The robotics and automation industry in the Netherlands is booming, with new systems and companies, according to a new report from HowToRobot.com. The automation marketplace analyzed suppliers and found that the Netherlands remains a hub for innovation in the industry.
HowToRobot.com collaborated with the High Tech NL cluster Robotics (also known as Holland Robotics) and independent advisor Gain & Co. The company reported that the number of robotics suppliers in the Netherlands “has grown significantly.”
For each of the past 12 years, an average of 11 new companies was established in the Netherlands—a 57% increase from the number of businesses formed in the prior period. The study attributed this growth to factors including the country’s highly skilled workforce, a strong focus on innovation, and an increasing demand for automation from businesses experiencing labor shortages and competitive pressure.
“There are a lot of up-and-coming robot and automation companies in the Netherlands that will be interesting to watch,” stated Søren Peters, CEO of HowToRobot.com. “The rate of new businesses opening makes it clear that it is a market that can’t be ignored.”
Growing focus on farmbots and other applications
According to the report, there are 350 primary robot and automation suppliers operating in the Netherlands. No less than 37% of them were established in the past 12 years.
“We’re seeing a trend among younger companies to develop and manufacture robot technologies and solutions,” said Thijs Dorssers, manager at High Tech NL cluster Robotics. “Many of these serve industries and applications where automation is still relatively new and not yet employed widely.”
The Netherlands has become the world's second largest exporter of food by value after the U.S., largely thanks to its support of technological innovation. Not surprisingly, farming robots are seeing fast-growing interest, with 74 Dutch businesses specializing in agricultural and forestry systems. That number has doubled in the past 12 years, according to the report.
Agriculture is now ahead of the automotive industry, which has historically employed the most robots, in number of automation suppliers in the country. Examples of Dutch-developed systems include the following:
- Pixelfarming Robotics' system for weeding without the use of pesticides
- Crux Agribotics' automated grading, sorting, and packaging robots
- Certhon's harvesting robot that can detect, cut, and transport tomatoes
- Metazet FormFlex's system for transporting trolleys in greenhouses
- Logiqs' automated vertical farming
- Lely's automatic cow feeder
- Priva's Kompano, a mobile robot for autonomous cutting tomato leaves in greenhouses
The report also noted interest in automation in aerospace, logistics, inspection and quality assurance, landscaping and gardening, and cleaning and disinfection.
“Many of the automation solutions developed are still at an early stage,” noted Dorssers. “With further commercialization and access to funding, there will be growing export potential among automation suppliers in the Netherlands.”
Report summarizes Dutch robotics market
“Market Analysis of Robot and Automation Firms in the Netherlands 2023” is available via HowToRobot.com, including a free preview. The report is published by HowToRobot published the report, which contains market insights from High Tech NL cluster Robotics, which last May celebrated its fifth anniversary. The insights include interest from small and midsize enterprises (SMEs).
The study also includes statistics and information on 350 robotics and automation companies. They included robot manufacturers, integrators, distributors, sub-component suppliers, and advisors researched by HowToRobot and Gain & Co. Here is a breakdown of some of the statistics in the report:
Type of suppliers in the Netherlands:
- 62 robot manufacturers
- 200 integrators
- 58 sub-component suppliers
- 15 distributors
- 15 advisors
Top industries in the Netherlands that most robot and automation companies are supplying to:
- Logistics: 124 suppliers
- Robotics: 106 suppliers
- Metal and machinery: 94 suppliers
Top solution types offered by most robot and automation suppliers in the Netherlands
- Handling and picking: 186 suppliers
- Packing and palletizing: 116 suppliers
- Logistics: 82 suppliers
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