Van Wees Waalwijk

What Van Wees Waalwijk does

Van Wees Waalwijk is a Dutch special machine builder and system integrator founded in 1905 in Waalwijk, Netherlands, and operating as a privately held family firm under director-owner Andries van der Werf since 1998. Originally a blacksmith shop serving the regional shoe industry, the company has evolved over 115+ years into a full-service provider of custom automation solutions for industrial clients in food processing, pharmaceuticals, plastics, and energy/climate sectors. The company operates an integrated under-one-roof model that combines engineering, metalworking (CNC and conventional machining), assembly, and service & maintenance, delivered by a team of approximately 40-45 employees.

The firm's technology stack spans robotics (Yaskawa HD7 6-axis robots, Fanuc), vision AI (via partner Fizyr), ultrasonic welding, waterjet cutting, laser welding, CNC machining with 5-plane milling, and PLC integration. Its flagship Bin Pick Food Cell — launched in 2025 within the NXTGEN HIGHTECH Ready Made Meals program — combines two Yaskawa HD7 robots with Fizyr vision AI to handle unstructured food products at 40-60 picks per minute in HACCP-compliant cooled environments. The company also operates Rosario Screen Printing Machines BV, acquired in December 2025, extending its portfolio into a complete line of glass-decoration machinery (screen printing, inspection, palletizing) with an international customer base.

Van Wees Waalwijk runs a project-based B2B model with direct enterprise field sales through named sales engineers, long-cycle custom engagements, and project-specific fixed-scope budgets determined after intake and feasibility assessment. Revenue streams include one-time project revenue from special machine construction and production automation, recurring service contracts (notably 30+ years of preventive maintenance for Belned and 15 years of Marel Preferred Supplier status for machined stainless steel parts), and external machining work. The company markets itself through a bilingual Dutch/English website with detailed project case studies, trade event presence (FoodTech Event 2025), and earned media in regional Dutch and Belgian outlets; all sales are direct with no resellers or distributors.

Name

Van Wees Waalwijk

Legal name

Van Wees Waalwijk

Website

https://vanweeswaalwijk.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1905

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Van Wees Waalwijk is a 115+ year-old Dutch special machine builder and system integrator, serving food, pharmaceutical, plastics, and energy clients with custom automation, in-house engineering, CNC machining, and service under one roof.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Special Industrial Machinery and Automation

NAICS

Industrial Machinery Manufacturing (33324), Industrial Machinery Manufacturing (3332)

SIC

Special Industry Machinery, Nec (3559), Special Industry Machinery (No Metalworking Machinery) (3550)

akta.pro primary industry

Filling & Dosing Machines (Liquid/Powder/Solid) (IMAHAOAF)

Keywords

• Special machine construction
• Production automation
• Industrial robotics integration
• Custom metal machining
• Food grade automation

Headquarters

HQ city

Waalwijk

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Special Machine Construction (Speciaalmachinebouw): Design, build, and deliver custom special-purpose machines for unique industrial applications. Revenue is generated through project-based custom machine construction, typically with fixed scope budgets or phase budgets after intake and preliminary design. Projects range from single custom machines to complex automated production lines.
2. Production Automation: System integration services delivering turn-key automation solutions that link subsystems, modify existing machines, and design new components. Includes robotic integrations, vision systems, and conveyor/handling systems for production lines.
3. Engineering Services: Concept and engineering services from initial design through 3D design and simulation to detail engineering. Offered both as standalone service and integrated with machine construction projects.
4. Metalworking / Machining: CNC and conventional machining services producing parts from raw materials for in-house machine building and for external clients. Includes single-piece, small-series, and medium-series production, as well as part overhaul/revision. Customers include Marel (preferred supplier status).
5. Service & Maintenance: Preventive and corrective maintenance services, machine overhaul, industrial relocation (disassembly, relocation, reinstallation), and spare parts provision. Provided under ongoing service contracts (e.g., Belned for over 30 years) and ad hoc basis.
6. Screen Printing Machines (Rosario): Following acquisition of Rosario C2C, Van Wees Waalwijk now operates Rosario Screen Printing Machines BV, offering a complete line of high-quality machines for direct decoration on glass: from screen printing to inspection and palletizing. All current and future Rosario orders handled under the Van Wees Waalwijk umbrella.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Van Wees Waalwijk designs, engineers, builds, and services custom special machines and production automation systems for industrial clients. The company delivers turn-key solutions spanning concept and 3D design, machining, assembly, commissioning, and ongoing maintenance, serving food, pharmaceutical, plastics, and energy industries from its Waalwijk facility.

