He once started on his own in a small building in The Hague, but eight years later Dan Wisskrapper’s company has grown into a major player in the web design industry. The company, which creates and maintains websites for companies and provides custom software, now has a thousand customers across the Netherlands. After the Corona crisis, the entrepreneur has been doing business with a large American company (Massimo) that manufactures hospital equipment. “It started with a small task, but they were so happy with it that they put me in touch with the headquarters in California.” He says proudly AD.

pay

Wisschrapper employs fifteen young men. They all still work in an elegant office in the city center of The Hague. Some of them will work here immediately, but others will accompany him to America early next year. Whistrapper leaves with his company for the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Why? “Because the European economy is going in the wrong direction,” he says. “You read everywhere that a recession is coming. A lot of people can’t afford their energy prices anymore. Everything is going up because of inflation. As a result, consumers will spend less money. On the other hand, in the U.S. , things are going very well. They’re much less affected by the war in Ukraine there. They’re less dependent on Russia for their energy than we are. The US market is also much bigger. 320 million people live there. So you have a lot of opportunities anyway.”

Apple

There are opportunities especially for companies in his field. “There are big tech companies like Tesla, Apple and Amazon, but they’re five to ten years behind in terms of web design,” he found. “We have lower wages here so we can compete better with the local companies there.” Salaries in America are many times higher than here. “Everyone who works here earns three times as much,” he reveals. Because some of its employees are based in the Netherlands, Wisscrapper can benefit from those wage differences. “We’re actually a low-wage country for America. We’re for them what India or Romania is to us.

The dollar’s appreciation against the euro also helps, according to him. Previously, the euro was always overvalued. But now that the two currencies are worth the same, labor in the Netherlands is even cheaper for Americans.

Service-oriented American companies are enormous

Wisskrapper, who recently took a working visit to the US with several employees, noticed that Americans are very curious. “You can start very fast. But there’s more personal contact than here. You also have to deal with a 9-hour time difference. So if you want to do business you have to be in person. They want to see your eyes there. If you can, you can go big there. “A lot can be done. Everything is huge. The people are really enthusiastic and the service orientation of the companies is great. I like America,” he says with a laugh.

Wisskrapper expects more Dutch companies to follow suit. “I think we will be pioneers. Many more companies will go that way,” he thinks. “In the ministry they also said: this is really the right time.”

Concerns about economic developments in Europe and the Netherlands

Entrepreneurs know that many colleagues are very concerned about economic developments in Europe and the Netherlands. “If people can’t afford their energy, there’s still money to catch a terrace or buy a nice bicycle. We’re not even into winter yet. Let’s say you have a sauna, a gym or a bakery. You are now paying triple your energy costs or more. Companies actually go bankrupt.

Fish comb does not have to think for long. “We are in the middle of it now. We have already verified the offices and are working on visas now. I expect to be there early next year and be fully operational.

Relocation Webgrade is positive for the local economy

Laurence Kok of The Hague Business Agency, the agency in charge of recruiting foreign companies in The Hague, said there is no sign that companies in the royal city are moving to the US en masse because of sky-high energy costs and a possible recession. It is true that recently companies such as an aluminum factory in Groningen are reducing their production or stopping altogether. “But these are companies that require a lot of energy to produce. We don’t have those companies. We have a service economy.

He also pointed out that despite rising energy costs, the Netherlands’ economy is still growing. For now, he’s not worried about a mass exodus of entrepreneurs from The Hague. Maybe Web quality He believes that the establishment in America will even have a positive effect on the economy in The Hague. Especially since part of the company is based here. Coke expects that if the Wisscrapper is successful in the US, it will have a positive effect on the Netherlands location as well. The Hague has plans to help local businesses expand in countries such as Germany, Denmark and Great Britain. ,, The purpose of this program is to allow them to participate in other markets so that they become wholesale giants. As long as they don’t migrate, it’s fine.”