Upforce history

The temporary employment agency SEP Peeters Oirlo was founded in 1997 when it started sending out Polish temporary workers, but the name SEP Peeters was already active in the poultry industry in the early 1980s. The need for additional labour was so great that in 1997 it was decided to move over as a temporary employment agency alongside services in the poultry industry. From 2000, the service provision within the poultry industry was stopped and SEP Peeters switched completely to the temping of labour.

SEP Peeters was based in Oirlo and from here around 600 temporary workers were put to work. Before 1997, only in the poultry industry, but this quickly changed to various sectors such as logistics, production, distribution and construction. SEP Peeters, besides posting temporary workers, also arranged accommodation, transport, insurance and necessary documentation.

In addition to completely unburdening its customers as well as staff, SEP Peeters' strength was communication, openness and listening to the wants and needs. This is why SEP Peeters was good at retaining both its customers and staff and many of these customers still work with Upforce.

Verbeek temporary employment agency was founded by Jac Verbeek in 1998. The origin of the agency was in Jac Verbeek's horticulture company, where he offered seasonal work to Eastern European employees. From his own experience in horticulture, the idea arose to offer these workers to other companies in the region.

In the early years, Eastern European workers were mainly used for seasonal work. Over time, Verbeek Temporary Employment Agency evolved and the model was expanded to fully staffing. The agency grew steadily and employed about 10 workers during that period.

Verbeek temporary employment agency played a vital role in various sectors, including logistics, food, manufacturing, construction, metal and horticulture. Employing around 500 temps, it mainly recruited Polish temps, with Romanian temps added in recent years.

In 2020, Verbeek employment agency was acquired.

Progress temporary employment agency was founded in 1999 by three entrepreneurs from Sint-Oedenrode who noticed that temporary employment agencies could not always meet clients' expectations. To fill this gap, they set up Progress temporary employment agency with one branch in Sint-Oedenrode.

The team consisted of about 15 people and with this small team they managed to keep about 300 temporary workers employed. The temporary workers came from different countries in Eastern Europe such as Estonia, Latvia, Poland and Romania.

Progress staffing agency had a focus on the logistics, engineering, food and agricultural sectors, with its client base spread throughout the southern Netherlands (North Brabant and Limburg).

In 2018, Progress employment agency was acquired by Direct People.

Direct People was an employment agency based in Eindhoven, with a team of 10 dedicated employees. Founded in 2005, Direct People was specifically focused on Poolstalinge people who wanted to work in the Netherlands. With around 500 temporary workers, Direct People aimed not only to provide employment opportunities, but also to arrange housing and transport in order to provide maximum relief for the temporary workers.

The specialisation was within the Logistics, Engineering and Food sectors, with Direct People carefully matching the needs of both jobseekers and companies to achieve the right match. Direct People was a link that not only offered job-related solutions, but also support in the areas of residency and mobility, making them an integral partner for both employers and employees.

Techwork was founded in 2006 by the owner of Eurotech Group. He saw many Slovak migrants in Eurotech's branch in the Czech Republic who had skills that were in great shortage in Venlo. Thus the idea was born to set up a temporary employment agency to fill this gap in the market.

Techwork's team consisted of four employees who together placed about 150 temporary workers at various companies in Limburg. As the name suggests, Techwork mainly specialised in the engineering and manufacturing sectors. Think of positions such as foundry workers, CNC millers and CNC turners.

In 2013, Techwork was acquired by SEP Peeters.