New housing factory is biobased and high-tech: 'Revolutionary'

A white label factory is coming to Voorhout that experts say will turn the Dutch housing market on its head. 'CHÍP', an initiative of Van der Hulst construction company from Lisse, will be operational from June 2026 and promises an annual production of 500 detachable homes. "Our factory is high-tech and revolutionary," says director Yvonne van der Hulst in the latest episode of the podcast Bureau Stoer.

Dutch housing factories are in dire straits. They are running at half strength or in danger of falling over. Not because they cannot produce faster, but mostly due to a lack of locations or as a result of lengthy procedures. Against this uncomfortable truth, construction company Van der Hulst will open next summer, unblinking and above all self-confident, a new factory that will run almost entirely on robots, called CHÍP.

Anyone who thinks the construction company is crazy beforehand will soon be surprised. Nevertheless, Yvonne van der Hulst, director of the eponymous family business and co-initiator of the factory, is proud but modest. "Whether our factory will turn the Dutch housing market world upside down? Well, I don't want to scare anyone, but our factory is pretty revolutionary and high-tech."

The story continues below. You can also listen to the podcast here->

Factory, will operate as an independent BV, and is unique of its kind, according to Van der Hulst. The 'high-tech factory' is not exclusively intended for its own production, but also counts as a supplier to third parties. "SMEs can come to us for components, such as a fully waterproof façade construction, but also for the shell. We are additionally able to supply complete biobased hsb houses."

Software makes technical draughtsman redundant

However, Van der Hulst is expressly looking for parties that understand what CHÍP is capable of. For example, parties that have been working with parametric design teams for some time. The factory makes time-consuming calculations and drawings unnecessary, she believes. According to her, a child can do the laundry. Or rather, an architect. "With us, the architect can actually 'already' stop (rightly) with a VO (Preliminary Design). Our software validates that design and for consistent output the design is completely rewritten in revit. Result: an autonomous process from calculation to production file. In addition, the software developed by us calculates (with the help of experts, ed.) all building physics and structural properties. Many draftsmen and structural engineers will be happy with that."

As a white label factory, CHÍP targets SME builders who want to build smarter, affordable, detachable and biobased. Van der Hulst believes that even the "critical" architect who abhors housing factories and "one-size-fits-all neighborhoods" will appreciate CHÍP.

"Even architects will be happy about this. We believe not only in efficient and standardized construction, but also in customization. That is why we put complete aesthetic freedom at number one. But then that's the facade. Behind the facade, you can standardize everything." Up to five people will work in the factory, including those in the office. "We work completely robotized. No one walks along the line to type something more on an IPad. Our software controls everything centrally."

A search along factories at home and abroad

CHÍP was preceded by a whole search. "It has been a long journey. We visited numerous factories in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. What I kept running into is that none of the timber frame construction factories can deliver, what I want... That's because they are not used to thinking like an executing party. That costs us as an industry too much time that we don't have. The task is huge, while fewer and fewer people are choosing construction. The average age is already 50 years or older."

Not everything went naturally. There were also setbacks. For example, Van der Hulst, a construction company with an annual turnover of about 15 million euros, first worked with another factory for a year. "We put a lot of time and engineering into that. That led to our first seven serial homes. But that company was taken over by another ... Yes, that was really a hangover. I was sick about that for a week..."

She did not sit back, but instead decided to keep going. "After that setback, we said: we're not going to stop now. We are going to continue. Now we are going to make sure that this is really going to work."

CHÍP: like father like daughter

The factory is scheduled to go into operation in the summer of 2026. The production line will be made and tested in Belgium. The new factory can produce 500 complete homes annually and will be located in Voorhout, Van der Hulst's birthplace. "The first orders for about 80 homes are already in," he said.

The name Chip has been carefully considered, she concludes. "The name Chip of course has to do with wood and with software, but it also refers to the saying 'Chip off the old block' (freely translated: like father, like daughter, ed), Exactly how it started for me and my partner Bas Degeling. We both have a strong relationship with our father. My father unfortunately passed away years ago, but our DNA is very similar..."

By the way, Yvonne van der Hulst never intended to take over her father's company. Eventually she did, thankfully: "I never knew I had so much passion for construction."

Yvonne van der Hulst in podcast Bureau Stoer. "Our factory is high-tech and revolutionary."

Dancing robots

Dick van Ginkel, innovation manager at TBI Woonlab, is impressed with Chip. Especially because it is able to manufacture complete components as a '4.0 supplier' and can thus really boost Dutch housing construction, which largely relies on SMEs: "This is really next level... "In the United States, Van Ginkel already saw some factories that make panelized walls. "Those are already completely industrialized as well. It really makes me happy when I see those kinds of robots dancing."

Are you curious to hear the whole story about Chip? Then listen here to the podcast Bureau Stoer, in which Yvonne van der Hulst tells the whole story in detail.

Listen here to episode 8 of Bureau Stoer

Bureau Stoer episode 8
This high-tech factory will turn Dutch housing construction on its head
With: Yvonne van der Hulst, director of construction company Van der Hulst and initiator of the white label factory Chip and Dick van Ginkel, innovation manager at TBI Woonlab.
Presentation: Thomas van Belzen
Editing: Kalynda Haaf (HaafVisual)

Previous episodes on net congestion in Bureau Stoer

• Standard net-conscious building on the way
• Frisian builder already builds net-conscious
• Builders are tired of bureaucracy surrounding grid congestion