Product and process innovation
Increasingly, VDL companies are involved at an early stage in co-developing their products, together with their clients. We can offer added value by employing our knowledge in the field of materials, production, assembly and supply chain management. The shift is taking us from ‘build to print’ and ‘build to specifications’ via ‘build to requirements’ (by adding additional specifications and solutions) until we eventually arrive at ‘build to roadmap’ (full service through to manufacture including innovations added for the client).
R&D expenditure
In 2019, VDL Groep invested 162 million euro in research & development. At VDL, last year a total of 956 employees were involved in R&D-related activities. VDL Groep is the 8th most innovative company in the Netherlands, according to the R&D Top 30 companies for 2020, published by the magazine Technisch Weekblad (Top 30 Company R&D 2020).
Brainport Eindhoven region
VDL Groep has its headquarters in Eindhoven, and many of its companies are concentrated in southeast Brabant. This top technology region Brainport Eindhoven is an excellent home base for our company. Here, together with educational institutions, government organisations and other businesses, we are able to create high-tech products and projects. We cooperate uniquely with a number of our clients, a process in which as a ground-breaking supplier we are able to work on the most innovative technologies, on the basis of open innovation.
