History
Nature is our guide in efficient design. Like our company name would suggest, the inventor of our composite joint Marko Pavlovic assistant professor Steel and Composite Structures at TU Delft, got inspired by trees. Near his hometown the local community saved a 300 years old tree by supporting it with steel tubulars. Over time it grew over and around these steel tubulars, creating a structural connection.
A tree reacts to the loads it is subjected to, it will grow additional fibres only in the locations where they are needed, this forms the essence of our joint technology to shape it in an optimal manner. With the first prototype being built in 2017 at Versteden B.V., a close collaboration has followed with over 90 tests executed at TU Delft to perfect this technique. With success after success, Tree Composites was founded in 2020 with the aim to get this technology to the market. At the end of 2020 the certification body Det Norske Veritas provided the statement of feasibility for this technology.
Our Team
Tree Composites consists of a dedicated team, with ties to academics and industry. Everyone brings specific knowledge and experience to the table. We are ambitious, passionate and thoroughly enjoy creating the bridge between science and industry. Our team is eager to listen, learn and improve.
Maxim Segeren
CEO & Co-founder
Experience in BD at TU Delft setting up over 20 new innovation projects between Academia and industry. From all the innovation he has seen he believes that the wrapped composite joint can make a major impact and create a positive impact on the energy transition. He is highly motivated to lead the start-up company Tree Composites to a success. MSc in offshore engineering with focus on jackets for offshore wind turbines at TU Delft & PhD at Civil engineering at TU Delft in connections for offshore wind turbines
Marko Pavlovic
Inventor & Co-founder
Assistant professor in Steel and Composite Structures at TU Delft. Aim at creating new knowledge for implementing Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composite materials in structures. PhD in Civil Engineering TU Belgrade. Post-Doc at Lulea in Sweden focusing on steel and composites structures for wind turbine support in structures. Member of CEN TC/250 WG4 - development of Eurocode for FRP structures; Member of Bouwen met Staal TC23 - committee on joints between FRP and steel structural members;
Peter Bogers
Commercial Director &
Co-founder
Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at the HTS in Breda. Since 1995 he is active in the FRP piping business and in 2009 he became the commercial director of Versteden B.v.. His expertise and experience in the manufacturing of fibre reinforced polymers is invaluable for the company and his role is to lead the development of the manufacturing of the wrapped composite joints.
Eline Spek
Managing Director
Experienced People & Program Manager with 15 years experience in start-up and scale-up companies, previously working on the River program of The Ocean Cleanup. Within Tree Composites, she focusses on delivering results within the project portfolio. Very motivated to be working on an innovation that will positively impact the energy transition. MA in Public Administration with a focus on organisation & management.
Tim Kapteijn
Structural Engineer
Tim graduated from the TU Delft on the feasibility of an uniaxial TC-joint in a monopile breasting dolphin. Within Tree Composites Tim focusses on pilot projects to demonstrate the technology and on certification of the TC-joint. In the WrapNode-I research project Tim is responsible for the integration of the TC-joints in the steel jacket structure and the project management of the jacket design.
Mees Wolters
Lead Engineer
Graduated from TU Delft in December 2020 at which he developed a forming analysis to create mesoscale finite element models of complex composite structures. During his master studies, Mees worked part-time at SPIE Nederland where he developed analytical models for high-voltage lattice masts and substations. Within Tree Composites he focusses on the composite design of the TC-joint, production process and cost determination.
Berend van Leengoed
Manufacturing Engineer
Graduated from the Aerospace faculty of TU Delft in July 2022. Berend specialised in composites manufacturing at the master track Aerospace Structures and Materials. Between his Bachelor and Master studies he got first-hand experience with composites manufacturing as the chief structures of the student rocket team Stratos IV. In TreeComposites he will be working on industrialising and up-scaling the manufacturing process of the TC-joints
Anders Brodsjo
Manufacturing Specialist
Graduated from TU Delft in 1999, with an MSc in Mechanical Engineering and specialisation in composites materials. With more than 20 years of experience in the composite industry, he has been involved in numerous projects, from research and development, to setting up manufacturing for composite components. Within Tree Composites he is responsible for the development and implementation of new manufacturing methods, enabling the high volume production capability needed for future projects.
Vasilis Mylonopoulos
Composite Engineer
Graduated from TU Delft on bi-material interface properties of composite to steel bonds. Before coming to the Netherlands he studied civil engineering at the University of Patras in Greece. Working as a trainee in Milan he gained experience with finite element modelling of large commercial and public projects. Within Tree Composites he focusses on the development of automated manufacturing of the TC-joint.
Paraskevi Karatsi
QA and Continuous Improvement Engineer
Paraskevi, graduated with a MSc in Structural Engineering from TU Delft, takes on the role of Quality Assurance and Continuous Improvement Engineer. Drawing from her fascination with Steel and Composite structures, she's set to refine our processes with a focus on quality assurance. Through her commitment to innovation, she aims to drive ongoing improvement, ensuring that excellence is a natural part of our work.
Clément Waltener
Structural Engineer
Having obtained a MSc. degree in structural engineering at the TU Delft, Clément has developed a strong eagerness for the field of offshore wind energy over the past years. By undertaking a graduation project with Tree Composites, Clément is dedicated to expand the fatigue efficient TC-joint technology into its application to transition pieces of offshore wind turbine jacket substructures.
Sophie Teppema
Manufacturing Engineer
During her bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering with specialisation in light weight structures, Sophie developed a passion for composite materials. She strongly believes there is so much more possible with composites then what is available right now. Besides putting new ideas into use at Tree Composites, she will work on the industrialisation of the manufacturing processes.
Niels Keppel
Manufacturing Engineer
Graduated from InHolland Delft with a BSc. in Auronautical Engineering. Niels has a strong passion for design and development, in combination with rapid prototyping through the use of additive manufacturing. His responsibilities within Tree Composites involve prototyping and testing new manufacturing methods suitable for scaling up the production of our joints.
Janneke Kortsmit
Structural Engineer intern
During her studies, Janneke developed an interest for environmental influences on the durability of materials. At Tree Composites she finds a place to further expand this interest and knowledge, by investigating the influence of the harsh offshore environment on the wrapped node for her Master Thesis Structural Engineering at the TU Delft.
Advisory Board
Frank Sliggers
Technical advisor
Former Associate professor on offshore bottom founded structures at Tu Delft and 25 years of service at Shell. His experience on the design of Jackets for offshore conditions and experience in the installation and operational phase of offshore project is a true addition to the team.
Milan Veljkovic
Technical advisor
Head of the Section Steel and Composite Structures at Tu Delft. He bring in his experience and expertise on steel structures and the fatigue issues related to those. Member of the European Standardization committee CEN250/SC3 Steel Structures and Standardization committee CEN250/SC4 Composite Structures.
Work with us
We welcome new ideas, applications and partners with open arms. We would like to hear from you and we’ll gladly introduce our technology to you. If you are interested you can contact us by phone or e-mail.
