What Dethon does

Dethon is a Dutch werkontwikkelbedrijf (work development company) operating in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, established in 1984 and owned by the three municipalities of Hulst, Sluis, and Terneuzen. Its mission under the Participatiewet (Participation Act) is to provide structured employment, coaching, and training to approximately 800 employees with a distance to the labor market, including people with disabilities, refugees, and welfare recipients, while delivering professional-grade products and services to commercial clients.

The company operates three production and service locations across nine departments organized into two pillars. The production pillar comprises Dethon Montage & Verpakking (assembly and packaging for clients ranging from confectionery to cosmetics), Dethon Elektronica (SMD production and electro-assembly), Dethon Kunststof (custom plastic products and displays), Dethon Metaal (metal production for facade, transport, and industrial applications), and Dethon Interieurbouw (custom furniture, cabinetry, and serial interior fit-outs using CNC routers, edge banders, wide belt sanders, and format saws). The service pillar comprises Dethon Groen (landscape design, grounds maintenance, and eco-friendly weed control), Dethon Cleaning (SVS-certified professional commercial cleaning), and Dethon Detacheringen (individual and group detachments placing employees at external employers such as Yara Sluiskil, PostNL, Police Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, and Scalda).

Dethon generates revenue through project-based production contracts, maintenance contracts, and managed staffing arrangements. Cost structure is supported by UWV subsidies covering the wage gap for employees with reduced work capacity. Distribution is direct-to-client via departmental business offices, supplemented by municipal and Werkservicepunt (WSP) referral channels. The company holds ISO-9001:2015 certification (Interior Fitting, Groen), VCA** certification (Groen for industrial sites), and follows SVS guidelines (Cleaning). Its operating geography is restricted to the Zeeuws-Vlaanderen region in the southern Netherlands, with no disclosed expansion beyond the Belgium-Netherlands border area.

Name

Dethon

Legal name

Dethon

Website

https://dethon.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Dethon is a Dutch work development company owned by three Zeeuws-Vlaanderen municipalities that provides employment to approximately 800 people with a distance to the labor market, operating nine departments spanning manufacturing (assembly, electronics, plastics, metal, interior fitting), green services, cleaning, and staffing detachments for B2B and government clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social employment and contract production services

NAICS

Temporary Help Services (561320)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361), General Bldg Contractors - Nonresidential Bldgs (1540)

akta.pro primary industry

Contractor Benefits & Perks Administration (BPACAGAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Managed Workplace Services (DaaS/Workplace-as-a-Service) (BPAEAIAA)

Keywords

• Social employment services
• Workforce detachment staffing
• Contract manufacturing assembly
• Commercial cleaning services
• Landscape maintenance services

Headquarters

HQ city

Terneuzen

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Production and assembly services: Revenue from manufacturing and assembling products for commercial clients. Departments include assembly & packaging (candy to cosmetics), electronics (SMD production), plastics, metal, and interior fitting. Services range from custom furniture to serialized cabinetry production. Also includes customized multi-material products combining wood, plastic, and metal.
2. Green services: Greenery maintenance, landscape design and installation, sports field maintenance, and winter ice clearance. Services for government, healthcare institutions, and businesses. Includes environmentally friendly weed control and street cleaning.
3. Cleaning services: Professional commercial cleaning for offices, companies, schools, childcare centers, and sports facilities. Includes sanitary cleaning, interior cleaning, floor maintenance, window washing, high-pressure cleaning, and canteen work. Performed by small teams following SVS (Stichting Vakbekwame Schoonmaak) guidelines.
4. Detachment/staffing services: Dethon detaches employees (individuals and groups) to regular employers in the region. Employees remain employed by Dethon while working at the client organization. Dethon provides supervision and acts as employer, funded partly through UWV subsidies for employees with reduced work capacity.
5. Interior fitting: Custom and serial furniture production including cabinet series, counters, and complete shop/office interiors. Production for entrepreneurs, interior builders, and architects. Assembly, packaging, and shipping to end customer.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Dethon is a municipal work development company (werkontwikkelbedrijf) that provides meaningful employment to people with a distance to the labor market while delivering contract manufacturing, assembly, interior fit-out, commercial cleaning, landscape maintenance, and workforce detachment/staffing services to B2B and government clients in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, Netherlands. The company operates nine specialized departments across three locations, producing and delivering serial furniture, electronics (SMD), plastic products, metal products, packaged goods, and a range of facility services.

