen tration of chip fabs, in Taiwan and South Korea. According to Jos Versteeg, Samsung and TSMC are vulnerable. ‘Samsung’s factory is in South Korea. That’s within shooting range of North Korea. And China considers Taiwan a rebellious province. If China attacks, they immediately have the highest-
quality factory,’ says the analyst at investment bank InsingerGilissen to the Eindhovens Dagblad newspaper. ‘The interest of chip manufacturer TSMC in Taiwan is alarmingly large,’ says a manager of one of the large listed American machine manufacturers in that sector who does not want to be named. ‘At some point the Chinese government may decide that Taiwan really does belong to China. However heavy the required investment may be, building fabs in the US and Europe seems inevitable to me.’ He is not alone in advocating such a sweeping solution. Politics is also stirring. The European Union is considering plans to manufacture up to 20 percent of all leading-edge semiconductors in the world by 2030. A similar development is taking place in Washington. Particularly in the US, but also in Europe, this sentiment is fed by the desire to strengthen and shield one’s own region. The question is, however, to what extent trade restrictions will keep China from building a complete semiconductor chain of its own, he continues. ‘Of course, ASML took
decades to develop the EUV. But how many hundreds of thousands of smart people are studying engineering in China?’ But even apart from geopolitical tensions, it may make sense to opt for more chip fabs, on more continents, to avoid future shortages. The question is how cost-effective that is. And these are certainly not interventions that produce quick effects. Setting up a new ‘ecosystem’ for the manufacture of chips is a matter of years, not months, said ASML CEO Peter Wennink during the presentation of the annual results in January. ‘It has taken thirty to forty years to build the current system. And if you break that global system down into geographic pieces of innovation, the costs go up.’
• www.futureelectronics.com • www.insingergilissen.nl • www.asml.com
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THEME SHAPING THE OPTIMAL HIGH-COMPLEXITY MACHINE BUILDING SUPPLY CHAIN
BURKHARDT+WEBER DEVELOPS ‘MOST ACCURATE’ HIGH-PRECISION MACHINE WITH AND FOR MASÉVON
‘THEY ARE AT LEAST TEN YEARS AHEAD OF GERMAN MACHINE BUILDERS’ Masévon Advanced Systems was recently founded to produce complex, clean modules and systems for the semiconductor and other industries. For this, it engaged in a quest for a suitable machining centre. Burkhardt+Weber (BW) was more than willing to offer Masévon a peek behind the scenes and to engage in open, indepth technical discussions even before the contract was awarded. The result is one of the most accurate machines BW has ever built and Masévon has ever put into service. BY HANS VAN EERDEN
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asévon Group is a high-tech system supplier serving various markets, including semiconductor and medical, with four core competences: cleanliness, vacuum technology, operational excellence and manufacturing excellence. With a large customer base in the south of the Netherlands but with its head office in Hardenberg, in the east of the Netherlands, Masévon consists of five companies with a total of 200 employees and achieved a turnover of 50 million euros last year. ‘Our world is changing and is becoming increasingly complex,’ says COO Björn Wesselink. ‘That’s why we recently founded Masévon Advanced Systems, to produce complex systems under ultra-clean conditions. But before we would invest, we wanted to know what our strengths were and what the market needs were. As a result of our roadshow along various customers three years ago, we committed to the construction of a new plant, as we could no longer grow at our existing locations. In this new building we now have all internal competences under one roof.’
QUEST FOR THE MACHINE As Masévon involved their future customers in specifying key deliverables (specs, dimensions, lead times, etc.) of the new plant, they were enthusiastic well before the building process was started. Specifically, there was a
From left to right, Gert Dijk, Henk Spalink en Björn Wesselink, in front of the new Burkhardt+Weber machine tool on the new premises of Masévon Advanced Systems in Hardenberg. Photo: Eric Bronkhorst
need for producing high-precision vacuum chambers with maximum dimensions of 2 by 2 by 2 metres. Masévon therefore decided to invest in a new milling machine for very complex aluminium parts, under the supervision of Henk Spalink, group leader machining at Masévon Advanced Systems, and Gert Dijk of Dijk Consult. Dijk: ‘With my independent measurement and consultancy firm, I advise clients on the purchase, overhaul and calibration of machine tools. It is important that companies orient themselves well in advance, because problems such as failing to reach the commissioning deadline or immediate repairs are often the result of unclear agreements between the machine supplier and the customer at the front end of the process.’ The available machines, however, turned out to be unsuitable, Wesselink reports. ‘That’s how our quest for the right milling machine began. We have combined our knowledge about the market needs and Henk’s machining experience with Gert’s expertise of the interplay between machine geometry, machine operation and the required product quality. Together we translated all of our concerns and specifications into the machine requirements and drafted a request for quotation. Holding this RFQ, we entered
the market and visited the usual suspects, but none of these machine builders were willing to let us take a peek behind the scenes.’
AGILE TRANSFORMATION Eventually, Masévon also visited Burkhardt+ Weber in Reutlingen (Germany). Wesselink: ‘Right from the start, BW gave us a good feeling, partly because our company is approximately the same size.’ BW is 130 years old, has 250 employees and achieved a turnover of 45 million euros last year. BW has specialised in producing large, high-precision and highly customized machining centres. It has grown from a traditional machine builder into an innovative company, says CEO Olaf Furtmeier. ‘Our corporate philosophy is to keep up with the changing world that Björn talked about. We want to meet the everincreasing expectations and requirements of customers and to make optimal use of automation and digitisation. We were looking for a partner to go through this agile transformation with us. In Masévon we found a good match in terms of company size and philosophy.’
TO BE CONTINUED ON PAGE 19
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CONSTRUCTIVE DISCUSSIONS Technical sales manager Knut Weller of BW did a good job preparing meetings, explains Wesselink. ‘He made sure that we met their technical experts. They were able to convince us of the geometrical accuracy and thermal stability of their machine. For example, we learned a lot about the influence of the heat released during processing. The discussions were not always easy, though.’ Henk Spalink, who was also involved, says: ‘We talked extensively about the possibilities of the new machine and the products we want to produce with it.’ Weller: ‘We always had constructive discussions. As a small company, we are flexible and our focus is on customisation, which is not easily available from large machine builders. Given the high speeds required for aluminium machining, we took the MCX, the ultra-dynamic version of our series of roller-guided machining centres, with modifications to the axes, as the base of this machine. Finally, we drew up a protocol for what had to be satisfied in preliminary and final acceptance tests. It was quite a process we went through, from which everyone has learned, also here at BW.’
ON THE LIMIT Wesselink: ‘That’s how we went in-depth together and that gave us a lot of confidence. We looked at measurements of parts, as well as dynamic and thermal stability tests on machines. We had lively discussions, with products on the table, about what could still reasonably be achieved without costs exceeding all limits, finding the optimal balance between quality and costs. Each time we went through this discussion, for a total of about 30 to 40 parameters, and this gave us a lot of confidence in the machine’s ability to produce the product quality we wanted to achieve.’ Gert Dijk, who also played a crucial role, says: ‘I had to ensure that what Masévon needed in terms of precision would end up in the specifications of the machine and that what they wanted to measure could actually be measured. With this large machine, that was on the limit of what was possible. These very strict requirements were a major challenge for the machine builder. Analysing what is possible was not easy, but it went well. BW was open and we understood each other very well. I know the machine builders’ market and comprehend what actually matters, what is dream and what is reality. For me it was the first BW machine and, to be honest, I was surprised by its quality.’
UTMOST PRECISION The machine for Masévon is one of the most accurate ones BW has ever developed, Weller reports. ‘Certainly so in a 5-axis version and with these high rotational speeds.’ In fact, it is one large measuring machine that can also
Olaf Furtmeier (left) and Knut Weller at Burkhardt+Weber in Reutlingen. Photo: BW
machine, Furtmeier says jokingly. Inside the volume of a cubic metre, the accuracy is 10 to 20 micrometre – and that without volumetric compensation’, Dijk adds. ‘It is an extraordinarily accurate machine and contains a great deal of knowledge and experience from the people behind it.’ This concerns the spatial precision, covering several axes, Weller emphasises. ‘We went through many process steps to arrive at such an accurate machine, with protocols for the interim measurement of all kinds of quantities. In the final assembly of the machine, we were able to correct things once again and the eventual precision was handmade. We make the accurate parts on our own machines.’ Dijk stresses that the BW machine’s precision is purely of a mechanical nature. ‘Nowadays it is possible to correct errors in CNC machines in such a way that a bad machine can produce good results thanks to software optimisation.’ But that is not what Masévon wants, says Wesselink. ‘If we know that the machine is thermally stable and no software compensation is required, then we can predict the behaviour of the machine and make the best product using the expertise of Henk and his colleagues.’
STATE-OF-THE-ART The machine features of course all modern automation, both in terms of automatic product and tool change, as well as control with CNC programs, extensive measurement programs and data acquisition for data analysis. Furtmeier: ‘Not only the machine itself, but also the ambient conditions, such as climate control and the concrete foundation, are state-of-the-art. And in the end, it is important that, despite the extensive automation, the operator understands the machine.’ For this, Dijk has set up an extensive training programme for the operators. ‘If they don’t understand the interplay between machine geometry and product accuracy, you’re not getting the most out of it. You therefore need
operators who have a passion for accurate machining.’ Recently, the site acceptance test was successfully completed, Wesselink reports. ‘The machine is now running at our premises and we are in the middle of the ramp-up of various parts to volume production. The prototypes already produced look good.’ In the meantime, Masévon is already planning a roadshow for the next investment round. ‘Our new building is prepared for three to four machines; there is room for expansion with specific machines, depending on market demand.’
UNIQUE COLLABORATION The advanced machine is the result of a unique collaboration, states Wesselink. ‘It was really co-creation. Even before the contract was awarded, we had serious discussions with BW, always constructively, even during the site acceptance test. Never has the contract been put on the table to settle such discussions.’ Furtmeier is happy with these kind words. ‘Based on our new corporate vision, we have been able to work well with Masévon. They are at least ten years ahead of German machine builders. We operate in a niche market and need special challenges to demonstrate our strengths. Our advantage is that we are small and flexible and can listen carefully to the needs of customers, so that we can quickly enter that new world. We’ve been able to move into one of the most challenging industries in terms of precision, the semiconductor. Thanks to Masévon, we were able to set benchmarks there and elaborate the theme of precision. If we are to continue with Masévon for another challenging machine, there is the confidence that it will work again, as in a good marriage.’
• www.burkhardt-weber.de • www.masevon.com • www.dijkconsult.nl Special Issue - April 2021
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THEME SHAPING THE OPTIMAL HIGH-COMPLEXITY MACHINE BUILDING SUPPLY CHAIN
THANKS TO ECOSYSTEM, CLEANLINESS START-UP FASTMICRO IS PLAYING IN SEMICON CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
A GLOBAL MARKET WHERE PRODUCTIVITY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER More than ever in semicon, with its extremely costly processes and urgent market demand, a high yield is crucial. In order to achieve this, clean working practices throughout the production chain are imperative. FastMicro has developed equipment that measures and characterises cleanliness, and has entered the world market with it. This head-tail start-up originated in the heart of the southern Netherlands ecosystem, around the semiconductor industry there. And that is no coincidence. ‘Engineering complex, high-precision high-tech systems, that’s what this region excels at.’ BY MARTIN VAN ZAALEN
Rogier Verberk (left) and Erik Vermeulen are convinced that the southern Netherlands region is the best place to develop and build FastMicro’s high-tech equipment. ‘It is precisely here that we, as a start-up, can be a player in the Champions League of
T
he question of where FastMicro will be in five years is one that Erik Vermeulen finds difficult to answer. Because the markets targeted by the start-up from Geldrop are still developing. The potential buyers are companies in semicon and displays. Basically all companies that need cleanroom technology to make their products. But the managers who have to decide on the purchase of FastMicro solutions still lack insight into the origin of their problem. ‘And then they are reluctant to fork out the price of a limo for a device that solves that problem.’
LOWER UPTIME AND OUTPUT The problem Vermeulen is talking about are dirt particles of 200 nanometres or larger which, if not cleaned up, cause quality problems in processes and/or products, which in turn lead to lower uptime and output of production machines and a higher percentage of rework. ‘Many people in the sectors we focus on are not yet sufficiently aware of the importance of design for cleanliness; of the fact that in every step of the production chain, from initial design to service, dirt particles can get into the process or product. If, for
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Special Issue - April 2021
equipment manufacturing.’ On the far left, behind the cleanroom window, the sample scanner is visible. Photo: Com-magz
example, machines used to produce displays are not designed for cleanliness, this can mean that displays ultimately have to be rejected because too many pixels are shielded by dirt particles.’
DATA-DRIVEN At the back of the chain, where the small components including the screws and nuts are manufactured for processing in clean rooms, there is much less awareness than at the front of the chain, where the builders and end users of production machines operate. ‘The highend parties are data-driven. They know that, by way of providing evidence to their clients, they have to digitally document every step in their processes. They know in detail the costs of downtime or rework. Those are the parties we already do business with.’
STARTED TWENTY YEARS AGO These (major) parties, currently only companies in Europe and North America, but soon companies in Asia probably as well – ‘just yesterday I was in a call with someone from
South Korea’ – are prepared to spend money on the surface particle contamination measurement that FastMicro has industrialised and launched on the market. Technology that was basically developed by the Delft branch of research institute TNO, also at the table in Geldrop in the person of Rogier Verberk. ‘We started doing this twenty years ago, because companies such as ASML were looking for a solution to the contamination of the reticles (mirrors that contain the structure of one of the layers from which a chip is built, ed.), which in their lithographic processes must be continually put into and out of a vacuum. This resulted in a complex laboratory set-up that was able to visualise particles of up to 50 nanometres. This is done by focusing laser light from numerous angles and different colours on a surface to be monitored and deducing its location and size from its reflection – scattering – on the dirt particles.’
MORE COMPACT, MORE COST-EFFECTIVE But that was a large, expensive machine that offered a resolution that only a few companies
needed. ‘So we started working on a more compact device, with a lower resolution – 200 nanometres – equipped with less expensive and smaller light sources and cameras, which could be of interest to many more companies,’ says TNO’s director of semiconductor equipment. However, TNO is not here to turn the technology developed there into a marketable product itself. That began when Rob Lansbergen (of Lans Engineering) started working on it in 2017. He made an initial sketch of a compact, functional design for a user-friendly scanner, equipped with a camera, mirrors and a light source of sufficient quality and small enough to fit into a housing the size of a microwave oven.
dirt particles become visible, accompanied by a huge amount of data about the location and size of each particle.