Product overview

Van Wees Waalwijk is a full-service special machine builder offering integrated solutions from engineering through production, assembly, and maintenance under one roof. The core portfolio includes custom special machine construction (Speciaalmachinebouw), production automation, engineering services, and metal machining. The flagship product is the Bin Pick Food Cell - a flexible robotic cell for food production automation. The company also acquired Rosario Screen Printing Machines, adding screen printing machines for glass decoration. Services span from concept & 3D design to turn-key delivery, with all disciplines (engineering, machining, assembly, service) handled internally. The company serves food, pharmaceutical, plastics processing, and energy & climate industries, operating from Waalwijk, Netherlands since 1905.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Special Machine Construction (Speciaalmachinebouw) Custom machine building from concept to turn-key delivery, including 3D design, simulation, and test setups. Machines are designed for specific customer requirements across food, pharmaceutical, plastics, and other industries.
• Production Automation (Productieautomatisering) Turn-key automation solutions for production processes, including integration of subsystems, modification of existing machines, and design of new components. Delivers automated production lines with system integration services.
• Engineering Services Complete engineering services from concept development through detail engineering, including 3D design and simulation. Covers mechanical, control, and software engineering for custom automation solutions, offered both standalone and integrated with machine construction projects.
• Metal Machining (Metaalbewerking) In-house machining department using conventional and CNC turning and milling machines. Produces parts for own machine building and for external clients including stainless steel components. Capabilities include 5-plane milling. Customers include Marel as preferred supplier.
• Service & Maintenance (Service & Onderhoud) Comprehensive maintenance services including planned maintenance (inspection, execution, follow-up), machine overhaul, and industrial relocations. Features preventive maintenance programs to limit downtime, with long-term contracts such as twice-yearly preventive maintenance for Belned over 30+ years.
• Bin Pick Food Cell Compact and flexible robotic cell that automates bin picking, precise dosing, and component feeding for food production. Features two Yaskawa HD7 6-axis robots (IP69K-rated) with advanced vision AI for recognizing and picking individual ingredients from crates. Designed for cooled, hygienic environments with frequent product changes.
• Rosario Screen Printing Machines High-quality machines for direct decoration on glass, including screen printing, inspection, and palletizing machines. Served globally through the rosarioscreenprinting.com website.

