I have been working at the butyl rubber plant in Zwijndrecht since I started my career in 1989. During my tenure, I have experienced numerous changes – from Polysar to Bayer and LANXESS to ARLANXEO. But I always stayed in the same area, polymerization. As a ” relief” I did almost every job here, first as an employee in production, later as assistant to the production foreman. In 1998 I took over management responsibility for the first time as a production foreman. 15 years ago I was promoted to supervisor and changed to the day shift. It is very helpful that I know our plant and the work here inside and out!

My day begins with a look at the production from the previous day: Did everything go smoothly? Are there any issues that need to be addressed? Meetings with my team and colleagues from maintenance follow. If, for example, a compressor has to be serviced, many preparations have to be made. All regulations and instructions must be kept up to date. And safety is a big issue, from training employees to investigating incidents.

The company offers many opportunities to grow – if you want to. I have always worked in the same area, but in very different capacities. You get a lot of credit and trust for it.

Take the chances that present themselves to you. Work with your colleagues and ask for help. Everyone will be willing to help, all you have to do is approach your fellow employees.

My family is very important to me, I have three daughters. In addition, I enjoy cycling – I also used to race. For this I had to train a lot and rode the 32 kilometers to work with my bike. Today I take the e-bike, which we can lease cheaply at ARLANXEO. This means I can get home just as quickly with all the traffic, and I also get to clear my head.