HIGH THROUGHPUT REQUIREMENTS
This FastMicro Sample Scanner produces fast results, but measures indirectly and requires manual work, while there is a need to measure directly on products, at a high throughput. The modern semiconductor industry in particular makes these TO THE MARKET demands. ‘We’ve seen that In the next phase Bart van Mierlo of the trend for years,’ says Science & Technology Group was called in to Verberk. ‘But given the develop accurately operating software and an current major shortages of accessible interface. For industrialisation, to chips, it is now suddenly turn Van Lansbergen’s sketch into a working obvious to everyone that and producible product, Marc Evers came into The fully automatic Product Scanner from FastMicro, equipped with a robot and a feeder. Illustration: FastMicro the production of chips the picture. He had just left KMWE and must be stepped up. In started his own business TBRM, a group ASML that has set a very high standard with such an environment, there is no time for currently numbering eight companies, EUV,’ explains Verberk. Vermeulen: ‘FastMicro rework and downtime on account of contamiincluding FastMicro since October 2019. In is a head-to-tail company. We concentrate, nation. This can easily cost huge amounts of the spring of 2020, Erik Vermeulen (previously currently with ten people, on sales and service money. And in that environment, there’s a CEO of De Koningh Medical Products and and developing the right products for that. We great need for equipment that detects that start-up Qynion, among others) was apleave all the rest – sourcing, industrialisation, contamination in good time, at the same rate pointed CEO and in the second quarter of last construction, assembly and testing – to system as the rest of the semiconductor production year the first beta version of the ‘FastMicro suppliers from this region, such as KMWE line.’ That is why FastMicro immediately went Sample Scanner’ was shipped to the first client. and Mevi. They in turn have a supply base, ahead with the development of the Product especially in the southern part of the NetherScanner, in a more quickly operated manual BETA-READY lands, which is at a world-class level in the version, but also in a fully automatic one, Fifteen of these scanners have now been instalhigh mix low volume segment. That’s how we, equipped with a robot and a feeder. It can scan led on clients’ premises in five countries and as a start-up, can be a player in the Champions pellicles (which must protect the reticles from they have provided a great deal of feedback. League of equipment manufacturing.’ dirt particles), reticles and also wafers in a few ‘We have been able to collect large amounts of minutes, analyse the results and provide useful data on the operation of the device in various feedback to operators so they can take action. operating conditions, operated by cleaning QUICK PAYBACK specialists in R&D environments and by How successful FastMicro will be in that operators in production environments. But competition – where the company will be in CHAMPIONS LEAGUE now it is beta-ready. The sample scanner is five years’ time is a tough question for Erik Verberk and Vermeulen are convinced that the now a reliable, robust and user-friendly device Vermeulen. Especially since he cannot yet region in the south of the Netherlands, where that quickly delivers good quality,’ Vermeulen predict how the market will react. ‘Where we this equipment was developed and is being says. On FastMicro’s website, a video shows will be in five years depends on the speed of built, is the place to be. ‘System engineering, how a cleanroom employee presses a flexible integrating all the necessary disciplines into a adoption by the market. But I’m sure it will plate onto a surface to be tested and then highly complex piece of equipment is what happen. To this end, our application engineers places it in the sample scanner. On a screen all this region excels at, the ecosystem around must make the client aware of this solution to his problem. A problem that the client now thinks they can solve by cleaning intensively – often unnecessarily or in vain. A problem for KMWE: INVOLVED FROM THE ‘PRE-PROTO PHASE’ which we have developed a fast and reliable solution that did not exist before. It costs an amount of money that can be recovered KMWE was already involved with the sample you want to be sure that the scanners that go to dozens of times over in one year, certainly at scanner in the ‘pre-proto phase’, at a time when the client work properly. Also, in industrialisation, the front end of the chain, at the OEM.’ To FastMicro had yet to see the light of day. Getting in we specified the tools that were needed for conclude in concrete terms: ‘This is a global so early meant that KMWE could incorporate a production.’ market worth more than 100 million euros great deal of its manufacturing knowledge in the KMWE will also supply for the product scanner. in which we want to be the leading OEM in machine, says director Edward Voncken. ‘Of course, ‘That will be a division of tasks between us and five to ten years’ time.’ the sample scanner not only has to work properly, Mevi, ensuring that activities end up with the parties the device must also not become more expensive than necessary. That requires reengineering. We also took testability into account – because
that are best at them.’
• www.kmwe.com
• www.fast-micro.com • www.tbrm-group.nl • www.tno.nl Special Issue - April 2021
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We bring high-tech to life Sioux Technologies supports the high-tech industry with:
Software Mathware Mechatronics Electronics Assembly
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THEME SHAPING THE OPTIMAL HIGH-COMPLEXITY MACHINE BUILDING SUPPLY CHAIN
LARGE MACHINE BUILDERS MEET TO DISCUSS GENERATING BUSINESS FROM INSTALLED BASE
‘YOU ONLY MAKE PROGRESS IF THE CLIENT THEMSELVES EXPERIENCES THE NEED’ Eight machine builders met digitally to discuss servitization revenue models. Although they operate in a variety of markets, such as semiconductor, dairy farming, tyre production, life sciences and road management, there was a great deal of mutual recognition. The participants in this meeting of the Servitization platform also learned a lot from each other’s approach to generate business from data from their installed base. At the same time, the conclusion was that building these revenue models is easier in some sectors than in others. BY WILMA SCHREIBER AND MARTIN VAN ZAALEN
W
hat value do you seek to create for your client? According to Arjan Ester, CEO of Aebi Schmidt, ‘a good answer to this question requires a proper understanding of the client’s pains and gains. With the data we receive from our grit sprinklers in the field, we can determine the optimum route for the client, for example. This type of added value enables client lock-in. To identify those needs,
SERVITIZATION PLATFORM
you need to be able to win over the client at various levels, so that you can gain a clear understanding of how exactly they use your machine.’ ‘We approach the client’, adds his manager group solution development Joost Sterenborg , ‘at an operational, tactical and strategic level in order to achieve the most appropriate service. At a strategic level, it may be about circularity and cost efficiency, which calls for a USP that ensures that machines consume less salt and diesel. You need data for that, while the driver mainly values a good seat in the cabin.’ Ester: ‘The key is to involve all the client’s stakeholders in the deal you want to close with them.’
WORKING TOGETHER IN AN ECOSYSTEM Participants in the Servitization platform include manufacturing companies and two knowledge institutions, including TU Eindhoven, initiator together with Link Magazine. The higher goal of the initiative is to make (many) more companies in our country aware that servitization is an important enabler of future continuity and profitable growth. This involves the transition from selling products to delivering and maintaining product service systems (service solutions). A platform of frontrunners stimulates this awareness and accelerates the development of smart services that will generate new business. The platform is designed in such a way that it can help companies to analyse their organisation, to map out a basic strategy, to formulate concrete projects and then to develop and roll out concrete new services. By discussing concrete projects in the platform, the transition of these companies to servitization can be accelerated. For more information about the platform, please contact john.vanginkel@linkmagazine.nl
• www.tue.nl
Freddie Ruijs, senior product manager of farm management systems & data at Lely, manufacturer of milking and feeding robots: ‘Our farmers are mainly concerned with the percentage of fat and protein in their milk; that’s what the dairy manufacturer judges them by. So our robots need to provide this information. To this end, we are now seeking to collaborate with other suppliers in the ecosystem around the livestock farmer, such as the livestock feed supplier. They have information about the exact composition of feed. This enables our robots to measure which cow is ingesting what and how much milk of what quality this results in. A farmer will be prepared to hand over their data online if you can demonstrate that they can immediately adjust their processes in such a way that their cows will immediately produce milk that will earn them a higher margin.’ Ruijs’ experience is that it helps if this service, for which the farmer has to pay monthly, is accompanied by hardware in addition to software. ‘A farmer likes to have something physical in their hands, a sensor for example. That instils more confidence than non-tangible software alone.’
• ‘The key is to involve all the client’s
stakeholders in the deal.’ • ‘Data on materials says a lot about the
quality of processes.’ • ‘If you only base yourself on operating
expenses, you will have covered only a fraction of the new machine price after five years.’ • ‘You really need a clear roadmap and release management.’
PROVIDE EVIDENCE ‘It’s a long-term process,’ continues Ruijs. Use sensor data to create so much extra added value that the client realises that without it, the product is of little use to them.’ Compare it to a Tesla driver, for whom their car is worth much less if they have no up-to-date map of charging points. ‘For us this means that we have to involve as many players as possible in that ecosystem, including the dairy manufacturer. So that you can show the farmer that, if they themselves can check with data that their cows have spent a certain amount of time in the pasture, their milk can be branded at a higher price as ‘pasture milk.’’
PROTECTING DATA Joris ten Thije, program manager service innovation at Thermo Fisher Scientific, manufacturer of electron microscopes, finds it difficult to transfer this way of working on servitization revenue models to his semiconductor world. ‘Our life sciences clients are willing to pay for data and advice, especially if this prevents maintenance work and downtime. Our semiconductor clients in Asia, however, do want the data, but do not need it to be processed into advice, let alone pay for it. Their specialists are perfectly able to extract useful information and value from that data themselves. Investing in that is a risk for us.’ Jeroen Slobbe, COO of tyre manufacturer VMI, has the same experience: ‘Our major clients buy the monitoring functions and shield the data from them. So we’re still not always able to work with other parties in the TO BE CONTINUED ON PAGE 24
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CONTINUATION OF PAGE 23
ecosystem.’ Sterenborg: ‘Some of our clients don’t use our applications and consider themselves capable enough to translate machine data into information. We then provide them with raw data. That’s why we use different revenue models for data, so we can support the client at different levels.’
From left to right, top row: Chris Sanders (ASML), Joost Sterenborg (Aebi Schmidt), Oscar Moers (Lely); middle row: Arjan Ester (Aebi Schmidt), Joris ten Thije (Thermo Fisher Scientific), Néomie Raassens (TU/e, moderator); bottom row: Freddie Ruijs (Lely), Sander Schepens (ASML), Jeroen Slobbe (VMI).
SHARE ONLY LOCALLY Chris Sanders, service product manager at ASML, confirms Ten Thije’s story. ‘In our world, it’s hard to get data from the chip factory. Sometimes it is ‘never waste a good crisis’. In this coronavirus time, we were suddenly able to get a camera into a client’s factory for the installation of new chip machines, so that our engineers could help remotely with the installation. But getting the on product process data to Veldhoven is difficult, especially given the client IP in the data. That data has to stay there in the factory. They are willing to share it with us locally in order to carry out planned maintenance together, but that’s as far as it goes. I think you will only make progress if the client themselves experiences the need. But then they have to give you the opportunity to show that you can do more with it than they can, and more cost-effectively.’
purposes. Besides the fact that the client does not want to give that data, you may also have to deal with – often large and powerful – suppliers who contact the client themselves to offer service, skipping you. The client likes that: they prefer to make their data available only in a centralised ecosystem. We are therefore looking whether we can develop more of our own embedded software.’
PLATFORM FOR THE ENTIRE ECOSYSTEM In short, the client wants to distribute data and rule themselves. That is why it is important to work on a software platform, says Ruijs, on which the entire ecosystem can run its own applications. ‘This means that other parties in the ecosystem need to realise that it is becoming very expensive to develop and maintain apps independently and that it is difficult to recoup the investment on your
STAYING IN THE MIDDLE ‘In these kinds of situations,’ Slobbe adds, ‘it’s an advantage if you’re a leading player in the market, as we are with our tyre production machines. Yet our clients are also very reluctant to share their data. Data on materials says a lot about the quality of processes. If we can get that data from the client’s MES system and label and analyse it, we can use it to improve our machines, creating room for new service revenue models. If the client recognises the added value of that, you’ll get their data.’ ‘But you have to make sure,’ says Ten Thije, ‘that you stay in the middle. Sell it as a service package with training, add hardware sensors. Prevent the client from being able to process it all themselves into information that makes sense to them.’ Which brings Slobbe to another concern: ‘Our major component suppliers who want to integrate vertically are developing more and more technology that generates data for service
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‘IF THE CLIENT SEES THE ADDED VALUE, YOU WILL GET THEIR DATA’
share of a larger servitization revenue model.’ Lely colleague and senior project manager Oscar Moers, says: ‘As a result, the farmer only has to work with one piece of software to obtain all the information. But it is important that the data always remains the property of the farmer.’
BILLING PER WAFER? In his own semiconductor business, Sanders does see a future in selling predictable uptime and/or good-wafers-out. ‘We are bringing more and more measuring equipment into the factory to check the quality of the chip machine. We sell this as a feed-forward mechanism to improve the wafer quality in-line. It is then important to conclude multi-year framework agreements with the client at the highest level about supplying a certain amount of good-wafers-out and/or predictable uptime for an amount that is linked to the selling price. However, it is difficult to link the right service KPIs to this that are attractive to both us and the client. Billing per wafer is possible, but probably not for all factories. Making unlimited parts and service time available, linked to the opex (operating expenses, ed.), is not attractive either. If you only base yourself on operating expenses, you will have covered only a fraction of the new machine price after five years. So you will also have to include the capex, the purchase value. We’re not there yet.’
IRON DISCIPLINE own. We hope to create a platform where every player has their own domain with their own data, which they obtain for a certain amount of money to provide up-to-date advice themselves. A step further is that you and the other parties combine their data streams with yours, using the patterns to gain new insights that you can’t get with your own data alone. Each party in that ecosystem can then have their
Sanders asks the other participants how to deal with continuous improvements with clients who prefer to settle everything on the basis of capex. Ruijs: ‘We’re working on converting some of those types of services into subscriptions and gradually broadening those. Clients can choose from low and high service levels, but must purchase at least a basic level, otherwise they won’t get that software. We
hope that with added value we can live up to those higher levels and expand in time. We are also aiming to increase the opex component in order to make the client gradually realise that it is normal to pay for these costs. And that not everything is in those first purchase costs anymore.’
