Nobleo Bouw & Infra was founded on July 4, 2011. By 2026, the company will have nearly 100 employees. They work out of Vianen, Zwolle, Rotterdam, and Eindhoven and at various project sites throughout the Netherlands on large and complex infrastructure projects. Nobleo primarily works for contractors and refers to itself as “the contractor’s engineering firm.” “We offer specialized engineering expertise that contractors don’t always have fully in-house. Nobleo remains involved until the job is done: we are involved, so to speak, until the asphalt is laid and the tunnel is in place.”
Teun joined Nobleo as a designer. “I have a background in civil engineering and progressed within Nobleo from design and design management to management and executive leadership. In my current role, I oversee operations and focus on our employees and clients. But I still view things through the eyes of the designer and the contractor: a design only has value if it is buildable.”
Nitrogen and Water Quality
In the infrastructure sector, you have to deal with factors over which you have little control. Teun points to nitrogen as a hindrance to projects and looks ahead to new requirements regarding water quality and the Water Framework Directive. “The latter will also have a major impact on projects.”
That is why Nobleo is consciously focusing on diversification. “Large, complex infrastructure projects remain interesting to us, but you don’t want a single stalled megaproject to throw your entire year off track.” The engineering firm has expanded its services to include geotechnical engineering and project management with a clearer organizational structure. He also points to a recent ProRail certification as a step toward being able to take on a broader range of assignments.
Grip means moving with the flow
Teun prefers to make entrepreneurial risks tangible. “I’m not looking for a world without risks, but rather for a sense of control. That’s what allows you to keep moving forward. And that ability to adapt is essential for a business.” For us, control doesn’t come from rules, but from how we work: people who know what they’re doing, clear and practical processes, and leadership that delegates responsibility to lower levels of the organization. Certifications help, but ultimately it’s about behavior. That’s where we make the difference.
Technical talent is in short supply
Nobleo has also noticed that the shortage of technical staff is affecting the entire infrastructure sector. Qualified professionals have plenty of options and are actively being approached by other companies. “That’s exactly why you need to take employee retention just as seriously as your project pipeline,” says Teun. “Growth only works if people truly feel like they’re part of your organization.” Nobleo consciously fosters that connection. With regular opportunities for colleagues to meet both professionally and informally. “We organize meet-ups that combine professional content with relaxation.” In addition, there’s an annual ski trip, with an alternative program for those who don’t want to ski. In 2026, Nobleo will celebrate its 15th anniversary with a group sailing trip to Greece. Teun credits the entire team for making it possible to celebrate this way together. “We do this together, and we consciously invest in it. Connection doesn’t happen on its own. If you don’t see each other, you end up working past each other. That’s why we make time and space for it. We want colleagues to want to stay here. And it’s working!”
Personal development and attention
Development is the second part of that approach. Nobleo operates its own Nobleo Academy and invests in team leadership. Teun describes coaching as a recurring element. “We put people first. We offer employees targeted development, personal attention, and good career prospects.” He adds concrete proof: “Our management team is living proof that you can thrive at Nobleo: we all started on the shop floor and have worked our way up to our current positions.”
That focus on employees became evident during the period of inflation. Nobleo chose not to wait and see, but to act immediately by adjusting salaries. “Leadership means looking ahead and taking action before things get tight,” says Teun. “We want our people to feel valued and secure. That sometimes requires making clear choices. For us, that’s not a cost consideration, but an investment in stability and quality.”
Remarkably, Nobleo didn’t hit the brakes afterward. “We actually decided to keep investing. We’ve opened new locations, continued all our activities, and kept training our people. Not as a luxury, but as part of who we want to be. We want to maintain our quality, positive atmosphere, and great team.”
Cybersecurity
For Teun, cybersecurity is a risk that grows alongside your organization. In his view, it often doesn’t start with technology, but with behavior. “The biggest risk lies in your colleague clicking on the link.” The approach is pragmatic: hire expertise, identify vulnerabilities, and assign internal leadership. Nobleo trains employees via an online module and conducts tests using fake phishing emails. Internally, someone coordinates this effort alongside IT to ensure consistency.
Teun likes to make the impact tangible. “In our network, it does happen occasionally that an SME gets hacked. But if we’re down for just a day, you really realize what that costs us. Downtime costs money, energy, and customer trust. You only notice what you’re missing once you’ve lost it.” Teun wraps up the topic decisively: “You can never completely rule out risks, but we make sure we’re prepared and keep learning.”
Putting rules into practice
Teun observes that regulatory requirements from the government, customers, and the supply chain are increasing, particularly in the area of sustainability. Looking ahead to 2030, he also expects greater pressure regarding digital security. In his view, the challenge lies not in the regulations themselves, but in putting them into practice.
“A standard on paper isn’t a solution in practice. The real question is: how do you make it workable?”
He sees the same tension when it comes to sustainability in projects. “Everyone wants to move forward, but as soon as things get challenging, manageability often trumps ambition. Then the focus shifts to mitigating risks and staying neatly within the contractual framework. Understandable, but that doesn’t really get you anywhere. It is precisely our role to demonstrate that sustainability can also be practically achievable.”
That’s why Nobleo takes a concrete and measured approach to sustainability. As an engineering firm without heavy equipment, the greatest impact lies within our own organization. “For us, the biggest gains are in mobility. We’ve adjusted our leasing policy and are actively working toward electrifying our fleet. This is how we make sustainability tangible, measurable, and an integral part of our daily work.”
In five years…
Teun wants Nobleo to continue growing in the coming years without compromising the culture that makes the company strong. The goal is to become more versatile and less dependent on a few major streams. Not to grow for the sake of growth, but to become a more stable and future-proof organization.
Yet his yardstick remains human. “For me, success is simple: that everyone enjoys going to work and drives home just as happily. If that’s the case, the foundation is solid.”
And that’s exactly where it all comes together: fostering connections so that quality remains a priority as you grow.
