This article was originally published on Precision fair website on October 27, 2026.
Watch Barend Vermeulen’s story
In the video, Managing Director Barend Vermeulen shares the essence of Demcon’s approach to complex innovation, technological development and collaboration.
The full story goes deeper. Read on to discover how Demcon takes on challenges that may initially seem impossible, works ever closer to the boundaries of physics and aims to make emerging technologies accessible on a much wider scale.
Complexity as a driver of innovation
Looking back over the past 25 years, Vermeulen believes Demcon’s most significant development cannot be attributed to any single product or technology. The real transformation has been in the way products and systems are developed.
Demcon carries out R&D for its customers, and over the past few decades these projects have become increasingly complex and multidisciplinary. The company started out in mechatronics more than 30 years ago, but has since expanded its expertise into fields including physics and chemistry. As Vermeulen puts it: “This enables us to develop increasingly complex systems together.”
This evolution requires more than simply greater technical depth. It is precisely the combination of different disciplines that enables Demcon to tackle challenges that once appeared almost beyond reach.
"We keep pushing the boundaries further.”
Making the seemingly impossible possible
One project that had a particularly significant impact on Demcon was Lighthouse. The project involved developing a solution for producing a medical isotope without the use of a nuclear source.
It was an exceptionally complex undertaking. The customer had struggled to find a company both willing and capable of taking on the challenge. At its peak, more than fifty engineers worked on the project over a period of several years. For Vermeulen, Lighthouse perfectly captures the mindset within Demcon: “We essentially managed to make the impossible possible.”
The experience reinforced an attitude that is deeply embedded in the organisation: rather than accepting that something cannot be done, the question is always how it can be done.
According to Vermeulen, this mentality also reflects what Demcon has stood for since its foundation: Demand and consensus – challenging one another, bringing different disciplines together and jointly developing solutions to complex technological problems.
Moving ever closer to the limits of physics
The level of complexity is only expected to increase in the years ahead. Demcon anticipates systems becoming faster and more precise, while emerging technologies will play an increasingly important role.
Vermeulen identifies photonics and quantum computing as two areas in which major advances will be required over the next five to ten years. Turning these technologies into practical applications will require new machines and systems capable of positioning with ever greater precision while integrating multiple engineering disciplines. As Vermeulen explains: “We keep pushing the boundaries further and are moving ever closer to the fundamental limits imposed by physics.”
For Demcon, however, technological progress is not simply about what can technically be achieved. An equally important challenge is ensuring that new technologies can ultimately be applied on a much broader scale.
Making technology accessible
"Ultimately, technology needs to become both accessible and affordable.”
The wider societal relevance of technology is becoming increasingly important, according to Vermeulen. One example is the growing energy demand associated with chips and AI applications. As chips become more advanced and AI requires ever more computing power, energy consumption continues to rise. Demcon therefore sees considerable potential in photonics and, ultimately, quantum computing to make future computing technologies more efficient.
The company is continuing to strengthen its expertise in these fields. The challenge is twofold: the technology itself needs to reach sufficient maturity, but it must also become cost-effective enough to enable adoption on a broader scale. As Vermeulen emphasises: “It is not enough simply to prove that we can make a technology work. We also want to ensure that it ultimately becomes accessible and affordable.”
Complex projects are never achieved alone
This emphasis on collaboration is also one of the main reasons Demcon has participated in the Precision Fair for the past 25 years. The projects Demcon takes on are often complex, technically demanding and long-term. According to Vermeulen, such projects can only succeed through close collaboration with specialist partners. “We take on complex challenges that can require a long development journey. We cannot do that alone. We need other partners alongside us.”
This is what makes the network surrounding the Precision Fair particularly valuable to Demcon. It provides an opportunity to strengthen existing relationships, identify new specialist partners and develop collaborations further.
"Complex challenges demand collaboration.”
A network where new opportunities take shape
For Demcon, the Precision Fair is more than a place to meet. It is also where new partnerships, technical connections and commercial opportunities begin to take shape. Vermeulen describes its value as follows: “We meet the partners we need at the Precision Fair and use the event to maintain existing relationships. At the same time, we connect with new companies and uncover new commercial opportunities.”
It is this combination of established relationships, new technical connections and fresh business opportunities that has made the Precision Fair a constant in Demcon’s calendar for the past 25 years.
Pushing boundaries together for 25 years
Demcon and the Precision Fair share a similar principle: progress happens when different areas of expertise, companies and people come together. From mechatronics to multidisciplinary systems. From complex R&D programmes to photonics and quantum computing. And from facing a technical challenge to asking how it can be made possible after all.
Demcon’s presence at the Precision Fair for the past 25 years reflects exactly what the event is about: bringing together knowledge, technology and collaboration to enable the next step forward.
Demcon, thank you for 25 years of commitment, knowledge sharing and collaboration. Here’s to pushing the next boundary together.