Quantifiable outcome

• 20-30% more machining production with same team after CNC machine investment
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability5 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• YaskawacoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025Technology partnership for robotics in the Bin Pick Food Cell. Yaskawa supplies HD7 6-axis robots specifically designed for hygiene-sensitive environments (IP69K rating, smooth surfaces, internal cable routing). Van Wees Waalwijk integrates these robots into custom robotic cells for food industry applications. The Bin Pick Food Cell debuted at FoodTech Event 2025 as a joint innovation. Yaskawa is also referenced as the robot technology partner for vision AI integration.
• FizyrcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025Vision AI partner for the Bin Pick Food Cell. Fizyr provides vision software enabling the robotic cell to handle unstructured products — recognizing and picking irregularly shaped items like raw peppers or dressing bags from bins, dosing them precisely, and placing them in packaging.
• Wageningen University & Research (WUR)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Knowledge partner in the NXTGEN HIGHTECH Ready Made Meals project. WUR contributes expertise in food processing and gripper technology, which was used in the development of the Bin Pick Food Cell. Also contributed to the LocalTea automation project with Van Wees Waalwijk.
• ElektrolascoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Long-standing co-engineering partnership for automation projects. Elektrolas is an expert in welding technology and automation, and Van Wees Waalwijk serves as co-engineer on projects such as the Arcelor Mittal cobot for weld seam inspection. Elektrolas provides welding expertise and overall project coordination; Van Wees Waalwijk provides mechanical engineering and machine building. Van Wees also purchases welding consumables from Elektrolas.
• NXTGEN HIGHTECHflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023NXTGEN HIGHTECH is a Dutch high-tech innovation ecosystem. Van Wees Waalwijk participates in the Ready Made Meals project within this ecosystem, which supported the development of the Bin Pick Food Cell. The project aims to create fully automated and mobile tea and meal production processes. Also includes the LocalTea project for automated Dutch-grown tea production.
• S3FOODminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022European smart specialization project for food industry digitalization. Van Wees Waalwijk collaborated with S3FOOD on the initial development of the mobile cobot for Bakkerij Mariën, which preceded the HIGHFIVE collaboration.
• HIGHFIVE / AgriFood Capital / Next Tech Food FactoriescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021European innovation project (Horizon 2020 framework) supporting smart technology adoption in food processing. Van Wees Waalwijk participates through the Bakkerij Mariën cobot project and collaborates with AgriFood Capital and Brainport Development under the Next Tech Food Factories program. Provides funding, coaching, and networking support for digital innovation projects in Brabant's food industry.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• KMWE: Dutch precision machining and mechatronics supplier with aerospace and high-tech OEM customers. Comparable as a Netherlands-based metalworking and engineering firm with CNC machining + custom machine/assembly capabilities similar to Van Wees Waalwijk's metalworking and special-machine lines.
• VMI Group: Dutch-based manufacturer of specialty machinery (tire-building, bakery, and rubber processing). Comparable as a Dutch special-machine builder with similar project-based engineering-to-assembly workflow and similar enterprise customer base.
• CFT Group: Italian manufacturer of food processing and packaging equipment (canning, aseptic filling, end-of-line). Comparable business model — custom-engineered food-industry machinery for enterprise customers — though larger and more productized.
• HPS (Hybrid Production Systems): Dutch high-precision machine builder and system integrator for high-tech OEMs. Comparable as a Dutch custom machine builder with similar engineering, machining, and assembly disciplines and similar customer profile in regulated industrial markets.
• AWETA: Dutch designer and builder of sorting, grading, and packaging machinery for fruit and vegetables. Directly comparable to Van Wees Waalwijk's food-industry automation focus, with a similar mix of custom machinery, robotics, and vision integration for the food sector.

Broad incumbents

• Marel: Iceland-based global leader in food processing equipment (and a customer of Van Wees Waalwijk via CNC parts). A much larger incumbent serving the same food-processing vertical with broader product portfolio and global service footprint.
• GEA Group: German-listed global supplier of equipment and process technology for the food, beverage, and pharma industries. Directly comparable vertical overlap (food + pharma automation) but at very large scale with a multinational service network.
• JBT Corporation: US-listed global supplier of food processing and air transport equipment. Operates in the same food-processing machinery space as Van Wees Waalwijk's food-industry projects, but at significantly greater scale and with a fully productized portfolio.
• Bühler Group: Swiss global plant and equipment supplier for food, feed, and advanced materials. Comparable in food-industry machinery but vastly larger, with a broad product portfolio spanning milling, sorting, and packaging automation.

Others

• Yaskawa: Japanese industrial robot manufacturer and core technology partner for Van Wees Waalwijk's Bin Pick Food Cell (Yaskawa HD7 robots). Not a competitor but an enabling technology supplier whose platform choice is central to Van Wees Waalwijk's product roadmap.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Van Wees Waalwijk