The BIO Cooperative and SUSPACC are joining forces. From spring 2026 onwards, both organizations will continue as one joint business cluster under the provisional name SuspaccBioCooperative. Through this merger, the organizations aim to increase their impact and strengthen the position of the regional business community in green chemistry. Cor Kamminga (board member of BIO Cooperative, founder of KNN Group/Ecoras and interim project leader Greenwise Circular Plastics at Greenwise Campus Emmen) and René van Bremen (director of SUSPACC) explain this important step.
Combating Fragmentation
The merger is driven by a shared realization that the sector requires greater cohesion and scale. “After ten years of BIO Cooperative and another ten years of SUSPACC, we felt it was time for the next step,” says Kamminga. “Individually, we have achieved a great deal, but we also see fragmentation. In that case, it makes more sense to combine forces than to maintain parallel structures.”
This movement is further strengthened by the substantive overlap between the organizations. While BIO Cooperative is rooted in the bioeconomy, focusing on both biomass and biodiversity, SUSPACC has concentrated on circular plastics. “By merging, we broaden our scope,” says Van Bremen. “We move from circular plastics and biomass-based materials toward a broader focus on green chemistry, while at the same time strengthening our position in the Northern Netherlands.”
Businesses in the Lead
The collaboration is not only about scale, but above all about strengthening content and positioning. Both organizations emphasize that the green transition increasingly requires a strong and well-organized representation of industry. Kamminga explains: “The development of green chemistry can ultimately only be realized by companies. That makes it essential for businesses to work together and be visible within the broader ecosystem.”
Strengthening the Collective Voice
For members, the merger primarily means a stronger collective voice. The new cluster will be better equipped to monitor regional and international developments and translate them into concrete opportunities for entrepreneurs. “We want to ensure that companies are better heard, better seen, and more closely connected to relevant developments, without requiring them to continuously invest their own capacity,” Van Bremen explains. “Entrepreneurs should primarily be able to focus on their daily business activities.”
Mutual connection remains crucial in this process. This will be reflected in networking events, joint projects, and other forms of active collaboration. “Getting to know each other and understanding where opportunities lie is our priority right now,” says Van Bremen.
Phased Integration
The integration of both organizations will take place gradually. Due to ongoing obligations, including BIO Cooperative’s commitments within Interreg projects, the existing legal entities will temporarily continue to exist alongside one another. In daily practice, however, the organizations are already working toward one shared profile and one common direction. “Externally, we already want to actively communicate this shared identity,” says Kamminga.
The merger creates a cluster of twenty companies, with ambitions for further growth in the short term. “Our goal is to grow toward 25 to 30 members during 2026,” says Van Bremen. “Not only to create impact, but also to increase the diversity and complementarity within the network.”
The collaboration clearly aligns with broader regional initiatives surrounding the carbon transition in general (Chemport Europe) and green chemistry in particular, where government bodies, knowledge institutions, and industry work together. Within this landscape, both organizations see a clear role for the new cluster. “What has often been missing so far is a strong and unified representation of industry,” says Kamminga. “With this step, we can fulfill that role much more effectively.”
Focus and Organization
The coming period will focus on further professionalization. Operational capacity will be strengthened, including through the appointment of a project leader. Van Bremen explains: “Formally, I am the director, but in practice I also handle many operational tasks. With this expansion, we will be able to move faster, support our members more effectively, and simultaneously work on our strategic development.”
The integration is also being carefully organized at the governance level. The current temporary board consists of representatives from both organizations. From BIO Cooperative, Cor Kamminga and Ton Vries (CEO of BioBTX) are participating. SUSPACC is represented by Bart Labrie (owner-director of HP Moulding), Joost Paques (managing director of Paques Biomaterials), and Thomas Vervloet (manufacturing director Europe at Envalior).
This board is explicitly temporary in nature. “In the near future, we will present the proposed governance structure to our members,” says Kamminga. “Ultimately, they should decide what the future board will look like.”
Looking Ahead
In the medium term, the ambitions are clear. Van Bremen says: “For me, success means becoming a stable organization whose added value is genuinely experienced by entrepreneurs. They should see and feel that we contribute to factors that facilitate and improve their connection to the transition toward green chemistry.”
Kamminga concludes: “The moment it becomes self-evident for companies to join this cluster — when they say, ‘for this, you need to be at SuspaccBioCooperative’ — then we will truly have added something valuable to the ecosystem.”
Author: Marlies Schipperheijn
