Built on technology, courage, and people
The sausage rolls marked a moment to pause and reflect on fifteen years of Demcon high-tech systems in Eindhoven (which started out as Demcon advanced mechatronics, together with Demcon life sciences & health). On the growth from a small office on the Kennedylaan to the organization it is today. It was a moment to reflect on customers, projects, buildings, colleagues, entrepreneurial spirit, and technical pride. And on the people who have helped write that story from the very beginning.
Toon Hermans takes us back in time
One of the people who was there from the very start is Toon Hermans. Former director of the Demcon location in Eindhoven (at the time Demcon advanced mechatronics South) and still employed by Demcon today. The history of Demcon in Eindhoven doesn’t begin with a building, but with the opportunities the Brainport region offered. Around 2011, Demcon was already growing steadily from its base in Oldenzaal. The company, originally founded by Peter Rutgers and Dennis Schipper, had built up operations in Twente and worked for, among others, several tech giants. But the world was changing. “Back then we had around 110 to 120 people in Oldenzaal,” Toon recalls. “We were already doing work for leading high-tech companies, but the Eindhoven region was becoming an increasingly bigger player in the high-tech world. We realized that if we really wanted to grow along with it, we had to establish a location right in the heart of the action.”
The battle for the best engineers
That’s how simple a strategic decision can sound. For us, Eindhoven was a logical choice. Brainport was already a concentration of technical knowledge, entrepreneurship, and industrial ambition. Our customers were global players, surrounded by an ecosystem of companies all chasing the same scarce group of people: good engineers. “That meant we immediately found ourselves in a competitive environment,” Toon explains. “Companies throughout Brainport were all looking for engineers. And naturally, we wanted the best of them.”
A small start on the Kennedylaan
The first location was on the Kennedylaan, with just a few small offices. Toon joined on June 1, 2012. At that point, the location was still young and modest in size. “When I started, there were about six of us,” he says. “And things weren’t running smoothly yet. That was exactly the challenge. We couldn’t let it become a branch office that just carried out what was decided elsewhere. We needed our own location, with its own pride, its own energy, and its own soul. But still within the culture and strength of Demcon as a whole.”
Toon brought experience that came in exactly at the right moment. He had trained at Océ, later part of Canon, where he had learned to work with large groups of engineers in a matrix organization. He then worked at TMC, where he gained experience in recruitment, business development, and building business units. “That combination worked well,” he says. “I had to recruit people, understand what was happening technically, and I had to be able to inspire engineers and get them on board.”
The right place for ambitious engineers
Recruiting talent purely on the basis of salary isn’t how we play the game. “We want employees who are engineers through and through,” says Toon. “That’s at the core of Demcon. We employ independently minded engineers. People who are entrepreneurial, value their freedom, and like having their own influence on an assignment.” Demcon offers variety, technical depth, proximity to the client, and the chance to take on responsibility quickly. The opportunity to make a visible contribution.
Growing through boldness
After about five years, the Demcon location Eindhoven had, according to Toon, reached a critical mass. The location had become solid enough to truly function independently. Great projects were underway, the team was growing, and the organization moved to yet another building. By now we’re in our third building in Eindhoven. “After about five years, we were around sixty people. That’s when the idea came up: we could also start in Delft, and later in Groningen too. I was able to help with that, thanks to the experience I’d gained at Demcon advanced mechatronics.” The growth of Demcon in Eindhoven thus also became a blueprint for further development. Built around universities, around technical ecosystems, with room for local strength and entrepreneurship.
But growth was not purely organic. Sometimes there was a sudden acceleration. An early example was Macawi, a startup that was acquired and, as ‘Demcon macawi respiratory systems,’ provided an important boost. “We were already around twelve people,” Toon recalls. “Then seven people from Macawi joined, and suddenly we were twenty. That changed the atmosphere.” A step like that brings energy, but also cultural differences. Not everyone naturally fits the Demcon way of working. Still, that’s part of growing too. “It gave us a real boost,” says Toon.
Smart people read the game themselves
What makes Demcon special isn’t just the technology. It’s also the way people are given room to operate. Toon uses a sports metaphor for this. “We look for people you can put on the field who read the game themselves. Who see for themselves whether they should play left-back or right-back, and how they should position themselves.” That requires a lot from people, but also from the organization. Because freedom only works if people know where they stand. Now that Demcon as a whole has grown to more than a thousand employees, the way we organize that freedom is changing too.
From the Netherlands to the world
In fifteen years, the market has changed too. Where Demcon used to work mainly in the Netherlands, its scope has since become much more international. That has everything to do with Brainport’s worldwide reputation. “We used to work mostly in the Netherlands,” says Toon. “Now it’s become truly global. Especially in the semicon world, companies know that good innovations come out of Eindhoven. That feeds directly into the region’s appeal. Large companies that need precision motion or precision positioning look for their solutions in Eindhoven, because that’s where the engineers who understand it are.”
For Demcon, that means opportunities, but also responsibility. The technical bar is set high. The international context calls for flexibility, cultural sensitivity, and the ability to keep adapting again and again. “Standing still isn’t an option,” Toon concludes. “The organization has to keep developing.”
'It's the details that matter'
Toon comes back once more to the sausage rolls. Because they say something about Demcon. About attention. About appreciation. About the importance of people who don’t stand in the spotlight but do make the difference. That’s why he also mentions Jolanda, our dedicated restaurant manager in Eindhoven. Together with Marlena, she makes sure the food isn’t just food, but part of the atmosphere. Of hospitality. Of enjoying work.
It’s the details that matter. At Demcon, people are engaged, always ready to help, and happy to go the extra mile to make a difference. For colleagues and for our customers. Together, we stand for quality and reliability.”
At Demcon, quality isn’t just about systems, machines, and technology. It’s also about the people who make sure our customers see their projects come to life, without having to worry about the technology behind it. Employees who don’t just do what the client asks, but think along actively and innovatively to arrive at the best possible technical solutions. Whoever truly understands the client can move mountains.
