Felix Broens, who founded Convergence Industry BV, has won the Van den Kroonenberg Prize. During the Entrepreneurial Day, on the University of Twente campus, he received the prize from the jury chairman, Gé Klein Wolterink.
Felix Broens founded Convergence in 2010, as a University of Twente spin-off company. It currently has about twenty employees. The company develops and supplies gas and liquid dosing systems. Most of the company’s systems are used for research and quality control in the field of membrane technology. While it has a product line of its own, the company also supplies specific customized products. It has customers in China and North America, but the majority are based in Europe.
Felix Broens
Mr Broens studied at the University of Twente from 2002 to 2009 and graduated in Membrane Technology (Professor Matthias Wessling’s department). From here, he went on to start a company in his parent’s garage.
According to the jury, Felix Broens more than meets the criteria for the Van den Kroonenbergprijs. “He has transformed his knowledge of membrane and filter technology into tangible products with an distinct identity of their own, by making the design a unique selling point. Based on that, he has started a successful business.”
Van den Kroonenberg Prize
The Van den Kroonenberg Prize for Young Entrepreneurship is awarded to entrepreneurs who have a clear connection with the University of Twente and who have proven themselves through good entrepreneurship. The prize is a tribute to Harry van den Kroonenberg, a former Rector Magnificus, who played a part in creating the University of Twente’s entrepreneurial character. This will be the 34th occasion on which the prize has been awarded. It consists of a sum of money (€4,500), a certificate and an artwork, created by Mohana van den Kroonenberg.
A total of eighteen individuals were nominated for the prize this year. Mr Broens is not the first member of his family to receive the award. Felix was preceded by his father, who was awarded the 1989 prize for a company called X-Flow.
