Supplying ASML and the Brainport cluster: your own company in Eindhoven
ASML started building a second campus in Eindhoven on 8 September 2026, for at least 3,000 employees in the first phase and up to 20,000 workplaces in the long term. Suppliers of modules, optics, materials and precision parts from Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and the United States set up near the cluster. Your own Dutch company (BV) is the local supplier, the employer of your engineers, the applicant for the R&D credit and the owner of the intellectual property it develops.
Ask about your situationA supplier to ASML, or to the other equipment makers and the chip plants in the Brainport region, needs four things in the Netherlands. A company that receives purchase orders and invoices in euros with a Dutch VAT number and an EORI number. An employer that can bring engineers over as highly skilled migrants. An applicant for the WBSO, the Dutch tax credit for research and development, which in 2026 refunds 36% of the first €380,000 of R&D wage costs and 16% above that. And a holder of the licence that advanced chip equipment needs for export from the Netherlands to destinations outside the EU.
Your own Dutch company does all four. Profit from technology the company develops itself can be taxed at 9% in the innovation box, with an R&D declaration from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). Engineers recruited from abroad can receive 30% of their salary tax-free in 2026 and 27% from 2027. We set up the company and arrange its registrations, bookkeeping, VAT, payroll and the WBSO application with a specialist partner. The company is yours: your address, your directors, your shares.
Tell us what you make or sell, where your company is and what you plan in Europe. Our team looks at it and replies with the steps and the dates that apply to you.
Who does what
We set up and manage the Dutch company. Specialist partners do the licence and product work. We are your only contact, with one file for all the work.
Your company
- Own the products, the technology and the customer relationship with ASML and the other buyers
- Decide the location, the people you send over and where the intellectual property is owned
- Do the development work that the WBSO and the innovation box cover
- Sign the power of attorney for the formation and the applications
The Dutch company
- Set up the Dutch company (a BV), by power of attorney, with the notary
- KVK number, tax number, VAT number, EORI number, the Article 23 licence
- Bank account, bookkeeping, VAT returns, annual accounts and corporate tax
- Payroll, recognition as a sponsor at the IND and the expat scheme applications
- One contact for the WBSO partner, the tax partner and the export-control lawyer
Licences and product rules
- WBSO application and the yearly hour and cost administration
- Innovation box: the R&D declaration, the split of profit and the agreement with the Tax Administration
- Export-control lawyer: classification of your equipment and the licence applications
- Office, cleanroom or workshop space in the Brainport region
Step by step
From your first question to a Dutch company that delivers to the cluster.
- Your question. You tell us what you supply, who your customers in the region are, how many engineers you bring over and whether your products are on the export-control list. You get a written answer with a suitable structure.
- The Dutch company. The notary sets up the BV by power of attorney, with your parent company as shareholder. You receive the KVK number, the tax number, the VAT number and the EORI number. We prepare the bank application and the Article 23 licence.
- The people. Your Dutch company applies for recognition as a sponsor at the IND. Your engineers come over as highly skilled migrants. The payroll and the expat scheme are arranged.
- The R&D schemes. The WBSO partner files the application before the development work starts. The tax partner prepares the innovation box for the technology your company develops.
- The licences. The export-control lawyer checks your products against the Dutch and EU lists. Your company applies for the licences it needs for shipments outside the EU.
- Operations. Your company delivers to the cluster from its Dutch location, sends the invoices and keeps its books. You get one monthly overview and have one contact person.
The schemes, the dates and what they mean for a supplier
| Scheme or event | Status and date | What it means for you | What your Dutch company does |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASML campus at Brainport Industries Campus North, Eindhoven | Construction started on 8 September 2026. About 350,000 square metres in several phases. First phase for at least 3,000 employees, ready in 2029. Up to 20,000 workplaces in the long term. | Production, logistics and offices on one site, with a new factory for TWINSCAN systems, built for faster module production in higher volumes. Suppliers deliver modules and parts to the line. | Is the local supplier that receives the purchase orders and delivers from a Dutch warehouse or workshop. |
| Project Beethoven | Decision of the Council of Ministers on 28 March 2024. €2.51 billion from the national government, the province and the region, until 2030. | Public money for talent, infrastructure, housing and energy in the Brainport region. €80.9 million trains 33,000 extra technicians by 2030, €45 million of it in Brainport Eindhoven. | Hires in a region where the public side pays for roads, housing and training. |
| Chips Act 2.0 | Proposal of the European Commission, COM(2026) 504 of 3 June 2026, procedure 2026/0139(COD). Status: proposal, in negotiation. | Fast-track permits for recognised semiconductor facilities, a label for a European Semiconductor Region of Excellence, a supply-chain platform for companies (about €70 million) and an extension of first-of-a-kind status to specialty materials and manufacturing equipment. The final text decides what applies. | Is the EU company that can apply for recognition and permits once the regulation is adopted. |
