Well-attended HIVE Kick-Off 2026

Message posted on
22 January 2026 by HIVE

On January 22, 2026 around 130 HIVE members and external relations attended our Kick-Off 2026. This was exactly one year and one week after the launch of Hive Aerospace Collective as the new brand name for our civil-military aerospace maintenance & support cluster in Woensdrecht (NL). This ecosystem consists of companies, the Royal Netherlands Air Force, educational institutions, and government agencies at Business Park Aviolanda and the adjacent military airbase, which work closely together as “partners in HIVE.” It was a great opportunity to look back on the successes of the past year and look ahead to interesting developments in the near future.

Great results

With the participation of various HIVE partners and in the format of a Q&A, the audience was updated on various topics and results. This was expertly led by moderator Sander van Nieuwenhuijzen, who is also Business Development Manager for HIVE. The following topics were discussed:

Looking back:

Room for expansion HIVE partners at Business Park Aviolanda: Specto and OneLogistics
Realization of student housing The Cabin by the municipality of Woensdrecht
Innovating together in the Hangar of the Future: NLR and Air Support Command
New people in the cluster: first experiences with HIVE
New companies landing in HIVE: Patria and Top Aces

Looking ahead:

Training & innovating together: Air Campus and Structure Center of Excellence
Establishment of the Civil-Military Cooperation Program Office CLRS/ASC
Completion of the Fellowship hangar complex for civil-military NH-90 maintenance
Modification of Embraer C-390 by Fokker Services Group

One common denominator

A clear common denominator ran through all the topics that were briefly discussed: Civil-military cooperation within the Hive Aerospace Collective leads to many successes and has become an integral part of the cluster. Commander Air Support Command Cengiz Sahan said: “If you look at the daily operations at the air base, there is almost no activity that does not involve our civil partners. That is why I believe in HIVE.”

So does Ivo van der Vlis, Managing Director of Business Park Aviolanda. “I am standing here one year after the brand launch as a proud co-founder of HIVE. Of course, civil-
military cooperation in maintenance and logistics has been going on for much longer. But now we are also

focusing on common challenges such as human capital, innovation, environmental factors, and the energy transition. By doing so, we are taking the cooperation, and herewith our ecosystem, to the next level.”

Networking

After the Q&A, there was plenty of time to network over snacks and drinks. With a diverse mix of civil and military stakeholders, it was a great opportunity to explore new opportunities. We look back on a very successful afternoon!