ROADMAP VMI has the same problems, Slobbe says. ‘As an innovation leader you tend to follow the engineers, and service always comes after it. You really need a clear roadmap and release management. That requires iron discipline. Sometimes it is difficult to manage the product lifecycle, because we also have to manage releases in the service domain and not everything is backward compatible.’ Linking product lifecycle management and service lifecycle management is high on the wish list, but its implementation is still in its infancy, says Slobbe. ‘Our engineering is mainly looking forward and is not necessarily properly linked to the service lifecycle. Such a product lifecycle easily spans fifteen to twenty years, during which many changes in process and product quality take place. As VMI, we’re paying more and more attention to lifecycle management for more client value across the lifecycle. That’s why our machines have a fixed base and modular construction, which facilitates upgrades or repairs.’
Expertise – Passion – Automation
‘A farmer will be prepared to hand over their data online if you can demonstrate that they can immediately adjust their processes in such a way that their cows will immediately produce milk that earns them a higher margin’, says Freddie Ruijs of milking robot manufacturer Lely. Photo: Lely
LIFETIME EXTENSION At ASML, the product lifecycle even spans thirty years. Sanders: ‘The cost level that our clients find acceptable is declining over the years. There are also end-of-life issues, which increase maintenance costs. For ASML, the link with service is still fresh; our new lifecycle policy is now being worked out. We want to offer clients a certain service at a certain price for ten years. After that, they can buy a lifetime extension package, depending on the machine. We want to prevent clients from having machines repaired by others because we no longer offer that service. At ASML, we want to keep control of the entire ecosystem. So if at all possible we’ll continue with a product.’ Ten Thije says: ‘Sometimes clients are willing
to pay a lot to keep systems alive. That can be interesting, up to the point where you need R&D to make replacement parts.’ That is why Aebi-Schmidt works with refurbishment programmes. Ester: ‘Clients use the machine for ten, twelve years and can have an upgrade or re-manufacturing during its lifetime. That way you get business from the machine lifetime and even from the period after the original end-of-life.’
• www.aebi-schmidt.nl • www.asml.com • www.lely.com • www.thermofisher.com • www.vmi-group.com
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Special Issue - April 2021
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Start from the core A thorough intake process does not mean that one-size-fits-all; our specialists take the time to really get to know your organization. Because, sometimes what you ask for might not be what is actually needed.
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THEME SHAPING THE OPTIMAL HIGH-COMPLEXITY MACHINE BUILDING SUPPLY CHAIN
DUTCH ‘FEMININE’ WAY OF SUPPLY CHAIN COLLABORATION LEADS TO BETTER SOLUTIONS FASTER
‘THAT’S WHY ASIANS AND AMERICANS LIKE COMING HERE’ A very open way of working together, in which you can critically analyse the customer’s request and ask further questions. In which you can involve your competitor in case of problems that you as a supplier do not know the answer to, so that you can also make use of their specialisms to find a solution. This way of working is typically Dutch, says Sven Pekelder, CTO/co-owner of Settels Savenije. ‘Therein lies a business model for the Netherlands that we could still capitalise on much better.’
In Asia and the US, the open Dutch way of cooperating in chains consisting of numerous small, independent parties is increasingly appreciated, Sven Pekelder has found. Photo: Settels
BY MARTIN VAN ZAALEN
‘T
he American and Asian high-tech world sees the advantages of this, but are culturally not able to copy this way of working. So they come to the Netherlands to solve complex technical problems, with its small suppliers who are not so readily seen as a threat.’ The Dutch way of working together to solve high-tech challenges is based on a more ‘feminine culture’, in which telling people what you don’t know and the mistakes you’ve made is much less of a problem than in the more masculine culture in the rest of the world, Pekelder points out.
DUTCH REFLEX ‘Suppose an Asian customer comes for a motion control module, meant to move a product carrier from A to B. We would then like to know in what context this module has to work, what it will form part of. People often don’t like to tell this, for fear of being caught having made a mistake. And because they don’t want to give away the IP. Above all, they want to know from you if you can make it and what it will cost. We often don’t get any
further in such situations. But if we do get an idea of the bigger picture, we may discover that the module in question will not work, at least not if we make it according to the customer’s specifications. In that case, the customer sometimes still sticks to the specifications. Because they won’t admit their mistake.’ ‘And certainly not in a larger group of people. Suppose you see that the problem can be solved, but only if another module, supplied by that other supplier is modified. The typical Dutch reflex then is: “Let the three of us put our heads together.” But that’s not how it works elsewhere in the world. The customer doesn’t want to put their problem on the table, especially not in front of several suppliers. But they also have no mind to constantly call upon the two suppliers one after the other. So they stick to their specifications.’
KEEP ON TALKING Does the client then bury their head in the sand, only to be confronted with much bigger problems later? That may be the case, but, Pekelder admits, it can also result in a solution that is not perfect but that works. ‘Asians and
Americans sometimes think that we just keep on talking. They set great store by meeting the deadline, by speed. They are more satisfied if something works 80 percent, the rest will come in the next generation. They may be right about that. Except when something really needs to work impeccably, then they have a much bigger problem. It is then up to us to prevent this by finding out the maximum permissible margin of error.’
RATIONAL DEMONSTRATION This search requires experience, gut feeling, but also insight into the bigger picture so that the rational instrument of model-driven system engineering can be used. ‘Half of the work of a system engineer is stakeholder management: balancing all the interests of all the people and parties involved to reach a solution. But if you have enough information about the bigger picture, you can show a product’s operation in a digital model. This way you leave out the emotional aspect, you can show your discussion partners in a very TO BE CONTINUED ON PAGE 29
Special Issue - April 2021
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ADVERTORIAL
MORE ROBUST CHAINS AND MORE FLEXIBLE FACTORIES
GAIN: THERE’S STILL SO MUCH TO BE GAINED! The issues in the market for industrial automation are becoming more complex all the time: shorter throughput times, ready-made solutions and lots of support. ‘That calls for intelligence on the supplier side’, says Arnold de Goederen of Gain Automation Technology, South-east location. ‘The number of specialisms required for a project is increasing, whereas there is often less expertise in control technology on the client side.’ As a specialist in industrial automation, Gain aims to support manufacturing and process industry with innovative hardware and software engineering. ‘Our mission is to keep these sectors in the Netherlands and help them grow. Previously, the manufacturing and production industry accounted for around 25 percent of Gross National Product; as a result of outsourcing to low-wage countries, that has fallen to 10 percent. That needs to change, and we believe it can.’
‘During my time as an entrepreneur, I have learned how important it is to keep your focus on the long term. Profit is not a goal in itself, it is the result of a joint effort with the client directed towards a shared goal. That also means you have to keep putting forward solutions and showing flexibility when times are tough.’ Arnold de Goederen
AMPLIFICATION FACTOR
CHOOSY
Gain helps its clients to improve their production and project results by supplying smart solutions and services in the realm of technical and industrial automation. Arnold explains: ‘In the controls industry, our company’s name Gain means amplification factor. Plus of course financial profit, but even more important are the gains our clients achieve in their production and project results thanks to our solutions. With those solutions, we want to help build a foundation for the future: more robust chains, more flexible factories and a smarter way of working.’
Arnold regards his employees as the company’s key asset; as such, Gain is very choosy about who it takes on. ‘Anyone can call themselves a programmer; but how do you make really good PLC software? All our 110+ employees plus selected freelancers are subject to the same extensive screening, which involves engineers selecting and testing each other on their knowledge. That way, the quality inside our organisation is assured.’ What's more, all employees complete a course in structured programming. ‘We all want to follow the same working method and talk the same programming language, so that our solutions can be rolled out in the Netherlands and abroad.’ The programming training is also offered as an external course. ‘So for instance, we were asked to train employees of ASML; I regard that as a big compliment.’
REGIONAL STRENGTH Gain offers a combination of flexible engineering, consultancy and support for clients and projects, assured by a permanent core. ‘We are a cooperative of companies with locations in Best, Amersfoort, Gorinchem and Drachten. The management, all with industrial automation backgrounds, work with the locations as partners. They apply the same working method, focused on the specific region. Because we strongly believe in the regional strength of our employees and clients and in working closely with them.’ Because Gain has access to important and sensitive company data, trust plays a big role. ‘You don't build a relationship like that in a day; it takes time and effort. But once you've got a foot in the door, that relationship will often last.’ Arnold also prefers to keep his chain partners and suppliers close: ‘The weakest link will determine when your product or service reaches the market and what the quality level will be. We therefore want to be independent of foreign firms and work with reliable regional players.’
LEARNING CURVE Arnold doesn't want his company to grow in size. ‘I have previously worked for big international companies, but I prefer working in a flat, small organisation with short lines of communication. So above all, I want Gain to grow in terms of quality and to take on exciting and challenging projects with our team.’ With the extensive knowledge and experience gained at various corporates, Arnold was ready to go into business for himself around ten years ago. ‘Some people are ready to start a company immediately after they graduate; however, I needed to gain experience and complete the learning curve before I was ready to be an entrepreneur. But I see that as an advantage: I am a committed manager with a lot of experience in the workplace. I know better than anyone what it is like to work deep into the night commissioning a machine. As a result, I have a close bond with our people.’
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PULLING UP WEEDS Alongside various SMEs and big companies like Shell, Nuon and Vanderlande, Gain also likes working with start-ups. As an example he cites Odd.bot, a start-up that works closely with Delft University of Technology and Wageningen University and Research. This young company has invented a robot that pulls up weeds. ‘European regulations permit the use of ever fewer herbicides. And organic farmers who weed by hand are short of workers.’ This gave rise to the idea for the ‘weed whacker’, Arnold explains. Gain engineered the software for the project. ‘Contributing to innovative, sustainable and cost-saving solutions gives us a kick.’ Arnold calls on entrepreneurs to continue to invest in knowledge and product innovation, even during the pandemic. ‘Make sure you maintain your lead, that you keep supplying quality and that you have something unique to offer that is not so easy to Gain Automation Technology copy. Because you South-east location won’t win on cost De Waal 42 price; you'll only 5684 PH Best retain your lead T 06-50593521 if you really set E arnold.de.goederen@gain.nl yourself apart from the rest!’ I www.gain.nl
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rational way that the customer’s solution does not work in actual practice. Subsequently, it often turns out that these specifications are not that strict at all. That – so to speak – a little less than those 2,000 kilometres on one battery is also fine. Then you can move on.’
BUILDING TRUST ‘With a new customer you will first have to build up a relationship of trust, and that is a challenge at a time when you have no results yet that you can show. How you do that exactly is difficult to explain, just as an artist will not be able to explain how they produce a beautiful painting. But if you succeed, it will make the second job much easier. In that respect, it is no different in the Netherlands: We work together openly here, but if you violate trust, you damage your reputation. You will suffer a loss of face. We are no different in this from the rest of the world.’
INCREASING APPRECIATION ‘Two years ago a customer sent us the specifications for a motion module. After further questions it turned out that the module was intended for a flat panel production machine and that the specifications had been drawn up based on an earlier, smaller generation of the machine. We soon saw that simply increasing
CONTROL
DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING KNOWLEDGE UNDER ONE ROOF Settels Savenije works for international high-tech clients including ASML, Teledyne, Elekta, IAI, Thermo Fisher, Kulicke & Soffa, Zeiss and Bosch Rexroth. Settels is a total solution provider of systems, modules and critical components to OEMs at the forefront of technology, located in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Total staff of 140 FTE in 2020. Half of them work in R&D, 25% in Advanced Systems and 25% in Precision Parts. Since last year, all these people have been working under one roof in Eindhoven. A strategic choice, says Sven Pekelder. ‘As a developer and manufacturer of highly complex high-tech modules and systems, we are
the scale would lead to rigidity problems and vibrations, and that more power would not help. After lengthy discussions, the customer went along with us and a machine could be built that functioned correctly.’ Successful cases like this circulate rapidly. In Asia and the US, with their often vertically integrated companies, the open Dutch way of cooperating in chains consisting of numerous small, independent parties is now increasingly appreciated. ‘Elsewhere people see that open collaboration ultimately leads to better solutions more quickly for a one-stop OEM in a network of specialist suppliers.’
MEASURE
PURIFY
pushing the limits of what is feasible in terms of mechanics, mechatronics, physics and cleanliness. Moreover, we are under constant pressure to meet that time-to-market – and to get it right the first time. In our philosophy, this means that you need to have the design and manufacturing knowledge physically close to each other. Because by doing so you create a situation in which people automatically share knowledge; then you get the cross-pollination that ensures that the designs developed can actually be manufactured well and efficiently.’
• www.sttls.nl BUSINESS MODEL ‘Taking over this open, proactive way of working themselves is, however, still a bridge too far for them. That is why Asians and Americans like coming to the Netherlands. Our systems engineering approach provides a business model for the Netherlands that we could still capitalise on much better. The Sino Dutch High-Tech Innovation Port that the Dutch high-tech industry wants to set up in Suzhou, in which various system suppliers work together on the solution for the customer in their typically Dutch way, would be an excellent showcase for this.’
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THEME SHAPING THE OPTIMAL HIGH-COMPLEXITY MACHINE BUILDING SUPPLY CHAIN
NETHERLANDS: VARIEGATED GLOBAL PHOTONICS CLUSTER
STRONG IN PRODUCTS AND INFRASTRUCTURE The Dutch photonics cluster is a variegated global centre of excellence. The ecosystem of researchers and entrepreneurs has acquired a leading position on basically all fronts. Innovative photonic ICs see the light of day there and can be produced ‘around the corner’ with stable front-end and back-end processes – on both the InP and SiN platforms. The Dutch cluster is also well advanced in making the Chiplet technology ready for the market, allowing both types of photonic chips to be produced quickly and cost-effectively. BY MARTIN VAN ZAALEN
A
ll in all, there are two major applications for integrated photonics: data communication (including telecom) and sensing. In the former, the US and China have a strong position. Companies like Intel, Lumentum and China Telecom invest large sums in technology to increase bandwidth and transport speed and to reduce energy consumption. As regards the latter, European companies and research institutes are leading the way in the development and production of photonic chips (pics) that use light (and the degree of reflection or scattering) to measure a wide range of things, from blood glucose levels to the presence of hairline cracks in metal. That is, for markets
as diverse as medical diagnostics, automotive and aerospace.
