To understand Comtest, you need to know about Hein

According to Bas de Groot, “Hein has always been fascinated with electro technique, from boosting a little scooter with a moped engine to repairing radio and radar equipment in KLM cockpits. In 1985, Hein de Groot got the chance to start a company selling measuring equipment. Having bought a house and with a young family, this was a big thing to do.

However, the whole De Groot family breathes entrepreneurship. Hein took the jump and launched Comtest Engineering, and he soon realised that clients who needed measuring equipment also needed test chambers. Selling chambers was the logical next step. In that period, Hein started to professionalise marketing, including sponsoring the local table tennis club, which is why he is holding a ping pong bat in the photo.”

In 1999, Comtest wanted to focus on producing its test chambers, and that’s when the two brothers stepped in, explains Rik de Groot: “Bas and I joined Comtest and started helping our father. We bought a welding cart, drill string, and milling machine and started producing. We learned by doing, sticking our feet in the mud. This was a bonus because if we speak to our clients now, we know every little detail about our product, how it is built, and what it does. Nowadays, we have a highly skilled R&D lab, which, for example, invented the ‘Javelin Tip’ polystyrene absorbers for our sister company, Dutch Microwave Absorber Solutions (DMAS), and the patented oscillating wall stirrer technology for Comtest Engineering.”

Like its founding father, both Comtest Engineering and DMAS are all about people. Their products must be of excellent quality and developed by forward-thinking. This is a precondition. Bas says, “People make the difference. We are driven by stakeholder value, not shareholder value. We are and will be a family business. Although we’re from a small place and a small country, we think big and act globally. Our Dutch factory in Zoeterwoude is where all our magic happens. A can-do mentality is what we have to offer. It’s in our DNA. We can, and we will make it work. We have been doing that for 38 years now and will continue to do so in the future. But we prefer doing it together with our colleagues, suppliers, and clients.”