Stan van den Hurk, Teamleader Assembly Cleanroom
What do you if you are a mechanic, your hobby is technical model building and you are interested in the KMWE cleanroom that you saw during a news item at Omroep Brabant? You send in your resume! At least, that is what Stan van den Hurk did twenty years ago. And it worked out well. Nowadays, he supervises a group of mechanics in one of the cleanrooms and he mentors students. “I showed them what I was capable of and they gave me the opportunity to grow.”
Becoming involved
“During my interview, I indicated that I wanted to work in the cleanroom and that is exactly what happened. I kept moving up in my career. As an assembly technician, I am always busy with aligning, adjusting and testing. Since rejects cost money, we work accurate to a hundredth of a millimetre. After so many years, I am also providing input on how we can optimise our products. How does a machine component work optimally? How can we assemble a product or module even better? Those are exciting challenges for me.”
″I showed them what I could do and I got the opportunity to grow in my career.”
Not a number, but input and attention
“On average, I take a course every year or year and a half to stay up to date. Sometimes this happens at my own initiative and sometimes because a customer has requested it. More and more often, proof of certain knowledge is required. Recently, I followed an Orange Belt training and obtained an adhesive certificate that is recognised in Europe. Another thing I like about KMWE is that it is not enormous. You are not a number and even the director asks how you are doing. Innovative ideas and improvement proposals are always taken seriously. And if you can proof that something can be done more efficiently or accurate, you will get recognized. The attention outside of work is also very nice. If we go on a field trip to the Beekse Bergen, the entire family is allowed to come along and the children get a present. And if the barbeque is cancelled due to COVID-19, we receive gift certificates. Everyone is heard and seen.”
″You are not a number and even the director asks how you are doing?″
Patient leader
“In our cleanroom where we make everything that is required for vacuum packaging machines, I am the point of contact and I ensure everything is delivered according to schedule and that the checks are being performed. I coordinate the work of the technicians and in doing so, I support the team leader, who manages the cleanrooms formally. I have grown into my role and I have heard that I am good at explaining things and that I involve others in the process. And no, I do not mind supervising people. It does not matter if it is a student or someone who has 20 years’ experience. I like that we are improving as a team!”
Stan van den Hurk, Teamleader Assembly Cleanroom