INCLUDING TELECOM This is how Ewit Roos characterises the global photonics arena. He is the CEO of PhotonDelta, a public-private funded organisation that seeks to support the Dutch integrated photonics ecosystem in achieving a global position, for example by interconnecting Dutch photonics companies, research institutes and funders. He is therefore someone who can especially be expected to have a helicopter view of the world of photonics. He emphasises that the division into fields of application and centres of excellence is a very rough one. After all, his PhotonDelta recently participated in a €31 million funding of Eindhoven-based
Effect Photonics. And this just happens to be a company which has developed – on indium phosphide (InP), a well developed ‘production platform’ in the Netherlands – a pic with which data can be transported over larger distances over different wavelengths. In other words: typically a solution that can be of great value precisely for the telecom world in which Europe occupies a relatively insignificant position. ‘The Dutch position here is so strong due in part to the development capacity, such as in the Photonics Integration Technology Center and in the very powerful supplying high-tech industry. A good example is Tegema in Eindhoven, which is developing back-end machines with which the Effect Photonics chip can be automatically connected in large volumes to the fibres for data transport. These innovations enable Effect Photonics to scale up quickly.’
PICS PRODUCTION Smart Photonics, also from Eindhoven, supplies pics to the telecom market as well. This company, which was protected last year from TO BE CONTINUED ON PAGE 32
THE EQUIPMENT BUILDER: DUTCH DEMAND WILL GROW The southern Netherlands region is strong in innovating photonics technology. However, the customer base in this segment for production solutions is smaller than he had anticipated, admits Pierre van Lamsweerde of Tegema Etteplan. This Eindhovenbased multidisciplinary system integrator has developed and built a modular micro-assembly platform. The photonics sector in the south of the Netherlands could use it, for example, to connect integrated optical chips to fibre optics, which are used in, for example, telecom and automotive. Not that there is no market in the Netherlands, Van Lamsweerde hastens to add. For a telecom application, Tegema Etteplan is working together with Effect Photonics that has developed a technology to increase the capacity of existing fibre optic networks. Phix in Enschede, a company that specialises in the packaging of optical chips, is also an important partner of Tegema. Together with the Chip Integration Technology Center (CITC) Tegema founded the photonics consortium Podium, to improve the assembly of integrated phonics. CITC is a research institute specialising in semiconductor packaging technology with TNO, the largest Dutch
research institute, as its founding partner. ‘The market here is not big yet. But it is sizeable enough to be able to learn from the customer’s experiences. This will allow us to further accelerate and standardise our production technology.’ Van Lamsweerde expects the Dutch demand to grow considerably in the coming period because the scalable photonics market is ‘very much on the up’. This applies to the customers mentioned, but also to Photon First (until recently operating under the name Technobis), which just set up shop at the High Tech Campus Eindhoven. In the meantime, Tegema is spreading its wings towards China and the US. And it helps that since last autumn, the Eindhoven-based company has been part of Finnish multinational engineering firm Etteplan. ‘This makes it easier for us to internationalise. For example, we are now talking with Intel in the US. If you tell people that you are part of a company of 3,000 engineers, continuity is no longer an issue for them, and from then on you’re only talking about your technological competences.’
Pierre van Lamsweerde expects the Dutch demand for production solutions to grow considerably in the coming
• www.tegema.nl
period. Photo: Tegema
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a takeover by investors from ‘third countries’ by an investment of 35 million euros from the Dutch government, Innovation Industries, BOM and PhotonDelta and others, is a wafer production company that can produce any photonic chip, regardless of its application, for sensing and data communication. This company also works on the InP platform, which has the advantage that no separate laser light source is necessary. This makes these photonic sensors much more compact, cost-effective and energy-efficient. However, the fact that the government has set aside funds for this venture also has to do with the fact that Smart Photonics is a pure-play foundry: a factory without products of its own which – provided that the design meets all production requirements – can produce any photonic chip on that platform. ‘In that respect you can compare Smart Photonics with chip manufacturer TSMC, only many, many times smaller. Other fabs like NXP do carry their own products and so are not so readily hired by competing chip designers.’
EQUIPMENT CONSTRUCTION The front-end machine construction for this branch is developing less rapidly because of the fact that InP chips can be produced very well and in large numbers on existing semiconductor machines such as ASML’s mature
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wafer steppers. ‘The differentiating factor lies above all in the knowledge of how to use this production technology: how to adjust the wafer stepper to produce highquality wafers as quickly as possible. Smart Photonics has precisely that knowledge.’ The competition between machine builders mainly takes place on this back-end market, with machines that connect these photonic ICs to the outside world as well and as quickly as possible (packaging). ‘Seventy percent of the cost of a pic component is still in backend production. This obviously has a major impact on the cost and hence on a component’s The Dutch photonics cluster is very strong in the entire InP and SiN value chain, market penetration’, says Roos. Tegema is active in this says Ewit Roos. Photo: PhotonDelta field, and so is Enschedebased Phix Photonics Assembly. Phix’s technoSTRONG INP AND SIN VALUE CHAIN logy distinguishes itself by being platformFrom his account it becomes clear that the independent: pics produced on the InP Dutch photonics cluster is very strong in the platform, on the silicon nitride (SiN) platform entire InP and SiN value chain, from designing as well as on the silicon (Si) platform can be these chips to producing and packaging them. packaged using this company’s technology. However, which platform will be the leading
global platform for photonic chips is by no means yet a foregone conclusion. These are definitely platforms on which pics for a wide variety of applications, for data communication and sensing, can best be produced. But still in limited volumes, according to Roos. ‘The third type, Si-pics, is the easiest to produce in large volumes. After all, this is the same platform on which the TSMCs and the Samsungs have been making ordinary, electronic CMOS chips on a very large scale for decades.’
LEADING PLATFORM? The so-called Chiplet technology now under development combines the best of multiple platforms. ‘This hybrid technology makes it possible to combine functional blocks made on one platform with blocks made on another. Phix, together with Tegema and the Chip Integration Technology Center, is well on its way to developing this technology. Using money from the National Growth Fund (a €20 billion, five-year government-funded fund for investments that contribute to economic growth, ed.), we hope to be able to further expand the existing leading positions throughout the InP and SiN value chain, by such means as intensification in Chiplet technology’, says Roos in conclusion.
THE INVESTOR: MONEY IN PRODUCTS AND INFRASTRUCTURE Innovation Industries invests in high-tech mechanical engineering, robotics, foodtech and integrated photonics. Four areas in which Dutch industry excels, says general partner Nard Sintenie of the venture capital fund. ‘As for photonics: if you look at the number of researchers at our universities of technology and knowledge institutes TNO and Imec, which are working on this, and at the number of patents and citations in this field, you can’t but conclude that the Benelux is a photonics centre of excellence worldwide.’ All these efforts naturally lead to applications that can generate economic and social value. However, most investors are not queuing up for it, observes Sintenie. ‘Many investors only know about money and the market. They don’t understand the technology of a spinoff company and so they don’t join. If you want to invest successfully in technology, you have to be able to understand it. We can do that because there are sixteen of us and almost all of them are techies.’ With that baggage, Innovation Industries has built a portfolio of eighteen high-tech companies, three of which operate in photonics. Two of them, Smart Photonics and Phix, provide the infrastructure for the companies dedicated to photonics products. ‘For photonics product companies to be successful,
they had better not be dependent on a foundry somewhere in Taiwan. You need to be able to coordinate quickly and effectively with a company around the corner in that case. That’s why we invested in that infrastructure and simultaneously started investing in a product company.’ By which he means Effect Photonics, the third photonics company in Sintenie’s portfolio. Are more of such investments likely to follow soon? ‘Me and my partners are constantly looking for it.’ And none of this is done with the intention of divesting these companies as quickly as possible for profit. Innovation Industries, which also makes use of European and Dutch government funding, keeps a close eye on the European and Dutch economic and social interests, Sintenie explains. ‘We build companies until they have a strong position in the global market and in the Dutch ecosystem. The sale of such a mature business does not lead to relocation out of the Netherlands, but usually to more investments by the new owner here. Accordingly, we assume an investment horizon of 12 years, much longer than that of the average venture capitalist.’
• www.innovationindustries.com
• www.photondelta.eu
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CROSSOVERS
EINDHOVEN ENGINE UNLOCKS ‘SMARTEST REGION’S COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE’
FOREIGN PARTIES ALSO WELCOME IN CROSSOVER PROJECTS Initiating crossovers between knowledge institutions and companies and connecting young and experienced people. That is how Eindhoven Engine intends to unlock the ‘collective intelligence’ of the Brainport region in the south of the Netherlands, with the aim of speeding up the transition from fundamental knowledge to application that is ready for the market. The first successes inspire an even more extensive follow-up. BY MARTIN VAN ZAALEN
I
n response to the first two calls by Eindhoven Engine, twice as many projects were submitted as could be funded. Clearly, there is no lack of interest in the programme, which is aimed at unlocking the ‘collective intelligence’ of the Brainport region in the south of the Netherlands (proclaimed the world’s ‘smartest region’ in 2011). This intelligence of knowledge institutions such as Eindhoven University of Technology, TNO and Fontys University of Applied Sciences and of companies such as ASML, NXP, Philips and VDL is expressed in a number of sectors and a number of key social challenges for which this region develops and builds the high-tech equipment. Of course, this concerns ASML’s EUV chip machines and innovations from Philips Healthcare, but that brainpower also surfaces in harvesting robots and precision farming systems for the agricultural sector, as Maarten Steinbuch and Katja Pahnke point out.
CROSSOVERS Together they form the day-to-day management of Eindhoven Engine. The word ‘crossovers’ crops up regularly in the conversation with them. The best way to release this collective intelligence is by linking knowledge institutions such as the universities and the universities of applied sciences in question, where the knowledge is still more fundamental – at a ‘low Technology Readiness Level’ – to the business world, which is keen to see that knowledge applied to a product in order to generate business. ‘When Philips still operated in numerous sectors with its renowned Natlab, a great deal of fundamental knowledge from various disciplines was brought together there. But Philips is now focusing only on medical technology. That’s why Eindhoven Engine is necessary, in order to cross the boundaries of disciplines more quickly to develop applications that are ready
for the market,’ Steinbuch explains. ‘And it’s not just a matter of bringing disciplines and various sectors together. The Engine brings together young students and ‘We see a great demand for crossover projects that can unlock the collective experienced researchers, intelligence of this region,’ says Maarten Steinbuch. Next to him Katja Pahnke. designers and innovators. Photo: Bart van Overbeeke This combination of young and old strengthens the creative and out-of-the-box thinking that SCALING UP is so important for creating applications with The fifteen ongoing projects represent a a good business model,’ Pahnke adds. ‘turnover’ of 45 million euros, approximately 6 million of which has been provided by the regional government, from the Brainport SUPPORT TEAM Action Agenda, the rest comes – in kind or The role of the Eindhoven Engine Support in cash – from the participating knowledge Team, consisting of experts from, for example, institutions and companies. This year and the three shareholders – TU/e, Fontys and next year there will be two more calls for TNO – is to help unlock that collective projects to the tune of 30 million euros, for intelligence. An essential role, they both stress: which over 4 million euros in match funding ‘That team brings together all those ideas, is available from the government; the appliexperiences and people from numerous cation deadline for the next call is 13 May. organisations; by personally establishing the Once the entire approximately 75 million link with companies, but also by organising euros has been invested, the funds from the training courses, seminars or – these days – ‘current Region Deal’ will have been used. clubhouse chats.’ Plans are already being made for a follow-up, under the name of Eindhoven Engine EnARTIFICIAL WOMB larged. ‘We seek to generate a total amount of Fifteen projects are currently underway. One 120 million euros with it. This means scaling that stands out is Juno Perinatal Healthcare. This is a project in which a consortium incluup, because we see a great demand for crossding LifeTec Group, Máxima Medical Center, over projects that can unlock the collective NEMO Healthcare, RWTH Aachen and TU/e intelligence of this region,’ says Steinbuch. is developing an advanced artificial womb, in which babies 20 to 24 weeks old, who still FOREIGN PARTIES TOO? have insufficient lung function, can develop Can foreign parties also join in? ‘We have an into healthy infants. Another project, POWer independent expert committee that assesses FITTing, focuses on developing a (home) the project proposals. If the quality is high office environment that keeps its users as vital enough, if knowledge is not only extracted but as possible. This is done by collecting and also contributed and if it benefits the activity analysing data and integrating the insights and human capital in this region, companies into user-focused solutions. Involved in the from elsewhere are also welcome to join the project are HC Oranje-Rood, IMEC, TNO, consortia,’ says Pahnke. TU/e and Fontys, with students of Sports Medicine, but also of Nursing and Psychology. www.eindhovenengine.nl
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LOCAL FOR LOCAL
CHINA OFFERS DUTCH COMPANIES A LARGE PART OF THE MARKET, BUT THEN THEY HAVE TO BECOME ‘CHINESE’
‘CHINESE COMPETITION DELIVERS SAME QUALITY, BUT WORKS MUCH MORE EFFICIENTLY’ If you can’t beat China, join it, say Dutch people working in the Asian country. For a small trading nation like the Netherlands, which has a deeply rooted awareness of dependence on foreign countries, this step is certainly feasible. And that offers numerous opportunities. Dutch companies can seize them by becoming ‘Chinese’. BY MARTIN VAN ZAALEN
‘C
opying Western technology? The Chinese feel that you should actually be happy when that happens, because copying your technology means they respect you. Ten years ago, it was still common practice here. And it still is, but to a lesser and lesser degree. Because they don’t have to do so anymore. China is leading the way in many areas. In battery technology, in fact in everything needed to build an electric car, they are way ahead of the rest of the world. Europe and the US do not yet realise it, but the automotive industry will see a radical shift in the balance of power the next few years. China has also built up an enormous lead in solar, as it has in robotics, drones and AI. And in 5G, the technology that allows the Thomas Pehrson (left) has now spent 4.5 years working for Festo in China. In that period he has come to really appreciate the country. Photo: Festo government to track everyone. As a matter of fact, the However, ASML’s EUV technology is the only TNO-like research institutions here are alreamind at all that they can’t say everything. thing don’t have yet. This would be useful for dy working on 6G.’ They see Europe as a region with a great deal the rollout of 5G, for example, but now they of unrest and terrorism, where many things simply engineer around it.’ are poorly organised. And from a business PLANNED point of view, with a government that has Thomas Pehrson has now – with a one-year worked in a highly planned way, they have break – spent 4.5 years working for Festo in LOCAL FOR LOCAL built up a top position in many areas of China, the last 2.5 years as executive managing This raises the question of how Dutch compatechnology. Yes, the Netherlands has lost its director of the complete organisation (R&D, nies can do business in China? The possibilileading position in wind energy, precisely purchasing, logistics, production and sales) of ties are certainly there, Pehrson says. ‘But if because it has no plans. Semiconductors, the 2,500 employees in China, Taiwan and Hong you want to achieve growth and profit, you production of 5nm chips, is the only thing Kong, with its head office in Shanghai. In that have to work local for local. You need to build that China has not yet completely mastered. period he has come to really appreciate the your supply chain here as much as possible. But Taiwan, with TSMC, is seen as part of country. Both private and business. ‘The Festo already does 60 percent of its productChina. Of course a great deal of knowledge is people here are less individualistic, care more ion and purchasing in China and that will exchanged between these two countries. about each other and 90-95 percent don’t only increase in the coming years. Quality is
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‘CHINA’S HUGE HOME MARKET IS PARAMOUNT’ absolutely no longer an issue here. The level of automation of private companies is higher than elsewhere in the world. For example, fully automated laser-guided cutting machines and industrial 3D printers are already widely used here. They take those steps so quickly because here it is a matter of learning by doing; It doesn’t have to be right the first time, contrary to what the development philosophy in Germany and the Netherlands propagates.’ Festo has also invested heavily in R&D in China. ‘The level of universities and government-affiliated knowledge institutions is world class; we work intensively with them.’
