From left to right: Peter van Maris - CFO Colbe, Ewald Dekkers - CFO Aquilum, Monique Schutrups - CEO Aquilum, Bas Tomassen - CEO Colbe, Jeroen Roeleveld - CCO Aquilum, Maarten Hitman - Managing Director De Nieuwe Arts


By joining forces with Aquilum, Colbe is responding to the growing need for good and appropriate occupational health services. This is an increasingly important issue in a tight labour market and an ageing, individualised society that demands the creation of sustainable careers. The acquisition will create a larger collective of health professionals who can provide targeted and practical advice to employers and employees. 

Expanding training capacity

Aquilum's accession to the Colbe network also allows for the expansion of internal training capacity, with experienced doctors from Equilar and Medicum Consult training and supervising younger and lateral-entry doctors within the network. The professionals from the other Aquilum organisations provide additional expertise within Colbe in the areas of reintegration, career development and legal assistance. 

Bas Tomassen, CEO of Colbe: "I’ve been keeping a close eye on Aquilum from a distance over the past few years and am impressed by how the former occupational health and safety service Equilar has grown into the business network it is today. The power of collaboration makes us both stronger and supports Colbe's existing strategy of a differentiated market approach and service models that are better aligned with the specific issues faced by our clients."

Maarten Hitman, managing director and doctor at De Nieuwe Arts, adds: "If you really want to help employers, you need scale, specialisation and collaboration. That’s exactly what this expansion brings. With Aquilum, we’re not only strengthening our medical branch, but also creating more synergy within the entire Colbe network. With additional services, we can offer customers exactly the expertise and interventions that best suit their situation. Of course, we also deliver the same high quality everywhere that they have come to expect from our network."

Value for employers and employees

The current management teams of the labels involved will remain with the organisation. Aquilum’s CEO, Monique Schutrups, will take on the role of Director of M&A at Colbe. Commenting on the acquisition, she said: “Joining Colbe gives us the opportunity to continue our growth within a larger network with additional expertise and scale. I look forward to creating even more value for employers and employees.”