WerkvoorHeerlen

What WerkvoorHeerlen does

Stichting WerkvoorHeerlen is a Dutch non-profit foundation (Stichting) operating as a social enterprise under direct contract with the municipality of Heerlen in Limburg. Its core offering is maintenance of the openbare ruimte — public green spaces, parks, and urban landscapes — delivered through a buurtgericht (neighborhood-oriented) operating model. The organization combines professional green-maintenance services with a mandated social mission: it serves as a sheltered workplace and transitional employment platform for individuals covered by the Dutch Participatiewet, including WSW employees, (Nieuw) Beschut workers, youth (jongeren), non-native speakers (anderstaligen), and others with a distance to the regular labor market. For WSW and Beschut staff, the focus is durable, suitable employment; for Participatiewet candidates without work or income, the focus is active coaching toward outflow to regular employers.

The business model is contract-based and recurring rather than product- or transaction-based. Revenue is derived from municipal service fees for green maintenance and openbare ruimte upkeep, supplemented by co-funding from the Europees Sociaal Fonds (ESF). The go-to-market is a public procurement / direct contract model, with Gemeente Heerlen as the principal and contracting authority; the foundation also carries out project-based work for neighboring municipalities such as Valkenburg aan de Geul. Distribution is essentially a single-channel direct relationship with the municipal buyer; external marketing is limited to a company website, an active vacancies page, and a LinkedIn corporate presence. There is no proprietary technology stack, no consumer-facing product, and no disclosed pricing or revenue figures.

The organization is governed by a board comprising Jan Morsink (Bestuursvoorzitter), Mohamed Elcaid (Bestuurslid), Gabriëlla Roffelsen (Directeur), and a representative from the College van Burgemeester en Wethouders of Gemeente Heerlen. The directie and management team includes Roffelsen, Henri Meeks, Saskia Heffels (Business Controller), and Stan Spee (Hoofd Groen). An active Ondernemingsraad (works council) includes Erik Simons (OR-technisch voorzitter), Stan Spee (OR-vicevoorzitter), Roy Heyen, David van de Laar, and Tom Hofhuizen. The foundation is registered as Stichting WerkvoorHeerlen with KvK-nummer 62114263, headquartered at Passartweg 150, 6413 NZ Heerlen, and reports approximately 64 employees per firmographic data.

Name

WerkvoorHeerlen

Legal name

Stichting WerkvoorHeerlen

Website

https://werkvoorheerlen.nl

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Stichting WerkvoorHeerlen is a Heerlen-based non-profit social enterprise that maintains municipal public green spaces under contract with Gemeente Heerlen while providing sheltered and transitional employment for Participatiewet candidates, WSW, and (Nieuw) Beschut workers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Municipal Green Maintenance

NAICS

Landscaping Services (561730)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPABADAA

Commercial Landscaping & Grounds Maintenance

Business & Public Services/Facilities Management & Building Services/Landscaping & Grounds Maintenance

Keywords

• Social enterprise services
• Municipal green maintenance
• Public space upkeep
• Sheltered employment programs
• Landscape maintenance services

Headquarters

HQ city

Heerlen

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Municipal Service Contracts: WerkvoorHeerlen operates under contract from the municipality of Heerlen to maintain public spaces. Revenue is derived from government service fees for green maintenance and openbare ruimte (public space) upkeep. The organization also generates social impact through its participation in the Europees Sociaal Fonds (ESF), suggesting co-funding from EU social funds. The revenue model is primarily contract-based and recurring, tied to ongoing municipal service agreements rather than commercial product sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

WerkvoorHeerlen is a non-profit foundation (Stichting) that performs green maintenance and upkeep of public spaces (openbare ruimte) primarily for the municipality of Heerlen. It functions as a social enterprise, combining professional landscaping and grounds maintenance services with a societal mandate to provide employment to people with a distance to the labor market.

Product overview

Stichting WerkvoorHeerlen is a social enterprise operating as a green company with a public mandate from the municipality of Heerlen. The organization operates as a single unified service offering focused on public space maintenance (openbare ruime onderhoud), combining craftsmanship with social impact. The company provides employment and development opportunities for candidates from the Participatiewet, including WSW, (Nieuw) Beschut, youth, non-native speakers, and others seeking integration into the labor market.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Public Space Maintenance (Onderhoud Openbare Ruimte) Ongoing green maintenance, landscaping, and upkeep of public outdoor spaces performed for the municipality of Heerlen, delivered by a workforce that includes employees with a distance to the regular labor market.
• Social Employment Services Provision of sheltered work, training, and reintegration pathways for people with barriers to entering the regular labor market, delivered alongside municipal green maintenance contracts.

Quantifiable outcome

• Maintained the Lourdesgrot site in Valkenburg in time for its 100-year anniversary — green maintenance and landscaping for the site's public space.

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Gemeente HeerlencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWerkvoorHeerlen operates in direct partnership with the municipality of Heerlen (Gemeente Heerlen), which is its primary contracting authority and principal. The municipality assigns WerkvoorHeerlen the mandate to maintain public spaces and to serve as a social employment platform for residents under the Participatiewet. This is a foundational, long-term institutional relationship central to the organisation's existence and mission.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Donkergroen: Donkergroen is a larger, established Dutch commercial landscaping and grounds maintenance contractor. It is a comparable service provider but lacks the social-employment mandate, positioning it as a commercial incumbent that competes for the same municipal green maintenance tenders.

Direct peers

• Werkpro: Werkpro is a Drenthe-based social enterprise operating green maintenance, cleaning, and facility services for municipalities in Drenthe while employing Participatiewet beneficiaries. Comparable structure as a stichting contracted by a regional government for green maintenance with social mission.
• Presikhaaf Bedrijven: Presikhaaf Bedrijven is an Arnhem-based social enterprise (groenbedrijf) that performs green maintenance and other services for the municipality of Arnhem, employing participants from the Participatiewet. Direct functional and structural peer.
• Pantar: Pantar is an Amsterdam-based social enterprise (groenbedrijf) that performs municipal green maintenance and provides employment for people with a distance to the labour market. It is the most direct functional peer to WerkvoorHeerlen, operating under the same Dutch SW/social-employment framework and serving a single metropolitan municipality.
• Diamantgroep: Diamantgroep is a Groningen-based social enterprise providing sheltered employment and green/cleaning services for the municipality of Groningen under the same Participatiewet/WSW framework. Directly comparable business model, mission, and customer base to WerkvoorHeerlen.
• Dethon: Dethon is a Den Haag-area social enterprise providing green maintenance, cleaning, and facility services under municipal contract, employing people with a distance to the labour market. Directly comparable as a Dutch SW-bedrijf focused on public space maintenance.

Regional players

• Groundwork UK: Groundwork is a UK federation of social enterprises delivering environmental and green-space services while supporting disadvantaged communities into work. It is the closest international analog to WerkvoorHeerlen's combined green-services-plus-social-employment model, though it operates under a different regulatory framework.
• Chrysalis Enterprises: Chrysalis is a US-based social enterprise providing landscaping, environmental, and workforce-development services, employing individuals facing barriers to employment. It mirrors WerkvoorHeerlen's combined model of commercial green maintenance and transitional employment, though in a different regulatory context.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/werkvoorheerlen

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 WerkvoorHeerlen