From Lelystad to market leader: the story of Alles voor Padel

Lelystad is home to major international logistics companies, but it also offers opportunities for ambitious entrepreneurs to turn a good idea into a successful business. Alles voor Padel is a great example. What started with the construction of just a few padel courts has grown, under the leadership of Floris Siderius, into the Dutch market leader. Today, the company manages hundreds of projects in the Netherlands and abroad from its base in Lelystad.

For Floris, the location still has a special meaning. His modern business premises on Dwarsvaartweg stand on a site he used to cycle past every day. “The fact that I now have my own company here is something I’m still proud of every day.”

Entrepreneurship was part of Floris’ life from an early age. He grew up in a family of entrepreneurs. His father owned a road construction company in Lelystad, where Floris himself worked for eighteen years. From working on site to joining the management team, he experienced every level of the business. “I know what happens on the work floor, but I also know what it takes to run a company.”

Still, the ambition to become an entrepreneur himself remained. “We were already landscaping gardens and doing groundwork on the side. I knew quite early on that I wanted to start my own business one day.” Eventually, Floris decided to take that step.

An opportunity at the tennis club

Padel becoming the foundation of his business was anything but planned. At the tennis club in Lelystad, where the family business was a sponsor, the question arose of how two new padel courts could be realised. “They had bought courts in Spain but needed someone to take care of the foundations, sports surface and installation. We started thinking along with them.”

During that first project, Floris also began working with his business partner Joost Sweep. At the same time, something else caught his attention: the quality of the padel courts available at the time could be improved. “I didn’t think the product was good enough, so I started looking for a supplier myself.”

That search eventually took him to Barcelona, where he found a manufacturer producing courts that were better suited to the Northern European climate.

Padelbouw was founded in 2015 and was later renamed Alles voor Padel. “By then, we were doing much more than just building courts, so the name no longer fitted. We wanted a brand with its own identity.”

From ten courts to more than seven hundred

Growth was steady during the first few years, with the company building around ten to twelve courts annually. Then Covid hit. “That was when the sport really exploded. Dutch celebrities started playing padel, it appeared on television and everyone discovered how quickly you can learn the game.”

Demand soared. Alles voor Padel has now completed more than 700 padel courts in the Netherlands and has become the market leader. According to Floris, that success is no coincidence. “We are basically the only company that really takes care of the complete package. We build with our own Dutch teams, construct the foundations ourselves, install the courts, provide maintenance and remain the point of contact after completion.”

And despite its nationwide growth, Alles voor Padel has always remained rooted in Lelystad. Its central location plays an important role. “From here, we can travel to around eighty percent of our projects and return the same day,” Floris explains. This makes Lelystad a practical base for projects throughout the Netherlands.

Floris is also proud of the team that has grown alongside the company over the years. A large proportion of its employees come from Lelystad. Several young people from the city have also been given the opportunity to learn the trade at Alles voor Padel. “We have trained young people here who now work independently on our projects.”

More than just a padel court

Today, the company does much more than build courts. Maintenance, repairs, racket rental, vending machines, grandstands, digital scoreboards and all the necessary materials are managed from Lelystad. “That’s why we’re called Alles voor Padel.”

The company also prefers to collaborate close to home. Wherever possible, Alles voor Padel works with businesses in Lelystad and Flevoland for materials and other services. “We like to keep communication lines short and be able to move quickly.”

Meanwhile, the company continues to look ahead. Its focus is no longer limited to the courts themselves but increasingly extends to complete padel clubs. “By now, we know what the ideal padel location looks like. Good acoustics, a comfortable climate, smart court layouts, hospitality facilities, meeting rooms and spaces for corporate events. The complete concept is becoming increasingly important.”

Padel as part of the workplace

While padel courts were traditionally mainly found at tennis clubs, Floris is seeing a new trend emerge. More and more companies are choosing to incorporate a padel court into a new business facility or on their premises. He expects this development to continue.

“We increasingly see companies wanting to encourage their employees to be more active. Sometimes we build an outdoor court on the premises, but we have also completed new-build projects where the padel court is literally part of the office.”

At one packaging company, the court was incorporated into the plans from the design stage. “It was positioned directly next to the canteen, allowing employees to play during lunch or after work, while people in the canteen have a view of the court.”

According to Floris, the benefits go far beyond providing a sports facility. “Healthy employees, relaxation and, above all, enjoying yourself at work. People who enjoy their work often perform better too.”

That is why Floris advises companies to consider padel early in the design process. “If we are involved from the beginning, we can integrate the court intelligently into the building straight away. That ultimately saves costs as well.”

Continuing to innovate

Although the Dutch market is becoming more mature, Floris still sees plenty of opportunities. In his view, Germany is at the beginning of the same development the Netherlands experienced during the Covid period. Alles voor Padel now has its own project manager and sales representative in Germany, while local teams are being trained according to the same working methods used in Lelystad.

Yet the foundations of the business remain unchanged. “My father always taught me that you have to keep your promises. If there is a problem, you have to solve it immediately.” That principle remains at the heart of his approach to entrepreneurship. “And I also believe that if you can’t share, you can’t multiply.”

With that mindset, Floris has built a company in Lelystad that has become a national market leader. And as far as he is concerned, this is only the beginning.

His ultimate dream? “To build exclusive padel clubs in unique locations around the world. I don’t know whether that’s realistic, but you’re allowed to dream.”