LARGE MARKET SHARE Precisely because of this high degree of industrial automation, industrial automation company Festo in China has access to a large part of the market: ‘2020 was a good year for us with profitable growth, and in the first two months of this year we grew by more than 100 percent. We currently supply a large part of the consumer electronics market, but also food, packaging and life science tech. And also the fast-growing solar industry. For example, solar cell factories are being set up here where 1,500 production machines will be installed in a month. We supply the electric axles, actuators and motors for them. But the electric car and battery production market is also growing enormously for us.’
Since 1 October Bas Kuper has been managing director of global sales customer service for the Asia Pacific region of Siemens Digital Industries Software in Hong Kong and has already gained a thorough understanding of the Asian perspective on the world. ‘By 2028, China will be the largest economy. Because the country has the largest home market and the huge Asian market. That’s paramount.’ Seeking cooperation would be a much better choice, but for now the US is doing its best to prevent China from finding partners in other countries. It will slow down but not stop China’s advance, he believes. The same goes for the semiconductor industry. ‘ASML is not allowed to export the EUV. So China needs to build not only the fabs for the 5 nanometre node, but also the complete supply chain. And it will.’
BECOME ‘CHINESE’ Dutch companies can also benefit from this growth, provided they become ‘Chinese’. ‘For example, tyre production machines or welding robots that are largely engineered in Europe and contain many European components are 40 to 60 percent more expensive than those of the Chinese competitors. They have the same level of knowledge and deliver the same quality, but work much more efficiently. There are still some Dutch system
As far as Kuper is concerned, there could be huge opportunities here for the ecosystem in the south of the Netherlands. ‘For the VDL ETGs that have their complete R&D in the Netherlands. If direct supply is not possible, then joint ventures with Chinese companies can offer a solution.’ And if China cannot be supplied because of trade restrictions, then neighbouring countries such as Vietnam are a good alternative, as many American companies have already discovered. ‘Many companies know they can’t compete from the US. Employees and suppliers there are often too expensive and their processes insufficiently innovated. So they look for alternatives in China’s neighbouring countries.’
• www.siemens.com suppliers in China that can make a reasonable profit by working exclusively for Western companies here. But they will face increasing competition from local companies. If you want to be successful here, your company has to become Chinese. Which Festo is: a Chinese company with German roots. Then you can profit from your brand name. Because they do like “European quality” here.’
• www.festo.com
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CHAIN INTEGRATION
LONG-TERM PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN SMC AND THERMO FISHER CONTINUES TO DEVELOP
‘IF CO-DEVELOPMENT RESULTS IN A BETTER PRODUCT AND THERE IS A BASIS OF TRUST, DO IT’ It's a ‘conscious relationship’ that dates back over 25 years. And the partnership between the Dutch locations of SMC and Thermo Fisher continues to develop. These days, the two firms are also successfully co-engineering. ‘We know we can rely on each other.’
BY ANDRÉ RITSEMA
S
ilvester Engelen has some good news that he is very happy to share: over the past quarter, ‘his’ firm SMC has been awarded the highest possible supplier performance score by Thermo Fisher MSD. ‘We actually got a 100 percent score’, says the manager electronic industry of SMC Netherlands proudly. ‘We never managed that before.’ Cees Sluys, senior director global sourcing of Thermo Fisher, has also heard the news. And? ‘It perfectly illustrates why SMC has been a partner for so long.’
ELECTRON MICROSCOPES Sluys works for the Dutch location of Thermo Fisher in Eindhoven, in the south of the country. The company supplies instruments for healthcare and the scientific community, such as high-quality and complex electron microscopes. The location in Eindhoven was originally part of Philips before being acquired by FEI, and has since 2016 been part of the Materials & Structural Analysis (MSD) division of US firm Thermo Fisher Scientific (turnover €30 billion, 80,000 employees). Engelen has been working in the Netherlands for SMC, which has locations in Eindhoven and Amsterdam, ‘for years’. The head office of multinational SMC is located in its home country of Japan. The company (turnover €4.7 billion, 19,000 employees) is, says Engelen, the biggest global supplier of pneumatic components and systems for the automation of production processes. And now the two are sitting at their laptops, talking about the long relationship between the two companies – remotely via Teams, in order to be coronavirus-safe. SMC has been a supplier of Thermo Fisher and its predecessors for over 25 years, notes Engelen. The
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Cees Sluys: ‘Our position is, if you trust each other and that results in a better end product, why wouldn't you do it?’ Photo: TF
company supplies items including pneumatic components, chillers (the essential temperature control units for the microscopes) and high vacuum components. ‘And not just in the Netherlands, but globally. Because of course, Thermo Fisher’s customers are based all over the world. We can supply them from our offices in the different countries’, says Engelen.
ADDED VALUE For many years, the partnership between the two firms has been based on a business contract which is periodically subjected to proper scrutiny. ‘We have a very conscious relationship’, says Sluys. ‘That is to say: every few years, we sit down together to examine whether our position is still the same, whether we are meeting each other's expectations and whether there is still sufficient added value and trust. We take a good look in each other’s eyes, you could say.’ Apparently, the trust is still there: in April of last year, the existing contract was extended by a number of years. That agreement once again laid down how SMC is expected to handle Thermo Fisher’s wishes and requirements – for example, when it comes to maintaining stocks on location and acting based on a forecast. ‘We commit to being able to supply the required products at the right times and at the
right locations’, says Engelen. ‘And we make sure they are actually where they need to be.’ Generally speaking, Thermo Fisher works with a forecast one year ahead; in other words, which components are likely to be required in twelve months’ time. Engelen: ‘We normally know what we need to supply in a years’ time. There could be some changes in the last three months, but to date the quantities involved have never been huge.’ There's a good reason for making that forecast: some of the components have a lead time of more than two months. ‘So we need to know ahead of time in order to be able to supply what they need’, says Engelen.
SERIOUS DROP Not that the agreements are completely set in stone, says Sluys. ‘Last year, we witnessed demand suddenly collapse. In the second quarter, we faced a serious drop in demand from our customers. Clearly we needed to be able to accommodate that. And SMC had the flexibility to do so.’ Engelen agrees. ‘If, say, only eight units are required instead of ten, we will increase our stocks slightly. And when demand increases, we can quickly scale up.’ What also helps, says Sluys, is that the forecast – based on experience and customer knowledge – is pretty good. ‘Generally speaking,
we have good understanding of what will be required in the coming months and up to a year ahead.’ More difficult to plan are things like service and repairs. ‘We have a large installed base of machines at our customers’ locations. Regular maintenance is naturally scheduled as service, but if a machine breaks down, we need to be able to respond at the drop of a hat. When we do, we have observed that SMC, which is a big player, is able to act quickly and in a coordinated way. Partly for this reason, Engelen notes, SMC has a ‘dedicated team’ of technicians and engineers on standby in Europe, Asia and the United States, which can spring into action whenever necessary and whatever the reason. ‘And that's where the value of knowing each other for so long really shows itself. We know we can rely on each other.’
FURTHER DEVELOPMENT The partnership has grown steadily over the years. And that trend has never really stopped, says Sluys. Because whereas SMC initially supplied spare parts and components, in recent years the company has also become involved in the further development of components. For example, in order to produce improved versions of components for the ‘heart’ of the microscopes. That was a bigger worry for the engineers and R&D employees at Thermo
Fisher than for himself, says Sluys. That, he adds, has everything to do with the trust he has in SMC, based on the years of partnership. ‘Of course, you are letting other people see your machine. That can make you nervous. How do you deal with things like IP? Of course we lay down matters like that contractually. Plus, our position is: if you trust each other and that results in a better end product, why wouldn’t you do it?’ According to Sluys, there are plenty of reasons for a company to enter into ‘Thermo Fisher’s customers are located all over the world. We can supply them from co-development and coour offices in the different countries’, says Silvester Engelen. Photo: SMC engineering. ‘At Thermo Fisher, everything centres boration over the coming years. ‘Thermo on innovation, both internally and towards Fisher want us to keep challenging them. We the customer. The R&D department are very are happy to do that, also with new products busy. So if we can get good support in that and with joint projects’, says Engelen. ‘The arena from trusted and proven partners we do future is looking good.’ it, it's a no-brainer. SMC have by now proved that they have the required expertise in-house to be able to help us.’ www.smc.eu Both sides anticipate further and new collawww.thermofisher.com
• •
Proud to be part of 45-years AAE
Special Issue - April 2021
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HUMAN RELATIONS
DUTCH MANAGERS ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES IN ASIA
‘THE 21ST CENTURY WILL BE THE AERA OF THE ASIANS, YOU HAVE TO BE THERE’ Many companies in the southern Netherlands are focusing on the (Far) East and are setting up shop in Asia. How does that work in terms of staff? What about cultural differences? Four companies from Brabant talk about their experiences and the lessons they have learned.
Hans Duisters, Sioux: ‘The role of the government is very dominant, for example involved in half of all high-tech companies. As a western company, you can’t ignore this.’ Photo: Sioux
BY ANDRÉ RITSEMA
Y
ou open an office in Asia, then what? What should you expect? How do you deal with a completely different culture? What about the level of knowledge of local staff? If you talk to companies in Southern-Netherlands that have taken the plunge, you will hear mostly positive stories. Of course, you need to make thorough preparations. And of course it takes some getting used to and you have to leave ‘Holland’ at home. But from then on it is mostly positive. ‘When you work on a good relationship, you can always count on great commitment.’
REPERCUSSIONS That is a quote from Roald Dogge, director of corporate accounts at NTS in Eindhoven. As
Senior Vice President Asia, he spent 5.5 years in Singapore, plus another year and a half in India and eight years in China. So he is a real expert by experience. And he says: ‘In general, people in Asia are loyal to the manager. Give them confidence, and they take initiative. Let them know they can speak up with impunity, and they will tell you how to do it better.’ NTS develops, produces and assembles – complex – mechatronic systems and modules for international high-tech machine builders. The company has been active in Asia since 2003, first in Shanghai, later also in Singapore. At the moment around three hundred people work in the region. Initially, NTS went to Asia because of the ‘customer’s service needs,’ says Dogge. ‘There we were able to produce modules faster for the customer.’ Gradually, the lower cost price also proved a benefit. And
now the company manufactures products for customers worldwide, which are tested and assembled on site.
FRAME OF REFERENCE ‘Yes, working in the east is definitely not that bad after all,’ says Dogge. ‘But you definitely have to change your own frame of reference. Something that works well in the Netherlands may not work at all in Asia. Our solutions are for our environment, not necessarily for the local market.’ So you have to have a thorough understanding of the local needs, Dogge says. For example, in many Eastern countries they don’t care about luxury and image, or at least a lot less. ‘Your product doesn’t have to exude status, it just has to be good.’ And what about the technological knowledge of the local workforce? Asia is big, says Dogge, so that knowledge varies greatly from country to country. ‘In Japan the knowledge is comparable to Europe, in China you have technologically advanced regions and regions that are lagging behind.’ The people themselves are very passionate, as Dogge has seen over the years. They want to work hard, are flexible and – if pushed – they are definitely vocal. ‘They must know that they come up with their ideas of their own with impunity. Then they’re loyal. But you have to keep working on an open relationship. Keep giving people respect. They’re not very good at losing face. In short, you have to try to understand what drives people. Much like you have to do in the Netherlands.’
CENTURY OF THE ASIANS The 21st century will be the century of the Asians, according to Hans Duisters. ‘A large market, with great needs and great opportunities, that’s where you need to be as a company.’ Duisters is the CEO of Sioux Technologies in Eindhoven. The company (developer and builder of smart technology modules, IoT solutions and software) opened its first office in Vietnam eight years ago. China and Singapore followed later. The branch in China was set up by Duisters himself three years ago, he tells us via Zoom, self-isolated in Shanghai after returning from the Netherlands. A great deal of time was set aside for that Chinese adventure. ‘The first year was preTO BE CONTINUED ON PAGE 42
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CONTINUATION OF PAGE 41
paration: having talks, getting to really know the culture, the language and the people, looking into local needs. Where will you set up shop? What is the role of the government?’ In the second year the Suzhou office was actually set up and now – in its third year – it is beginning to take off. Those preparations were really crucial to get to know the country and culture, says Duisters. ‘The role of the government alone is already completely different from ours. It is very dominant, for example involved in half of all high-tech companies. As a western company, you can’t ignore this. And you shouldn’t want to either, because by far the majority of people are very proud of the government and the state of their nation. If you want to do business properly, you have to understand these things, and go with the flow.’
PROGRESS Duisters recognises Dogge’s observation that people are flexible. But they are also hugely competitive, he says. ‘They all want to study at the best universities, live in the best cities, work at the best companies. It’s a real drive for progress.’ Sioux now has a total of about one hundred people working in Asia, mostly highly skilled engineers. Recruiting the right people is still a challenge, Duisters has found. ‘There is a lot of well-trained staff, but not very many with enough experience. And that’s what we need. So as a company you have to put a lot of time and energy into that. Fortunately, most are keen to work for a western company. In part because they offer a better life/work balance. “Is it 996 in your company?” applicants asked us. No idea what that meant. It means that, like at Alibaba and other Chinese companies, you work from nine to nine – six days a week. “No, it isn’t," we would say, to the surprise of the applicants.’ What about things such as making deals? According to Duisters, you have to invest a lot of time in building up trust. Work in small steps, one project at a time. ‘Unlike in Europe,
In Singapore, reliability takes precedence over content, says Eric Tielemans (Demcon). It is a culture in which there is a lot of mutual acceptance. Photo: Demcon
something doesn’t have to be right the first time here. You can promise that you will come up with a good product, but here they attach more importance to time-to-market.’