| Export licence for advanced chip equipment | National licence requirement since 1 September 2023, extended on 7 September 2024 (deep ultraviolet lithography) and on 1 April 2025 (specific measurement and inspection equipment). | Export from the Netherlands to every destination outside the EU needs a licence for the listed equipment. The rule is a licence requirement, with an assessment per application. | Is the exporter and the applicant for the licence, with its own export-control records. |
| WBSO, the R&D tax credit | 2026: 36% of the first €380,000 of the R&D base and 16% above that; 50% for starters. Fixed hourly wage of €29 for a new applicant in its first two years. Applications for 2027 can be filed from mid-November 2026. | The credit lowers the wage tax your company pays for its R&D staff. The applicant is a company that withholds Dutch wage tax. | Applies for the WBSO for the development work its engineers do in the Netherlands. |
| Innovation box | Current rule. Effective corporate tax of 9% on profit from innovation covered by an R&D declaration from RVO. | Profit from technology your Dutch company develops itself is taxed at 9%. The conditions for the intangible asset differ between smaller and larger taxpayers. | Owns the intellectual property it develops and applies the box in its tax return, with a tax partner. |
| Highly skilled migrants and the expat scheme | 2026 salary thresholds: €5,942 a month gross for employees of 30 and older, €4,357 for younger employees, €3,122 after a Dutch degree. Expat scheme: 30% tax-free in 2026, 27% from 2027. | Your engineers from Japan, Taiwan, Korea or the United States come over on a work permit sponsored by your company. | Is the recognised sponsor at the IND and the employer on the Dutch payroll. |
The Netherlands is a member of the EU customs union. Parts your company imports from Asia or the United States are cleared once, in Rotterdam or at Schiphol, and then go to customers anywhere in the EU free of further customs formalities. With an Article 23 licence your company reports the import VAT in its VAT return. See entering the EU market.
What your Dutch company does near Eindhoven
Local supplier. Purchasers at ASML and the other equipment makers in the region buy from a company with a Dutch Chamber of Commerce number, a Dutch VAT number and a Dutch bank account. Your Dutch company signs the supply agreement, keeps the consignment stock and sends the invoices. Its EORI number is on every customs declaration.
Employer. Your Dutch company applies for recognition as a sponsor at the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND). It then brings your engineers to the Netherlands as highly skilled migrants and puts them on the Dutch payroll. Recruits from abroad who meet the salary norm receive part of their salary tax-free under the expat scheme. See hiring in the Netherlands and Dutch payroll.
Applicant for the WBSO. Development work your engineers do in the Netherlands qualifies for the WBSO. The company applies before the work starts, for the coming period. In 2026 the credit is 36% of the first €380,000 of the R&D base and 16% above that; a starter receives 50%. A new applicant uses a fixed hourly wage of €29 in its first two years.
Owner of intellectual property. Technology the Dutch company develops itself, with an R&D declaration from RVO, qualifies for the innovation box: an effective corporate tax rate of 9% on that profit. The standard rates are 19% on the first €200,000 of profit and 25.8% above. Your group decides where the intellectual property is owned; a tax partner works out the split. See tax optimisation for a Dutch company.
Exporter. Advanced chip equipment and specific measurement and inspection equipment need a licence for export from the Netherlands to destinations outside the EU. Your Dutch company is the exporter and the applicant. An export-control lawyer checks which of your products are listed.
Tell us what you make or sell, where your company is and what you plan in Europe. Our team looks at it and replies with the steps and the dates that apply to you.
One Dutch company, many roles
One company is the supplier, the importer with an EORI number and an Article 23 licence, the employer and recognised sponsor, the WBSO applicant, the owner of the Dutch intellectual property and the exporter with the licences. Its bookkeeping, VAT returns and payroll are in one administration.
The company is yours. You choose the location in the region, you appoint the directors and you own the shares. We provide the formation, the registrations and the administration. The WBSO application and the innovation box ruling are done by specialist partners from our network, at their own price, which you see first.
Prices: your Dutch company (BV) from €2,950 excl. VAT, and a holding with an operating company from €4,950 excl. VAT. See company formation in the Netherlands and setting up a subsidiary in Europe.
Sources
- ASML, ASML begins construction of new Eindhoven campus (8 September 2026).
- Brainport Eindhoven, Project Beethoven 2024: €2.51 billion, decision of 28 March 2024.
- Government of the Netherlands, cabinet invests in talent for the microchip sector (20 November 2024): €80.9 million, 33,000 technicians by 2030.
- European Commission, proposal for a Chips Act 2.0, COM(2026) 504 (3 June 2026).
- Government of the Netherlands, extension of the export control measure for advanced semiconductor production equipment (6 September 2024) and tightening of 15 January 2025, in force 1 April 2025.
- Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), Handleiding WBSO 2026 (November 2025) and WBSO (2026).
- Dutch Tax Administration, Innovatiebox (2026): effective rate 9%.
- Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND), highly skilled migrant and required amounts for 2026 (24 December 2025).
Last reviewed: 27 October 2026. Based on the sources named above, as they apply in October 2026. WBSO, innovation box and export-control work is done by specialised partners; we coordinate.
Common questions
Ask about your own situation
Tell us what you supply, who your customers in the Netherlands are and how many people you bring over. You receive advice on the structure that suits you.
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