Testimonials

Erik Vliek

Erik Vliek works as Director of QA, Research & Development at Zwanenberg. He’s involved, among other things, in process improvement, quality systems and monitoring of whether products and processes comply with the applicable laws and legislation.

He is also co-founder of the Zwanenberg Academy, which is responsible for the basic and advanced courses in meat technology. The purpose of these courses is to improve the product and process know-how of the employees.

When joining Zwanenberg therefore, you can certainly expect to take these courses! They deal with questions such as: ‘Who are we?’, ‘What do we make?’, ‘Which ingredients are needed for a product?’ and ‘Which processes do we use?’.

“It’s important that employees know about their own role in the process but also that of other people, because insight into the process contributes to improved mutual communication,” says Erik Vliek.

Michel Schuirink

Michel Schuirink is responsible for marketing Zwanenberg for the institutional clients, such as hospitals and nursing homes, while also working at marketing for the catering trade. According to Michel, the best thing about this job is the diversity: “No two days are the same! I deal with so many different people, in the internal departments but also clients and suppliers.”

Michel believes that Zwanenberg offers plenty of opportunities for self development, as long as you show initiative and are enterprising. Zwanenberg is output oriented, you need to fill in your own details on how to fulfil your function. According to him, the courses in meat technology initiated by the company for its employees, are particularly important for anyone who does not have a feeling for the meat industry.

The culture at the location at which Michel works is one of no nonsense, simply get on with your work. With his country upbringing, Michel feels well at home with that!

Thea Dekker

Thea began a Traineeship in Food and Processing Technology at Zwanenberg in August 2006, after already having completed a practical training period at Zwanenberg Almelo in 2001. During her HBO study in Food Technology, she realised that this practical training period had increased her affinity with the meat sector.

The Traineeship exceeded all her expectations. Thea: “I’d expected it to be another practical training period, in which someone held your hand. It wasn’t. I was given great freedom and encouraged to work independently, though of course there were coaching moments in which my work was evaluated. What I also like about Zwanenberg is that everyone’s always willing to help you and to think along with you. You need to have a ‘hands on’ mentality however and to show plenty of initiative!”

By now, Thea has moved up to the position of Product Development Coordinator, a position she fulfils with great pleasure and motivation. She believes Zwanenberg can gain even more strength by bundling forces (know-how and machines) of the various company branches.

Wim Raue

Wim Raue has worked for Zwanenberg for 23 years now, currently as a Team leader. As Wim himself puts it, you need to know a little bit about everything in his job. He’d forgotten what a school desk looked like, but Wim started the Mechanical Operator B course 18 months ago.

He’s following this course as a combined BBL working and learning process, in which he spends 1 day a week at school. He’s certainly enthusiastic about the course, even though it costs a great deal of time and energy. Take the homework and the many reports to be written, for example, though the rewards make it worthwhile: “You carry out your daily work much more consciously and you think more about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. I also just like to expand on my know-how”, adds Wim.

Wim is also a company safety officer at the Van der Laan production location in Almelo. He sees it as a good supplement to his position, and follows annual refresher courses in order to keep his skills up to date, though there are regular drills at the company itself.

One of Wim’s working adventures was when a fire in the transformer unit caused the entire factory to be electrically charged. The factory was kept running using torches and inspection lights, along with the generators borrowed from the local fairground.