Facts & Figures

  • Experience Center multinational VDL
  • exhibition area: 900 m2
  • 8 featured divisions
  • 5 visitor journeys
  • 30 meters timeline

The World of VDL

An experience center that demonstrates the unlimited possibilities of VDL Groep

An industrial family business with 105 companies, spread over 19 countries, with more than 15,000 employees and a turnover of 4.96 billion euros - that is VDL Groep in Eindhoven. VDL asked Van Eijk & Van der Lubbe to design The World of VDL. An experience center that shows the DNA and innovative strength of the company at the new headquarters in Eindhoven.

Strategic design

VDL started in 1953 in metalworking and is now a major player in subcontracting and semi-finished products, making its own end products such as suspension systems, the automated equipment of car plants, heat exchangers and container handling systems, and with VDL Nedcar in Born it has the only passenger car plant in the Netherlands. Much of what VDL produces is unknowingly visible in our streetscape; from electrically driven buses to lampposts, from the Mini to mailboxes and charging stations.

VDL is a company with many areas of expertise. Mobility, energy transition, sustainability and health are just a few of them. VDL is also a company with an open and social corporate culture that stands beside its employees. The company appeals to different people for different reasons: CEOs of cooperation partners, politicians, children with an interest in technology and students who see a future in high tech. We utilize the design of The World of VDL in a strategic way to reach these audiences in their own way.

Holograms

Within The World of VDL, different routes can be walked that in their own way tell the story that suits the visitor. By means of holograms, the stories are told in a personalized manner by one of the members of the family; from President & CEO Willem van der Leegte, to junior Frederique, daughter of Executive Vice President Jennifer van der Leegte and former President & CEO Wim van der Leegte. The right story in the right tone.

The storylines are supported by products from VDL: the enormous Vessel (the heart of ASML's EUV chip machine), a high-tech baby incubator and an exploded Mini showcase VDL's manufacturing power. Film projections with facts & figures make the story of VDL complete, layered and personal.

Movement and experience

Movement and experience - that is what stays in the memory of the visitor after a visit to The World of VDL. Holograms that appear, illuminated objects, spinning exploded wheels and dancing robots make The World of VDL a high-tech experience. The visitor can look under the hood at the complexity of assembling this car, and the candy wrapper completes the experience for children.

Strength through cooperation

The greatest asset of VDL is their employees. From golden hands to bright minds: more than 15,000 people work together with pride within VDL Groep.

This project could also not have come about without powerful collaborations. We were able to experience the culture of Brabant at many VDL companies and take a look behind the scenes. The development process of The World of VDL was created in close cooperation with external parties. In the design and development of content, animation, production, projection and technology, Van Eijk & Van der Lubbe entered into strong alliances. This is the only way The World of VDL can run. Click here to see which partners have contributed to the World of VDL.