Here we are 25 years on. Time flies when you’re having fun. Three pioneers started NOTOX and developed it into an international company with over 300 employees. And the end is not yet in sight. So for Klaas Noorduyn and Jan van der Hoeven, entre-preneurs right from the start, it is a treat to walk through the brand-new NOTOX unit in Den Bosch in preparation for the interview that we are holding for a look back over 25 years of NOTOX. For Klaas Noorduyn it is great to take a look at the current state of the technology. For Jan van der Hoeven it is a lovely chance to meet a lot of old acquaintances again. And for Wilbert Frieling, the current director of the company, it is a proud tour: things are going well for NOTOX. 

How it all started

NOTOX was launched on the initiative of Klaas Noorduyn. ‘Over thirty years ago I had a private pathology laboratory. At that time the government wanted to carry out a population survey into cervical cancer in the Rijnmond region, a very large residential area near Rotterdam. It was a huge organisation. Our laboratory collected the samples, processed the samples, looked at the samples and sent off the results. It was a nine-year contract. ‘It was a very busy time, you understand. There was hardly any time for holidays. Our company’s key words were thrift and own responsibility. And we earned very well at that time. We wanted to use that money to expand into health care but that proved difficult.

At that time commerce was a dirty word in health care. So we looked around. We wanted to do more in pathology. And then we met somebody who talked to us about toxicology. We found this very interesting, including from a business point of view. At this stage we contacted Professor Koeman, who was then, and still is now, a legend in toxicology. He brought Felix Debets on board and he started in vitro tests. At that time this was very progressive and it gave us the opportunity to start small and to get a feel for the subject matter and the peo ple who played a role in this world.

‘In 1981 we went on a study tour to Japan and there Jan van der Hoeven, a college colleague of Felix, joined us. Jan van der Hoeven: ‘I had already told Felix that, once we had graduated, we ought to try to set up a commercial company in the field of everything that has to do with environmental and safety research. Which included toxicology. When Felix went to work with Klaas, I was working as a scientist at the toxicology department of the University of Wageningen with Jan Koeman. When they asked me to go to Japan,we held a lot of talks about Klaas’s toxicology lab. And there, at the foot of Mount Fuji, we were so enthusiastic that we decided to go ahead as a threesome. As far as I’m concerned, NOTOX was launched there at the foot of Mount Fuji. ‘After Japan we held a lot of talks at Klaas’s home. We had detailed discussions at mealtimes. It was brilliant; young lads devouring their food, with Klaas trying to keep some order. And it turned out to be a great plan, which 1983 resulted in the actual NOTOX (Noorduyn Toxicology).

 ‘Why did I feel so attracted to toxicology? Well, in my time toxicology was well and truly on the rise. I often cycled from my home to Rotterdam, where industry steamedaway. I thought back then that there was a lot of work to be done as regards the environment and safety. In my studies I was involved in toxicology and I found it extremely exciting. My lecturer, Jan Koeman, fanned the flames of my enthusiasm still further. I feel that this discipline was my calling, and this was reinforced by the compelling lectures given by Koeman, who was then already a famous name. That’s how I got into toxicology. But I wanted to be my own boss, that’s what I’d always wanted. At university too I was always busy taking on projects. So looking back it isn’t so surprising that that’s how things turned out,’ says Van der Hoeven. 

The secret of NOTOX

NOTOX has enjoyed exceptional growth over the last 25 years. In that time the company has acquired an important position in the toxicology world. You would imagine that this kind of company must have a secret. Van der Hoeven: ‘Secret? Well... It has always been a great adventure. We kept on growing from nothing at all and we kept on adding something new. It certainly wasn’t boring. And a very important point is that there has always been a family feeling. We did a lot to make this happen. At the beginning in particular people were given a lot of freedom to set up things in their own way. People were given a great degree of freedom and responsibility. And it worked.’ And that’s the secret. It is people that give NOTOX its edge, according to Wilbert Frieling: ‘People act according to how you as a manager behave. If you’re

under hand and sneaky, that’s what you’ll get back. If you’re open and responsible, that’s what you get back. That’s the way it was and that’s the way it still is. The human factor has always been crucial.’

 Jan van der Hoeven: ‘I believe that NOTOX has grown faster than other companies in the sector. It has been a continuous growth curve. I think that our customer friendliness and our flexibility have been important assets.’ Klaas Noorduyn agrees: ‘It’s the family feeling that makes a difference. This family starts on 1 January with nothing and has to make sure that everybody gets through their year well. Everybody is clear about this. And everybody does their best to make this happen’.

Wilbert Frieling: ‘Every two weeks we have a meeting in the company restaurant. The meetings have been held right from the beginning; then we were five people, now we’re 300. And the turn out is still huge. This says a lot about the perception of our people and their personal involvement. That’s the secret, that’s NOTOX.’