Product overview

Dethon is a work development organization (werkontwikkelbedrijf) operating as a multi-department production and services company with nine distinct departments across three locations in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, employing approximately 800 people. The portfolio is organized into two main pillars: (1) Production divisions — Dethon Montage & Verpakking (assembly/packaging), Dethon Elektronica (SMD/electronics assembly), Dethon Kunststof (plastic products), Dethon Metaal (metal production), Dethon Interieurbouw (custom woodworking and serial furniture production), and (2) Service divisions — Dethon Groen (landscaping and grounds maintenance), Dethon Cleaning (commercial cleaning), and Dethon Detacheringen (staffing/temporary placement). All divisions share the social mission of providing meaningful work to people with a distance to the labor market, with the Detacheringen division additionally placing workers at external employers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dethon Montage & Verpakking Assembly and packaging services spanning from candy to cosmetics, serving commercial clients needing product packaging and assembly solutions.
• Dethon Elektronica High-quality SMD (Surface Mount Device) production and electro assembly services for commercial clients.
• Dethon Kunststof Plastic and custom polymer products, including promotional items and displays, manufactured for commercial clients.
• Dethon Metaal Metal production for facade construction, transport, and industrial applications.
• Dethon Interieurbouw
• Dethon Groen
• Dethon Cleaning
• Dethon Detacheringen

Quantifiable outcome

• Approximately 800 employees with a distance to the labor market are given meaningful employment and development opportunities
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 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

Feature5 records

Partnerships

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

• Gemeenten Hulst, Sluis en Terneuzen (Municipalities of Hulst, Sluis, and Terneuzen)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDethon is the werkontwikkelbedrijf (work development company) of the three Zeeuws-Vlaamse municipalities. The municipalities refer candidates to Dethon and are Dethon's primary structural partners under the Participatiewet. Dethon supports the municipalities' social employment targets.
• UWV (Employee Insurance Agency)coreOthersUWV assesses whether individuals can work independently at minimum wage. Those who cannot receive a subsidy (indicatie) and are referred to the doelgroepregister. Dethon employs these individuals, with the wage gap subsidized via UWV. UWV also conducts arbeidsvermogen (work capacity) assessments and loonwaardeonderzoek (wage value studies).
• WSP Zeeuws-Vlaanderen (Work Service Point)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWSP Zeeuws-Vlaanderen brings together vacancies from employers and job seekers. They work Zeeuws-wide via 'Aan de slag in Zeeland' and partner with Dethon's detachment consultants to match candidates with detachment positions. WSP also performs inclusive labor market analyses for employers and facilitates jobcarving.
• Yara SluiskilflagshipOthersYara Sluiskil hosts a group detachment of ~14 Dethon employees for corvee and facility maintenance work. Also hosts individual jobcarving positions. Yara is Dethon's flagship detachment client, representing one of the largest group detachments.
• Cargill, Rosier, Feralco, NestecoreOthersLarge industrial employers in the Kanaalzone (Canal Zone) that use Dethon's group detachment services for grounds maintenance, terrain management, and corvee services. Work is performed under year contracts.
• Stichting Vakbekwame Schoonmaak (SVS)minorOthersSVS is the Dutch cleaning industry association whose guidelines Dethon Cleaning follows for training, certification, and cleaning methodology. Dethon Cleaning staff are trained and certified according to SVS guidelines.
• Petit PukminorOthersDethon Interior Fitting produces custom wooden rocking horses for Petit Puk, a toy brand. Dethon handles the full production including wood bending, CNC machining, assembly, and spray painting coordination, with direct-to-consumer shipping.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• ManpowerGroup Nederland: Major global staffing group with broad Dutch presence, including programs for candidates with distance to the labor market. Competes with Dethon for temporary placement mandates but serves a far wider clientele.
• Randstad Nederland: Largest staffing and HR services firm in the Netherlands, competing with Dethon's detachment division for regional employer contracts. Overlaps on inclusive staffing initiatives but does not specialize in social employment.
• Tempo-Team Nederland: Established Dutch staffing brand (part of Randstad group) competing for general and light-industrial temporary placements. Comparable customer segments in cleaning, production, and logistics detachments.

Direct peers

• Empaction: Dutch social enterprise focused on employment activation for people with disabilities, operating production and service divisions. Closely aligned mission and Werkontwikkelbedrijf-style positioning.
• SWZ (Stichting Werk en Zorg): Dutch social employment organization operating production facilities, packaging services, and detachment programs. Highly comparable scope (manufacturing + staffing) and similar reliance on municipal mandates.
• Timing Uitzendbureau: Dutch staffing firm explicitly named as a cooperation partner routing Dethon and De Betho employees to clients like PostNL. Direct operational overlap on group detachments in logistics and industrial settings.
• WSD (Werk en Scholing Drechtsteden): Drechtsteden-region social enterprise providing work, training, and detachering under the Participatiewet. Comparable multi-site, multi-department production-and-services model with similar workforce composition.
• Presikhaaf Bedrijven: Arnhem-based social employment company operating production, packaging, and staffing services for people with disabilities. Closely mirrors Dethon's multi-department structure and municipal ownership model.
• Pantar Amsterdam: Amsterdam's werkontwikkelbedrijf providing employment to people with a distance to the labor market through production and service departments. Directly comparable social enterprise model under the same Dutch Participatiewet framework.
• IW4 (Industriewerk / Werkbedrijf Arnhem e.o.): Arnhem-region social employment organization providing production, packaging, and detachering services under the Participatiewet. Comparable scale, multi-department portfolio, and municipal ownership structure.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dethonz_vl

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries8 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 Dethon