Dutch companies have always had a strong focus on innovation, the strong rise in innovative concepts in business cannot be denied. Recent discoveries and developments in new technologies, new products, and new services can be traced to the Netherlands. Check out this list of five ingenious Dutch innovations. They have been shaping new realities and meeting market needs for some time.
Akulon and Arnitel from DSM
DSM’s Akulon and Arnitel are two types of materials that are currently used in several Cradle to Cradle®-certified products, including the Herman Miller chair. Cradle-to-cradle, referred to as “closed loop” systems, share the goal that materials – including metal, paper, plastic, and even food – are recycled or find their way back into the natural environment.
DSM recently refreshed its corporate brand to reflect their innovative approach and achievements.
ABDS (active blast countermeasure system) by TenCate
This was developed for defense forces by TenCate Advanced Armour. TenCate is also known for its Artificial Turf activities, but, unfortunately, in many places in the world, war is still going on. Troops need the best and most advanced armor protection and the TenCate ABDS active blast countermeasure system offers an innovative defense solution. TenCate designed and manufactured this life-saving protection against a number of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) currently seen particularly in Afghanistan.
No wonder, TenCate has scored high in the annual report on the most valuable Dutch brands by Brand Finance and significantly increased its position in Management Team Top 500 (brands with the best image) from 285 to 146 place.
Senseo Coffee Pad System
Philips has paved the way to yet another creative innovation – Senseo Coffee Maker – a coffee brewing machine that utilizes a coffee pad system to produce an enjoyable cup of freshly brewed coffee topped with a layer of thick cream. The Senseo coffee maker is the brainchild of two top-notch companies: Philips, the electronics manufacturer, and Douwe Egberts, the Dutch coffee producer.
Ecofont
This font was created with the economy in mind. It is a font designed with minute circles throughout the character to cut down on the amount of ink used. It reduces ink usage by approximately 25%. The company has also freshly come up with an Ecofont Software Enterprise edition, a program that supports other fonts and also adds tiny holes to the characters before printing. The software puts a print button to your toolbar and with a click of the mouse, you can convert commonly used fonts such as Times New Roman, Arial, Verdana, and Calibri into hole-filled Ecofonts. The cost-cutting effect on ink reduction will be noticeable after several prints.
Automated self-service passport control at Schiphol
The number of passengers at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport is predicted to swell in the coming years. However, the number of passport counters and policemen can’t be extended endlessly and this can have an off-putting effect on airport transactions and security. That’s why gates were designed and equipped with the newest technology to allow passport control to be fast, efficient, smooth and yet very secure. The gates are suitable for passports integrated with a chip from all European countries plus Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. The gates have been developed by Accenture and delivered in collaboration with VisionBox.
Of course, this list of Dutch innovations is just a small selection and far from complete. There are many other great examples of innovations that were developed, or are continually being developed, by leading Dutch companies.