VDL Defentec: Born 'ReBorn' as a new Dutch defense production hub

When VDL Groep was approached by the Dutch Ministry of Defence in 2023, the question did not land on a desk but in a family living room. Could the Eindhoven-based industrial powerhouse help the Netherlands rapidly scale its defence production capacity?

For the Van der Leegte family, the answer required no deliberation. “If this is what the nation wants, we will take our responsibility,” VDL Defentec Managing Director Paul Malcontent recalled during his speech at the Blue Magic Netherlands event. “We will put our industrial efforts behind building a stronger national defence industry.”

That commitment has since reshaped VDL’s large industrial site in Born into a strategic new entity: 'NewBorn' - a deliberate reference to both a fresh start and the rebirth of the Limburg facility, which most people know from its former functionality: the car factory named VDL NedCar.

Pasul Malcontent, © VDL Defentec

A new ‘sixth world’ inside VDL

VDL Groep is one of the Netherlands’ largest privately held industrial conglomerates, with more than 100 operating companies, €2 billion in annual revenue, and 15,000 employees. But none of its established divisions fully matched the new defense-related ambitions emerging in discussions with the Ministry of Defence.

So VDL created a new internal domain. “We know what we’re good at, and we know what we’re not,” Malcontent said. After several weeks of joint assessment with the Ministry, a sixth official “VDL world” was introduced: defense and security.

On January 1, 2025, this led to the creation of VDL Defentec, a new umbrella organisation coordinating four priority areas identified by the Ministry of Defence:

• Unmanned systems
• Capital ammunition
• Space
• Mobility

Under Defentec, several specialized entities are now being established to develop and produce capabilities that the Netherlands wants within its own borders.

Three mission lines: Ukraine, national assurance, global industrial cooperation

The Born site now operates along three strategic routes.

1. Support to Ukraine
VDL is directly supplying products through the Ministry’s Project Directorate Ukraine. “We produce a lot of products that are going straight to Ukraine,” Malcontent noted.

2. National production assurance
A core goal is to anchor more defence manufacturing in the Netherlands, improving resilience and reducing foreign dependency. New production outlets in Born are part of this effort.

3. International cooperation
VDL is building industrial ties with major global defence players. The most visible example: its fast-growing partnership with General Atomics (GA).

The VDL–GA collaboration moved “very, very quickly,” Malcontent said. The companies first connected early this year and immediately recognized similarities in their cultures and structures. “We are both family-owned. Our Willem van der Leegte is your Linden Blue,” Malcontent joked, referring to the leaders of the two organizations. “It even smells the same in your factories in San Diego as it does in ours.”

The first concrete result is a Phase One order for an unmanned lightweight aircraft system, according to Malcontent, a milestone marking the beginning of deeper cooperation.

Born as a national defense cluster

Perhaps the most transformative development is the role Born itself is set to play.

The Ministry of Defence is leasing a large section of the site (130,000 m²) specifically to enable defense-related activities by VDL and other companies. Malcontent emphasized that Born is open by design: “We are very, very open for other companies to come to the facility to start defence-related activities.”

The scale is significant: the site covers 1.5 million square meters, of which 450,000 m² is under roof. Modern industrial utilities are well-suited for large-scale manufacturing. “We intend, together with the Dutch state, to create a very big defense cluster in Born,” Malcontent said.

A NewBorn for Dutch defense

From a standing start eighteen months ago, VDL’s Born operation has evolved into one of the focal points of the Netherlands’ defense industrial ambition. With contributions to Ukraine, new national production lines, and expanding partnerships with global leaders, VDL Defentec is positioning itself as a central pillar of the country’s long-term strategic autonomy. Or, as Malcontent said in closing, “This is our Born activity. And this is just the beginning.”