‘We cannot continue to grow without taking the environment into account’
‘We want to show that we’re a good neighbour too,’ says Marjolein de Hooge, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at ASML. The company is a key part of the Brainport region and a major employer with considerable influence, which naturally brings with it certain responsibilities. On 13 June, ASML will offer a glimpse behind the scenes during its Open House days, part of the High Tech Ontdekkingsroute, to show exactly what ASML does and how they are working together to create a strong and attractive Brainport region for everyone.
The enormous campus in Veldhoven can be seen from afar from the motorway. What exactly happens behind those walls remains a mystery to many people. ‘They make chips,’ is a common reaction. ‘No,’ laughs Marjolein. ‘We don’t make chips ourselves. We make the machines that other companies need to make chips. Several of these machines are needed for a single chip. So we provide a crucial step in that process.’
ASML has been participating since the first edition of the High Tech Ontdekkingsroute in 2012. The open day is linked to the company’s own Open Huis-days on 12 and 13 June, so that visitors from the region can explore the campus over two days. A wide-ranging programme awaits those entering via the plaza.
Inside an ASML machine with 3D glasses
At the ASML Junior Academy, children can take part in a STEM lesson. The Van Gogh Museum, one of ASML’s regular partners, is present with replicas and the stories behind the paintings. ‘Colleagues will explain what the potential campus expansion might look like and what it means for the region.’ And in the Experience Centre, the small museum in the middle of the campus, visitors can walk around among parts of real ASML machines. ‘A machine doesn’t fit in a space like this. But with 3D glasses, you can still see it in full size. Then you suddenly see what a machine like that looks like on the inside.’ In the auditorium, there are talks on how an ASML machine works, what the company does and why the region benefits so much from it.
Welcome to the good neighbour
But during the High Tech Ontdekkingsroute, ASML doesn’t just want to tell its own story. The company also wants to show what it means to the region. The entire high-tech industry in the region is growing, including ASML, and that growth has consequences. It creates plenty of jobs and opportunities, but also puts extra pressure on the already overheated housing market, the infrastructure and daily life in the Brainport region. ‘We cannot continue to grow without taking the local community into account,’ says Marjolein. ‘Whether you were born here or have just arrived from a distant land: everyone should be able to feel at home. That feeling is very strong within us.’
The company works on this together with various partners and initiatives in the region, such as the libraries in the Brainport region. For example, by supporting affordable housing projects, investing in infrastructure that benefits everyone in the region, and Trees for All (which will see 455,000 trees and plants planted in the region over three years). Another example is the Van Gogh Museum in Nuenen, which children from the region can visit for free.
What does Marjolein hope visitors will take away with them when they head home at the end of the day? ‘A sense of pride. Not just pride in ASML, but in the whole region. What happens here doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world. Right here in our own Brainport region. That’s the realisation I want people to take away with them.’
