What Xelvin does

Xelvin is a Dutch technical staffing and detachment agency headquartered in Groningen, Netherlands, founded in 2006. The company places engineers, technicians, and other technical professionals with client companies across nine vertical segments: Food & Chemie, Energie & Netwerken, Industrie, IT, High Tech, Bouw & Infra, Installatietechniek, Laboratoriumtechniek, and Maritiem & Offshore. It operates from 13 Dutch office locations plus a Porto, Portugal office, supported by a workforce of approximately 500 employees representing 40 nationalities, of which roughly 60% are international 'knowledge migrants.' The company is led by CEO Bob Schipper, and its legal entity is Xelvin Management B.V., which holds five wholly-owned regional subsidiaries.

The business model centers on three core service lines: technical detachment (temporary staffing under the Dutch NBBU CAO), direct recruitment and selection, and international knowledge-migration programs that recruit professionals from South Africa, Romania, Portugal and elsewhere with full relocation support. Revenue is generated through hourly or day-rate billings to client companies, with margin determined by the spread between client bill rates and placed-employee compensation. The company complements its traditional offering with Remote Teamforce (cross-border remote staffing), Expert Routes (placement of senior specialists), and Work & Wander (location-independent engagements). Supporting partnerships with LINCO (language training, 2022) and Gift City (community integration, 2024) underpin the international-migrant value proposition.

Xelvin serves an enterprise client base that includes ASML, Philips, Alliander, FrieslandCampina, TenneT, WSP, Qirion, Strukton, European Aerosols, Schut Papier, and Omexom, spanning both private industrials and semi-public network operators. The company reports revenue above €50 million (as of mid-2025) and maintains external certifications including EcoVadis, Great Place to Work, VCU, NEN, and NBBU CAO compliance. Xelvin is privately held with no disclosed external investment, and its growth has been funded organically alongside reinvestment of operating cash flow.

Name

Xelvin

Legal name

Xelvin Management B.V.

Website

https://xelvin.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Xelvin is a Dutch technical staffing and detachment agency founded in 2006, placing engineers and technicians across nine industrial verticals for enterprise clients. It employs roughly 500 people across 14 offices in the Netherlands and Porto, reporting revenue above €50M.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Technical Staffing Services

NAICS

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54)

akta.pro primary industry

IT & Software Engineering Staffing (BPACADAA)

Keywords

• Technical staffing services
• Engineering recruitment
• International talent placement
• Technical detachment
• Workforce solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Groningen

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices13 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Technical Staffing/Detaching: Xelvin generates revenue by detaching (dispatching) technical professionals to client companies. The company acts as an intermediary, placing engineers and technicians in temporary or permanent positions at client organizations. Revenue comes from the margin between what clients pay for technical personnel and what Xelvin pays its placed employees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Xelvin specializes in the technical detachment and placement (deta-vast) of engineering and technical professionals for Dutch companies across sectors including food & chemical, energy & networks, industry, high-tech, IT, maritime & offshore, installation technology, laboratory technology, and construction & infrastructure. The company sources talent both locally and internationally (recruiting from South Africa, Portugal, Brazil, and other markets), and provides comprehensive relocation, onboarding, and Dutch-language training support. It also offers Remote Teamforce (deployable remote IT professionals/teams), Expert Routes qualification programs, and career development programs for technical professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Technical Detachment Services Core detachment (deta-vast / temp-to-perm) service placing technical professionals — engineers, work preparation specialists, service & maintenance technicians, project managers, and procurement/sales talent — with Dutch client companies across multiple industrial sectors.
• International Recruitment Recruits IT and technical professionals from international markets, leveraging a strong network of recruiters in source countries (South Africa, Portugal, Romania, Brazil) to deliver talent beyond the local Dutch labor market.
• Remote Teamforce Provides immediately deployable IT professionals or complete teams who work remotely in collaboration with client organizations, enabling scalable distributed workforce solutions with access to 500+ IT professionals globally.
• Expert Routes Qualification and certification programs that ensure immediate deployability of technical professionals, preparing them for specific client requirements and use cases.
• Work & Wander Program that enables technical professionals to work internationally, supporting their transition to roles abroad and international career mobility.
• Career Development (Loopbaanontwikkeling) Career development services for technical professionals to support their professional growth and advancement within their technical field.
• Relocation & Onboarding Comprehensive relocation support for international hires including picking up employees from Schiphol airport, helping with housing and furnishing, integrating into Dutch society, and providing Dutch language training through the LINCO partnership.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 80% of placed professionals remain with the client after two years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Gift CityminorOthers · 1 January 2024Gift City is a foundation in Zwolle where volunteers from all layers of society work on a voluntary basis. Xelvin partnered with Gift City by having them organize their Christmas market and donated 30 Christmas packages to people in their network. The partnership reflects Xelvin's commitment to community involvement beyond their own organization.
• LINCOcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022LINCO is a language institute in Rotterdam providing intensive one-week language training programs for international professionals placed by Xelvin. Training is customized to each professional's work situation, teaching Dutch language and cultural integration. The partnership ensures faster onboarding and workplace integration for international technicians.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Randstad: World's largest HR services company with deep Netherlands presence. Overlaps with Xelvin in technical, industrial and IT staffing, but operates as a broad multi-segment incumbent rather than a focused technical specialist.
• Michael Page: Global professional recruitment firm with dedicated engineering and technical practices in the Netherlands. Comparable on engineering and technical placements into enterprise clients, but with broader professional services portfolio.
• ManpowerGroup: Global staffing leader with significant Netherlands operations across technical, industrial, IT and professional segments. Comparable on technical staffing but as a broad incumbent with much wider portfolio than Xelvin.
• Hays: Global staffing firm with strong Netherlands operations across IT, engineering, energy and life sciences. Comparable to Xelvin on technical and IT talent placement, but operates as a broad incumbent across many geographies and segments rather than Dutch specialist.

Direct peers

• YER: Netherlands-based staffing and recruitment firm placing technical, professional and executive talent. Closely comparable to Xelvin on Dutch mid-market enterprise focus, multi-vertical coverage and detaching/secondment model across engineering and IT.
• Brunel International: Dutch-headquartered global technical staffing specialist focused on engineers, technicians, and project-based professionals. Directly comparable to Xelvin on business model (detachment/secondment), target verticals (energy, high-tech, industrial) and international recruitment playbook.
• Undutchables Recruitment Agency: Netherlands-based agency specializing in international recruitment and relocation of multilingual professionals. Directly comparable to Xelvin on international knowledge-migrant sourcing, language services, and full relocation support for Dutch employers.
• VDB (Van Dijken Broek): Dutch technical staffing and recruitment specialist serving engineering, industrial and high-tech clients in the Netherlands. Directly comparable on technical detaching model and Dutch enterprise client base.

Emerging players

• OTTO Work Force: International employment and staffing provider with Dutch operations and significant cross-border recruitment capabilities. Comparable on international labor-migration sourcing model that supplies Dutch and European employers.
• TTA International: Dutch international recruitment firm focused on technical and healthcare professionals from abroad. Comparable to Xelvin's international recruitment funnel and relocation model, with overlap in target verticals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/XelvinNL

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Xelvin