The supply of medical radioisotopes, typically produced in old nuclear reactors, has had different issues over the last decade. As a result, cancer patients risk waiting longer for diagnostics or therapy, while their health is deteriorating. The SMART project (Source of MedicAl RadioisoTopes) – under the leadership of the Belgian Institute of Radio Elements (IRE) and technical guidance of ASML develops a sustainable and reliable alternative based on accelerator technology. A crucial contribution comes from technology developer and producer Demcon: the design of a target that can withstand the extreme heat and radiation involved in the production of these radioisotopes.

Demcon successfully conducts record-breaking experiment

Enschede Marathon, which will be celebrating its 75th anniversary on Sunday 24 April, recently welcomed Demcon as a new partner. Technology supplier Demcon from Enschede will commit itself to the main distance of Enschede Marathon as namesake for the next three years.

This morning, construction of Demcon’s new head office at Kennispark Twente in Enschede, the Netherlands, officially began. Dennis Schipper, CEO of Demcon, at the push of a button started up a drill rig that pushed the first pile into the ground. Due to the current corona measures, only Alderman June Nods of the municipality of Enschede and a few directly involved construction team members were present. This was a good moment for Dennis Schipper to observe: “From now on this new development will slowly become visible to everyone. It shows that we are really developing the Demcon Campus and therefore our future as well.”

Dutch United Instruments (DUI) recently confirmed their tenth order for delivery in 2022. These orders include all products in their NMF product range, which are the NMF350 S, NMF600 S and NMF800 S. With this final order, DUI starts the year on a high note. Gerard van den Eijkel, managing director of DUI, is pleased with the result: “Our team has been working very hard on this design for the last couple of years. With these orders, we prove that the market is in need of a fast high-end metrology system for asphere and freeform optics. We were able to focus on perfecting the design and developing different sizes of the metrology tool. Being part of the Demcon group provides us all the operational support and resources for our growth.”

Technology developer and producer Demcon (850 employees) has opened a branch at the Brightlands Health Campus in Maastricht. The high-tech company, founded in Enschede in 1993, has branches in the Netherlands in Best (Eindhoven), Delft, Enschede and Groningen, each close to a university. In Maastricht, the company is already working with the medical faculty of Maastricht University. With this new location, Demcon aims to attract talent from the southern region of the Province of Limburg by offering challenging work whereby the proximity to Aachen in Germany and Leuven in Belgium offers opportunities. The company started out with ten employees and expects to grow considerably over the coming years.