17 Jun
1:00 PM – 6:00 PM
De Kas, Woerden
Utrecht
The Circular Manufacturing Industry Annual Event 2026 brings together entrepreneurs, experts, and partners from the manufacturing industry who are working toward a future-proof and circular economy. In an industry where the transition is challenging and does not happen on its own, the event offers insights into current developments, practical examples, and concrete action plans.
Visitors will gain insight into trends, regulations, and the path to a future-proof business, and hear from entrepreneurs who are building circular solutions that create value, step by step. The event is focused on sharing knowledge, strengthening collaboration, and accelerating the circular transition in practice.
The Annual Event is intended for entrepreneurs and professionals in the manufacturing industry who are (or wish to) work toward circular business practices. Policymakers, supply chain partners, research institutions, and other stakeholders contributing to the transition to a circular manufacturing industry are also warmly welcome.
Ready to take the next step toward a future-proof manufacturing industry? Now is the time to get on board.
The circular transition places significant demands on companies. New business models, different partnerships, and investing in an uncertain environment—it’s not the easiest path. At the same time, both the pressure and the momentum are growing: raw materials are becoming scarcer, regulations are tightening, and customers have higher expectations.
That is precisely why we are coming together for the Annual Event. Be inspired by entrepreneurs who are already taking action and discover what actually works. Companies that, through a process of learning, are developing solutions that deliver value for both their organization and the supply chain. Think of topics such as digitization and product passports, new or evolving business models like remanufacturing, and guiding initiatives such as the ongoing roadmap processes.
We’ll delve into the path toward future-proof product lines and explore the trends and themes that will shape the manufacturing industry in the coming years. And perhaps even more importantly: you’ll meet others who are grappling with the same questions and ambitions.
1:00 p.m. Doors open
1:30 p.m. Plenary opening session chaired by Stéphanie Schuitemaker (Program Manager, Circular Manufacturing Industry Foundation)
2:30 p.m. Break
2:45 p.m.
1. A Future-Proof Dutch Mechanical Engineering Sector: Smart Use of Materials Throughout the Supply Chain.
2. Supply security in the maritime manufacturing industry: building competitive ships through the circular reuse of steel and components.
3. HVAC systems in transition: from circularity to security of supply.
4. Locally Sourced Circular Solar Energy: Making an Impact Through Public Procurement, While Keeping Perovskite Solar Films and Solar Panels Right on the Roof.
5. Offshore Wind – Circularity, Resilience, and Value Creation – Unlocking New Opportunities Through Collaboration.
In the second round of sessions, you’ll discover useful tools to help you build a future-proof business. Which tool will make the difference for you? Click on the titles for more information on each tool or topic.
1. Digitalization in mechanical engineering and other sectors.
2. Getting started with the Circular Product (and Raw Materials) Passport
3. Building on what already exists: Greater Margins and Customer Value through Remanufacturing.
4. Residual Value Tool: Calculate residual value as the starting point for your circular business model.
5. Circular HVAC Benchmark: Collaborating with supply chain partners to establish clear benchmarks.
5:00 p.m. Closing plenary session
5:30 p.m. Networking reception
6:30 p.m. End
1. Mechanical Engineering
The mechanical engineering industry faces major challenges: material shortages, rising prices, European regulations, and customers who are increasingly demanding sustainable products. The Dutch mechanical engineering sector is innovative and a leader in the global economy, but to maintain this position, it is essential to reduce dependence on critical raw materials and components. At the same time, we aim to minimize the negative impact on the climate and environment through extending product lifespans and reuse. The Mechanical Engineering Roadmap aims to define action plans and projects for the next 5–10 years to make the mechanical engineering sector resilient and circular.
This session focuses on gathering input for and reviewing the Roadmap currently under development. It will be led by Harald Tepper, Chair of the Mechanical Engineering Roadmap, Chair of the Circular Manufacturing Industry Foundation, and Senior Head of Sustainability at Philips.
2. HVAC systems in transition: from circularity to security of supply
During the session, you’ll get a first look at the updated—and as yet unpublished—roadmap for climate control systems. The product team will share its vision for opportunities, challenges, and potential solutions for the next five years, with a circular and resilient sector by 2030 as the goal on the horizon. The roadmap will be brought to life with a practical example. Through an ongoing initiative, we’ll demonstrate the concrete steps we have in mind.
We will discuss the following questions:
• Does the proposed transition path align with the needs of the supply chain?
• Does the case study have its roots in the market?
3. Offshore Wind – Circularity, Resilience, and Value Creation – Unlocking New Opportunities Through Collaboration
The Roadmap for Circular Offshore Wind has identified seven solutions to enhance circularity in the offshore wind sector. In this session, we will examine those solutions and practical projects that are working to improve the end-of-life phase of wind farms through collaboration and the creation of new value.
This session is aimed primarily at industry partners, policymakers, and funding organizations, who together can pave the way for circular strategies to achieve even greater success.
4. Locally Sourced Circular Solar Energy: Making an Impact Through Public Procurement, Perovskite Solar Films, and Leaving Solar Panels Right on the Roof
In this session, we’ll give you a quick overview of the initial results from the Solar Roadmap: how can municipalities and provinces steer toward circular systems? And how can companies respond to this? How long do solar panels actually stay on the roof? Are they replaced prematurely? We conducted research on this and can share our initial findings. And why is it a good idea to develop perovskite solar films, especially in the Netherlands? The SolarNL partnership will present its latest developments and challenges.