SPECIAL CONVERSATIONS Demcon Advanced Mechatronics has had a branch office in Singapore and an agency in Japan (which will become a branch office this year) for two years. According to Managing Director Eric Tielemans, Demcon in Singapore is more or less an outsider. ‘It is a production environment. We mainly do R&D there, which makes us special. But it also makes for some very special conversations.’ In any case, there is a lot of talk, in Tielemans’ experience. ‘The atmosphere is informal. People value building relationships. And that can take a long time in our eyes, yes. You can’t do business or conclude contracts until you have gained their trust. You have to invest a lot
of time and energy in that.’ In Singapore, reliability takes precedence over content, says Tielemans. It is a culture in which there is a lot of mutual acceptance. ‘In such a case, you can’t really make a wrong proposal. If it’s not good, you get another chance tomorrow, so to speak.’ Such a way of doing business does require an attentive listener. Because while in the Netherlands you can just say ‘no’ to a proposal, in Singapore they are less straightforward. ‘You don’t hear that there’s no interest. It’s gradually getting quiet. They don’t call anymore, they don’t respond to mails anymore. You have to understand that.’ In terms of employees, Tielemans has the same experiences as Duisters and Dogge. Friendly, open and inquisitive people. ‘The quality is excellent. They work hard and are committed. Their mentality is good; they’re happy to go the extra mile for you if they feel
HIGH-TECH HUB IN SUZHOU Sioux Technologies is the initiator of a hub for hightech companies in China, the Sino Dutch High-Tech Innovation Port, based in Suzhou – not surprisingly the place where Sioux is located. At the centre, Dutch companies can share knowledge, form partnerships and explore the market together, says Hans Duisters of Sioux. ‘We have been successful for years with Brainport Industries in Brabant. Why not set up something similar in China?’ The facilities are there. Companies can receive local clients and authorities there, recruit talented employees, and jointly develop R&D activities, for example. ‘I am sure that the hub can contribute to the success of
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Dutch companies in China.’ Companies in North-Brabant would do wise to turn their attention to Southeast Asia as well, says managing director John Blankendaal of Brainport Industries. He acknowledges the importance of the region. ‘There’s a lot going on and a lot to do. Companies initially went there because of the low costs, but increasingly also because there are many knowledge partners. And they can make a valuable contribution to the innovation strategy of the companies here,’ says Blankendaal. However, entrepreneurs do not necessarily have to open an actual branch right away. ‘There are enough
opportunities to start in phases, together with other companies based in Noord-Brabant. For example, they can start with an agency or a sales office. And the members of Brainport Industries have a great deal of knowledge of the region, so you can certainly use that to your advantage if you are considering operating in Southeast Asia. Most are perfectly willing to share their knowledge.’
• www.sioux.eu • www.brainportindustries.com
heard and seen. And, not unimportantly, you can make arrangements with them. Possibly even better than in the Netherlands.’
LITTLE STAFF TURNOVER KMWE in Eindhoven assembles high-quality modules, machine systems and complex technological components. The company followed a customer to Malaysia in 2009. Starting with three people, the company now has 200 employees on site and a turnover of 25 million. We produce for our customers here, says Edward Voncken of KMWE. ‘And we do that with local people. With the exception of the manager, they are all Malaysians.’ And Voncken says that this works really well. ‘The people are highly motivated and involved with the company. We also have hardly any staff turnover. The people who joined the company at the start are still working here. That really says something about their motivation and drive.’ Malaysians are generally well and highly educated. But, as Voncken points out, a career in the office is preferable to a nice workplace in the factory. ‘It is difficult to find people who can do complex machining jobs. We are now training them ourselves. With a company we took over in Malaysia and in Eindhoven. When we move them to the head office, they consider it a real honour. As an affirmation that we respect and value them. And we do of course.’
Just like the other experts by experience, Voncken sees that the average ‘Asian’ is much more modest than we are used to in the Netherlands. ‘They have their own opinions, of course, but they don’t give them so readily – out of respect and from a hierarchical point of view. It is important for us to be aware of this. And that we proactively ask for their opinion or input. Because that’s good for everyone.’
EXPECTATIONS And, finally, how do the four companies look to the future? What are the prospects? For each of them: good. ‘We are growing We produce for our customers here, says Edward Voncken of KMWE. ‘And we do that with local people. With the exception of the manager, they are all Malaysians.’ above average and this will continue for some time,’ says Photo: Patrick Ouwerkerk Dogge of NTS for example. nue to grow, also in terms of new business. Tielemans of Demcon says: ‘This spring our Moreover, we are planning to open a branch office in Japan will open. That’s what we’ll in China. The same way we did in Singapore: focus on this year. I also foresee growth in our just start and then grow gradually.’ markets, such as medical devices and backend semiconductors. In Singapore we are going to double in turnover and size. We’re www.demcon.com optimistic.’ That also applies to KMWE, says www.nts-group.nl Voncken. ‘In Malaysia, I expect we will contiwww.kmwe.com/nl/
• • •
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Special Issue - April 2021
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ADVERTORIAL
BRAINPORT REGION EINDHOVEN PARTNER RITTAL:
MEETING HIGHEST DEMANDS IN QUALITY, AVAILABILITY AND SERVITIZATION Gyro Gearlooses gather in Brainport’, ‘Silicon Valley of the Dutch Delta’, ‘High-tech in the Lowlands’. Most headlines agree that Brainport Region Eindhoven thanks its success to the combined power of corporate, governmental and academic resources. As a long-term supplier and global knowledge partner of Brainport companies like ASML and Thermo Fisher Scientific, Rittal actively contributes to the international advancement of the Dutch high-tech sector. Brainport Region Eindhoven is the region with the fastest growing economy in the Netherlands, but supplying and supporting the world’s most advanced high-tech companies is not for everyone. Brainport company partners must be able to meet stellar demands on a global scale. Besides being able to supply the best materials and components, they need to be fully equipped to quickly upscale production if needed. For developing innovative products in Brainport Region Eindhoven, only a handful of the most capable technology providers are invited, and Rittal is one of them.
Rittal, headquartered in Herborn, Hessen, Germany, is a leading global provider of solutions for industrial enclosures, power distribution, climate control and IT infrastructure, as well as software and services. Rittal solutions can be found in more than 90 percent of all industrial sectors worldwide.
ELBERT RABEN, MANAGER PRODUCT GROUP IT RITTAL B.V.: “We support our partners in Brainport Region Eindhoven to compete in the highest league of the global tech community with expertise and our flagship IT infrastructure solutions for the world’s most discerning clients operating in diverse global industries, from medical sciences to the worlds of high finance, where stakes are always high, and failure is never an option. “Together with our technology clients and partners in Brainport Region Eindhoven, we develop the best IT infrastructure solutions for the world’s most discerning clients.”
That’s why our Brainport partners need to have control over all opera-
tional aspects that might affect their business, including those of their suppliers. They must be able to bank on production upscaling capacity as well continuous cost effectiveness optimization. Global technology partner Rittal has proven to be proficient in meeting the highest of these demands. In the Brainport partnerships, we operate as technology strategists, constantly finding new ways to add value to processes of our supply chain partners.”
THEO GERRITZEN, PRODUCT MANAGER ENCLOSURE SYSTEMS RITTAL B.V.: “Effective optimization requires a clear view on day to day activities and a pragmatic, down to earth approach to improve them. Rittal is a champion in doing exactly that. All of the current collaborations between Brainport companies and Rittal originate from a shared interest in co-innovation, co-optimization and close collaboration to add value to the technology user. We support the teams of our clients and partners at Brainport Region Eindhoven with know-how and a world of experience in developing in- and outdoor enclosure-solutions. We always start by listening very carefully to all the needs (prominent and hidden) of our
development partners. Then we start looking for new opportunities to support our clients and supply chain partners, and we never stop finding new possibilities to optimize processes in logistics or mechanical engineering or assembly. There’s not one reason why companies from the Brainport Partners choose Rittal as their preferred supplier and innovation partner, there are many. It’s all in the mix that only Rittal offers: the highest quality and scalability of modular Rittal The System products, a global presence, future-oriented flexibility and continuous drive for optimization makes Rittal the Brainport Region Eindhoven tech-partner of choice.”
“We support the teams of our clients and partners at Brainport Region Eindhoven with know-how and a world of experience in developing inand outdoor enclosure-solution.”
Rittal B.V. Postbus 246 6900 AE Zevenaar Tel. (+31)(0)316591660 Email: sales@rittal.nl Website: www.rittal.nl
AGRITECH
BUILDING ON THE WORLD-CLASS DUTCH HORTICULTURAL ECOSYSTEM
THE SOCIAL BUSINESS CASE FOR VERTICAL FARMING Global trends such as climate change, water shortages, population growth and labour shortages all point in the same – vertical – direction: efficient, highly automated solutions for growing food close to population centres and in infertile areas. Vertical farming is a promising high-tech option. Priva is already carrying out projects for it worldwide, from New York to Singapore, and PlantLab runs vertical farms with technology developed in-house, from Amsterdam to Minneapolis (USA). BY HANS VAN EERDEN
P
riva from the Westland, the heart of Dutch greenhouse farming, focuses on climate control, energy saving, process automation and water reuse in greenhouses and utility buildings. Priva uses its combined expertise for vertical farming/indoor growing, i.e. food cultivation without daylight. Fifteen years ago the company started the technology development, in cooperation with knowledge institutions such as Wageningen University & Research, and five years later the commercial operation. So says Marinus Luiten, indoor growing business developer. ‘We’ve been really successful with it for the last five years; vertical farming has become future-proof. It contributes to a sustainable food system in which you can grow fresh food locally all year round, regardless of weather conditions and other external influences. The world market is now worth 2.5-3 billion euros and that is much less than greenhouse farming, but it is growing by 15-16% year after year.’
BEST OF BOTH WORLDS Priva is a global player in the traditional horticultural sector and the largest in the Netherlands in building automation. ‘Technically speaking, vertical farming is the combination of these two worlds. Priva is the only company operating in both. We work with our partners from both worlds to carry out complex projects. We are successful in this market thanks to our broad international network of partners, dealers and installers. You can control vertical farming remotely, but you do have to offer local support, because in the event of a breakdown, a vertical farm really comes to a standstill.’ For Priva, it is a different market to greenhouse farming, in several respects. ‘You have other players, such as startups, and atypical competitors, such as building automation companies that suddenly also do climate control in cultivation environments.’ Another difference is the digital
connection with end customers. ‘Data forms the basis for them, because they often lack the ‘green fingers’ and the cultivation knowledge. So they want to learn from us about the cultivation process. Thanks to this digital connection, we can do a lot more testing for them, and practice becomes the learning environment for vertical farming. In conventional greenhouse farming, this development is taking place more slowly.’
CHALLENGING DOWNSCALING Priva supplies vertical farming systems for irrigation and fertilisation, sensors for monitoring climate Lettuce growing in a vertical farm at 80 Acres Farms, a leading American indoor farming producer. Photo: 80 Acres Farms conditions and crop growth, lighting controls, and the ‘Every disturbance is reflected in the crop and climate computer with process control. The minimal disturbance results in a strong, reguchallenges in developing the technology for lar and predictable crop. Algorithms optimally vertical farming were twofold, according to control evaporation during the day, allowing Luiten. ‘Our systems for irrigation and the grower to steer the plant towards a certain fertilisation are designed for greenhouses of quality and production, depending on the 10-20 hectares, but vertical farms are of courcultivation objective. With this form of Artise much smaller. Downscaling the technology ficial Intelligence we actually want to reduce required considerable innovation. Secondly, the technology used in greenhouse farming the number of controls the grower has to is fairly standardised; we can connect the operate. So that even a less educated grower various systems to the climate computer in a can manage a large area.’ Priva is already plug & play manner. In building automation, testing this service for vertical crops such as every building is different, with a lot of tomatoes and cucumbers. Partly because of variation in installation technology. That their large volume, they are more difficult to makes control complex.’ grow indoors than leafy vegetables such as lettuce and cabbage. Luiten facetiously says: ‘Vertical farming has so far mainly produced ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ‘crispy water’, such as lettuce. That’s not very Vertical farming offers you many controls in difficult to grow. The real challenge lies in order to create optimal growing conditions. high-value crops such as peppers and tomaPriva’s digital service Plantonomy steers the toes. Plantonomy should help with that.’ crop to make maximum use of the possibilities of the biology in the plant, by making use of its natural biorhythm, explains Luiten. TO BE CONTINUED ON PAGE 47
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ADVERTORIAL
VIRTUAL TWIN EXPERIENCES TRANSFORM AND ACCELERATE HIGH-TECH VALUE NETWORK In the coming years, billions of devices, machines, sensors and mobility solutions will need to be connected to the Internet of Things. In the south of the Netherlands, there are many manufacturers and suppliers who develop and supply advanced chip machines, semiconductors and high-tech equipment. To keep up with the growing demand for electronics, virtual twin experiences can help transform and accelerate high-tech value networks.
INCREASED COMPEXITY AND FLEXIBILITY The Southern Netherlands high-tech industry is important for our national economy and the entire world economy. Well-known companies like ASML, NXP, Philips, VDL, Vanderlande and many others supply indispensable components and solutions for ‘smart’ products, machines, mobility and even entire cities. Our world is transforming into a living environment in which everything is interconnected. Despite the successful business development and international market opportunities for the Southern Netherlands high-tech industry, there are also challenges, such as the increasing complexity of innovation, due to the interactions between electronics and the analogue world (More-than-Moore). Another challenge is the need for greater flexibility to anticipate changes in demand and disruptions and plan ahead in the value network, to prevent, for example, the chip shortages that are currently emerging.
TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE BECOMING MORE INTERTWINED The third challenge for the high-tech industry is the increasing interdependence between technology and science. To remain competitive, there is increasing pressure to apply scientific discoveries as quickly as possible to market-ready technology. Over the past decades, high-tech companies have mainly focused on making smaller and smaller chips with better performance. Now, software and material developments are also increasing the technical complexity and speed of innovations. This requires more multidisciplinary cooperation, instead of serial development paths. Also, all companies in value chains of the high-tech industry are becoming more dependent on each other to develop innovations and bring them to the market in time. Therefore, it is important to collaborate and share more information with each other, while protecting the most important asset – intellectual property for the developers and the companies.
