Promea was founded in 1991 by Albert-Jan van Dijk. In his hometown, Leiden, van Dijk laid the foundation for his knowledge and skills on precision engineering at the Leidse instrumentmakers School (LiS). The LiS is a unique institution established as part of the famous ‘Laboratories of Physics’, set up by Nobel Prize winner for Natural Sciences, Heike Kamerlingh Onnes. In that period, van Dijk also developed a strong fascination for industrial design. Especially the works of technically trained industrial designers like Frans de la Haye, Bruno Ninaber van Eyben, and, outside the Netherlands, Giorgetto Guigiaro and Dieter Rams, caught his attention. And so, van Dijk continued his training at the Academy of Industrial Design (now Design Academy) in Eindhoven. After an exchange programme with the Ravensbourne College of Art and Design, as well as an internship at Pentagram Design in London, van Dijk graduated with honours in 1991 under Werner Schulze Bahr. The Design Academy was Europe’s first full-time academy for Industrial Design and is still renowned worldwide.