We also want to hear from you, the participants: what challenges do you face in developing circular solar power? What lessons have you learned, and what kind of support could you use?
5. Supply Chain Resilience in the Maritime Manufacturing Industry: Building Competitive Ships Through the Circular Reuse of Steel and Components
The competitiveness of the maritime manufacturing industry is under pressure. To remain competitive, we need to be able to build ships at a cost that is 10 to 15% lower. Rising raw material prices and risks related to supply security are putting even more pressure on this. Ships contain large quantities of steel, a material. By reusing this steel and other components after use, the sector can reduce its dependence on primary raw materials and international supply chains, thereby increasing supply security.
These often involve valuable material combinations that would yield significant value if recycled. The recent CIRCO Track has launched several pilot projects that are yielding relevant insights:
Bob Zuidgeest (Rotterdam Ship Repair), Richard Pijpers (TNO), and Bas Roelofs (CIRCO) will bring you up to speed on the latest developments and explore what new initiatives need to be launched to promote circular supply chain collaboration.
1. Digitalization in Mechanical Engineering – Generate More Revenue with What You Already Have: Introducing Digital Circular Practices in the Manufacturing Industry
During this session, Jan Westra will present the DACE project—Digitalization and Automation for a Circular Economy—on behalf of BOM and Oost NL. Digitalization reveals where value is created, lost, or can be reused throughout the entire product lifecycle. As a result, circularity is no longer a separate challenge, but a logical consequence of better value-driven management.
The DACE white paper demonstrates how companies can use data and digitalization to drive change at three key stages: creation, use, and reuse. To this end, eleven practical strategies have been developed: ranging from modular design, reducing variation and waste, to data-driven maintenance, monetizing performance, organizing reuse, supply chain collaboration, and the control room. Together with Pepijn Rinzema of TMC, who developed a roadmap for digital circular working for SMEs on behalf of the province of North Brabant, he demonstrates how companies can move from insight to concrete action. A real-world company demonstrates how a cockpit or control room helps bring together data on usage, processes, and performance into a control mechanism for product flows: the beating heart of the organization.
2. Getting Started with Circular Product (and Raw Material) Passports
The pressure on manufacturing companies is mounting. Legislation, circularity, supply security, and customer demands are making it increasingly important to gain control over product data, material usage, environmental impact, and residual value. The Raw Materials and Product Passport offers a practical solution for this: not only to demonstrate compliance, but above all to use data strategically to preserve value.
During the workshop, we’ll show you how to create a Digital Product Passport for capital goods, what data you need, and how to convert this into a Raw Materials and Product Passport. Using concrete examples from the manufacturing industry, you’ll discover how product information can be built up step by step. We’ll also discuss the role of tools such as the raw materials scan, environmental impact tool, and residual value tool.
The workshop is designed for companies that don’t want to wait until regulations force them to act, but want to start exploring now how data can contribute to compliance, circular economy goals, supply security, and future profitability.
3. Building on What Already Exists: Greater Profit Margins and Customer Value Through Remanufacturing
How can you create new revenue streams, improve supply reliability, and reduce your dependence on scarce raw materials without immediately changing your entire business model? Remanufacturing offers machine and equipment manufacturers—as well as their suppliers—a practical and proven path to circular value creation. Discover where the opportunities lie within existing machines and products in the field, and how industrial manufacturing companies are already successfully creating new customer value today by reducing raw material consumption.
During this interactive session, you’ll gain practical insights and tools to help you identify the greatest opportunities for your organization and take the first steps toward remanufacturing.
The session is organized by the Remanufacturing Collective, in which 45 industrial manufacturing companies have pooled their knowledge, experience, and resources to jointly develop remanufacturing within the supply chain into a robust and distinctive revenue model for the Dutch manufacturing industry.
4. Residual Value Tool
What is the financial value of a product that you take back after use? The Residual Value Tool allows you to calculate the product’s reuse value and the recycling value of the materials it contains. The Residual Value Tool is an Excel file that guides you step-by-step through a series of targeted questions to determine the residual value. The tool includes default values in many places, which you can adjust to suit your specific situation.
The tool’s results will help you make decisions about changing your current business models, establishing new service and revenue models, or revitalizing partnerships with supply chain partners. It also provides guidance on how to incorporate residual value into financing, valuations, and accounting.
5. Workshop: Setting the Course Together for Climate Control Systems
During this workshop, the product team will present a new initiative that we would like to develop further in collaboration with the industry: a joint product benchmark for HVAC systems. The idea arose during the update of the roadmap and addresses various questions and needs from the market.
We will discuss the development of a joint product benchmark.
The Circular Manufacturing Industry Annual Event is organized by the Circular Manufacturing Industry Foundation, RVO, and Circonnect.
RegistrationThe Circular Manufacturing Industry Implementation Program works to accelerate the transition to a circular economy within the manufacturing industry. Developing knowledge and technology, as well as scaling up to as many companies as possible, is central to this. A circular manufacturing industry creates economic opportunities in the areas of service, reuse, repair and recycling.
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As a driver of innovation and entrepreneurship, RFO is working with Circonnect in the development of roadmaps for the priority product groups of the manufacturing industry.
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