VIRTUAL TWIN – DYNAMIC AND SUSTAINABLE VALUE NETWORK The high-tech industry can create a dynamic and sustainable value network with the help of virtual twin experiences. Virtual twin experiences consist of accurate digital representations of both products and machines, which can be connected to sensors for realtime data collection. This creates relationships between digital innovations and the physical environment where such developments can take place. Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform adds hightech specific solutions for simulating, analysing, testing and making production-ready applications and subsequent optimisations. By simulating and analysing both applications and business models in a multidisciplinary and virtual way, a lot of time and money can be saved during the innovation cycle and in the total value network. The key benefit is that organisations can take more informed decisions more quickly by analysing the data gathered. 46
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‘SINGLE SOURCE OF TRUTH’ A key benefit of virtual twin experiences is the ‘single source of truth’ for all disciplines and network partners involved. Instead of constantly sharing files and prototype models to manage the multiple iterations, all authorised stakeholders have access to the same digital innovation environment via the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, at any time and from any location in the world. Such an integrated virtual twin also guarantees the integrity of all data and protects everyone’s intellectual property. Using the 3DEXPERIENCE platform also ensures compliance in accordance to European data protection regulations. Another key point to highlight is that it also prevents costly errors due to outdated information and efficiency losses, through better reuse of available information throughout the value network.
LIGHTYEAR TRANSFORMING HIGH-TECH AND MOBILITY VALUE CHAINS One Dutch innovator that is already transforming and accelerating the high-tech and mobility value chains is the innovative automotive company, Lightyear. This developer and producer of a solarpowered car has been able to significantly reduce its time-to-market, partly thanks to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. ‘Our biggest challenge is to acquire, within a few years, as much as possible of all the knowledge and experience that the automotive industry has accumulated in over one hundred years,’ acknowledges CEO Lex Hoefsloot. ‘To do this, we need to iterate quickly and learn from mistakes by developing and testing ideas.’ A key benefit of the cloudbased 3DEXPERIENCE Dassault Systèmes platform for Lightyear is Utopialaan 25 that everything is integrally 5232 CD ’s-Hertogenbosch connected. The platform E info@3ds.com also allows all stakeholders to work together from home E voor direct/lokaal contact: or another location across Peter-Jan.HENDRIKX@3ds.com the globe. I ifwe.3ds.com/high-tech
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ECONOMIC JUSTIFICATION Priva has already established vertical farms in a wide variety of locations, from New York
and Singapore to the far north of Canada. In the Netherlands it does research but has yet to carry out any commercial projects, because conventional greenhouse farming generates extremely high yields. ‘Vertical farming is not yet profitable here. That is our main challen-
ge. We must always calculate the business case for vertical farming together with the entire chain of technical suppliers, investors and end-users.’
• www.priva.com
PLANTLAB: 1 BILLION TURNOVER BY 2029 Another Dutch developer of vertical farming solutions is PlantLab in Den Bosch. For a long time, the company mainly conducted contract research for crop breeders, but recently the business model has changed to in-house production. Last year, Michiel Peters, a veteran of the Dutch manufacturing industry, was appointed CEO. ‘We have developed patented technology and conducted research into growing crops under 100% controlled conditions. That knowledge and experience was necessary for scaling up; now our technology is marketable. I get to implement PlantLab’s growth plan: change the food chain and produce our own crops. Vertical farming is one of the pieces of the puzzle for a sustainable food supply. People need to eat more plants and fewer animals, and we need to grow those plants in a way that the environment can cope, without pesticides and wasting water.’ Moreover, vertical farming can drastically shorten food chains. ‘Our vertical farms enable us to be close to consumers, which means we can deliver much fresher products with 100% transparency.’
PlantLab now has two farms operational, in Amsterdam and Minneapolis (USA). ‘We produce lettuce, herbs and tomatoes and sell them through partnerships with local parties such as online supermarket Picnic. ‘Harvested in the morning, our products can be in the consumer’s kitchen in the afternoon. So much fresher, tastier and of better quality, as if your food comes from your own vegetable garden every day. We are building our next farm in the Bahamas. The climate on these islands is not suitable for growing fresh vegetables and during the COVID crisis supplies by ship or plane proved difficult. A small vertical farm can already have a major impact there.’ PlantLab’s new business model is therefore not to sell technology or installations to farmers, but to use them for its own production. ‘We have knowledge of plants and cultivation recipes as well as of technology and climate control under one roof. The symbiosis between the two, combined with our own production, makes us unique. Of course we work with suppliers in the world-class Dutch horticultural ecosystems. This enables us to innovate quickly, using the feedback
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Michiel Peters, CEO of PlantLab: ‘Our major ambition is to change the world food system radically and to reduce the 30-50% waste in the food chain.’ Photo: PlantLab
from our farms. We are now perfecting the cultivation of other crops and fathoming the optimum growing conditions. Our goal is 1 billion euros in turnover by 2029.’
• www.plantlab.com
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ENERGY TRANSITION
ENZUID LAUNCHES ACTION PLAN TO MAKE MANUFACTURING CHEMISTRY RADICALLY MORE SUSTAINABLE
NO TIME TO LOSE By 2030, let’s do everything we can to completely eliminate the world’s 51 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions by 2050. Not by small easy steps, but by investing in electrification and in real technological breakthroughs. And yes, innovation and scaling up will initially require considerable support from governments. Bill Gates writes this in his latest book How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need. This is exactly how Economisch Netwerk Zuid-Nederland envisages and approaches the issue aimed at the plastics and artificial fertiliser industry. The ambitious Action Agenda ‘Green Chemistry, New Economy’ was recently presented.
BY LUCY HOLL
T
he presentation of the action programme for manufacturing chemistry was online, but that did not prevent new alliances being forged. Board member Guustaaf Savenije of VDL Groep announced that he will certainly talk with general manager of corporate sustainability Frank Kuijpers of SABIC and with chairman of the board Anton van Beek of DOW Benelux. SABIC is investigating
DOW Terneuzen will be the flagship for innovation for the multinational. ‘And not just with some pilot projects, but really on a large scale,’ says chairman of the board Anton van Beek. Photo: DOW
pyrolysis of plastic waste to replace fossil fuels. DOW is working with the steel industry on a new value chain where released CO2 is converted into raw material. During the meeting, Savenije says: ‘Let’s get our system engineers together and see what we can do together. We are eager to get to grips with this, people are intrinsically motivated to work on sustainability issues. What role do we want to play: OEM, main supplier, integrator – it doesn’t matter. We’re still rookies in the field of chemistry, but delivering smart systems is
SCALING UP CAN START The ‘Green Chemistry, New Economy’ Action Agenda lists a whole series of scaling-up projects. These must show that disruptive innovations contribute to the climate targets and that largescale application is ultimately possible. What developments are underway? • Application of new innovative electrolysis to produce green hydrogen in a cost-efficient way, with companies from the chemical, energy and HTSM sectors working together. In February 2021, FME and TNO set up an electrolyser developer platform that aims to run a pilot project with a 1-2 MW electrolyser within three years. • Carbon Capture and Utilisation: Alta Carbon Technologies has developed a cleaner, highly scalable technology with higher energy efficiency. Residual CO2 is converted into high quality carbonates. The carbonates are, for example, suitable as raw material for the fast-growing
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battery industry. Production of hydrogen and ethylene using plasma technology. At Chemelot, hydrogen is an important raw material for the production of ammonia and fertiliser by chemical company OCI Nitrogen. Ethylene is the basic raw material for the production of plastics by SABIC, also at Chemelot. Biobased raw materials as a sustainable feedstock for the chemical industry. Two industrial chain players, Maastricht University, TNO and Bio Transitie Consultants are setting up a processing chain to supply the chemical industry with bio-based raw materials such as sugar beet, grains and elephant grass. Breaking down plastic waste through highly innovative and efficient gasification technology that Synova Power is working on.
our daily work.’ There is no time to lose. Van Beek adds: ‘Our task is simple: we must continue to make products for society, without CO2 and circularly.’ DOW Terneuzen will be the flagship for innovation for the multinational. ‘And not just with some pilot projects, but really on a large scale.’
MANUFACTURING CHEMISTRY ACTION AGENDA Last year Economisch Netwerk ZuidNederland (ENZuid) published the project initiation document ‘Green Chemistry, New Economy – Chain Transition in the Process Industry’. Founded in early 2020, ENZuid is a strategic partnership of eight triple helix regions and the provinces of Zeeland, Noord-Brabant and Limburg. It seeks to generate business from innovation and was the first to embrace the major theme of greening the chemical process industry in the south of the Netherlands. This has now resulted in the Action Agenda ‘Green Chemistry, New Economy’ (see box), with agenda number 1 being the creation of a national innovation platform for scaling up circular raw materials and disruptive technologies in the manufacturing chemistry. The agenda focuses on the south of the Netherlands with its major manufacturing sites Moerdijk, Terneuzen and Chemelot. But it is of national importance, stresses Arnold Stokking, CEO of Brightsite, a partnership of Brightlands Chemelot Campus, Sitech Services, Maastricht University and TNO, and driving force from ENZuid.
MOMENTUM IS NOW He and his booster team have recently been putting their heart and soul into drawing up the agenda. Stokking says: ‘Over the past decades, the chemical industry has optimised a great deal and the enormous process installations are state-of-the-art, which is wonderful. But in order to achieve the climate targets, we need to start innovating as a matter of urgency, and to supply manufacturing chemistry with new processes and raw materials.’ The required technology on both the raw materials side and the green electricity side is in principle available from universities, institutes but has occasionally also been applied experimentally by companies. Sectors must join forces to scale up innovations.
Arnold Stokking, CEO of Brightsite and driving force from ENZuid, during the online presentation of the ‘Green Chemistry, New Economy’ action agenda. On the screen Diederik Samsom, head of cabinet to EU Commissioner Frans Timmermans. Photo: Willeke Machiels
OPPORTUNITIES IN A VARIETY OF SECTORS In the Climate Act, the Netherlands has laid down that by 2030 CO2 emissions must be 49 percent less than in 1990. The Climate Agreement between government, businesses and civil-society organisations is based on this target. By 2050 emissions must be 95 percent less than in 1990. And 2030 and 2050 are not far off, according to Emmo Meijer, former CTO of DSM and now standard bearer of the Chemicals Top Sector, also speaking on behalf of the Energy and High Tech Systems & Materials top sectors. ‘These are big ambitions, but sustainable development must be possible given all the technological options. We now need to use demonstration projects to show that it is all possible, as an intermediate step towards large commercial installations. The process industry is distinctly cross-sectoral. This green chemistry calls for new equipment, new materials, sustainable energy and process innovation.’ The opportunities for the chemical industry, the high-tech manufacturing industry, the agricultural sector and the recycling sector are there for the taking.
ECONOMIC POTENTIAL A wide range of companies, authorities, lenders and interest groups support the goal of the ‘Green Chemistry, New Economy’ Action Agenda. This so-called Coalition, including SABIC, DOW, Cosun, VDL, TNO, BOM, LIOF, Brainport Industries, Chemelot, Brightsite, Moerdijk Port Authority, FME and VNCI, is taking on the implementation of the agenda. In the coming years, parties can work together on green technology that can then be rolled out on a large scale in the 2030-2050 period. The Netherlands is bound to enter the global market successfully with it as well. ‘We are talking about sustainability, but also about great economic potential,’ says Focco Vijselaar, Director-General of Business and Innovation at the Ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate. ‘Clean cuts costs, is a magnet for new staff and reduces long-term business risks.’ The government is going to remove impeding regulations and already has numerous incentive measures in place, according to Vijselaar.
MONEY NEEDED The Action Agenda focuses on four crosssectoral greening directions: biomass as a raw material, waste as a raw material and CO2 as a raw material for the chemical industry, and new green electricity-based processes such as electrolysis and plasma technology. A number of scaling-up projects have already been launched (see box). Arnold Stokking says: ‘The question is, of course, how to finance all this and create a sound business case. We compete
ACTIONS TO MAKE MANUFACTURING MORE SUSTAINABLE ENZuid has laid down no fewer than 22 actions in its ‘Green Chemistry, New Economy’ Action Agenda. To name a few: • Establish a national innovation platform for scaling up circular raw materials and disruptive technologies in the manufacturing industry. • Formulate ‘all-encompassing’ transition scenarios for manufacturing chemistry. • Develop cross-sectoral system roadmaps for the raw materials transition in manufacturing chemistry. • Initiate cross-sector coalitions and organise leadership. • Develop new, collaborative business models, focused on transitions. • Engage in hybrid/co-financing strategies for scaling up. • Examine how ‘social value’ can be included in investment decisions. • Work on a paradigm shift in legislation and regulations. For example, look at impeding waste legislation and regulations. • Invest in talent for ‘Green Chemistry, New Economy’.
• www.groenechemie.nl • www.enzuid.nl • www.brightsitecenter.com
with a highly efficient oil and gas industry. Investments pay for themselves only after a long time. But we know there is light at the end of the tunnel. CO2 pricing will make gas and oil more expensive. It is also becoming increasingly clear that consumers no longer accept this pollution. Financial institutions are giving more and more priority to sustainability. It’s going to happen, but we have to tide over a period of time.’ Companies cannot do this alone; the government and financial institutions must cooperate; incentives and better instruments are needed if the raw materials transition is to take place alongside the energy transition.
MANY SOURCES OF MONEY But that is going to be fine, says Diederik Samsom, head of cabinet to EU Commissioner Frans Timmermans. ‘We’re working on that huge Green Deal, one comprehensive roadmap for circularity and sustainability. I clearly sense that the industry is aware that we cannot rely on small steps forward. Big steps require huge investments and a lot of guts from entrepreneurs. And from the public parties. The Green Deal costs 750 billion euros, 5.6 billion of which specifically for the Netherlands. Most of it has to go into climate investments to complete the business cases.’ There are many sources of money, tap into them, says CEO Wouter Bos of Invest-NL (budget 1.7 billion). ‘As Invest-NL we forge coalitions. And we invest through participations and subordinated loans. If there is one place where it is needed, it is in the transition to a carbon-neutral, circular economy. It is still an accumulation of uncertainties: Traditional market parties all want to do something, but it takes money.’ The complete transition to sustainable raw materials and green, electric processes within the basic chemical industry will ultimately lead to a reduction in CO2emissions of 40 million tonnes per year from the chemical industry in the south of the Netherlands by 2050, according to calculations made by Brightsite.
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INVESTMENT
NXTGEN HIGHTECH APPLIES FOR 1.5 BILLION EURO FROM DUTCH NATIONAL GROWTH FUND
‘TO MAINTAIN OUR LEAD IN HIGH-TECH SYSTEMS BUILDING’ The target is EUR 1.5 billion. Money that will have to be raised partly by the Dutch government and partly by the business community involved. And that is to be invested in seven domains that the Top Team Top Sector High Tech Systems & Materials (HTSM) has identified and included in the investment programme Nxtgen Hightech. The aim is to use the special high-tech competences available in the Netherlands, which are most imaginatively expressed in semicon, for other purposes as well. Which also bring together worlds that do not yet know each other well. Because: ‘it is precisely unsuspected combinations that lead to innovations.’
BY MARTIN VAN ZAALEN
T
hese competences must be deployed in technologies with a distinct economic and social relevance, as Marc Hendriks, chair of the Top Team, makes clear. ‘To maintain our lead in high-tech systems building and to prevent countries such as the US, China and also Germany from getting ahead of us in the long term. Germany, for example, has earmarked 9 billion euros for the development of hydrogen technology alone. And China has expressed its big ambitions in the semicon field and is also committing billions to it.’
SEVEN DOMAINS One of the seven domains, says chair of the Nxtgen Hightech working group TNO's Tom van der Horst by way of illustration, is optical communication in which laser and satellite as well as quantum technology is used to safely send large amounts of data across the globe. Willem Endhoven, managing director of the facilitating High Tech NL and also attending the Teams call, cites a biomedical-technological example: organ-on-a-chip. ‘Technology for growing tissue from stem cells and eventually even complete organs. It can also be used for drug testing. The equipment needed for this requires, among other things, high-quality
The aim of the Nxtgen Hightech investment programme is to use the special high-tech competencies available in the Netherlands, and which are most imaginatively expressed in the semiconductor industry, for other purposes as well, according to Marc Hendrikse, chair of the Top Team Top Sector HighTech Systems & Materials that has drawn up the programme. Photo: Holland Hightech
knowledge of mechatronics and cleanliness.’ A third domain is semicon, a field that already has quite a few innovative players in the Netherlands, but machine building, particularly for back-end or metrological purposes, still needs a boost, according to Endhoven. A fourth domain is the sustainability of the energy and chemical sector through the development of electrolysers. For this purpose, the knowledge of thin film technology (such as Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD)) that is now being used in the semicon and solar sectors can be used, adds Van der Horst. The other three domains are: composites, agri-food and smart industry (digitisation of industrial processes).
UNSUSPECTED COMBINATIONS The examples mentioned by the gentlemen are not just random, but are the result of the many discussions they held in recent months with industrial companies such as IMS, NTS, Salland Electronics, Airborne, Micronit, as well as VDL and Demcon. And which have so far yielded some 60 project proposals. Projects
in which existing partnerships want to work on innovations, but which also bring together worlds that do not yet know each other well. ‘Such as the chemical industry and machine building. It is precisely such an unsuspected combination that leads to innovations and new business’, Hendrikse expects.
1.5 BILLION EUROS It is the intention of the Top Team Top Sector HTSM that the envisaged 1.5 billion euros to fund the projects be acquired mainly from the National Growth Fund, launched last year by the Ministries of Economic Affairs & Climate Change and Finance. The money is not yet in, and a definitive answer will not be forth-coming until after the summer when a Committee of Sages (including Peter Wennink (ASML), Robert-Jan Smits (TU Eindhoven) and Robbert Dijkgraaf (Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton)) will scrutinise the Nxtgen high-tech investment programme.
• www.hightechnl.nl Special Issue - April 2020
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CLEANLINESS
PROCLEANROOM’S TURNKEY APPROACH OFFERS ANVIL INDUSTRIES THE SPACE IT NEEDS
WITHIN THE HARD BOUNDARIES OF CONCRETE THERE IS NOW A CUSTOM-MADE CLEANROOM Since ProCleanroom became a manufacturer itself, business is booming for the company in Valkenswaard, just a stone’s throw from Eindhoven. Turnover is growing every year, with what has become a wide range of cleanroom technology. Many orders call for customisation, even when the company is part of a construction team, as during the construction of a 250-m2 high-end cleanroom in the new building of Anvil Industries.
designs. Supplies, installs and validates, and relies for the supply of components on an extensive supply chain of suppliers. The fact that most of them come from the local region in the south of the Netherlands is a very conscious choice for Ferguson. ‘Technology and products are excellent here, why should we source them from further afield? Moreover, the literally short distances are convenient, you can quickly visit each other. That’s how you get to know each other – and yes, that’s when sympathy often wins out.’ In addition to the focus on marketing, reference projects in the region are also contributing to ProCleanroom’s rise, according to Ferguson. ‘We mainly supply plastics, metal, electronics and assembly companies. About 70 percent of our work is for high-tech companies, often related to ASML. The client’s process is always the guiding principle, our offering is broad. This ranges from flow cabinets and simple flexible, mobile cleanroom solutions to large, fixed cleanrooms with fully-fledged air treatment. Moreover, with our in-house engineering, Hans Bakker (left) of Job Precision and Niels Ferguson of ProCleanroom, with the brand new, joint cleanroom of Job Precision and Jansen Machining we can customise where Technology in the background. Photo: Bart van Overbeeke necessary.’ BY JAN BROEKS
B
ack in 2005 Niels Ferguson already realised: driven by the demands of their clients, manufacturing companies want to work ever cleaner. So that same year, the owner and managing director of ProCleanroom started working on solutions for low-dust areas. The company became a distributor and quickly started to grow. However, it was not until 2016 that business really took off, according to Ferguson. After all, that was the year he decided to have ProCleanroom develop and manufacture its own flow cabinets and cleanrooms. ‘From distributor and advisory organisation we became a manufacturer.
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Quite an adjustment. On the other hand, with the necessary knowledge and experience, the foundations were already there. This made for a flying start.’ Even now we’re still growing, according to Ferguson. ‘In 2020, our turnover was over 3 million euros – 20 percent more than the previous year. And despite corona, we are also going for growth this year. The crisis has not affected us much so far. Deliveries were sometimes delayed, but fortunately for us that was all.’
REGIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN ProCleanroom currently numbers twelve employees and has a flexible shell of about eight engineers. The company develops and
HIGH-QUALITY PANEL SYSTEM Customisation was also a requirement of Job Precision and Jansen Machining Technology for their joint new building in Valkenswaard. Both producers belong to the Anvil Industries group of companies and supply a broad market for precision metal parts. With this overlap came the need for one high-quality cleanroom, situated in the middle of the new building and intended for the clean assembly and packaging of products. The fact that ProCleanroom was awarded the contract was, according to Hans Bakker, managing director at Job Precision, partly down to a strong portfolio. ‘ProCleanroom has the experience and expertise, which it has demonstrated with cleanrooms in the supply
chain for ASML. The company also offered us competitive pricing and, not unimportantly, they are based here in Valkenswaard. A local partner with short lines of communication is valuable.’ As the available space in the new building was a given, Anvil wanted to make optimal use of the height and surface area for the cleanroom. ProCleanroom therefore had to literally push the boundaries, which it did with an air
‘IF YOU GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER, SYMPATHY OFTEN WINS OUT’
return concept with hollow walls, among other things. ‘So air recirculates within the panels, rather than through an exterior system,’ says Ferguson. ‘In addition, the thermal and sound insulation within this applied panel system is maximum, and temperature and humidity are accurately regulated. H14 HEPA end filters help ensure the cleanest possible work environment and,
yes, the panel system just looks sleek. It has a completely flat finish – including lighting – and thanks to a special cleansafe coating, it can be cleaned perfectly.’ Asked about challenges during the project, Ferguson thinks back with a smile to the construction of the ultrasonic washer, in the front space of the cleanroom. ‘The ceiling is higher than that of the clean room, which reduces the distance to the concrete above even further. Nevertheless, we have also provided the necessary ceiling height there, with plenums in which the air is blown in such a way that very little space is required.’
CONSTRUCTION TEAM PARTNER The cleanroom was built at the same time as the rest of the project, for which ProCleanroom usually works with the client only. ‘At Anvil, we were a partner of the construction team,’ Ferguson recalls, ‘and at meetings we sat around the table with six or eight other parties. This was special for us, and required detailed coordination with everyone. As far as I’m concerned, we’ve all succeeded in doing that.’ In the new building, which was completed in the autumn of 2020, the cleanroom of around 250 square metres occupies a prominent place. In fact, the glass facade at the main entrance offers the visitor a direct view of the cleanroom, which is classified as ISO Class 6 where ISO Class 7 would have sufficed. ‘It has
FOR NOW FOCUS ON BENELUX ProCleanroom has delivered solutions in almost every European country. ‘Yet we don’t focus internationally,’ says director Niels Ferguson. ‘If we were to focus more on foreign countries, then Belgium and Germany would be the more obvious candidates. Moreover, I see plenty of opportunities for the Netherlands. There’s also plenty of fun stuff for us to do closer to home.’ In addition, ProCleanroom has had its own web shop for over a year now, where customers can order accessories and consumables for the design and operation of their cleanroom. Ferguson: ‘The web shop is complementary to our portfolio and underlines the fact that we now stand for fully turnkey products.’
• www.procleanroom.com • shop.procleanroom.com • www.jobprecision.nl • www.jansenmachiningtechnology.nl become a beautiful showpiece,’ says Bakker. ‘It took a lot of communication, but that’s how you arrive at this result together.’ Ferguson also looks back on the project with satisfaction. ‘We’re proud of it. It was challenging, but shows what we are capable of precisely because of that.’
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ASIAN PERSPECTIVE
CHINESE COMPANIES SEEK COOPERATION IN THE SOUTH OF THE NETHERLANDS
‘WE SEE EINDHOVEN AS THE EUROPEAN SILICON VALLEY’ Mengjuan Zhou is not denying that China is much more self-sufficient in developing and producing high-tech today. However, Zhou, project manager of BOM (Brabant Development Agency) Foreign Investments China emphasises that China still needs Europe, to develop processes and manufacture products. She is referring in particular to processes and products for the semiconductor industry.
BY MARTIN VAN ZAALEN
‘C
hina is not yet on the same level as the US, the UK or the Netherlands in that respect. That is why Chinese companies are also looking in the south of the Netherlands for companies or talent that can help them with this, for example, in the design of chips. Not with the intention of attracting those companies or people to China, but by working with them in Brabant, which, after all, is seen as the European Silicon Valley. Of the same level as the American valley, but still much less known.’
STRONG SEMICON AND FOOD Raising awareness in particular is her role and that of her BOM colleagues (specialists in specific sectors), in order to attract investments from China to the southern Dutch province of Noord-Brabant. And the province still has some progress to make in that area, she explains. ‘Dutch football is highly regarded in China and PSV in Eindhoven rings a bell with many. If you tell them that Eindhoven is a city in the province of Brabant, the penny drops. Semicon in Eind-
hoven is strongly developed, as is solar with companies such as Solliance Thin Film Solar Research and the Holst Centre. And also industrial automation with, for example, the facilities and the innovation programme Factory of the Future at the Brainport Industries Campus.’ Zhou has been back in China for four months now because of the pandemic, but she lived in Den Bosch for several years and knows what strengths of the city she has to name in order to interest Chinese entrepreneurs: ‘The Jheronimus Academy of Data Science in Den Bosch boasts considerable know-how in the field of data analysis. And it is also a good base for agri-food companies. Because it is not far from Wageningen with the world-renowned Wageningen University & Research.’
LOGISTIC GATEWAY Before the COVID pandemic, Zhou had as many as 85 projects going: all with Chinese companies that showed an active interest in Brabant. But since the beginning of last year, China is more or less locked down and travelling is difficult. As a result, about fifteen
HAND CHOOSES EINDHOVEN FOR ITS ‘OPEN BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM’ HAND Enterprise Solutions Europe has had a presence in Eindhoven since 2019. It is a Chinese IT company specialising in the implementation of its own integrated IT system, including ERP and MES, and those of third parties. In Europe, the customer base consists mainly of Chinese companies that have acquired a manufacturing company, particularly in countries with a large industry such as France, Germany and Great Britain. Yet HAND has chosen to settle in the High Tech Campus Eindhoven and Cindy Shao, Managing Director Europe, has three reasons for this. ‘Eindhoven’s location in Europe. We have customers in many European countries and from here we can easily travel to them. Furthermore, there is an open business ecosystem here with organisations such as the Netherlands
Foreign Investment AgencyKamer, the Brabant Development Agency and the province of NoordBrabant that are highly service-oriented and a pleasure to work with. Third, the availability of talented, well-educated IT people counts. Provided you make them the right offer, you can also attract people from The Hague or Amsterdam. Cities that lie outside this region, but the Netherlands is a small country where distances are never great.’ HAND Enterprise Solutions Europe works closely with business partners in several European countries and has ten permanent and flexible employees in Eindhoven. ‘The intention is to allow that to grow organically over the next few years.’
• www.hand-europe.com
Mengjuan Zhou: ‘The latest strategic plan from Beijing explicitly encourages entrepreneurs to seek cooperation with European companies.’ Photo: Wim Hollemans
projects have been put on hold or cancelled. ‘COVID has made it more difficult to make personal contact with people, but the ambition to enter the European market has not diminished. Accordingly, Chinese companies in the south of the Netherlands are looking for local partners who can help them with logistics. Breda, for example, is not only a nice place to live,’ says Zhou, ‘but also a good logistic gateway to the European hinterland, at a short distance from the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp.’
CHINA STRATEGY The search for partners in the Netherlands and Europe is not only encouraged by the BOM, but also by the Chinese government, a policy that has been reinforced by the political tensions between China and the US. ‘The latest strategic plan from Beijing, the follow-up to Made in China 2025, explicitly encourages entrepreneurs to seek cooperation with European companies. Being assured of government support if they take that step is very motivating for Chinese entrepreneurs. Whether that policy is accompanied by financial support? I’m not ruling it out, but it’s not a formal part of that policy,’ she says with a laugh.
• www.bom.nl • www.brabantisbright.nl Special Issue - April 2021
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