On November 12, one day before the Precision Fair, Hans Krikhaar and Mikrocentrum are organizing the first International Precision Conference at Mikrocentrum in Veldhoven. This conference, aimed at an international audience of precision technology executives, aims to further profile the Netherlands as a world leader in precision technology.
The Netherlands has built an outstanding global reputation as a precision technology leader, with companies such as ASML leading the way in innovation and complexity. According to DSPE president Hans Krikhaar, the International Precision Conference provides a unique opportunity to propagate this expertise further. “I’ve been abroad a lot, and everywhere I go, the Netherlands is seen as an important player in precision technology. In Veldhoven, we have the most important technology company in the world, where the most complex machine is made. These are achievements that we can be proud of and like to share with the rest of the world.”
Internationalization and cooperation
The idea of the conference stems from a long-held desire to give even more weight to the annual Precision Fair organized by Mikrocentrum. “I have sometimes called it the International Precision Summit,” Krikhaar explains. “Focus is on the internationalization of precision technology and attracting conference attendees from countries that matter in our industry, such as Germany, Switzerland, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, and the United States.”
Krikhaar emphasizes that the conference does not go into detail about precision technology but instead focuses on innovation and collaboration within the ecosystem. Therefore, this year’s theme is “Technological Innovation through Ecosystem Collaboration. “It’s a conference where precision technology managers come together to listen and discuss how to approach innovation in precision technology practically. The Netherlands is traditionally strong in this because of our independent thinking, creativity, initiatives, and way of working together. Therefore, the emphasis during the conference is on cooperation and the exchange of ideas.”
Krikhaar has an anecdote about that independent spirit: “Where that ever came from, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because we used to sail the world’s seas and had to make our decisions independently on all those adventures. But I do know that if you have an engineering department of 20 people in the Netherlands, you have the brainpower of 19 people. Because nobody listens to the boss. But in certain foreign countries, if you have an engineering department of 20 people, you have the brainpower of just one person because everybody has to listen to the boss. Okay, the example might be a little extreme, but that’s where our strength lies.”
International connections
An essential part of this initiative is leveraging the existing international networks of Dutch precision technology companies. Krikhaar explains that companies from the Brainport region are encouraged to invite their global customers and suppliers to the conference. “We have so many international contacts within our high-tech supply chain that there is a huge opportunity there,” he said.
For the first edition of the Precision Conference, Krikhaar expects over 120 participants, who will not only be able to listen to and interact with exciting speakers but will also be invited to a series of company visits. Leading high-tech companies such as ASML, VDL and Thermo Fisher Scientific are opening their doors for these. The same goes for the Brainport Industries Campus. “Foreigners find such visits very interesting. That makes sense: when we are in Japan, we also like to look at their factories. It is always fascinating to see companies inside and to learn how we in the Netherlands build precision technology companies.”
The company visits offer foreign participants a unique insight into the ecosystem of the Brainport region and highlight the Dutch culture of cooperation. “In the Netherlands, we share a lot of knowledge. That is a tradition that goes back to the time when Philips brought together a hundred companies here under one roof. That culture of open knowledge sharing has allowed us to innovate and develop technologies of global importance.”
Ignorance
Despite its international successes, Krikhaar believes precision technology still has a relatively invisible image in the Netherlands. “There are still people who think they make potato chips at ASML,” he jokes. “There is just a lot of ignorance about exactly what precision technology entails.”
Krikhaar also sees the importance of raising awareness. “Thanks to geopolitical events, ASML has been on the front pages of newspapers worldwide. That helps enormously to put precision technology and the Dutch high-tech industry in the spotlight.”
Precision Fair
The International Precision Conference takes place the day before the Precision Fair. Since 2000, this trade fair has hosted over 350 top players and 50 renowned speakers in the field of precision technology, who show their latest solutions and innovations to the public. International cooperation will also be the focus of the upcoming edition of the Precision Fair in the Brabanthallen, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, on November 13 and 14.
Tickets are still available for the conference. More information here.
A visit to the Precisiebeurs is free of charge. Order a ticket here.
Collaboration
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