The roots of what is now the Heijboer Group go back to 1979, when Blomsma Group was founded as a Design and Consulting Office specializing in technical drawings, illustrative work, and safety floor plans. From these foundations, Blomsma Repro emerged in 1982 as a blueprint printing company. A year later, Blomsma became one of the first companies in the Netherlands to introduce cutting plotter technology, enabling digital text and symbols to be cut from self-adhesive vinyl — a key step toward modern signage.

Throughout the 1980s, the company rapidly expanded. In 1989, with 17 employees, it was acquired by Willem Heijboer, who brought a clear vision and technical leadership to the organization. That same year marked the introduction of digital drawing work, and shortly after, Blomsma invested in the first large-format, full-color electrostatic printers on the Dutch market. This technological leap forward led to the development of Blomsma XL Colorprinting — a dedicated graphic production division that established a strong position in the signage and visual communication market.

At the same time, Blomsma’s expertise in safety-related drawings evolved into a specialized consultancy: Blomsma Consultants. As a pioneer in emergency planning and safety consultancy, the company delivered complete in-house solutions, including layout, graphics, and reproduction. By 1999, the group had grown to around 75 employees across various disciplines.

At the turn of the millennium, a strategic decision was made to focus entirely on signage and in-house print production. Blomsma Consultants was sold, but the core philosophy — the integration of safety knowledge with visual communication and production capabilities — remained intact. This marked the formal start of Blomsma Signs & Safety as a specialized safety signage company, combining consultancy expertise, technical drawing, design, production, and installation into one full-service provider.

With continued growth and modernization, Blomsma moved into its current headquarters at Storkstraat 3 in 2001, later expanding into the adjacent property. The company further strengthened its international position through active participation in global safety sign and pipe marking standard development, including NEN and ISO committees. This deep involvement ensures that Blomsma’s solutions are not only high-quality, but also fully aligned with the latest international regulations.

In 2007, a new Blomsma Signs & Safety location was opened in Hoogezand, following the assignment to provide safety signage for all sites of the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM). From both a social responsibility perspective — supporting local employment — and logistical efficiency, the decision was made to operate directly from the region. This became an important phase in the company’s history. However, with the closure of many gas production sites in later years, the scale of work in the region declined, and growth ambitions shifted toward the German market. Even today, the company remains active in the Northern Netherlands, though customers are now served logistically from Zoetermeer or, increasingly, from Germany.

In 2017, Blomsma Signs & Safety GmbH was established to further serve the German market, initially operating from Oldenburg. Rapid growth soon required a larger facility, and in 2024 the company moved into its new building in Bunde, strategically located close to the Dutch border and geographically between Oldenburg and Hoogezand. This relocation not only created more opportunities for growth in Germany but also enabled the consolidation of operations, leading to the closure of the Hoogezand site. Today, nine colleagues are active from the Bunde location, which serves as a strong base for expanding the group’s presence in the German market.

In that same year (2017), the group expanded with the addition of T-ISS Safety Suppliers, a company founded in 2003 and known for its strong focus on maritime safety. One of the main reasons to integrate T-ISS into the group was to combine the knowledge and expertise of maritime safety signage from Signs & Safety with the T-ISS network, creating opportunities to grow in the maritime market with large-scale safety signage projects. At the same time, the move brought the production and delivery of SafeSign photoluminescent safety signage and certified SafeSign Low Location Lighting into the group. The maritime and offshore activities of Blomsma Signs & Safety have always been distinctive due to the company’s expertise, hands-on experience, and active involvement in developing ISO standards and maritime regulations in the field of safety and escape route signage.

Building on this foundation, the group launched The Fire Isolator Concept in 2020 — an innovative response to the growing risk of Electric Vehicle fires. Developed through extensive testing and best practice research, the concept brings together various fire suppression techniques to effectively isolate and manage EV fires.

Over the years, Blomsma Signs & Safety has grown into the market leader in the Netherlands for project-based safety signage solutions. With deep expertise, a structured approach, and the ability to execute complex, large-scale projects from design to installation, the company has established itself as the go-to partner for complete and compliant safety signage systems.

Today, the Heijboer Safety Group stands as a market leader in the Netherlands in the field of safety signage and related solutions, with over 75 employees, in-house engineering and production facilities, and a strong international orientation. Its success is built on the powerful combination of deep consultancy expertise, technical and graphic excellence, advanced print capabilities, professional installation, and close involvement in global safety standards — resulting in high-quality, compliant, and reliable safety solutions for clients worldwide.

Blomsma Group becomes Heijboer Safety Group

In 2023, we decided — after careful consideration and reflection on our strengths — to fully focus on safety. As a result, certain divisions within the Blomsma Group were phased out. This shift allows us to concentrate entirely on safety signage and safety solutions, reinforcing our commitment to providing expertise and high-quality products in this critical field. Our focus is no longer on visual communication as a whole, but specifically on contributing to safety across industries with reliable, innovative, and compliant safety solutions.

Because of this shift in focus, and with T-ISS and Fire Isolator now integral parts of our group, we decided to evolve from Blomsma Group to Heijboer Safety Group. This change reflects our position as a larger, cohesive organization with a clear, unified focus on safety solutions and safety signage across multiple industries.

Today, the Heijboer Safety Group operates with a clear focus on safety, through its specialized divisions: Blomsma Signs & Safety, T-ISS and Fire Isolator. Each division brings its own expertise in Safety Signage and Safety Solutions.

Through Blomsma Transit Signage, we meet the demand for up-to-date, reliable Transit Signage solutions. We ensure that all changes in schedules or detours are carefully prepared, coordinated, produced, and placed at the relevant locations. This service guarantees that travelers always have access to current information at bus, tram, and metro stops.

The following companies and brands are part of Heijboer Safety Group: