René | Machine Operator

My name is René, Machine Operator at Van der Valk Systemen. I am the operator of a fully automatic machine that processes aluminium pipes (and occasionally steel ones). Cutting, pinching, bending, punching, strengthening, adding article codes: this machine can do it all! Each project involves customised work, and I am responsible for ensuring the machine is properly set so the right product for the right project rolls out of it.

On an average work day, I ensure that all orders are filled according to the production sheets. I follow a weekly planning schedule, but urgent orders come in regularly that have to be fit in somewhere. The challenge is to plan all the orders so that the machine can run at maximum efficiency, to produce as much as possible within a certain time limit with the least amount of waste of materials.

The fun aspects of my job are the independence and the activity. I am constantly doing different tasks: planning, converting, bundling, readying orders, checking and improvising. I also really enjoy supervising and onboarding new employees.

The variety in my daily tasks and the great colleagues I work with have made me look forward to going to work for almost 38 years.