NOS News••Amended
The flag hangs at the head office of family business VDL half mast . Last night the man who made the company great died unexpectedly in his home in Duizel. Wim van der Leegte is 76 years old.
For a while he could call himself the richest Brabander, in the latest Quote 500 he ended up in 18th place on the list of richest Dutch people with an estimated fortune of 2 billion euros. But he said that a high ranking in this ranking did not interest him much. Who was this striking entrepreneur?
In 1966, as a 19-year-old student, he started as an intern in his father’s company. Father Pieter had founded ‘Metal Industry and Construction Workshop P. van der Leegte’ in 1953. Among the first customers were Philips and DAF Trucks.
Shortly after Van der Leegte started at the company, his father became overstressed, which quickly gave him many responsibilities. In 1972 he took over all of his father’s shares and subsequently remained at the helm for 44 years. Under his reign, more and more companies were taken over and started up, all under the umbrella of the VDL Groep, with his initials in the company name.
Van der Leegte bought a number of poorly performing companies in Brabant, including two important partners: DAF Bus International in 1993 and Philips Enabling Technologies Group in 2006. One of the subsidiaries is also an important supplier of the chip manufacturer ASML, also from Brabant.
VDL Groep is active in 19 countries, but its home market, the Netherlands, remained the most important for Van der Leegte. He was opposed to outsourcing to low-wage countries and wanted to keep employment mainly here. When he retired in 2016 and handed over the baton, the company had 14,000 employees and a turnover of more than three billion euros.
Production of the Mini
One of the things Van der Leegte will be remembered for was the deal that VDL Groep managed to conclude with BMW. In 2012, VDL took over the ailing car manufacturer NedCar in Born, the only major car manufacturer in the Netherlands. He paid the symbolic amount of 1 euro to Mitsubishi for this.
The NOS then made this portrait about him:
Who is the man behind VDL?
With some important guarantees from the Dutch government, VDL was able to save Nedcar and subsequently bring in BMW. The factory produced the Mini, one of BMW’s brands. The BMW X1 also followed later.
The opening of the new line was graced by King Willem-Alexander, who had recently taken office, who came for a ride in an orange Mini.
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King Willem-Alexander and Wim van der Leegte take a ride in the MINI at the opening of the BMW factory in 2014 -
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King Willem-Alexander and Wim van der Leegte take a ride in the MINI at the opening of the BMW factory in 2014 -
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King Willem-Alexander and Wim van der Leegte at the opening of the BMW factory in 2014 -
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Former Minister Kamp (Economic Affairs), Klaus Draeger and Harald Kruger (BMW Group Board of Directors) visit VDL Nedcar in 2014 -
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Prime Minister Mark Rutte during the unveiling of the MINI Countryman at VDL NedCar in 2016
But the relationship with BMW did not have a happy ending. Due to the corona pandemic, sales of new cars collapsed and BMW wanted to start producing in-house again. It is now known that of Nedcar’s original almost 4,000 employees, only 435 can stay. No new client has yet been found and the contract with the Bavarian car manufacturer expires in March next year.
The collaboration with BMW no longer ended under the management of Wim van der Leegte, because in 2016 the third generation joined the main management: his children Pieter, Jennifer and Willem van der Leegte, the latter as president.
“We are deeply saddened by this sudden loss. Wim was first and foremost a wonderful husband, father and grandfather to us,” they wrote in a statement on behalf of the family. “We feel strengthened by the many expressions of sympathy and would like to thank everyone for this. Our father had great significance for many.”
Wim van der Leegte did not like publicity, but he received a lot of appreciation in his role as an employer and as a prominent Brabander. From 2013 he could call himself an honorary citizen of Brabant.
In 2014, he was appointed Commander in the Order of Orange-Nassau, a high distinction due to his services to the Dutch manufacturing industry. The figurehead Dutch Entrepreneurship award followed two years later. He was praised for his track record within and outside the Dutch business community.
The Brabant King’s Commissioner, Ina Adema, says otherwise Broadcasting Brabant touched: “Wim was an entrepreneur through and through who meant a lot to Brabant. He saw opportunities where others saw problems and managed to achieve successes. He was approachable to everyone and had a warm heart for the people who worked for him .”
“He has always remained a real Brabander,” Mayor Dijsselbloem of Eindhoven told the broadcaster. “He has been very important for the manufacturing industry in the region and beyond. This makes him an important man behind the success of Brainport.”
Skybox in the Philips Stadium
VDL Groep sponsored various sports clubs, associations and cultural organizations, such as the Noord-Brabants Museum, the Frits Philips Music Building and football clubs FC Eindhoven and PSV.
Van der Leegte was active on the supervisory board of PSV and was recently appointed honorary member at the club’s 110th anniversary. VDL Groep has had a skybox in the Philips Stadium since 1995. VDL has also been supplying the player buses for years.
The club says in a comment with sadness to have learned of the death of Van der Leegte.
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The PSV commissioners (Wim van der Leegte on the left) on their way to a press conference about the future of coach Guus Hiddink -
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Van der Leegte is awarded the Commander in the Order of Orange-Nassau by then Minister of Economic Affairs Henk Kamp
2023-11-19 17:15:32
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