The VDL Nedcar car factory is getting a new director. John van Soerland succeeds Paul van Vuuren as manager, according to a statement from parent company VDL. Van Soerland should use his international experience to bind new clients to the Limburg factory.
According to VDL, Van Soerland’s international work experience comes in handy in the search for new clients. He has worked in China, India, Taiwan and the United States, among others. During his time at Philips and later at chip maker NXP, he also came into contact with major customers from the automotive industry. Van Soerland, who has been director of VDL division MPC since December 2019, says he is confident that he can give the car factory a future perspective. Incidentally, his predecessor Paul van Vuuren has not fallen out of favor with VDL. The company emphasizes that he has done an excellent job over the past three years.
VDL Nedcar will be assembling the Mini Countryman and the BMW X1 until 2023, but after that it is over and over with the collaboration with BMW. Meanwhile, people at VDL Nedcar are busy. The States of Limburg recently approved the expansion of the factory, for which part of the forest around the current site must be cut down. In addition, the province is contributing to the construction of a new ring road, but for this VDL Nedcar must have invested € 87 million itself by October 2022 and there must be certainty about a new client. The number of available jobs must therefore rise to six thousand people. At the moment, after the cutting of 750 jobs, there are about four thousand.