Neighbors Meet Neighbors

Neighbors Meet Neighbors: Building Connections in Swifterbant

A few times each year the municipality of Dronten, where Swifterbant is located, organizes an event where local entrepreneurs can meet each other. The municipality of Dronten, situated in the youngest province of The Netherlands, came into existence due to the works to gain land from the former Zuiderzee and saw its first inhabitants in 1962.

“Neighbors Meet Neighbors”, an initiative of the municipality, is a simple method to acquaint yourself with local entrepreneurs and gain insights into the inner workings of nearby companies. Frequently, entrepreneurs find themselves in an environment where they may not be aware of the activities of a neighboring company just down the street. The municipality tries to stimulate networking and potential collaboration between closely situated companies, thus creating a positive climate for setting up businesses and attracting new entrepreneurs to establish themselves in the municipality. As a result, HOS BV was invited to host such an event with the opportunity to present the company to other entrepreneurs in Swifterbant and surrounding areas.

HOS BV acquired its Swifterbant location in 2019 because the lease on the Haarlem storage location was up. Swifterbant provided the size to store a large stock of machines and is nicely situated in the center of The Netherlands. Over a span of two years, extensive renovations were undertaken, leading to a significantly improved appearance and ambiance of the premises compared to the preceding years. The location had been out of use for several years and as such had lost a great deal of its appeal.

For the event, HOS BV opened its doors to all other entrepreneurs in Swifterbant and surrounding areas, providing an exclusive look “behind the scenes”. The event was kicked off by the Dronten representative of Economic Affairs and a round of introductions of everyone present. Ted Swart, the CEO of HOS BV, presented the company's history leading up to the point of our settling down in Swifterbant. Afterward, Iwan Ooms, Commercial Manager of HOS BV gave a presentation on what the company does and its market philosophy. After the presentations, the larger group was split into smaller groups for an elaborate tour of the premises, where visitors had the opportunity to ask HOS BV representatives all the questions they had. The informal part of the evening took place after the tours where drinks and interesting conversations were enjoyed by everyone present. The event provided a chance for everyone to network and explore potential future business partnerships. The importance of local collaboration was clear from the presence of the Dronten representative of Economic Affairs.

As the Dutch saying goes: “Better a good neighbor than a distant friend”.