“23 years of service! As the saying goes, “time flies” I can only agree. My first working day at the former “Devro Teepak” is still fresh in my memory. It was the summer of 1998 when it all started for me in the chemical department. I was fascinated by the complexity of what was involved in making sausage casings. Undoubtedly not the only one who has felt this way during his or her first working days”, says Sven.
During Sven’s first encounter with “Teepak” (this took place before the merge between Visko & Teepak), there was construction happening within the company. This was when the company moved the shirring department to Slavkov (in the Czech Republic and later to Brno), which meant that his first stay at “Teepak” was short-lived. After this period, Sven ended up in the carousel of the Belgian labor market, where he was able to experience what it was like to work for other large chemical companies.
The following year, Teepak was again looking for temporary operators, and the company reached out to Sven. He did not hesitate to accept the position and got a half-year contract in 1999. This time not only in the chemical department but also in the packing department. Unfortunately, due to tough times in the working industry, it only lasted half a year. In 2000, during a casual meeting with Sven’s former team leader at Teepak, he learned that the search for temporary operators was again open. With the mindset of “3rd times the charm”, he returned and applied for the job. Sven’s career with the company took off.
Tricks of the trade
“This time I ended up together with five young guys in the Wienie-Pak process department between a gang of “old hands” in the profession where I was taught the tricks of the trade. In the following years, I grew from help operator to operator, full operator, and then polyvalent operator where I spent most of my time on Wienie-Pak extrusion. After about ten years, a spot became available as a coordinator, and this seemed like something for me. I applied, and was accepted for this position,” Sven explains.
“During the years as a coordinator, I delve deeper into the entire Wienie-Pak process through experiments I set up myself and smaller projects. In 2014, I intended to grow into a team leader. With my qualities of being creative, thinking innovatively, and having strong analyzation skills, and I preferred to see myself grow in this direction. After taking exams at an external agency, I ended up in the engineering department as an engineering technician. A “word of thanks” to the former plant manager Luc Van Erom and the future engineering manager Danny Schildermans, who offered me this opportunity at the time.”
“I grabbed this opportunity with both hands, and Jos Wils (former process engineer in Lommel) took me under his wings. He was a great example for me and initiated me into the world of engineering. During this period, we developed great projects with the help of the entire engineering group. In 2020 I eventually grew to the position I have now, process engineer”, Sven says.
